BLOOD THE LAST VAMPIRE

MOVIE

MOVIE
Dubbed
SOURCE
ORIGINAL
RELEASE
November 18, 2000
LENGTH
48 min

DESCRIPTION

Teropterids are evil beasts which pose as humans and live only to drink human blood. Fortunately for the human world there are groups dedicated to destroying them. A brooding and mysterious girl named Saya is the best teropterid slayer there is, and now, in 1960's Japan, she is sent to a U. S. army base which may be infested...

(Source: Anime News Network)

CAST

Saya
Yuuki Kudou
David

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Cover Art for Blood: The Last Vampire (2002)

MANGA HorrorBlood: The Last Vampire (2002)

REVIEWS

saulgoodman
80/100
Vampire hunting devoid of a strong story but overwhelmingly compensated by phenomenal visuals
Before their reclaim to fame with Haikyuu and PSYCHO-PASS, Production I.G. was well-known for their callous militaristic works, such as Ghost in the Shell, Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade, Patlabor, among others. Of course, it's in bad taste to mention the aforementioned titles without their director; Mamoru Oshii. Extremely partial to dystopian and political themes, Oshii's acquaintance with the studio birthed many classics still ripe and praised to this day.

Then there's Blood: The Last Vampire. The 48-minute film isn't as held in as illustrious of a light as its brethren, but proved to be somewhat of an anomaly production-wise and an overlooked entrant in Oshii's track record. While Ghost in the Shell and Jin-Roh primarily relied on hand-drawn animation cels, Blood was one of the anime medium's first test tube babies with overwhelming digital animation. Blood stirred up some attention for other reasons, as well.

Less than an hour of sailor-fuku and vampires

Blood's runtime of a mere 48 minutes is its most glaring weakness. Even with films twice its runtime, proper character development and a structured story is often impeded. And with Blood, their presence is made even less scarce. Character development need not be mentioned, since characterization in Blood is shrouded and gaping with a lack of background context. Most notably, is Saya's character. Her interaction in the film was befuddling, to say the least. Violent and snarling at a man's exasperated sigh of "Oh, Jesus...", I had to rewind the scene a few times to ensure character context hadn't escaped my view. This sentiment carries over several times over the course of the film. As such, Blood feels much more like a fragile exo-skeleton of a concept, rather than a solid film. However, the concept it's built on is solid and so is many other parts of Blood that overwhelmingly compromised for my enjoyment.

A bit too grand for its allocated runtime, the premise follows Saya, a sailor-fuku clad girl of obscure origin, hunting down vampire-esque creatures called Teropterids. Note the "obscure origin" and "Teropterids". Had Saya been given quick and simple characterization denoting her origins and the Teropterids simply being labeled vampires, it would've inflicted suitable modesty for the film's short runtime. Nonetheless, the shrouded mystery behind the premise is one to keep your eyes peeled for from the get-go, though you may be left with insatiate hunger.

Though character context is left untouched, Saya's narrow character is filled with her drive to eliminate the Teropterids. Blood: The Last Vampire is just one of Saya's many violent ventures, as she infiltrates an American military base school to out several of her prey. There's little deviation and filler in its story, Saya's sword cuts down a straightforward path of cruel gore and splattered blood. Saya wastes no time quite literally sniffing out her prey and slicing them down, albeit delayed due to a certain Japanese school nurse.

There's no room for substantial characterization, character development or story context in Blood's earnest drive for gore and action. However, labelling it as a one-stop goreshow or B-list horror flick is wrong. Blood is certainly not a politically-driven, dystopian setting film you'd expect from Production I.G., but it has its semantic merits in depicting the intense emotions and atmosphere encapsulated in a 48-minute concept film.

We're going digital

Though Hiroyuki Kitakubo directed the film, Blood starts off with a Oshii-flavored bang. That is, the high-sprung action sequence devoid of context. Despite the lack of dialogue, the silently macabre train sequence loudly speaks on the phenomenal, fluid digital animation and low-lighting. 3DCG and 3D imaging still has quite a stigma today, but Blood is one to dispel. Smoothly intermixing the characters with 3D-rendered background, the sequence lacks any awkward hints. The low-level lighting is just as amazing to bear witness to, with the train's fluorescent lighting buzzing to faint darkness, casting muted tones on Saya's face as she runs with shaky motion blurring.

Animation-aside, the music and sound production is also boasted in this first sequence. The lack of dialogue is compensated by the increasingly ominous orchestra, jagged clinking-and-clunking of the train and finally a very Hollywood-esque chase sequence sound track ended with a slicing impact. The superb sound production and finely selected music carries over for the rest of the film. Though I'm hard-pressed to label Blood as a horror film, the soundtrack is reminiscent of such, with occasional eeriness accompanying climaxing scenes. The majority of the film features action and gore, and as such, intense and upbeat tracks synchronize with them.

