Blood Lad

Stark700★ 8

Vampires are overrated these days. The idea of them being in anime series isn't a new concept either. In fact, there's plenty of them already like Vampire Knight, Shiki, Rosario + Vampire, etc. Most of them involves some sort of strange faithful day event when the vampire gets caught up with a human in their world and then certain twists come that ties them to some sort of relationship. Only this time, it's a little a bit different. In Blood Lad, the vampire actually wants to help the human. Rather than treating them as a slave or food, this series takes a twist as ourvampiric friend Vlad Charlie Staz embarks on a journey to restore a human back to their mortal selves after a tragic event. (by tragic, I mean as in getting eaten alive) Blood Lad is an anime adapted series based off the manga of the same name written by Yuuki Kodama. The series takes the vampire theme idea and twists it into a humorous tale. That's because our otaku friend Staz has never met a human girl before. So, what happens when a young, pretty, and shy Japanese girl accidentally wonders into his territory? All hell breaks loose. Or rather for Staz, it's like the dream of a life time. After all, he's never met a human before. More so, Fuyumi Yanagi happens to be a girl with a Japanese background. It's a fun journey and one hell of a ride, for both our main characters. For starters, we know that Staz is a vampire but also a boss of sorts at his own territory. He has his own underlings for dirty work. Judging by his appearance, Staz also seems to be unemployed and is literally an otaku with the stuff he has hanging around his room. More interesting factors about his character reveals that despite being a vampire, he doesn't seem to have an appetite for human blood. Oddly enough though, he does have a bit of bloodlust towards Fuyumi. This spells out a sort of trouble for Fuyumi because Staz's lack of common sense. In fact, we can see that Staz only seems to lust after Fuyumi in the beginning because of her fresh scent of blood and body. Strangely though, his lust disappears after Fuyumi's death. But the fact that he still cares enough to help Fuyumi return to her normal life shows his sincerity. It almost seems to be human like for Staz because the lengths he goes to help Fyumi throughout the series despite numerous dangers that puts his own life at risk. Fuyumi on the other hand plays the role more of the eye-candy but also at times encourages Staz to be himself. It's an odd relationship between the duo but they sure stand out as entertainment. The other characters plays their part to fulfill the entertainment part as well. We got mad scientists, a witch, and werewolf that adds to the package of this series. Their diversity and abilities adds more flavor to the series that is not only tasty but also spices up some troubles for both Staz and Fuyumi. For instance, there's a rivalry between Staz and Wolf beyond just going at each other with fists. Then, there's also some sibling trouble for Staz later on that adds even more dangers to himself. It's a fun take to this series because Staz has to learn how to adjust without depending on others. It's the fact that Fuyumi depends on him this time as Staz learns more about humanity as well as himself. Despite the series having a relevant plot, it usually maintains more of a lighthearted and humorous atmosphere. This is evidenced by the various parodies in the beginning such as the stuff in Staz's room or the way that Fuyumi is killed. Even though she is dead, Fuyumi returns as a cute ghost and her method of death can also be surprisingly amusing. The show also plays on Staz's character by portraying him as a character with little knowledge of what's really there. For example, there are numerous times when Staz uses ideas he gets from Japanese manga which he reads from rather than common sense. On a more serious note, there's some revelations revealed later on that might surprise some viewers. Blood Lad also presents the supernatural relevantly well. Although not as grim as some series such as Shiki, this anime portrays Staz as a vampire with supernatural abilities. This is evidenced in the beginning as he is able to do various things that a normal human cannot. Then, there's the other characters too who displays their own sides of supernatural traits such as Wolf and his expertise in the boxing field or Hydrabell with her magic. Needless to say, the series' characters and setting combines elements of both the real world and the supernatural. Fan service is also an overused word but Blood Lad doesn't avoid it. In fact, there's plenty of those for both girls and the guys. Fuyumi fulfills the role of fanservice with her body structure as well as being stark naked from the very first episode after her fate. In fact, the way she looks must also been a trigger for Staz's bloodlust for her. It doesn't stop there either though as she has to depend on Staz in order to remain existent. To do, there's the finger sucking along with the baby bottles. Furthermore, she is often dressed in skimpy ways or in lascivious outfits. Even for the female audience, there's some service to offer when Staz and Wolf gets into a fight in their outfits. It's service for the fans and at times, they do get out of hand. Because the series defies any realism, expect some strange twists as well. It also doesn't fit within some vampire themes since Staz is shown to be stronger than the typical vampire with his resistance to certain weaknesses. Fuyumi also seems to play along with her new adjusted life even though she wants to return to her human life. The fact that the duo has gotten used to each other shows how much they value their relationship even if it's completely on bizarreness. It's what Blood Lad is anyways, a bizarre yet entertaining anime with more than just a love triangle or thirst for vengeance. Visuals wise, Brain Base does an alright job with its elements although some of the characters' designs looks rather generic. Fuyumi in particular is designed to look busty with girlish traits while Staz is more of the bad boy role. The characters all have some taste of their supernatural traits though whether it's a werewolf, vampire, etc. The supernatural world doesn't look as grim or too unusual compare to our own. On the other side, some of the monsters are portrayed as looking dangerous. The production values are decent though with style. Staz's sunglasses, Liz's headgear, and Wolf's silver hair are reflection of this in a humorous way. The soundtrack for Blood Lad is above par. The OP song "ViViD" by May'n has a rocky style with its presentation. Then, there's the action and comedy scenes where music matches its style. True to its premise, Blood Lad also has its occasionally eerie-like soundtrack playing during some of the more scenes fitting within this vampiric theme series. Staz's VA Ryota Osaka (Valvrave the Liberator: Haruto, Rozen Maiden: Jun, Hataraku Maou-sama: Sadao) recently began to play parts relating to young teenagers whose life is changed dramatically. Thus expect his talent to come in this series as well in the shoes of our vampire. On the other hand, Fuyumi's shy voice reflects her character in the new situation she is in. Overall, Blood Lad is a very fun series to watch and enjoy. To me, it shouldn't be taken serious despite its premise. In fact, there are many moments in this series where the fights and moments are portrayed as parody rather than anything too serious. However, Staz is serious about his mission to help Fuyumi return to being mortal once again. If I was entirely serious though, most of the series should be absorbed as fun and a different take on the vampire genre. It's not just about falling in love or achieving vengeance. Rather, Blood Lad plays on the values of a relationship between a human and a vampire to see how far they come. It's a journey that will quench your thirst if you're looking for some fun.

