Reviews

Saya Otonashi is a seemingly normal teenage girl living in a loving, adopted family. Though she has only lived with them for a year and can remember nothing of her past, her father George and brothers Kai and Riku take care of her and have given her the chance at a normal life. Things change quickly, however, when strange creatures appear in Okinawa, and soon Saya finds herself face-to-face with a blood-sucking monster. Narrowly escaping death, she is saved by a mysterious man named Hagi, and even more surprisingly, is able to fight and kill these creatures. As the incidence of attacks on civilians by the monsters increases, Saya is forced into cooperation with the mysterious Red Shield organization. What awaits her is a journey from which neither she, her family, nor the world can escape. In the process of fighting to protect humanity, she will learn the dark secrets of her past.

Blood+ is a success from the start. The viewer is quickly drawn into a world of urgency, suspense, and uncertainty, all centering around a loving family and seemingly loving teenage girl. Blood makes a habit of having horrific twists and turns, and it is exactly this approach which makes the series such a pleasure to watch. What's more, unlike so many other anime that have achieved success abroad, there is no real sense of progress or powering-up by the protagonist. For virtually the entire show there is a sense of despair as it seems that Saya and her allies pose no real threat to their powerful enemy and the worldwide network that it has established. Further, the series avoids typical pitfalls such as filler episodes and inappropriate length: at 50 episodes, the duration felt perfect. As for animation, the visuals are clean, bright, and rather detailed, as would be expected from a reputable show. While there is nothing special here, there is nothing particularly wrong either (though don't expect any impressive fight scenes).

The voice actors were pretty pivotal for me: while the Japanese actors are passionate and bring life to the characters, the English actors sound misplaced. In the English version, Saya becomes a much younger-sounding girl, Hagi a far more British-sounding man, and Van is suddenly cast as a German. All of this detracts from a storyline that carries itself without the need for such vocal creativity. The show's soundtrack is well done and the Bach pieces performed by Hagi add to the elements of suspense and despair. The most memorable song and theme throughout the series, Diva's Song, is a truly beautiful opera piece which brings to life the evil genius of the enemy. Ultimately, Blood+ offers an exciting and suspenseful storyline with acceptable animation and a nice soundtrack - highly recommended.

Animation: 7.7/10
Audio: 8.2/10
Story/Script: 8.7/10
Overall Score: 8.5/10 (Excellent)

For a full synopsis with review and downloadable episodes/OST check out my blog at http://animefiend.blogspot.com