DVD Reviews
DVD Review: Blood+: Part One
By Jeff Swindoll
Apr 9, 2008, 12:33 GMT

Saya Otonashi is out for the blood of the undead as the vampire hunter’s adventures make their way onto DVD.  Sony is releasing this anime series in two flavors onto DVD with volumes containing five episodes apiece as well as two box sets containing twenty-five episodes each.  

Blood: The Last Vampire was a 2000 anime feature that told of a female vampire (or chiropterans) hunter who belonged to a secret organization called Red Shield and was set in the time period right before the Vietnam war.  The film was rather compelling and it was disappointing that it ran for only a scant 48 minutes since the character was so interesting. 

It was so popular that it spawned a manga (think Japanese comic book), two novels, a video game, and a live action film is said to be in the works.  This fifty episode animated series was also the result and now Sony brings it to DVD so that the abbreviated story of Blood can now be give some room to breath.

Saya Otonashi is a living with her adoptive family when she discovers that there’s more to her than then knew.  She has amnesia and therefore doesn’t know that she’s a vampire hunter.  It’s not until she’s attacked by a vampire that the truth is revealed.  She then goes on a journey with Kai and Riku, her adoptive brothers, Hagi, her protector, and a secret organization called Red Shield. 

She discovers that her past dates back as far as the 1800s and she must begin a journey to uncover both her purpose and her past.  

It takes some time to get going but when Saya unleashes her vampire butt kicking skills the show kicks into overdrive and those moments are the best on the show.  Saya is a bit of an unwilling slayer as it’s only when her bloodlust takes over that she lets it all loose. The show is made up of interesting characters, but does take some time to get going in its episodic format.

Sony has wisely decided to release the first twenty-five episodes as a box set and oddly also continues to release a first volume of five episodes of adventures.  I suppose this might be a wise move since some might want to give the series a test drive before forking out the money for the set, but once you add up the cost of collecting the volumes I think you’ll find that it’s probably cheaper to just get the set.

The set also comes with special features that the individual volumes won’t have.  I guess you can always rent volume one to get a taste of the show.  

Blood + is presented in fullscreen.  The special features of the box set are an hours worth of interviews, a T-shirt, and a preview of the Blood + manga from Dark Horse Comics.  

If you thought the film didn’t explore the characters of Blood in enough depth then this series should be to your liking.  That being said, since it is a TV show they do have to string things out to keep you watching so don’t expect any easy answers. 

If you’re familiar and like the show then you’ll want to get the set and if you don’t know anything about it then you might want to give the first volume a look.

Blood+: Part One is now available at Amazon. As of yet, there is not a release date for the UK. Visit the DVD database for more information.