PinkuBentoBox

A few weeks late, but I figure I might as well start from the beginning. While Negs currently has his hands full covering Mai-ZHiME (don’t worry, you’ll hear my take on the series as well, but he’s the primary commentator on that one), I’ve decided to take on a similar role for one of the other big titles this season, Blood+. Production I.G.’s latest, the show’s actually come as a bit of a surprise to me. Wanting more development on what we were given in the short Blood movie that debuted a few years ago, the initial presentation of the series prior to its debut left me disappointed, and the advertised timeslot left me expecting some toned down, generic shounen remake of the story instead of any sort of legitimate continuation. Needless to say, when I actually got around to watching the first episode, I was pleasantly surprised. While it does retain some shounen adventure anime clichés, it still doesn’t pull very many punches, and leaves numerous openings for potential tie-ins to the previous Blood installments. So, with a newer, more positive outlook on the series, I’ve decided to take on the task of covering it here, episode by episode. And yes, I know I’m about three episodes behind, but by all accounts I have about 48 more weeks to catch up. No problem, right?

Oh, by the way, if you don’t want to be spoiled on the Blood short movie or Blood 2002 manga, I suggest you either watch and read them respectively right now, or avoid reading any further. Many of my theories heavily involve major plot points presented in both, and I won’t be making any attempt to hide them behind any sort of spoiler tags or anything. You’ve been fairly warned. Well now, let’s get to it, shall we?

The opening scene of Blood+ is quite telling, and goes a ways in backing up some of my theories about how this series may, in fact, link up with prior Blood incarnations. We’re shown what appears to be the US military fighting in Vietnam in the 1960s, which fits the timeline established in the short film, as it depicted Saya hunting Chiropterans on an Okinawan military base just days prior to the start of the Vietnam War. However, something strange is happening; as Saya is fighting Chiropterans in this jungle setting, she suddenly begins attacking humans. And towards the end, she appears to be aligning herself with the Chiropteran monsters she was originally charged with killing. Now at the end of the movie, she appeared to be showing the first signs of sympathy for the creatures, giving one a taste of her blood as something of a farewell for the dying creature. And in the Blood 2002 manga, we see Saya going rogue in the end, abandoning her role as a protector of humans to prey on them herself.

So we have two separate accounts of Saya going rogue. Now, in some capacity, this could be a sign that the various installments do not follow one another, and are meant to be taken separately. However, again we have evidence to the contrary. Obviously, showing Saya go rogue in Blood+’s opener, and then showing her again making nice with humanity during the rest of the episode suggests she may have been recaptured and reprogrammed. Or, perhaps it’s a different Saya altogether. A clone, perhaps. The manga is the biggest backer of this idea, as it’s ultimately a second, already-rogue Saya that convinces our heroine Saya to turn on humans and prey on them. The manga shows two Saya in the same place at the same time, and if I recall (it’s been a year since I read it, my apologies), there is rather clear mention of some sort of genetic research going on in the manga, as well. So what if the evil Saya in the manga is the Saya from the movie, the Saya in the manga is the generation following her, and the Saya in Blood+ is the next generation after her? This is the theory I’m currently operating on, with Saya being recreated to serve humans as far back as the nineteenth century (as the movie also shows a photograph of an incarnation of Saya with a circa 1890 date stamped on it). Perhaps the means to recreate Saya are unstable, leading to each generation going rogue after a time. Such an idea would certainly cast an interesting cloud over the events to come later on in Blood+, with the idea that this Saya might also be doomed to turn on her human friends. And wouldn’t it be an interesting twist if our Saya Otonashi had a little meeting with the Saya from the Blood 2002 manga?

Going back to the episode, I can’t help but wonder about the relationship between Saya and Kaori. I’m probably reading too much into it, but I can’t help but wonder if they might be more than friends. It’s not much, but certain hints in their body language towards one another seems to implicate a greater-than-platonic affection between the two of them. The way they lay across one another, and the way they held hands after Saya’s high-jump attempt, with the fingers intertwoven with each other. Of course—though it might be a bit of a stretch—the manga might provide evidence to back up my ideas here, as well. In the manga, the evil Saya and her servants preyed on other young women, seemingly raping them either while or before drinking their blood. Could it perhaps be a genetic trait carried between generations that leaves each version of Saya pre-disposed towards a sexual preference for women? It’ll be interesting to see if the series actually develops this notion further, or goes with the soft option of Saya falling for Mr. Bishounen Cellist, who I’ll get to in a bit.