Going back to the visuals, the character design is nearly as favorable as the fluid animation. Katsuya Terada, a video game designer, was enlisted to draw the characters and proved to be a fine choice. There's a rough and rugged sense to the characters, primarily due to the the thick lines. Aside from being visually strong, it also works well to accentuate their animated facial expressions. Saya is the most outstanding example. Her stern scowl morphing into rage sees her flashing eyes, creasing lines pushing against her forehead and her mouth rampaging. The fantastic character animation plays a substantial role in conveying the detail in facial expressions, as well, but the designs in it of themselves are absolutely strong and detailed.
__Here's a [20 minute documentary](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K5m0ApXDLbo) detailing the production process of the film, if you're interested!__

English, Motherfucker, do you speak it?

As I mentioned at the start, Blood had received attention for another reason. Which is, its English dub. Yes, Blood was intended and created to be dubbed in English with Japanese subtitles. Along with 3DCG, English dubs don't have the most cherished reputation. As for Blood, what can I say?

It initially felt uncanny, particularly with the first conversation. Robotic, is the best I could describe it. Though the voice actors actually did, the flow of the conversation felt as if the lines were read off a script without much fluidity. As the film progressed, however, the unnatural sense faded with occasional awkwardness that still didn't impede my enjoyment much.

Very little Japanese is spoken, limited to just Saya and the nurse's conversations. Thanks to this, you'll be able to enjoy the cum-inducing visuals to their full extent.

Conclusion

Blood: The Last Vampire is much more than a concept film than what its incomplete story and characters may lead you to believe. The use of 3DCG and imaging is far removed from its nefarious reputation, offering a fluid feast of action and movement, both intense and subtle. The low-level lighting and tones boost the quaint, yet macabre atmosphere of this film. High quality on the technical side, enjoyment is left satiated by the end of this 48-minute course of gore and blood.

Still, the incomplete nature of Blood may require light stomach medicine after this stunning feast. Trailing off at the end with a mere, final hint at Saya's character, there's an obvious compromise of visual and atmosphere over vivid story. Blood is very much a story drugged up on its superb atmosphere and production, rather than impactful characters.

Blood: The Last Vampire left me burping and rubbing my stomach. I relished this appetizer of a film for being one of the first to usher in the age of digital animation. However, beyond just that value, Blood is a fantastic supernatural and action film that I could repeatedly watch purely for its production value. Among with its more famous brethren in Production I.G.'s catalog of films, Blood: The Last Vampire is one just as valuable.

