Rating: 
Summary: Poor at best
Review: Sure... pretty sights... a waste money... Wait for the rentalComplete lack of character and story, a mere piece of eye candy.
Rating: 
Summary: Did I miss something?
Review: I'd like to say I thought the production on this feature was exceptional! Not a bad story but def. eye candy when compared to most animes. I'm not a HUGE anime fan but I really dug this. But this is my question and someone PLEASE help me out here. It said the running time was 83 minutes...including credits my DVD player clocked 48....I noticed someone on here said something about 40 minutes as well. Did I TOTALLY miss a second part or did they just happen to double the length on the box listing just to make it seem like it was worth paying the money for? Someone please reply to me and let me know if I'm missing something. I'm a bit lost on this one. Thanks! Hopefully my email is on my user profile. Thanks guys.
Rating: 
Summary: ctc22anime
Review: Top of the line animation. The only anime that comes close to this type of work is Blue Submarine 6. But there is a hugh difference which is what stop this anime from being a good one and that is s story line and character development. This anime left too many questions unanswered. But if you want to take a look at the future of anime then this is a good buy but if you are looking for a story being told then forget it you won't find it here.
Rating:
Summary: A short but sweet thrill ride!
Review: It's true that this anime film was a little short, but it leaves you wanting more. If you have a dvd player/5.1 decoder you will be blown away how incredible it looks and sounds. The story itself is a mystery but not awful. All in all, it's break through anime work that deserves a look.
Rating:
Summary: Technical marvel
Review: For fans of anime and animation in general there are not that many theatrical quality shows produced, often we're stuck watching a series developed for television or Disney films aimed at a less mature audience. Every few years however we get a "Princess Mononoke", or "Ghost In The Shell"; "Blood: The Last Vampire" is such a film in terms of technical excellence and adult tone.
In part because of the films brevity (it clocks in at about 50 mins) Blood does not feature the same level of character/theme development as the aforementioned titles, but the story told fits well in the time frame given, which is very surprising. Most questions people will be left with are ultimately not pertinent to the story, but you'll want more. Part of the problem is that in Japan Blood was an entire media event, including games, a novel, and several manga (comics). I hesitate to recommend it to a non-anime fan, because it's clearly a portion of a project, and one where the viewer is not explicitly told much. Some people hate that method of story telling. Keep it in mind.
Pacing is quick through much of it, but slows down for scenes that need to make the viewer anxious. At it's heart this film is horror/suspense. The action is good, and leans toward the realistic side, but the focus is on the hunt. So fans of such awesome swordplay as ADV Films "Samurai X" (Rurouni Kenshin OAV) might be left craving more scenes, I think most people will be satisfied with the amount of action. Their quality though is incredible, the opening train scene is simply great. The only film that can match Blood in action scenes and over all speed is the soon to be released Katsuhiro Otomo produced kinetic frenzy "Spriggan". American fans of Indiana Jones and Akira will have to wait later in the year to see a domestic release of that though. Every shot in Blood is lit and textured in a moody style, and space is filled deliberately in each scene. Unlike most vampire films, Blood does not go down the monochromatic route of gothic. Much of it takes place during those late autumn afternoons where everything glows a golden hue, and it works amazingly. Visually there is nothing to complain about at all. The sound is an interesting issue, the score seemed well done, but it's not memorable (and it shouldn't be), FX were great, and the voices... Well, that's an interesting issue. Most of the movie takes place on an American military base in Japan, so about %70 of the spoken dialogue is in English. Personally, as a fan of the Japanese method of voice recording I'm used to characters emotions coming out as very real, however the work in Blood often sounds flat, with a particular scene near the end being an amazing exception. All in all though, a very small price to pay for an excellent production.
My quick synopsis of the plot is: Brooding girl is sent to an American army base by an "agency" to unearth and terminate several monsters that drink blood and can assume human form. If the idea of watching that play out doesn't appeal to you, skip it.
