Blood-C is one of the most unique anime series this year. Knowing nothing about the Blood universe or this series’ related works, I expected a series about a female vampire who has to hide her identity whilst blending in normal society. Upon it’s conclusion, the first thing that came across my mind is: “WTF did I just watch?”
Saya faces off against an "Aged One".
At first glance, our protagonist Saya seems to be a carefree and clumsy high school student who also has a aptitude for not understanding the mood. During the day, the series takes a stance almost similar to many other series in the slice-of-life genre. Saya goes to a local high school, talks to her friends about random things in the neighborhood, while the student president tries to win her heart. However, Blood-C turns into a gory action video during the nighttime. Seemingly, every night Saya uses her superhuman reflexes and the sacred sword from the shrine to protect the local populace from creatures known as the “Aged Ones”. From a superficial glance, it may seem as if the day/night cycle changes the mood of the series. Viewers will definitely be driven away by the initial ripostes, as the plot progresses very slowly, if at all, during the first third of the series. However, viewers who bear with the slow start might find themselves an enjoyable psychological-action anime. As she continues to protect the town’s residents from the flesh-eating monstrosities, the series’ central themes gradually make it’s way in. Who are the “Aged Ones” and why do they feed on humans? What is “the contract”? What significance does the room with the blood vials represent? My biggest gripe about the series is how suddenly the show decided to wrap itself up. Without much preparation, the plot becomes overly rushed during the final episodes, leading to an open ending that hopefully the movie sequel will solve.
Regrettably, one of the biggest flaws of this series lies within its art and animation department. The characters are all drawn as skinny and lanky, almost as if it was from a shoujo series stereotype. The background and set pieces vary in detail at almost every scene, which make it hard to appreciate the art style. Most of the time, everything looks undetailed and blurry, which does a lot negatively to he appeal of the series. However, the detail levels seem to suddenly increase on key items and action scenes, making it hard for users to adjust back to the usual mediocrity after feasting upon something visually better. The music and soundtracks in Blood-C is pretty standard. The use of (or lack of) background music during scenes really help set the mood and helps complement what is lacking in the art department. The animations are average at best. Nothing really stands out, and it shows what it needs to be done, no more, no less. The biggest gripe I have for the TV series is the censoring. For a series rated for a mature audience, the extreme amount of censoring is a huge put off. During action scenes where decapitation of humans is shown, a large and usually black or white censor bar is show to cover the severed parts. While this may be due to Japan’s strict system for on-air shows, the lazy implementation of the censor bar makes the anime ugly at times. During most scenes of the nature, it is not uncommon to have from one-third to over half of the screen censored.
Blood-C is a mediocre action/ psychological anime that not many will enjoy. Most viewers will undoubtedly abandon the series due to the gruesomely slow pace presented in the beginning, but fans who stick with the show, albeit its obvious flaws will be in for a slightly sub-standard anime with a rather unsatisfying ending.