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Blood-C: The Last Dark
Anime Review
Blood-C The Last Dark is the movie which continues the storyline set up in the TV series Blood-C. And while Blood-C the TV series was a clever juxtaposition of happy-go-lucky Saya by-day; followed by her transforming into hunter-killer Saya by night; and then the entire series turning itself on its ear by revealing that the entire set-up was fake; I'm afraid that Blood-C The Last Dark is a straight up revenge movie with little about it being original or clever.
 Saya has made her way off the island, has obviously regenerated the parts of herself that went missing in the final episode, and is looking to kill Fumito; as well as any nasty things he sends her way. It's not a bad action movie, it's just that the events seem trite and the supporting characters are meaningless. This film may be evidence that CLAMP has run its course, and the once popular group has run out of ideas.
In fact CLAMP provides a crossover just to prove that they can still do it; and yet it still feels as if it's being forced, and you're actually wincing and feeling that maybe it would have been more entertaining, original and more of a plot twist if they *hadn't* done it. Still, the doggie was in the TV series and I guess they needed to confirm that it was indeed Watanuki.
All that said, if you're a fan of the entire BLOOD franchise; or you just want to see how this ends up, or you're just interested in a good looking action film despite the vapidity of this effort; go for it. I was able to get through it; I'm sure you can too!
Reviewed by by Brian Cirulnick, January 2013
Blood-C
Anime Review
Blood-C could seem like yet another pedantic, boring, typical "school-girl fights bad guys with a sword, and then goes to school as if nothing happened..." -- except that it isn't.
Oh no, this is from CLAMP. Trust us, everything you're watching isn't what you're watching. If you've seen films like 'The Truman Show' or 'Cabin in the Woods' you *might* be able to suspect what's coming, but, you won't.
The clues are all there however; the show is so finely designed and directed, you just fall into it and accept what's going on, but then our central character Saya stops to pick up a small dog in the roadway, and she comments to the dog "Oh, you could be hit by a car doing that."
 And she stops and looks around. There are no cars on the road. In fact, they linger on it, and then pull out to a wider shot. There are NO cars on the road. Anywhere.
Yes, Saya lives in a picture-perfect little town, loves her dad, really likes her morning coffee, goes to school, interacts with her friends, and then at night becomes a demon slayer, performing a function her family has done for generations.
Except it's all fake. That's not what's going on at all. There are never any pedestrians on her way to school each day. In fact, you never see anyone except the people she's supposed to interact with...
 She's reminded by the demons she kills that she must "honor the covenant", except she doesn't know what that means. Or she doesn't remember. You see, Saya is the same character from 'Blood the last Vampire' and 'Blood+'. And, like Blood+, when Saya's eyes turn red, there's going to be a lot of blood splattering going on. At first I wondered about the black-and-red school uniforms, and then I realized, as the characters themselves do later on, that it *is* to hide the blood stains.
Production I.G. and Clamp have teamed up to produce Blood-C and it's a winner, and at only 12 episodes it's fairly quick to get through, even though you may feel that watching the first of the two DVDs was a waste of time. But trust us, sit through the whole thing. Otherwise, you'll miss all the Hitchcock-like nuances that build slowly, making this the first true suspense series of anime, rather than the usual hack and slash horror series.
 But, after episode 6, Saya's whole world goes upside-down. Everything she thought she knew about her life turns out to be a lie, and by the time we reach the final, hilariously over-the-top gruesome episode, we are left knowing that the upcoming movie based on this series is going to kick some major ass.
Reviewed by Brian Cirulnick, March 2013
Below: Scenes from Blood-C.
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Below: Promotional illustrations for Blood-C.
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