Blood - The Last Vampire

Rating:
Summary: Short and sweet...
Review: I don't normally write these but I wanted to say that it was one of the few pieces of anime that I have seen lately that I have really enjoyed. Why?

The main character is a seemingly young girl but she's not bouncing up and down jiggling all over the place. She's actually surly and pretty mean to just about everyone. There's no sexual innuendo's AT ALL and while the story is short, it leaves enough information for viewers to understand and put the pieces together of what's going on.

All in all, it's well worth the price as both a wonderful story and an incredibly well done piece of animation.

Rating:
Summary: Leaves you wanting more
Review: Blood is one of the best Anime films that I've seen. The mix of computer generated images and traditional animation is fluid and seamless to the casual observer.

The plot line, as some have pointed out, is simple: mysterious vampire hunter hired by a secretive U.S. agency to kill off vampires at an Air Force Base in Japan at the height of the Vietnam war faces danger and survives- then disappears.

Despite its simplicity (plot line wise) and brevity (the feature is only about 45 minutes long) this is a groundbreaking feature. And I'm sure the creators of Blood are moving onto another bigger (and hopefully longer) Anime feature.

This is a great film and should be part of everyone's Anime collection.

Rating:
Summary: Not enough
Review: I purchased this DVD with high expectations, however it turned out to be only a forty minute feature. No character development, no answers. This feature had the story line and beautiful animation to become a Anime classic, instead its nothing more than a disappointment.

Rating:
Summary: not what i thougt it would be....
Review: this animation, and the fighting, and blood was great. the voices were so,so. and the plot was a complete disappointment.i thought that the action was great, and the transitions were prety good, but i cant say muc for the plot. from what i saw there was none. the slightest thing to a plot that i saw was her trying to kill everything she saw.....

Rating:
Summary: I like a good bloodfest as much as the next person, but...
Review: OK, when the movie first opened, I thought it was going somewhere- mysterious chick with a katana killing people with a reason only SHE knows. Cool. And as it progresses, the tension rises as she enters a school as the resident antisocial (...). Chaos ensues as one of her classmates turns into an ugly, withered creature, who she ruthlessly kills in front of the school nurse (with the ever-popular line: "You never saw this"), and the next thing you know, she's in a military hangar murdering two more of these monsters,and there's fire and blood everywhere, and the nurse plays witness to this as well. And then...that's it. No more story, no finality, no nothing. Just the school nurse talking about how she never saw the girl again.

I felt gypped after watching this. The beginning sets you up for a pretty good story. You're thinking that you're going to find out more about this girl named Saya, where she came from, why she "can't kill humans." And where are all these monsters coming from, anyway? What is their connection with her? Is she somehow one of them? If you think you'll get these questions answered, forget it. "Blood" is just a 25-minute bloodfest with great special effects and next to no plot. Don't get me wrong, the animation is awesome, and the CGs work with it really well. But if what you're looking for is the involved storyline of "Ghost in the Shell," then pass this up. Like "Final Fantasy," it depends mostly on graphics to make its money, but in the end, leaves you completely unsatisfied.

Rating:
Summary: It's got the goods....
Review: Yes it's too short, and true, it isn't 100% digital animation. But you know what, you really won't mind. The animation is still top notch and in certain sequences absolutely remarkable. The storyline isn't thorough, leaves much unexplained, but that's to be somewhat expected in anime so I don't mind that. I can't give it a full 5 star Ninja Scroll rating, but my opinion is more like 4 & a half stars. The action sequences aren't many, but what's there is gritty and real. The intensity is ever present, and our heroine is a truly tough young lady who not ONCE gets disrobed, something of an anomaly in Japanese animation, very welcome. The story is original, the voice acting solid and the overall vibe is splendid. If you already have the "essential" anime films in your collection, then it's definitely worth a buy. If you don't, it's certainly not a bad place to start.

Rating:
Summary: Where's the beef?
Review: Blood - the Last Vampire was visually amazing and I was intrigued with the story but I feel more than a little dupped by Manga Video. The back of the DVD says that the running time is 83 minutes but I don't have any clue where they came up with that. The episode itself is only 43 minutes and when the credits rolled I was left waiting for the rest of the story to unfold. I guess Manga Video includes the run times of the "making of" and trailer in the total run time which I think is a scam. So buyer beware, THIS IS A GREAT RENTAL and I'd even recommended it for a used purchase but Manga Video has lost my business for the unforeseeable future because of their inflated run time of Blood - the Last Vampire.

Rating:
Summary: Wow.
Review: Simply, this manga is breathtaking. Admittedly I need a bit of plot and characterisation to get me interested in a film, but this is the one example where I'm glad it is non-existent. With just a short 45 minute running time, it hasn't got a lot of room to play around, and so it doesn't waste any time jumping straight into the nitty-gritty action. And it's here where I have to pause and reflect, and just take the time out to say...

Wow.

The animation in this movie was absolutely astounding. I have never seen anything as fluid, and atmospheric and violent for a very long time, possibly ever. It was stupendiously realised, and the characters, while we learn hardly anything about them., are well drawn and acted enough to make them interesting without having a basis to be interested (damn, how did they do that!). The hollywood music is also an excellent addition to this truly cinematic piece which makes it feel ever more the big-budget epic. True, it is short, but it's short because it decides to be. it doesn't want to bog itself down with complicated plots or long phases of build-up. It does exactly what it says on the tim. Blood. And lots of it. Lovely...

Rating:
Summary: Is that all?
Review: This was a great story with good art, but two short. Although the plot was completely explained, it felt more like an episode than a movie. I will not be satisfied until a sequel is made.

Rating:
Summary: Unfufilled
Review: When i fist popped this thing in the DVD player and heard dub i almost wrecked the machine. Being the purist that I am, i did not want to sit a minute through the dub. Untill irealized that the swith between japanese and english. Most of the voice actors for the movie were bilengual, so the dub was produced in japan. The nurse woman's speech is kind of stunted as she kind of speaks in sylabels but it was okay. It's pretty funny how the japanese stereotype of blacks is that they all have afro's

The animation was king, the story was good considering it was 83 minutes, it had me wanting more. My complaint are that much about Saya isnt explained, and the abrupt ending makes it seem that there are probably sequels to come. It's a pretty cheap DVD, so you're getting your moneys worth.