[Anime] Blood+ Discussion

Plot Summary

Quote:

Throughout the passage of time and the shifts in backgrounds, a particular war continues to leave its mark on history, extending its influence into the modern world. There are two major groups involved in the ensuring war. The first group consists of monsters known as Chiropterans who can change their appearances into that of human beings. They are actually immortals who feed on the blood of the living. The second group is an organisation known as the "Red Shield", formed to track down these monsters and exterminate them. Otonashi Saya is a high-school girl who lives a peaceful life with her family. The only problem is, she has no recollections of her life beyond that of the past year. However, her happy life will be destroyed by an event that will lead her to her destined fate.

This series is a sequel to the OAV "Blood: The Last Vampire" which was based on a manga by Mamoru Oshii and Benkyo Tamaoki (who did the story and artwork for the manga Blood: The Last Vampire 2002). It's rumored that Blood+ may be direct sequel to this manga (in fact, I think this was confirmed).

And for no reason at all, from the second OP:


The anime starts off slowly and actually doesn't build up a steady flow until around episode 12. For it's emphasis on character and plot development, Blood+ is one the more ridiculed anime for being "boring." I suppose it helped that I was a fan of the OAV and manga, since I've even gone so far as to download RAWs of the series. I'm an action nut and I must say that anime without shit blowing up is a major turn-off for me. Fortunately, Blood+ has some decent fight scenes that get better and evolve (slowly, unfortunately).

The anime's fairly dark, with gore (although not on level with Elfen Lied) and characters getting the axe. There are few moments of humor, but they're so often kept in the realm of "realism" that it feels more natural than the stuff you'd see in most other series'. If you're going to check this series out, I again give warning that it's a slow show ... but it's worth it.

The anime is scheduled for around 52 episodes.

Fansubbers
Shinsen-Subs
Bakakozou Subs

Jam it back in, in the dark.

I watched the raw of episode 21 earlier this morning. Very, VERY good episode action-wise.

Episode 21

Spoiler:

Hagi finally makes up for getting the taste knocked out of his mouth in recent episodes. He takes on a bunch of those cloaked "Schiff" guys pretty well, making use of speed we've only seen glimpses of before. It was a nice change of pace, even if he gets his ass beaten in the end.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Originally Posted by Arkhangelsk

Also, the man with the cello...intrigues me. Anybody in anime/manga that plays a string instrument intrigues me, even if it's not the focus of the series.

Hagi is his name. He plays an enormous role in the story and is deeply involved with Saya's history. They recently revealed most of it in episode 22. Although it was a RAW and I didn't understand a word of what they were saying, the visuals provide an interesting look into who Hagi was and his behavior.

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His name is Solomon. Karl is the long-haired one with dual personalities, also known as ...

Spoiler:

The Phantom. Solomon danced with Saya at the girls' school briefly.

It was nice to see him kick ass, and I really can't wait to see what all they're capable of later. If the Chevaliers and Schiff are this strong and fast, I can't wait to see Saya actually awaken to her full potential.

As for Red Shield...

Spoiler:

They've just been trying to track down Diva, which has led to a few solo episodes, the latest of which featured Kai helping David and the other guy track down a scientist in Russia. In episode 20, Kai seemingly seals the deal and joins Red Shield officially.

Where this will lead the "siblings" Kai and Saya, I don't know.

How ya doing, buddy?

Episode 23 RAW

Spoiler:

Very interesting stuff, and I can't wait to see it fansubbed. Diva is finally revealed sucking Riku's blood, who is lured in by her song. Saya walks in just in time...

Best cliffhanger of the series so far.

Spoiler:

Diva's blue eyes are fucking awesome.

I was speaking idiomatically.

For some reason the sword doesn't look like it'd fit in the scabbard.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

Spoiler:

No, not yet. She's still defenseless. Hagi's been doing all the fighting for her lately.

The end of episode 23 has me excited though. She has no weapon but...

Spoiler:

There's Diva drinking Saya's bro dry, and I can't imagine Saya being happy about that. I hope we see a berserker again.

FELIPE NO

Well, episode 32 RAW was released. ...Pretty fucking shocking.

Spoiler:

Diva rapes and kills Riku. Everybody gets fucking owned, Haji, Karl, and Big Shield respectively.

I love me some Diva, but damn that was just wrong. Shinsen is catching up with the raws. The last episode they did was #30, so 31 and 32 shouldn't be too far behind. They released four episodes one week two weeks ago, I think.