Staying with Kaori, I also can’t help but wonder just how important she’ll be in the overall course of the series’ events. For the most part, I get the impression that she’s just the generic “high school gal pal” type character that, at most, will only be about as developed as the poorly-neglected Chie of Mai-HiME was. Aside from the possible lesbian attachment to Saya, which is still not exactly concrete, she hasn’t really stood out much, after all. However, with the mention that her mother works at the nearby military base, there’s still a bit more potential for her to retain a significant role in the series. She has a family member connected to the military—the US military, at that—and thus far it’s appeared as though the US military were the ones making use of Saya as a weapon all this time. Though it might just end up with Kaori as a victim of Saya or one of her enemies, I can somehow see this involving Kaori being on the base at just the wrong time when all hell’s breaking loose, or perhaps visiting Saya there provided they have her actually stationed on the base at some point.

While still on the military thing, and getting back to the episode somewhat, we see three low-flying US military planes go over Saya and Kaori’s heads as they’re eating lunch. Kaori mentions a war, which makes me wonder about something. Just what kind of war are they talking about? I wonder if this is perhaps meant to be some reference to the real-world US operations in the Middle East. Like maybe the US is reorganising its forces, including shipping out those forces stationed at Okinawa. But then would they be flying so low over Japanese airspace? I mean, it could be argued that there’s a military base near the school, and thus having planes fly low overhead wouldn’t be too out of place. However, Saya and Kaori’s reaction to the planes seems to contradict that. If there was a military airbase nearby, and US military planes flew overhead on a regular basis, you’d think they’d be used to the sight of them. And yet their reaction was one of curiosity, as if seeing them was something uncommon. I don’t think it’s so much a reference to the real-world Middle East strife, but rather a made-up war that will come into play later on. Perhaps it’s a war with China or North Korea, which would explain why the planes are flying so low. Or maybe a second conflict in Vietnam, which would ring things closer to home for Saya. Have her sent in later on for some reason or another, which would then involve her backtracking over familiar ground that she or one of the previous generations visited back during the first Vietnam War. Saya also mentions at one point that she seems to remember seeing the bomber somewhere before. Residual memories from a prior generation, perhaps?

So, getting back to the actual events within the episode, we’re given plenty of early hints as to Saya’s vampiric nature. She’s always hungry, despite eating a lot. While this is pretty much a generic trait of shounen and shoujo protagonists, here it actually adds something to the character. Perhaps she’s always hungry because the food she’s eating doesn’t provide the same nutrients that blood would? Normal food doesn’t do enough to sate her, and not as much of it is absorbed into her body as it would in other people. And speaking of blood, she appears to be an anemic. This, of course, is likely another side effect of not drinking blood as a normal vampire should. Rather, she’s required to go to the hospital and get regular transfusions. And though she’s on the school’s track & field team, she’s frequently reminded by such people as her adopted father to not be too physically active. Indeed, during her attempt at the high jump, she did appear rather worn out. Though whether that’s from her anemic lack of bloody sustenance or just from having put in plenty of practice prior to where the epiasode picks up isn’t able to be readily determined. And on the note of vampiric traits, what about the sun? It seems pretty clear Blood+ isn’t playing by the usual vampire rules about being in direct sunlight, but again it could always be that Saya’s show of fatigue during the high jump might be from exposure to the sun. Though between anemia, sun exposure, or just plain old practice, that’s the weakest argument of the three.

We’re also introduced, around this time, to Kai. The elder brother in Saya’s adopted family, he’s described as a delinquent type who used to be a star player on the school’s baseball team. Though he’s presented as a rather surly sort, he also seems to be notably protective of Saya. With her inevitable awakening to her true power and facing down enemies on the order of Chiropterans and maybe larger, I can’t see that working out in his favor, to be honest. Rather, I see it resulting in him trying to protect her from some big-ass monster at one of her moments of weakness, and getting maimed or killed in the process in some elaborate, emotional sequence. Also, I’m hoping that while they’re presenting this little “he quite the baseball team” angle as a plot point that gets multiple mentions, it’s something that will actually get sufficiently developed, unlike a certain male hero’s decision to quit the kendo team in Mai-HiME. Other than that, I don’t really have much to comment on about Kai at the moment.

