Blood - The Last
Vampire (2000)
By: CJ on October 12, 2006.
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| Manga Video (UK). Region 2 PAL. 1.85:1 English DD 5.1. English Subtitles. 46 minutes |
| The Movie |
| Cover Art |
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| Credits |
Director: Hiroyuki Kitakubo Starring: Youki Kudoh, Saemi Nakamura, Joe Romersa, Rebecca Forstadt
Screenplay: Kenji Kamiyama
Music: Yoshihiro Ike Country: Japan |
Saya, a vampire hunter, is sent undercover into
a US military base by a clandestine American agency
to seek and out and destroy the vampires that are
hiding out there. And so follows lots of bloodshed
and violence with Saya gruesomely dispatching the
fearsome creatures left, right and centre.
This is the very basic premise of this anime
release from Manga Video. The anime is startlingly
good, it has to be admitted, and the audio is
vibrant and powerful. Sadly, though, it's ultimately
all hot air. The story doesn't really involve
the viewer and it seems rather more like an excerpt
from a longer film as it runs for a relatively
short 46 minutes. There is no explanation as to
who Saya is, or where she originates from. The
only clue given is that she is the 'last original',
and from this we assume that she is vampiric herself.
The story itself doesn't dig deep enough into
how this situation has arisen, with vampires roaming
the earth that need destroying. It's a bizarre
little film indeed that doesn't make a whole lot
of sense.
Some reviewers believe that the 'vampires' are
little more than symbolic representations of the
American presence in Japan. A strange view, but
an interesting one nonetheless.
This is all high-velocity entertainment with
very little substance, but it's an enjoyable ride
even though one is left feeling a little dissatisfied
at its conclusion. |
| Video |
| The image quality of this disc is faultless. It
perfectly reproduces the striking visuals with startling
clarity. The colours are deep and rich with solid
blacks and no artifacting or colour bleeding. The
picture is clean and sharp and will certainly cause
no complaints amongst viewers. |
| Audio |
| The audio is suitably impressive with lots of
sound movement and atmospheric effects swirling
around the soundstage. The dialogue is clear and
perfectly audible, though the voice actors don't
really 'act' with any enthusiasm, coming over as
rather flat and unemotional. Another odd thing is
that not all the film is in English, some of it
is in Japanese with English subtitles. So, the Americans
speak English whilst the Japanese speak Japanese.
It makes a certain kind of sense to do it this way,
but seems a strange logic to employ on a film that's
intended for universal appeal. |
| Extra Features |
| Not exactly bursting with extras, Manga do
at least provide something. There is an image
gallery, which is basically just screenshots from
the main feature. Trailers for the film as well
as trailers for forthcoming Manga releases. There
is also a web link and some DVD ROM material,
as well as a reasonably interesting 'Making of'
featurette that looks at the making of Blood
- The Last Vampire. Not a bad provision
overall and probably more than enough for this
release. |
| The Verdict |
It's a superb disc, no doubt about that - it's
just a shame that the film didn't match its production
values. A shallow storyline that amounted to little
more than copious helpings of bloodshed and violence
fuelled by some unfathomable logic. Manga fans
probably won't be disappointed by this disc, but
the casual viewer may find themselves left a little
bewildered by it all. I must confess to finding
myself somewhat baffled by the whole thing…..
Still, it's an excellent disc and definitely
worth a look if Manga is your thing. |
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