Blood: The Last Vampire

Posted by on 2009/07/12 Leave a comment (3) Go to comments


by Irma Arkus

Assuredly, if I weren’t “in the hole” so to speak for the last few weeks, this would have already been posted. But since I’ve been hiding in caves, probably right next to Osama bin Laden, “Blood: The Last Vampire” trailer hit me unexpectedly.

Like a Japanese version of Blade/Hellboy, but with more pheromones, Blood is based on an anime and manga series by the same name.

Based on original manga by Benkyo Tamaoki and dragged to North America by Viz Media, the story entails the most adorable vampire (vampirette?) Saya, who is handy with her katana, and kicks demon ass quite well.

Even though she is quite tiny, cute and teenagey, she is over a hundred years old.

Working for Red Shield, an organisation that is collaborating with Japanese and US government, Saya kills the creatures of the dark “Chiroptera” – batty, crabby and blood-sucking.

Now, we get to watch her kick ass on the large screen. See trailer here.

And before you flock off to theatres, do watch the original anime version.

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  • takashina

    cant wait to see this film. i am a huge fan of Oshii Blood and I worry litte about quality of this one but hoping that it is better than average Japan film.

  • RobertDBurns

    Back when I still watched TV (way back) I stumbled across the animated version. A great piece of work, I thought; a gem among most of the derivative stuff usually found on TV. So when the live-action version was released, I went to see it, though I am also really tired of vampire genre. (Yes, I know. I sound like a sour old man-fan, BWTH.)

    My review? If perhaps I’d not seen the anime version, then the cinema would have been more enjoyable. I wasn’t totally soured on the movie. The actress who plays Saya, Jeon Ji-hyeon, did a great job; so did the other actors/actresses in performing their roles. It just didn’t have the Manga extreme sense of … what? I’m not a Manga expert and as with evil, can’t quite define it but I know it when I see it and the cinema wasn’t it. (Manga, that is.) The cinema had more the feel of an action thriller. Imagine Laura Croft looking about 14, dressed in a sort of black sailor outfit wielding a samurai sword.

    The original anime, which is also available through Netflix as a “watch instantly,” had a wonderful nihilistic sense to it. And the dowdy, clueless human American school nurse poised a perfect contrast to the supernatural 400-hundred year-old vampire masquerading as a Japanese school girl. Howeve, the anime ending was superior in my opinion because it left some loose strings; although the demon was killed, there was no real resolution to Saya’s extreme all-to-human/vampire condition. The cinema script tried to tie everything up and give closure in a tidy little package. So my recommendation is not to see the anime — if you haven’t already — before seeing the cinema. Both versions are stylistic with beautiful effects. The original anime is just that “original;” The cinema is not.
    Robert Burns
    http://unselfishgene.com

  • deebee

    There’s an anime series called Blood+ (blood plus), loosely based on the original Blood, The Last Vampire anime.

    Loosely based, because the series changes Saya to a much more insecure schoolgirl, only half aware of her powers. She’s still 400 years old, but has hibernated through most of it. To teach her, she gets a handsome, strong but quiet, cello-playing servant called Hagi, to create a bit of sexual tension.

    Both the series and the original anime are done by Production IG (of Ghost in the Shell fame), but the series concentrates on plot and doesn’t have the same “less is more, an exercise in style” sort of drawing.

    If you thought this latest live action adaptation was a bit too “Michael Bay-ish” with its plot, but still would like to learn more about the link between Saya and the Chiropterans, this series is a must see. With fifty 40-minute eps to play with, it’ll provide you with all the plot and more: Saya’s history, Saya’s twin sister, Red Shield and its enemies, Hagi and the Chevaliers, artifically produced Chiropterans, etc.

    Special mention to the fantastic soundtrack of the Blood+ series. Hagi’s mournful cello musings still pop up on my playlists.

    Daniel