Blood+ MAL Review
Note: This was the anime that started my MAL account - it was so bad, I felt I had to write an essay on it, hahaha. Tell the world how bad it was, offering catharsis.
TLDR: Watch Episode 30, and then return to the beginning (anytime from Episode 1 - 5). You'll thank me later.
Full version: Plot holes, plot holes everywhere. I was very excited going in. 50 episodes of what seemed like a promising series, good looking characters, and a bad ass female heroine? Sign me up, vampire novels (especially from Laurell K. Hamilton) are some of my most-loved books. Well, if you're also a fan of those books, don't bother with this trash, it's closer to Twilight in terms of poor quality.
Biggest problem: It moves too slow.
No anime, movie, or media, should take 30 episodes (that's 30*30 mins = 900 mins = 15 hours) to tell us a backstory that literally took 15 MINUTES.
I'm serious - if you skip Episodes 1 - 29, you won't miss anything. We don't learn anything about the protagonist (Saya), except that she has PTSD flashbacks every episode. The same two flashbacks. On repeat. No one explains anything until episode 30 (more than halfway through!), where there's a full conversation - and fully colored - flashback sequence.
The remaining 20 episodes have slightly better pacing, but can also be skimmed through. There's a lot of repetition, filler, and side character scenes that don't contribute to any developmental plot.
Main character:
Saya starts as an oversensitive and useless girl, and later becomes an insensitive and somewhat useful girl. That's all. I wasn't a fan of her at the beginning, but I really started to dislike her in the London arc.
It's totally understandable that most humans would need time to transition into e.g. the military, the battlefield, anywhere with a lot of violence and potentially death. PTSD and other triggers are natural. But Saya's aversion to killing does not seem to be something she can overcome at all, costing the precious lives of basically everyone else around her. And when she does manage to 'kill' monsters, her rate of success is about 1 out of 6. That's right.
1 out of 6, less than 20% effective.
I was expecting a goddess of destruction, and got a goddess of hesitation. Considering how she's repeatedly worshipped as the 'world's only hope' or salvation from monsters, 20% is a pretty dangerous rate to hedge your life on, imo.
Which leads me to another important point...
The bad guys in this show who don't die, get stronger. The heroine and her team members who die / don't die, seem to struggle to live even one more day. There is a weird power imbalance that could be described as watching a sports team play a game where they NEVER WIN. Throughout the series, Saya's team suffers from severe injuries, death, and tragedies, while the antagonist and gang remain... untouched. It is the opposite of most hero stories. So, even if Saya is weak, her team is sadly, not much better.
And yes, in case it isn't already obvious, the producers kill off a lot of amazing characters (but don't worry. The manga rights all these wrongs, and keeps the RIGHT people alive).
Side characters:
Almost all the side characters were entertaining and had excellent character depth. It was like all the creative writing that should've gone into Saya, went into the background characters instead. You start rooting for e.g. David and Julia, enjoying Lewis, Riku, Min, Moses, and Solomon (my favourite boy). The side characters kept me watching the more than Saya. Granted, not everyone was neccessary (like the Schiff), but the dialogue and personalities came to life for each of them, and is possibly the series only redeeming point. Heck, I'd rate Saya a 2/10, and the supporting characters a 10/10.
The only 2 side characters I could do without, would be Kai and Haji. Kai is full of denial, selfish, projecting his insecurities on others, an arrogant troublemaker, and incestuous towards his sister. He always causes problems for others, and then doesn't take responsibility afterwards. I firmly believe he should've stayed in Okinawa and gotten married to Mao. He would've been happier, and his life goals would've been the same.
Haji had a lot of potential, but slowly became a silent 1D character, more like a human shield and servant for Saya. His past and personality should've been explored more, and there was a hint of it in like, the last 2 episodes, and then it was gone. His strength was also weak compared to many bad guys, always in defensive stance vs. attacking, and unable to wound any of them. A lot of good intention, but overall a passive and forgettable character.
Other notes
- Plot holes around Saya, her parents, chevaliers, the species, biology, are never explained fully, if at all. I was frustrated throughout the episodes and referenced the manga often, just to understand what the * was going on. They don't even mention the word 'vampire,' even though that's what they are, extremely evolved bat creatures.
- Content is predictable for anyone who knows basic World History and world geography. Judging from the rave reviews, a lot of people don't.
- I couldn't stand the music / soundtrack. The series plays like 10 variations of the same song (the antagonist singing), at least once per episode. It's not even a full song, by the way, just a 20 second melody. Gets tiring, fast, so mute your volume and read the subtitles if it gets unbearable for you too.
- Considering how burdensome Saya was, I was really hoping she would die at the end and give it a clean break. Nope. Instead, all the irritating characters stay alive, and the best ones remain dead.
All in all: This series was a waste of time, psychologically dark, and I wouldn't recommend it. The manga appears to be much better and a quick read, though there are many character differences.
The original review on MAL: View here