Monday, November 08, 2010

second window






Thursday, November 04, 2010

Blood: The Last Vampire



Just as an fyi, this clip has blood & violence, albeit animated. Just in case that squiks you at all.

This is from-- i guess it's an OVA; it's shorter than a movie-- Blood: The Last Vampire. The title pretty much gives away the "surprise" at the very end, but i really kind of sort of don't care. I missed the very beginning, but this is one hell of a thing: there's moments where you go, "That is so fucked up; Japan what is wrong with you?" but at the same time, you're completely engrossed in what's going on. The animation is amazing (it was made in 2000, i think?), it moves along at a quick, crazy pace, & there isn't a shit voice actor in the entire thing, which is surprising, to be honest.

Actually, one other thing i really like is that this is default bilingual. When i walked into the room, i heard English. Okay, i figured, maybe Netflix streaming instant stuff doesn't allow for the option to change audio tracks. Oh well. The voice actors seemed pretty okay anyways. Then, a scene change, & all of a sudden, there's Japanese & subtitles! It was confusing for a split second, but since the movie takes place mostly at an American military base in Japan (just before the Vietnam War breaks out), it makes sense. So Saya, the main character, speaks both English & Japanese.

This video is probably my favorite part of the OVA (is it an OVA i am confused). I like dramatic things (i grew up on old school anime & the like; what do you want of me), for one thing. This doesn't quite show the really fucked up parts (awkward to be watching with your dad, kind of?), though if you're adverse to spurts of blood, it's already fucked up enough. (But, er, a short phrase to illustrate: body used to keep doors closed. You can barely see it in this, but it's there.) But it does show the crazy amazing animation, & the shockingly good voice acting.

And i appreciate the fact that Saya is a total badass, & the fact that there isn't one idiotic underwear shot in the entire thing. When she gets the school uniform she's wearing, she actually plucks at the bow & goes, "What the hell is this?" in a total deadpan voice. It's like, hah, take that, hentai: not going to be playing into your little fantasies today.