Blood+: the halfway mark review

I started watching Blood+ back in March, when it began airing on Adult Swim. After watching the first few episodes dubbed (and writing a post about my initial impressions of the series) I decided to download the fansubs so I could see the Japanese version and get through the episodes faster. And now, after watching about half the series (26 out of 50 episodes), I have to say that’s it’s definitely one of the better series’ to come out in recent years…

So much has happened in the series since I wrote my review of the first 3 episodes, it’s hard to touch on everything. In the beginning, we were given a lot of mysteries to contemplate, and answers were very slowly revealed to us. And now that I’ve watched about half the series, some of the questions I had before were answered while new ones have arisen. I guess that’s one thing I like and respect about Blood+; the rate at which it gives us answers and also new sub plots to think about is pretty well managed. Now we know a lot more about Saya and Haji’s past, and more about Diva and her followers. But we also have more mysteries involving the Sif, the Goldsmith’s objectives, and Riku’s startling transformation. Blood+ always seems to give us something new to think about.

After 26 episodes, I have a lot more to say about the characters too. Saya still continues to be a very sympathetic protagonist. Though she can be kind of “angsty” at times, especially in her relationship with Kai and Riku, it’s not shoved down our throats. Some of the characters are a bit stereotypical; Haji being the typical “stoic/silent but powerful” type, and Kai being the “hot-tempered yet caring deep inside” type. But despite this, the characters still grow on you after a while, and the drama and complexity of the story around them help make up for flaws they may have. Other secondary characters such as David, Lewis, Julia, and Solomon have also had slight character development over the course of these episodes but nothing drastic. And though she’s a very intense antagonist, Diva’s erratic personality isn’t really anything that special. It seems that rather than the uniqueness and development of the characters, Blood+’s main outstanding feature is the complexity of the plot, the many chain of events within the story, and how they’re all gradually revealed and connected in the episodes.

The cinematography of Blood+ also continues to impress. Although the violence can get pretty extreme, like all good anime, it doesn’t ignore scenes of beauty. For example, in a scene in one of the earlier episodes where Mui is playing the piano, the whole time she’s playing we see random pretty and peaceful imagery go by, almost making us forget that this is really a very gory and violent show. The fact that the series is given beautiful scenes amid all the horrific scenes shows that it’s not underestimating the intelligence and sophistication of its audience. Many good anime series’ like Blood+ provide a mix of drama, violence, comedy, etc., together even though the series as a whole is usually classified in just one of theses categories. Though Blood+ is lacking in comedy (which doesn’t matter since it’s such a serious show, random comedy would only seem out of place) it makes up for in action, drama, mystery, and complexity. I’ve found the Blood+ page on Wikipedia very helpful. It has a useful timeline of all the many important events that links the series’ together.

The opening and ending songs of Blood+ continue to be above average too. The second opening, “Season’s Call,” performed solely by Hyde from the band L’arc-en-ciel, is an awesome song. The third opening, “Colors of the Heart” is great too, performed by Uverworld, who also sang one of my all time favorite openings, “D-techno Life” from Bleach. Both of these openings have almost “psychedelic” imagery, with the animation and character designs being incredibly stylized and different compared to the actual episodes. Though it’s a bit odd at first, it does add a unique mood to the series. The ending songs are pretty good too, my favorite so far being “Cry No More” by Mika Nakashima.

Well, guess that’s all I’ve got to say about half the episodes of Blood+. Not sure if I’ll have time to write a full series review, but maybe. It’s a series that always keeps you guessing and is quite unpredictable. Intense violence, complex sub plots, and an intricate web of past and present events that probably won’t all come together until the end of the series. And although the characters don’t stand out too much, they’re sympathetic and likable enough, and the drama and conflict of the story around them help add to that. If you like your anime serious and complex, with a good amount of action, drama and mystery (and you’re not at all squeamish about blood) then Blood+ is a definite recommendation =)