Rating:
Summary: Stark Visual Masterpiece
Review: Saya, the last original vampire, is a teenaged-looking sullen girl with a bad attitude, a deadly sword, and a penchant for slaughtering demons. And with that line, I pretty summed up this film's plot. True, I didn't mention where this film takes place (Yokota Air Force base in Japan), or when it takes place (on the brink of the Vietnam War). I didn't even mention that Saya works for the U.S. government (at least, that's what I gathered), but it doesn't really matter, as these are all just minor details. All "Blood: The Last Vampire" is about is Saya killing these vile creatures. We don't know why she's so hell-bent on taking them out. We don't know why she's the last, true vapmire. We don't know why she is partners with the U.S. government (assuming it even is the U.S government ...). We don't even know who she is. This reason for this is because "Blood: The Last Vampire" is over before it really begins. You see, "Blood: The Last Vampire" is short. Very short. About 50 minutes short. And in that amount of time, no character development or plot twists take place -- there's just no time for it. Saya has no personality, and only comes to life when viciously taking the lives of demons. She's soulless. One cannot relate to her, or even see anything in her ... but that's also part of her alure. She's mysterious, intriguing -- she's certainly grown on me. Unfortunately, the story that came with her did not. It's very half-baked, and while I did find this dark, underground world interesting (despite it being a cliche in films/tv shows/books/whatever these days), I know nothing about it. The story isn't the focal point of "Blood," however. It wasn't the reason it was created. Its digital animation is the star of the show here, and rightfully so. Hand-drawn characters and CG backgrounds are certainly nothing new in animation, but it has never looked this amazing. The style looks more like Big O meets Aeon Flux (albeit, much, much darker) than it does Blue Submarine, however. The majority of the film takes place during nightime/late afternoon or in the shadows, so expect to see many blacks and greys envelope the screen. The character design is nothing special, but neither is it anything to scoff at. Even if the designs were pitiful, it wouldn't matter: "Blood" is gorgeous. Unparalled. Without a doubt, the finest looking animated piece ever crafted. There's so much clarity, so much detail ... "Blood" is truly breathtaking, and will remain a high watermark in animation for years. Interestingly enough, the producers decided to use a good amount of English dialogue in the film. They hired actors that can speak both English and Japanese fluently (which, if I'm not mistaken, is a first in anime), and the result works quite well. The voice actors do an outstanding job. My only gripe is Saya's actress ... a teenage-looking girl with a strong, tough, womanly voice just isn't right; no matter how old or bad Saya is supposed to be. The Hollywood movie-type score was quite a shocker. Not only was it excallently put together, but it's a more than welcome change from the soulless, asinine J-pop trash that accompanies most anime and video games. There isn't a plethora of DVD extras, but what's here is solid enough: Ordering info, previews, a trailer, and a lengthy interview. I said the score was like something out of a Hollywood movie, and I believe that also best describes "Blood: The Last Vampire" as a whole: an anime flick with Hollywood participation. And, shockingly, it actually works. What "Blood: The Last Vampire" has is perfect; but it's what it's lacking -- a story that develops -- that brings this film down from the legendary status that it should have. Nevertheless, this visually ground-breaking title is highly recommended -- just don't expect this to rival Akira in the plot department. Shallow? Yes. Enjoyable? Very.
Rating:
Summary: A great half a movie
Review: I first saw this on the 24 hour streaming video release that Magna sponsered. Even on a little RealVideo window this movie looked amazing. I actually e-mailed a friend about 30 minutes into it saying "You gotta see this! This is an amazing action adventure film. Forget that it's animated, it totally stands on it's own".
I just wish I had waited till the end before I sent that. It was a great looking bunch of action scenes, but what happened to the rest of the story? It's over so quickly (about 60 minutes of the actual movie without the "Making of Blood" portion) that I really thought that part of the story was missing. Without the back story we have to imagine that the phrase "last original" means the last of the original vampires. Since vampires are created by sharing blood with an already "infected" vampire we are left to wonder where the first vampires came from, and why this girl is the last of them.
Without the follow up we are left wondering who the "government agents" are, who they work for, why are they chasing the vampires with such passion, and why are they using a vampire to kill other vampires?
Without these plot points this movie becomes "Cute young girl in school uniform with insane sword skills kills three vampires"
So why did I give it 4 stars? Because it looks wonderful. The action is great, the sound and music fit perfectly, and for the 60 minutes you're watching it you can't look away. Besides, this is anime. The Japanese don't feel the same obsessive compulsion to tie up every loose end in a story as Americans. Films like "Ghost in the Shell" spend an aweful lot of time asking questions like "What is it that makes us human?" without ever answering them. You're suppose to think about it. You're suppose to wonder. The film is suppose to affect you beyond the time you spend actually watching it. Therefore, 4 stars for beauty, sound, and the amount of time I've spent thinking about it afterwards.
