Blood: The Last Vampire

Blood: The Last Vampire (2000)

Please note: this is a review for the 2000 anime film, not 2009 live-action movie.

Set in 1966, somewhere in America, Blood: the Last Vampire tells the story of Saya (voiced by Youiki Kudo), a vampire slayer told to go undercover as a schoolgirl to kill the vampires that lurk about within the school premises.

According to IMDb, Production I.G. wanted to make a three part anime series but due to budget and time restraints, they only had the money to make one installment and so they chose this, being the middle one and released it as a stand-alone film. It could have had a more simple storyline but the pity with Production I.G. is that they let Blood: the Last Vampire’s unfinished feel show. We get little insight into both the film’s characters and storyline. For example, characters are barely developed and the film finishes just when we gain a little bit of insight into the protagonist, you know, when we start to find her interesting after about 40 minutes! It’s a pity Production I.G. didn’t do enough work on the script in order to make the film’s short 40 minute running time (excluding end credits) more satisfying. The film could have been a little more simple and I don’t know why Production I.G. didn’t bother to do so.

If I had another flaw to pick fin this film, it would be the voice-acting. Some of it sounds quite dull. This particularly shows in the final scene where Saemi Nakamuri, the voice of Nurse Amano, sounds convincingly like she has been replaced with a computer. No, I am not exaggerating. Yes, that bad. And feel free to call this a cheap shot but Youiki Kudo - the voice actress for Saya - sounds a little constipated.

With all this said, it would be hard to say that I wasn’t entertained. The fact that I wanted more from this film made me want to watch it more. It is very fast-paced; the character of Saya, whilst not incredibly interesting, she is at least likeable; the atmosphere is unnerving; and the vampires look quite gruesome. This film is also known to be one of the first mix 2D and 3D animation together and although it is not as “groundbreaking” as it was back in 2000, since it is more common to see it in anime today, it still looks as good as it used to.

Blood: the Last Vampire is very short and undeveloped, but at least it’s fun, looks good and does not outstay its welcome. However, I hear there is a TV series called Blood+, which is supposed to be a longer version and apparently it’s good.

Signing off.

Last updated: 2011-05-06 04:58:00 by Maxie

Blood: The Last Vampire

The trailer made “Blood The Last Vampire” look really cool and certainly something to look forward to. I was also under the impression the Japanese were making the film. In reality, this was a French/Japanese/Hong Kong joint production, but with mostly American cast which is reflected upon the (lack of) quality. The fact is, non-Asians can’t do Asian themed flicks good (the latest reminder of it being “Dragonball Evolution”).

What is “Blood: TLV” all about? In the 16th century, the savage Onin war reduced Japan to a massive feeding ground. Assuming human forms, demons settled in among mortals to prey on the bloodshed. A fearless samurai named Kyomasa rose from the heart of evil and became the most revered demon hunter, only to be brutally slain by the oldest, vilest of all demons: Onigen. Centuries passed. Darkness reigns on. Then, a mysterious hunter emerged, joining forces with a shadow society known as the Council, she sets out to face her ultimate foe… ONIGEN!!! (Ta-na-na-NAAAA!)

It all sounds good and well on paper, but the the final product is full of crap. First of all, those not familiar with the equally named anime will probably be very confused by the story and will remain that way because the film doesn’t explain a thing. To put it shortly – it’s very rushed. The plot takes us from one scene to another in huge leaps and leaves you wondering. We’re in a military base, and the next thing you know we’re in a forest, for no apparent reason. At the end it’ll all seem like a big mess with no sense at all.

Our heroine is Saya (played by Gianna Jun), the mysterious hunter mentioned before, plus Alice (Allison Miller), a damsel in distress and a totally unnecessary character that served absolutely no purpose.

The film is also very, very cheesy and filled with clichés, but NOT in a good way. It has an awful script and even worse dialogue, and well… it just sucks. When Saya began whining like an emo kid, and Alice said to her, “Promise me one thing. Don’t ever doubt yourself”, I almost cried. Oh, the lameness! And it doesn’t get any better.

The special effects are decent. But that’s all. The fights are a little better, though. But again, don’t expect too much. There’s just a couple of them, and even the over abuse of slow-motion couldn’t save this flick. Plus, they totally lack originality. The best fight is the one between Kato Takatora, Saya’s sensei, and the demon ninjas. In fact, Kato was the most badass character in the whole film. The disappointment came with the last battle… Onigen, supposedly being the most powerful, most awesome, most everything demon(ess) of all, is no more than a puny whimp. Seriously, it has to be one of the lamest and most unexciting last bosses I’ve ever seen. Like, bam wham crash, “Gahhh! I’m dead!”. Oh, and the whole film is in English. Big mistake, whoever made that decision. I dare you to not laugh your ass off when this all powerful Onigen speaks in broken English.

The last disappointment, the final nail in the coffin for “Blood: TLV” being the musical score composed by none other than the great Clint Mansell. The man hadn’t had a bad score in his life, until now. I’m used to epicness from him, but this score here left much to be desired.

What could’ve been another epic story, turned out to be nothing more than a lame B-quality flick. A shame.

Rating: 4/10

- review by Ventilation Shaft

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Recommendations:

Watching on Wednesday: Blood: The Last Vampire

Title: Blood: The Last Vampire
Type: Movie
Age Group: Teens +
Release Year: 2001
My Rating: 4/5

Saya is a young female huntress who goes after demons. Her weapon is a katana (Japanese sword) and her skill is phenomenal.

She enrols into a Japanese school to keep check on the demons that are running free. During Halloween night, she encounters two demons disguised as humans. Scaring the hell out of the school nurse, Saya kills one of them before the other escapes.

Follow Saya as she slays demons in this hit animation in a world of terror and supernatural!

This is a quick anime movie that action enthusiasts will enjoy. There is a lot of mystery surrounding Saya and unfortunately, will never be revealed.

Characters background are never going to be looked into as the movie is pure action that follows Saya through one of her demon-slaying days.

Last updated: 2010-04-09 08:22:25 by user01

Blood The Last Vampire

Watching the trailer, I knew it is not my kind of movie but I went ahead to watch it because I’m a fan of the Korean lead actress, Jeon Ji Hyun, who is now known as Gianna in Hollywood.

Jeon Ji Hyun has established her career as a worthy actress through films like My Sassy Girl, Il Mare, etc. However, you could well say she degraded herself in her first Hollywood flick. Her ambitious effort to break into the Hollywood industry has caused nothing but harm to her reputation.

The story is about Saya, a Japanese vampire, who is destined to slain blood suckers and fight Onigen, The evilest of evil who killed her father.
Sounds like a nerdy film ey? Seriously I don’t know how the target audience is like for this film. The story doesn’t flow naturally, acting is doubious, make up and effects don’t give the kind of effect to suit the mood. It’s a total mess, relying heavily on special effect to make it look professional but it only results in the opposite. You end up laughing at them, like the majority of audience I watched with did. One more thing: when Saya meets Onigen I wish they had conversed in Japanese instead, so I won’t have to struggle to figure out what Onigen was saying. On the other hand, Saya’s pronunciation is very decent.

I feel bad for Jeon Ji Hyun but this movie is really beyond help. It’s the worst case of Asian actress trying to hit western market and could be the worst movie I’ve ever seen.

Mel says: 1.5/10 (If it wasn’t for Gianni, I would have scored it worse)

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