TRINITY BLOOD
Still looking for the third gun
Review by: M.H. “Valentinez Alkalinella Xifax Sicidabohertz Gombigobilla Blue Stradivari Talentrent Pierre Andri Charton-Haymoss Ivanovici Baldeus George Doitzel Kaiser III” Torringjan
Length: 24 episodes
Genre: Action
Watched: Entire series, subbed
I’ve been entirely too lazy in my duties as website-owner recently, what with my grad school duties and personal life crowding in on my all-important slacking duties. So, this series’ review has been sitting on the preview page long since it finished its first run on Cartoon Network. My initial reaction after three episodes, for those of you who haven’t read it (everyone but twenty or so people), was that it was just a pretty cross between Trigun and Hellsing. After watching the remaining 21 episodes, I can say with confidence that my reaction hasn’t changed all that much.
Plot summary: In yet another post-apocalyptic future where a race of aliens has descended and invaded the planet (I’m starting to think this could actually happen based on popular opinion alone), the vampire aliens and humans are locked in a conflict over control of the planet. The Vatican has taken control of maintaining peace on the planet (due in part to their stellar record of peace-keeping throughout history) and protecting humanity from the vampires. One of their forces is Abel Nightroad, a mysterious yet goofy guy who is given the special tasks set forth by the Vatican. When a diplomatic mission to the vampire queen goes awry, though, will Abel and his partner, Esther, be able to prevent all-out war between humans and vampires?
Artwork: One of the better points of the series, the artwork is very detailed, with a distinct gothic style (an obvious play to the Hot Topic demographic of anime fans) that Gonzo seems to excel at. The character designs are very individual and recognizable, with some exotic designs mixed in. These characters are often draped in black or white, which goes well with the gothic feel of the series. However, some of the puffy clothes are a little bit over the top and remind me uncomfortably of M.C. Hammer. Overall, a variety of colors are used in different settings, and add to the mood of the setting. This artistic design is easily one of the more eye-catching in recent memory.
Music: While the series usually elects for silence to set mood for it, its soundtrack is filled with tense instrumental beats that set the mood during battle scenes or looser tunes for the calm moments. For the most part, the music is pretty nice, although it can suffer from overuse towards the end of the series. The opening track is a decent rock tune, but nothing really special, making this an odd example of a series without a good opening track but with decent in-episode music.
Characters: The similarities of this series to a certain other gun-slinging anime series are pretty thick at times, starting with the main character. Abel Nightroad is a large, pale guy with an unassuming look on his face when he isn’t fighting. His easygoing attitude and laid-back philosophy are ever-present and lead to getting him in trouble at times. However, once he enters battle, the façade drops, revealing a skilled fighter with sharply honed abilities beyond those of most humans. He has a mysterious past that ties into his special abilities and is linked to an ominous man whom he doesn’t seem to like very much. Esther is a young nun who just entered the services of the Vatican. She has a history with the vampires, as they killed her family, leading her to distrust all vampires inherently. Although she can be rash at times when dealing with the vampires, she has a tender heart underneath and is willing to listen to reason. She develops a close relationship with Ion Fortuna, the Duke of Moldova, a vampire caught up in the political wrangling of a secret organization. He is young, and initially mistrusting due to betrayal by his childhood friend. However, with time, he reveals himself to be a strong and understanding boy. The antagonists of the series are varied and mostly shrouded in mystery, as part of a secret organization. While the protagonists are fairly well developed and given plenty of screen time, there is precious little attention paid to the development of the Contra Mundi forces or to the Yang of Abel's Yin. While there is a decent abundance of badasses in the series, there is a void in the field of the bad guys that should have been filled.
Plot: The main plot of the series isn’t touched on until about halfway through, but until then, it’s mainly episodic. The episodic parts serve to set up the overall plot, but as individual episodes, they aren’t as interesting as the overall plot. One point of concern is the strong similarity of the major plot points to those in Trigun. And I’m not talking about a slim similarity of plot, like Black Cat. I’m talking you could put a V in front of the main character’s name, and you’ve got a lawsuit. So, while it is a well-written series and a pretty interesting story, they could have come up with something a little bit more original.
CHICKS!! Admittedly, this is one point that Trinity Blood excels over Trigun. The series provides with sufficient eye candy to keep the fanboys happy, while Trigun had two chicks short on hotness. The main heroine, Esther, is a treat for the eyes and another in a recent line of characters playing to the Nun fetishists. Her white nun outfit looks about two sizes too small for her profession, as it really flatters her figure. However, none of her superiors seem to be questioning it, so neither will I! She has a strong, determined personality and is willing to listen to you. We don’t know much about her romance interests, though, so I can’t say exactly what’ll make her drop the habit. The vampire girl who helps out Abel on the diplomatic mission, Astharothe, is a serious hottie and tough as nails; Stan will definitely be getting her number sometime in the near future. And any guy has to admit that the concept of a girl sucking their blood is freaking hot.
Overall: I really wanted to like this series, what with its sleek look and the other decent technical aspects. However, the extreme similarity of the series to Trigun made me wonder why, if the writers of Trigun were able to come up with two versions of the same story, the writers of this series couldn’t come up with another of their own. I’m not familiar with the manga of this series, but one would hope that it has a more original plot than the series.
IN A NUTSHELL:
+ Nice artwork
+ Exciting action scenes
+ Hot chicks
+/- Hit-or-miss soundtrack
- Reused plot elements
Final score: 7/10
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