RazorRamona200★ 3

Ok, time to make my review of this 10 episode anime thing....then again, I think I should just quit beating around the bush and state by ratings for each of this anime's category. Story: mediocre 5. Ok, so vampires plots are overrated, and this anime follow the same path as that of the main character which has some similarities from "Hataraku Maou-sama" which is about a underworld big boss who doesn't wanna be a big boss anymore and desires a simple life in another place, in fact the plot is almost the same as the mentioned anime. Only the execution is different and it is almost (and I do mean "ALMOST") like a remake. Art: good 7. Ok, I'm gonna give the credit to Fuyumi and Hydra bell, co'z I like the way how they're illustrated. Sound: fair 6. ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ, Oh sorry I doze off, ok on this part I'm gonna refer to the main character's diction, intonation, enunciation, and tone as some what, ZZZZZZZZZ, eh! Ok so their voice seemly has that lack of sleep thing in it that one would make you want to doze off or it has the sleepy effect as if the character's themselves and I'm referring to Staz and Braz's who have been deprived of sleep for a very long time. However, I give this anime's category a 6 co'z I like the way Fuyumi's VA who delivers a sweet tone on to her character. As for the op and ed....I hate them both. Character, Enjoyment and Overall: poor 3. Character- It's all on Staz, everything about the character is too cliche especially when everything was place on him, other character's here are just antagonist waiting to be tamed by him, Fuyumi on the other hand is more of a sexy mascot than a damsel in distress as for Hydra Bell... I kind hate her dichotomy character which she's this liberated evil bitch in one hand which you wouldn't wanna bring home to mom and on the other hand she want's to be loved. Enjoyment- The enjoyment part of this anime is pretty stupid, in fact I can compared it to opening a safe where one wasted a lot of time and effort only to find out that the combination is just 12345. Just like this anime Staz when into a lot of effort to make Fuyumi a human again only to be flustered us audience that Fuyumi simply has to go back to her world to be human again, then again it also conflicts earlier episodes were Fuyumi and Staz did went into the human world and Fuyumi is still a ghost. It would have had a smart ending if Staz forces that Frankenstein doctor in his world to clone Fuyumi's body and have her soul posses it just like what Braz did to his father in the final part of the last episode. Overall- Brain Base, didn't do a good job of presenting this anime, then again, it was a good thing that they limit it to just 10 episodes. Overall, this series should be better off as a manga than an anime. Season 2? I wouldn't suggest it.