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I've just been watching the raws because I can't wait for the subs anymore. I don't know what the hell's going on, or why Diva...

Spoiler:

...looks like a prepubescent boy after the one year timeskip.

I'll have to redownload the eps once they're subbed by Shinsen or Bakazo...something.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Anybody else still following this series? Things are moving along pretty nicely and the fight scenes are getting the sexy treatment they deserve. I believe the anime's on episode 43 or so, but the sub-groups are taking their sweet time subbing the goodness. A few of the raws are available on youtube for your viewing pleasure~

Spoiler:

Solomon's left Diva to protect Saya, Hagi's gotten a lot stronger, Diva IS pregnent with Riku's babies and has taken on Riku's physique, David got shot.

Spoiler:

SHIT FUCKING BLOWS UP.

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I've been looking for the three manga too, since I hear they're actually pretty good. I read the first three chapters of one and the artwork looked nice. The story's different, taking a direction the anime clearly isn't. There's new characters that show up early on who start shit and force Saya to mature a little bit faster.

Production IG released the first chapters from all three manga on their website.

They're in PDF format (bleh) but still viewable. I haven't downloaded them yet.

Also, on Saya's strength in the anime.

Spoiler:

Saya's still refusing to drink human blood, so she's still incredibly weak. Yeah it's kind of a drag that she isn't owning people left and right, but I imagine they'll make up for it toward the end of the series (which is coming up soon).

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I just got done reading the first three chapters of the manga and reading spoilers regarding the manga. It's pretty different from the anime (well, sort of). For one there's a new character that screws with Saya near the beginning. He might be a Chevalier of some kind, but he seems to be pretty strong.

Other than that, the manga's very good. I wish the guy scanlating them would continue, but he can't seem to find any more RAWs and pretty much stopped after chapter 4 (I believe). You can find the first few chapters scanlated here.

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OMG OSAKA.

But yeah, I hear you man. I actually found Season's Call to be my absolute favorite, with the UVerworld one my second. The 4th OP absolutely sucks, though.

I was speaking idiomatically.

Season's Call - Hyde

There's the 2nd OP. The first one wasn't memorable, IMO. Sounded pretty generic. But here it is anyway: First OP.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

Well, after watching the raw for episode 46 and reading a summary of what happened, I can kind of see the series ending at episode 50 now, especially once you figure out what the promise was between Haji and Saya roughly a century ago.

Though with so many Chevaliers still alive, I am a little bit concerned.

Spoiler:

I mean, James, Nathan, and Amschel are all still up and running. With the Schif practically gone, that leaves only Haji, Saya, and possibly Solomon around to beat him. However, with what happened with Solomon in episode 46...

Saya needs to drink a shitload of blood to make a difference in the next four episodes. I can't see any other way for her to even stand toe-to-toe with Diva now.

FELIPE NO

In the manga raws I've been reading (or staring at, since I can't read Japanese), Saya actually gets her arm cut off in a fight. She's able to heal the wound/reattach it, but it was still something I haven't seen her do in the anime yet. We might see glimpses of the extent of Saya and Diva's powers in the manga before we do in the anime.

Spoiler:

For those who dunno, the manga appears to be at the Red Shield Raid arc of the anime. I don't think Diva stole anybody's sneakers in the manga, though =/

I imagine Saya will have to suck somebody dry just to stand a chance. I don't want any of this "I'll never give in to being a monster!" bullshit and she beats Diva on determination or some crappy 'fluke.' I want to see them both got at it full strength, no-holds barred, in gravy sauce (but only if Diva's not a shota).

Spoiler:

Nathan is somebody also to consider, as he seems much stronger than most let on. He was able to stop James' chiroptera form while he was only in his base human form. I can kind of imagine Haji whooping on him again. Solomon can take Amschel, Saya beats James with Kai, and then Saya against Diva. Or Diva kills everybody~

How ya doing, buddy?

Spoiler:

Needs more psycho-cute Diva.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Wow. I just watched episode 47 (RAW), too.

Spoiler:

If Solomon's really dead, then ...damn. That was both cool, pathetic, and sad at the same time. He just kinda falls on Amschel. Had more of an impact on me than Karman/Moses' departure.

Big fight comin' up, though! Diva vs. Saya should be fucking awesome.

There's nowhere I can't reach.