Rating:
Summary: Nice DVD for animation fans
Review: ... ..., this is a quite short feature (45 minutes) whose storyline doesn't get fully developed. It feels like a teaser pilot episode of an ongoing series to come, and I sure wish there could be a follow-up story which will tell more about Saya and the other monsters.
But the atmosphere is there, the visuals are very fitting, the character design is quite unique (for Japanese stuff anyways), the action sequences are very cool (gotta love the opening and the hangar scene), and the music is great (very nicely orchestrated). As long as you understand that you'll be given only a glimpse of the world of Blood: The Last Vampire, you'll enjoy this quite a lot.
As for the "digital" animation, you'll have to have an eye for the animation to really appreciate it. In other words, most of the effects are not the sort that'll jump out at you and make you scream, "holy cow, that was ...' AWESOME!!" Rather, in most cases, the effects are more subtle, and will make you smile and say, "sweeeeeeet." The lighting effects, some 3D backgrounds, and some 3D elements flying around are all very nicely integrated with the hand-drawn elements. Not perfect, of course, but it's a very nice endeavor, and sure is a glimpse at the things to come.
Bad things about this movie? Well, it IS short. I really really wish the storyline was more developed. (another tidbit: the story is set in the 60s, just prior to the Vietnam War. But you'd be hard-pressed to realize that just by watching the movie itself. I didn't realize it until I read the back cover of the DVD case) And the hand-drawn animation isn't the top-notch stuff I had anticipated. It ain't bad, but it's not the best I've seen.
And lastly, the English voice acting is pretty bad. You see, since a good portion of the story takes place in an American military base, there is a healthy amount of English speaking in the movie. (that's the way the movie was originally released in Japan as well) So there are characters who speak Japanese and some who speak English and some who speak both (like Saya and the nurse). But when they speak English..., well, let's just say it's not very compelling.
All in all, though, the bad doesn't outweigh the good. It's not a groundbreaking super-masterpiece, but it's definitely worthy of every animation fan's attention, and not necessarily just Japanese anime fans. Recommended.
Rating:
Summary: Team Oshii does it again!
Review: Overall this is another great film worthy of the "Team Oshii" name. The mix of digital animation and standard cell animation is extremely well done and the two styles blend together quite well (unlike in previous attempts - such as "Blue Submarine No.6"). The action scenes are suprisingly cinematic and some of the best I've ever seen in anime. The music owes it's inspiration to Hollywood as well - and as such, is some of the best heard in even big budget anime. Even the voice acting (much of which is originally in English) is dead on. So why 4 stars instead of 5? There are still a few major problems with the film that hold it back from being as good as it could have been. The first is that the mouths are animated terribly - they don't quite sync up with the speaking sometimes and look awkward on the characters' faces when seen up close. Secondly, the movie is WAY too short, as you've probabally heard elsewhere, as they could have done so much more with the story. My final complaint ties in with the previous one, as it too regards the story. When the movie opens you know nothing about the characters or the mystery of what's going on at the base. At the end of the movie you still know very little -execept you've seen alot of cool action scenes. True, much anime suffers from this syndrome, but with "Blood" it's that much more painful, as they could have kept you entertained for much longer had they taken the time to explore the mystery a little more and explain some of the backstory. On top of this, the ending seems like a desperate attempt to give the movie some sort of meaningful message, but unfortunately the metaphor doesen't quite work.
So, here's my summary: if you liked "Patlabor", "Ghost in the Shell" or any of Oshii's other flicks, you'll probabally enjoy this. If you're some sort of freak otaku who doesen't like Oshii, you might still like this (especially if you're into the horror stuff). As it stands, it's not the best work produced by Oshii, but it certaintly makes for a nice addition to the catalog.
Rating:
Summary: A slow 40 minutes with hardly better action
Review: This movie plays less like a feature and more like a commercial for a production company. This film takes great care to show you it can animate real life in exquisite detail, all the while showing that their characters have the depth of cardboard. This film's school settings shared more with David Lynch than they do with the normally hyperkinetic anime aesthetic. The action scenes were decent, but there never was the great heart-stopping climatic battle that we all hoped would rear its ugly rendered/animated head. A disappointing purchase, a lackluster rental.
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