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Calxylian
70/100
Blood: The Last Vampire is a pretty straightforward take on violence.
Blood: The Last Vampire is a sizeable departure from the usual style of I.G. productions and anime in general. It's not the story or characters that are different but the production techniques. The movie dropped traditional animation methods and went all-digital, moving away from the classic "clean and simple" style that's been the norm in animation for ages. The sound is also different, especially in the English dub, which isn't your typical adaptation. Plus, the film aims at a different audience than the usual anime crowd.
But does the change in style work?
The story is a pretty straightforward take on violence. Blood: The Last Vampire has a chilly mix of characters like a vampire, a schoolgirl in a sailor uniform, and scary winged creatures. The straightforward storytelling is a strong point of the movie. Unlike many anime that go for over-the-top drama, like some of the fight scenes in My Hero Academia, the film keeps it direct.
Blood: The Last Vampire offers a really cool take on fantasy action. Since it's an original concept, it doesn't have to stick to any existing story, giving the writers a lot of creative freedom to shape the plot however they want. Director Hiroyuki Kitakubo adds to the experimental vibe by playing with the material. The story moves quickly from beginning to end, keeping viewers engaged. The world-building is pretty minimal. But any background details are given straightforwardly and efficiently, fitting the overall style.
The movie's simple storytelling is fresh air, keeping things clear instead of confusing. But it's not perfect. The main problem is the ending—it feels rushed and doesn't tie up all the loose ends, leaving viewers hanging. Some folks might find that frustrating. However, not everyone will see it as a big deal when watching the movie.
So, as we've talked about before, Blood: The Last Vampire is a pretty giant departure from how anime usually gets made. But let's dive deeper into what that means and why it's such a big deal.
Blood: The Last Vampire looks stunning. They ditched the old-school animation style for digital, then cranked up the frame rate, making the animation smooth. Plus, they went for a rugged character design, with bold lines and rough edges, giving everything a more natural feel. They keep the colors and lighting pretty low-key, which, combined with the digital animation and textured character designs, creates some seriously cool visual effects. There's this thing called "motion blur" that adds to the whole immersive vibe.
The animation in Blood: The Last Vampire feels so real, especially with how the human characters and the creepy Chiroptera move. It's way more lifelike than what you'd expect from anime. One big reason for this is how they designed the characters with rough lines instead of the usual clean ones. The leading character designer, Terada Katsuya, says that the natural world doesn't have perfect lines. So, by going for this rougher look, the movie manages the characters to feel super expressive, showing all sorts of emotions through their movements and expressions.
Blood: The Last Vampire did something cool with its audio instead of sticking to the usual Japanese soundtrack with subtitles. This was a big deal because it was the first time an anime was made specifically with Western fans in mind. It shows that Production I.G. was thinking about the Western anime market. The English dub was mainly there to make the movie more appealing to Western viewers who prefer watching stuff in English. But here's the twist: this decision helped the movie do well in Japan. Japanese audiences were intrigued by seeing a Japanese anime in English, with Japanese subtitles, making it stand out even more as a unique and innovative film.
Besides adding an English dub, Blood: The Last Vampire goes the extra mile with its sound design. The sound effects are super detailed, capturing every punch, crash, and squelch in the action scenes. And those creepy Chiroptera? Their sounds will send shivers down your spine with their mix of whines and screeches. What's chilly is that background noise, like distant traffic or human chatter, keeps things subtly intense. This makes the world in the movie feel more actual but also highlights the contrast between Saya's brutal fights and the everyday noise, making her mission stand out even more.
Blood: The Last Vampire switches things up with its music compared to typical action anime. Instead of big, booming orchestral scores, they take a more subtle approach. There are bits of atmospheric music here and there, used smartly to ramp up tension in certain scenes. But it's not too intense; they make it doesn't drown out the story or the sound effects. This low-key style works well, adding to the emotional impact of tone moments without taking away from the overall vibe. While using understated music to build tension isn't new, this movie shows how effective it can be when done right, with just the right balance of skill and restraint.
Blood: The Last Vampire looks and sounds terrific, no doubt about it. But all that focus on making it visually and aurally stunning kind of comes at a cost to the story. While the characters are shown well, they don't have depth or complexity. With the short runtime, there's not a lot of chance for them to grow. We get bits and pieces of Saya's story, but it's not enough for a dive into her character. This might bum out viewers who like getting into the nitty-gritty of character development. But if you're just in it for the action-packed thrill ride, you might not mind too much that the characters aren't super fleshed out.
Blood: The Last Vampire is a big deal in anime, even though it doesn't always get the recognition it deserves. Aside from its fantastic action scenes and some of the best in the genre, the movie did some groundbreaking stuff that's now common in anime. Critics loved it, and it was a hit in Japan and the world, racking up plenty of awards and praise along the way.
But it's worth noting that not everyone will love Blood: The Last Vampire as much as others. It looks and sounds brilliant, with all the action and fresh visuals, but it might not be everyone's cup of tea. If you're more into deep character development and complex storytelling, this movie might not hit the mark for you. But if you're all about style and action, you'll probably dig it.
Some might see Blood: The Last Vampire as just a way to promote the manga and light novels, especially with its characters feeling a bit shallow and some loose ends in the story. And you know what? They're not wrong. But there's another way to look at it. If you think of the movie like those classic action flicks—Speed, Rush Hour, or anything with Bruce Willis or Jason Statham—you'll get what it's going for. It's all about the thrilling action scenes and cold visuals, not so much about deep characters or a super detailed story. It's like your classic popcorn entertainment. That's not to say it's not artistic, though. Its strength lies in being super entertaining and visually impressive, just like those action classics. So, instead of focusing on its narrative flaws, it's better to appreciate it for what it is—a kick-ass action movie that's a feast for the eyes.
Blood: The Last Vampire is a big deal in anime; if you haven't seen it yet, you're in for a treat. It broke the mold in anime production, not just with its cool technical stuff but also with its story and style choices. It showed Western audiences and critics that anime is getting more sophisticated. Personally, I loved it. It's a wild ride from start to finish, skipping the deep stuff for fun. And it nails it, giving you exactly what it promises—an action-packed blast.
Blood: The Last Vampire nails what it sets out to do: entertain. Everything from its story to its visuals to its action scenes keeps you hooked, even if it's not trying to be thought-provoking. While choosing to focus on being fun is legit, this movie proves it can work like a charm.
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