Reviews for Blood: The Last Vampire
By JessKat 
Spoilers
Blood: The Last Vampire is simply one of the best animated
films I have seen and yet it's so unlike any of my favorites. First off
it's anime, unlike all my other favorites, it's very dark, humorless and
short (about 50 minutes in total). It doesn't explain anything about
the characters, who they are and what their motives are. The characters
speak both English and Japanese and the story is setin Japan just a few
weeks before the Vietnam war. It includes a lot of blood and gore. It's
so unlike any other animated movie I've seen, yet it's one of my
favorites.
The story revolves around Saya, a vampire hunter. According to the
agents, she's the "last remaining original", the last full-bred vampire.
That's why the agency she works for hires her to kill vampires, because
she can think like them and sense their presence. A school nurse gets
involved and becomes hunted by vampires and Saya has to save her. The
nurse is one of the few people who know what truly happened, afterwards
the agency always cleans everything up and makes the murders seem like
suicides. The people who have seen everything are brushed off as
lunatics. Saya disappears as mysteriously as she arrived and nobody knows when
and where she will appear again, until the next time the vampires wake
again.
The best thing about the movie is definitely the animation. Those who
have seen Ghost in the Shell, expect something of that caliber, except
maybe better. Although not as fluid as Princess Mononoke, the animation
is realistic, clean and life-like.
The main character Saya leaves the viewer wanting to see more of her,
to hear her story and learn what makes her what she is. She hunts
vampires though she is a vampire herself, what has turned her against her own
species, to protect humans instead?
The movie is dark and violent so it's definitely not suitable for everyone.
But I found myself wanting to rewind the tape to the beginning right after watching
it for the first time and watch it again.
By Mario
Spoilers
While not one of the greatest animated movies, this movie left
me
stunned and still continues to wow me. Although I'm a little late
picking up
this movie, I am glad I did. It is my belief that Blood: The Last
Vampire
elevates itself above most, if not all, of the typical action anime
movies in
terms of animation and storytelling.
While the animation in Blood: The Last Vampire still has the weird lip
movements that can be be found in all anime, the uniform character
designs
and the hyperactive, wildly kinetic sequences found in substandard
anime are
completely gone from this movie. Instead, the characters are unique and
drawn
to a certain degree of realism. The action sequences were created with
a
certain sense of grace and restraint. Lip movements aside, the
animation in
this movie is fluid and has a lot of style, with intriguing camera
shots and
slick use of computer graphics. The firetrap sequence left me
absolutely
breathless the first time I saw it.
Storywise, Blood is better than most anime by throwing out the fake
heroics
and cheap conventions found in much of anime. It is better because it
doesn't
try to go for that "epic" feeling that most action animes go for. The
characters in this movie are also strong. At first it seems like the
main
character is cold and calculating, but it isn't long before you see her
human
side. Yet it is the nurse who really gives this movie some depth.
The movie's shortness may turn off some people, but those who criticized it or
reviewed it harshly need to take a closer look. I've heard this movie being called
everything from adolescent and juvenile to incomplete with a weak story. This
movie is far from being adolescent. While it is gory and violent, the movie is
actually refined in its portrayal of violence. The story is far from being weak,
and it is certainly not incomplete. The movie is a window into a larger world,
but it tells all it needs to tell. The main character came to destroy three vampires,
and that's what she did by the film's conclusion. Yet the characters still interact
with each other enough to allow the viewer to become attached. While Blood is
not of the best animated movies of all time, its slick style warrants a five star
mark, and it should be seen by anyone who enjoys animation, whether they love
anime or not.
By Red Pickle Duck
This movie is almost guaranteed to leave you confused and
wanting to know more.
Blood is like few other film's I've ever seen. The stylization is good
for an anime style, a style I'm not fully used to and just learning to
appreciate, but the animation is fairly fluid and well done.
This movie is definately not for children. I can't honestly reccomend
it for anybody under 13 years of age due to the graphic violence.
However, if you enjoy alternative story lines and are sick of the same old,
try Blood. You won't be disappointed.
By Kaxxar 
It sickens me when I see so much wasted potential in a film. Blood: The Last Vampire could have been one of the great anime classics, but falls well short.
What ruined it for me was the fact that nothing gets explained. Sure we get to see some vampire fights and all, but why is it happening? Who is Saya and why is she fighting off the vampires? What's this organization she works for? Some background info would have gone a long way to enhancing the story, because as it stands I didn't care one iota to what happened to any of the characters.
So what saves it from being a complete waste of time? Some great animation and a pretty cool style. But it takes more than eye candy to impress me and that's all Blood: The Last Vampire really has to offer.
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