Going on to other characters that we’re introduced to, we come to the shady Monsieur van Algerno, lover of candy. He appears to be the leader of what’s later described as a syndicate, whose apparent goal appears to be the hunting and research of vampiric creatures. I get the feeling he’ll later become Saya’s superior officer once her powers awaken, and later still one of the main villains. He certainly seems, based on first impressions, like one of your typical slimeball government types that later tries to manipulate his position of power for personal gain. But as I said, this is based purely on his appearance and voice, and not on any of the evidence we’ve been given elsewhere. And with him comes the introduction of two terms: Mouse and Type B. Mouse, as we find out later, refers to the Chiropterans, likely based on the shape of their heads, with the long snouts and large ears. Type B, however, remains a mystery. I originally thought it might be in reference to Saya, but now I’m thinking it might refer instead to our Mr. Bishounen Cellist. With his monstery bandage-hand, he seems like the type that might be a test subject. On the other hand, he also seems too well-dressed, well-composed, and well-informed to be a test subject. Of course, who’s to say a Type B is a test subject at all? It might just be the codename assigned to either a whatever-the-hell Cello-man is, or a vampire of Saya’s type.

And on that note, the Cello-man is the very next character we’re introduced to. We initially see him playing his instrument in front of a crowd of people, and it’s not so much him we’re meant to focus on at the moment, as the flashback Saya sees while reflecting on his music. And what an intriguing flashback it is. We see someone that I’m assuming is Saya running through the corridors of a European style castle or manor, towards a locked room. The entire estate appears very rundown, with plants overgrowing the walls both inside and out. And as Saya nears the room and reaches for the lock, she begins telling herself not to do it until she wakes herself up (rather embarassingly for her). So what exactly is in that room? I’m going to wager it’s something vampiric. Probably not a Chiropteran, though, but more along the vein of a genuine vampire like Saya. Or maybe one of Saya’s copies? I considered the possibility that it might be Cello-man in his true form or something, but considering we later see a fuller flashback of him in the open air holding his hand out to her, I’m not so sure about that. Not a lot to go on at the moment, but it is an eye-catching piece of footage that adds a lot of interest to the matter of Saya’s past.

And finally, our tour of character introductions brings us around to Saya’s family and a man named David. For only being with them a year, Saya and her adopted family seem awfully close, and indeed we learn that it might have something to do with the fact that before Saya came along, the family had a daughter that had died. When I heard this, I couldn’t help but wonder what might have happened to that biological daughter. It would be an interesting twist if she was killed by either Saya or a Chiropteran. Especially Saya, which would make her interactions with her adopted father all the more fascinating to watch. That aside, there isn’t a whole lot I can think of to say about the family as they are, aside from the fact that I can’t shake the feeling they’ll wind up as cannon fodder once the shit hits the proverbial fan.

Which brings us to David. A federal agent seemingly working for the same syndicate that Candy Candy van Algerno operates. He shows up to pay the family for looking after Saya, and I find it a bit odd that he’s known on a first-name basis by the children in the family, including Saya herself. Granted, no one but the father knows why he’s really there, but it’s still strange to me that he’d make himself so familiar to the other members of the family, for being a shady government agent and all. Also, I can’t help but think that his being in the show at all throws a pretty big wrench into my connecting this series back to the previous Blood incarnations. You see, in the movie, there was also a character named David, who was also a government agent charged with monitoring Saya’s actions. In fact, he was the only guy in the entire setup, it seemed, that she bothered to trust in the least. And that David was seemingly older in the 1960s than the Blood+ one is in 2005. In fact, when he makes a cameo in Blood 2002, he’s so old he’s wheelchair-bound. So these two Davids clearly are not the same character, and I find it difficult to believe that the producers would have two American federal agent characters both named David, and both seemingly in a similar role of monitoring Saya. Everything else in this series pretty solidly fits with the previous installments, but this David character stands as a pretty glaring point of contention with all of that.

