Blood: The Last Vampire
A Parent's Guide to Anime
Rated: M
Recommended for Mature Audiences
Reviewed by :
With the world on the brink of the Vietnam War, a military base in Japan (Yokoto Air Base) is having its own problems. Past the chainlink fences and security checkpoints, there lurks something not of this world.
Many children in the base's high school have been found dead from heavy blood loss. The officials have just been saying that the children were suicidal, but that is just a cover up. The real reason is right under their noses. Strange batlike creatures called Chiropterans, which mimic characteristics typical of vampires, that can disguise themselves as humans.
So what does the government do about it? They bring in a young girl known as Saya to take out these creatures. Saya poses as a high school girl and hunts down these Chiropterans on Halloween to go unnoticed.
But the thing is, Saya is incredibly, and freakishly, good at what she does. She hunts the Chiropterans down with a mere sword and brute strength without a thought.
So then, what exactly is Saya?
When I found out that this movie was made by the people who did Ghost in the Shell, I knew it had to be good. But I did not know that it would be a masterpiece.
The one thing that got me right from the start was the animation. It was, for lack of a better word, perfect. This animation was the smoothest I have ever seen. I could not believe my eyes. It is really the kind of thing you have to see for yourself. The fight scenes were some of the best I've seen.
Another thing that got me was the mood of the movie. Even though it was fairly short, it never lost this tense, suspensful, edge of your seat darkness. (That's one way of putting it...)
And what was really a good move on the writer's part was actually making it too short. They never really explained what really went on. It leaves it up to your imagination. In fact, they left it open for a sequel, but I'm keeping my lips shut about that...
As the title suggests, this movie is bloody. It starts right off the bat with a scene on a train where Saya whips out her sword and kills a guy. (They explain in the movie that the only way to kill a Chiropteran is to make it lose a lot of blood in one hit). It only gets bloodier from there. (There is one scene in a nurse's office that really makes you shudder). But what makes it is that the creators did not go over the top with the violence. It is not disgusting at all. There is no gore, just a whole lot of blood. Literally, it is in rivers. But don't get discouraged. The bloody scenes are very quick and not over the top.
I highly recommend this movie. If I had my way, this would be the best anime ever.
Parent's Guide Rating:
red (recommended for mature audiences)
VIOLENCE: Lots. But brief, and not overly done. It is not any worse that say, Battle Angel. But it is not for the weak of heart.
SEX: None.
NUDITY: A little. Nothing below the waist.
LANGUAGE: A little. S---, F---, and A**hole (one instance of each).