BLOOD: THE LAST VAMPIRE
Never judge a schoolgirl by her cover
Review by: Craig "I Never Drink... Wine" Norris
Length: 45 minute movie
Genre: Action, horror
Watched: All
I was surprised at the length of this feature film when I first picked it up. I had seen many single episode OAVs that had been as long or longer. Still, I knew it was more than possible to pack a blockbuster plot into that short span of time, and I thought that this title, which I had heard described as highly acclaimed, would do just that. Unfortunately, This movie's fulfillment of my expectations fell shorter than the running time.
Plot synopsis: A secret U.S.-based organization that specializes in the extermination of vampires has recently received word of a vampire presence on a United States airfield in Yokota, Japan. In order to eradicate this threat, the organization dispatches its most accomplished agent, a young girl named Saya. Disguised as a transfer student attending the nearby school, Saya must kill the vampires jeopardizing the airfield, as well as ensure the safety of the students and faculty.
Artwork: The best I've ever seen. The cel animation is nothing short of brilliant, surpassing everything I have seen to date. There is also some 3D animation mixed in, and it blends well for the most part, despite a handful of scenes where it is very noticeable. Character designs are very well rendered and pleasing to the eye (although the school principal looks like he has a blond tribble nesting on his head). Backgrounds, use of color, and overall ambience is about as flawless as I've ever seen. Action scenes are all very smooth, and sometimes the picture even shakes a bit to emulate live-action camera work, a very nice touch. As a whole the animation is phenomenal, and is really the centerpiece of this movie.
Music: Not great, but not bad, either. The soundtrack is similar in style to VHD: Bloodlust, but is much more limited and not executed with the same degree of success. Still, the tracks aren't bad, and they seem to fit very well with the dark mood present throughout.
Characters: Really not much to tell. Saya is a member of a government organization that hunts vampires. She fights with custom swords and is multilingual, often alternating between English and Japanese during the film. As far as her past, relatives, hobbies, or favorite color, nothing. She is not developed past being a tool for the organization. At least, not until the end, when the truth about her is revealed in a weak twist that Stevie Wonder could see coming. The only other main character is the school nurse, whom we never learn the name of. Basically, all she's there for is to get freaked out and scream at the vampires, and bear witness to Saya's penchant for slicing them up. Almost no character development is one of the main failings of this movie, of which there are several.
Plot: Again, really not much to tell. Saya kills a bunch of vampires at a school in Japan. The end. The deeper implications of the presence of these creatures is never fully revealed, other than the common sense explanation that it would be really bad if there were any at all. So many questions get left unanswered, such as why is Saya helping the U.S. government, why does she kill vampires at all, and why (and how) did vampires show up in Japan? The movie does a great job taking 45 minutes to pose these questions, but it ends before it can answer any of them.
CHICKS!: Well, a main problem of this movie is that most of the cute schoolgirls we get introduced to wind up turning into 8 foot-tall, butt-ugly, blood-guzzling demons. And that's a bad thing when you're looking for eye candy. Really, the only one that's worth a look is Saya. Other than the fact that she's pissy, frigid, and an overall bitch to everyone around her, she's not that bad looking. Sometimes, if her face is lit a certain way, her lips look like she took a sucker-punch in the face from Lennox Lewis, but other than that she's quite the comely lass. That's really all there is to speak of in terms of chicks. Unless you like them middle-aged and frumpy, in which case the school nurse is right up your alley. Who knows, maybe if I were in a retirement home and desperate for tail I would make a pass at her, but not a moment before.
Overall: Aside from the jaw-dropping artwork, this movie has very little to offer. Compared to other vampire hunter anime, namely Hellsing and VHD: Bloodlust, this film fails to deliver anything of value besides its visuals. And while the effort put towards the art is appreciated, it can't cover up all the other shortcomings. Only watch this movie if you're really itching to see some vampires get smacked down, and won't mind being left thoroughly confused in the process.
IN A NUTSHELL:
+ Astounding artwork
- Next to no character development
- Very thin plot
- Too short
Rating: 4/10
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