Anyway, while David’s at the family’s residence, he mentions that the syndicate deliberately entrusted Saya to them a year ago. Why is that exactly? Why would a shady, seemingly international government syndicate entrust a top-secreet weapon to a fairly lower middle-class Japanese family? I’m guessing it might have something to do with Saya’s (or the previous Saya’s) apparent issues with going rogue and attacking humans. Perhaps Saya’s being left in the care of a civilian family as a means of acquainting her and making her more sympathetic to humanity, hoping that might prevent the issue from recurring. I doubt it’s just pawning her off until she’s old enough to take on her true purpose, because if that were the case, they’d've had her for more than just a year.

And while all of this is going on, Saya’s at school after-hours looking for her track shoes. Here, we meet Cello-man again. This time brandishing a rather fancy knife. I initially questioned whether or not this knife had any sort of significance to it, until I later saw him throw two of them at a Chiropteran to very little effect, but I still find it strange that he’d basically walk after Saya with the damn thing drawn like that. He probably planned on cutting his hand open with it for her to drink and awaken like she does later on. As he’s approaching her, he also remarks “at last, we meet,” as if he was intentionally searching for her. Who sent him, though? Is he a member of Algerno’s syndicate, or is he an independent element? Either way, he has Saya’s sword and appears in her flashback, so the two do have some significant connection. Actually, that just made me think of something. He appears in Saya’s flashback, and yet his words when greeting her are “at last, we meet,” as if they’d never met before. Maybe just fansubber choice of words, but it does create an interesting point to ponder. Does this contribute to evidence of multiple generations of Saya? Perhaps Cello-man recognises that this Saya is not the same as the ones in the past? Or is it that he simply knows of her lack of memory regarding anything more than a year into the past, and is simply choosing these words for the sake of reacquainting himself with her?

We also get a formal introduction to the Chiropterans at this point, with one attacking Saya and her gym teacher on the school grounds. There’s a weird emphasis on the Chiropteran’s roar the first time it’s heard, too. I can’t help but wonder if it was a stylistic choice, or if the creature might actually have some trait to its voice, like maybe a high frequency as in bats. I’m going to wager it’s more just for show, though. Also, going back to the codename used by Algerno for the Chiropterans, Mouse, it seems that might just be a shortened form of the full codename. When the creature if identified here, it’s called a Jerry Mouse. Interesting how they then scramble Tom Cat attack helicopters to pursue the Jerry Mouse. And another thing I forgot to mention previously. It was mentioned by Algerno that these Chiropterans “escaped.” What kind of escape are we talking about here? Escape from a lab? Or is it escape as in eluded the group that was tracking them previously? And what might it mean if Algerno’s group is capturing and studying these monsters?

Well, for one, it might mean more charactes like Cello-man, who reveals his bandaged hand around this point in the episode to be a giant clawed hand like that of the Chiropteran’s. And the thought didn’t occur to me until I typed that sentence, but I do remember now that the Chiropterans in the movie were shown to be shapeshifters, able to temporarily disguise themselves as humans in order to better stalk their prey. Does this maybe imply that Cello-man is himself a Chiropteran? It would make for an interesting twist, but I still think it’s a bit more complicated than that.

SO! Where does all of this place us? Well, it places us in a damn good place as viewers, for one. It may not be the most innovative opening episode in terms of writing and general construction (”hero’s average life is shattered by external force that awakens their hidden power at the very end of the episode,” your standard shounen adventure setup), but it still provides an utter assload of intriguing points to ponder, especially if you’re at all familiar with any of the prior portions of the Blood mythos. And whether this series really does follow the movie & manga faithfully or not (hi, David), there’re still quite a few hints that we’ll at least be using some of the previously-introduced concepts one way or the other, which could become a very good thing. Imagine a series where we see Saya having to face the temptation of preying on humans vs. protecting them, and for a time perhaps actually resorts to that. Imagine if she were to meet one of her predecessors. It could make for quite the viewing experience. I have to admit, as much as I bitched about this series prior to its debut, I’m already sold after one episode. Must see more. Now.