Blood† (Blood†, Buraddo Purasu, pronounced "Blood Plus") is a franchise based on the 2000 animated film, Blood: The Last Vampire.[1] produced by Production I.G and Sony's anime production arm, Aniplex.
| Blood+ | |
| File:Otonashi1.jpg Poster of Blood† | |
| Genre | Horror, Action, Drama, Mystery, Supernatural, Romance |
|---|---|
| Anime | |
| Directed by | Jun'ichi Fujisaku |
| Studio | Production I.G |
| Related | |
It premiered in Japan across Sony's anime satellite television network, Animax, as well as terrestrial networks such as MBS, TBS, RKB, and others from October 8, 2005, to September 23, 2006.
Blood† was licensed for international distribution in numerous regions, including North America, by Sony's international film distribution arm, Sony Pictures Television International (SPTI) .[2]
It premiered on Adult Swim on March 18, 2007 and airs at 12:30 AM (eastern) on Saturday nights/Sunday mornings. Season One concluded on September 22 with Season Two set to start on October 7. Additionally, from August 20 to September 21 Adult Swim aired reruns of the first 25 episodes at 12:30 AM (eastern) every weeknight as part of their nightly lineup. [3] The episodes rotate between TV-14 and TV-MA for strong violence and language.
Introduction
Under the care of her adoptive family, Saya Otonashi has been living the life of an anemic and amnesiac, but otherwise ordinary schoolgirl. Saya’s happy life is shattered when she is attacked by a chiropteran, and learns that she is the only one who can defeat them. ("Chiroptera" is the name of the order of biological classification that contains bats, probably the reason for the vampiric creatures being called "Chiropterans"). Armed with her sword, Saya embarks on a journey with her family, allies and faithful servant, Haji, to rid the world of Chiropterans and rediscover her identity.
The series is initially set in present day (September 2005) Okinawa City (Koza), on Okinawa Island, near the US Kadena Air Base. In the course of the series, Saya visits locales across the world, while fighting enemy chiropterans and searching for her origins.
The anime consists of 50 episodes.
Characters
- Saya's Friends and Family
- The series revolves around Saya Otonashi, a seemingly ordinary high school student who lives with her adopted family and secretly guarded by her Chevalier, Hagi (Haji in the English translation). Her adopted father, George Miyagusuku, is a veteran of the Vietnam War and was entrusted with Saya by David's father. Her elder brother, Kai, was a star athlete, while her younger brother, Riku, is a kind and smart boy, though shy.
- Red Shield (Goldschmidts)
- An organization formed to combat the Chiroptera, the Red Shield was founded by the descendants of Joel Goldschmidt, the man who originally found Saya and Diva and unleashed the Chiropteran menace into the world. Most Red Shield members are culled from survivors of Chiroptera attacks, and all possess a trinket with an embedded Chiropteran crystal. The Red Shield's greatest enemy is Diva, and her Chevaliers. Red Shield is responsible for Saya's protection and well-being, using her as their key weapon against the Chiropterans.
- Cinq Flèches Group (Goldsmiths)
- The Goldsmiths are a branch of the Goldschmidt family dedicated to protecting Diva; all their family members are Diva's Chevaliers. They control the Cinq Flèches Group, a powerful and influential conglomerate, with the ultimate goal of creating a world of Chiroptera for Diva's future. The family crest of five arrows (Cinq Flèches) and the names of the brothers are modeled after the family of Mayer Amschel Rothschild. One member of the Goldsmith family, Solomon, falls in love with Saya, and thus breaks ties with Diva, being the only Chevalier to do so.
- The Schiff (Shifu, Sif)
- An unstable balance between Chevaliers and Chiropterans, they are prototypes for the Corpse Corps, pseudo-Chevalier soldiers created from Diva's blood by a group of scientists under the sponsorship of Amshel Goldsmith in Khirbet. Although they have similar regenerative abilities, the Schiff eventually die from an attribute they call the “Thorn,” an affliction that causes their bodies to gradually crystallize. As imperfect beings, direct exposure to sunlight will cause them to spontaneously combust. Unable to attain Diva’s blood (the only supposed cure for the “Thorn”), they gradually die off; leaving Moses, Karmen and Lulu. Karmen gets infected with the Thorn, and Moses sacrifices himself with Karmen and they die together, leaving Lulu as the last surviving Schiff at the end of the series.
- Diva
- Saya's twin sister is the story's main antagonist. She provides the Delta67 (derived from her blood) which is used to transform people into Chiropterans. When she was born she was kept in an isolated tower as part of an experiment. Because of that she hated Joel, such that when Saya freed her she slaughtered him and the people at his birthday party. Her isolation left her childish and socially inept as well as ignorant of the moral ramifications of her actions.
Timeline
- 1809 Publication of Philosophie Zoologique
- 1829 Death of Jean-Baptiste Lamarck
- 1832 Joel Goldsmchmidt sets up the "Zoo" near Bordeaux, France and presumably begins "Joel's Diary."
- 1833 The mummy of an unknown life-form named SAYA is transferred to the Zoo. The life-form is later identified as a Chiropteran. Extracted from its pregnant belly are two cocoons, which react to drops of human blood. Extracted from the cocoons are two children that are human in appearance: One is named Saya and raised as a normal human in the Zoo, and the other remains unnamed, is locked up in a tower, and is used by Joel for experimentation purposes. Saya, upon discovery of this child in 1863, names her Diva.
- 1859 Publication of Darwin's Origin of Species
- 1863 Saya ceases aging. Joel becomes aware of the special properties of her blood. Saya becomes aware of the existence of Diva locked up in the tower. 12 year old Haji is introduced to Saya to investigate her reproductive potential. Experimentation on Diva presumably continues, with Amshel, a member of a branch family, acting as an aid to Joel.
- 1883 The "blank page" in Joel's Diary. Saya releases Diva from the tower to sing at the birthday party of Joel. Haji falls from a cliff, and Saya turns him into a Chevalier via a mouth-to-mouth transfusion of her blood. Diva kills Joel. Joel's descendant founds the Red Shield to pursue Diva.
- End of 19th century Saya suddenly enters a 30 year period of hibernation.
- Early 20th century Saya and Diva awaken. Saya and Haji pursue Diva and Chiroptera in Russia.
- 1914 First World War
- 1917 Russian Revolution
- 1918 Saya kills Diva's Chevalier, Grigori, then she enters her second hibernation. End of the First World War. Physician Solomon Goldsmith is introduced to Diva and becomes a Chevalier.
- 1939 Start of the Second World War—Carl becomes Diva's Chevalier
- 1945 James becomes a Chevalier in Berlin. Acting on orders from Amshel, Solomon kills Martin Bormann, another Chevalier and a high-ranking Nazi. End of the Second World War.
- 1959 Having awakened some unknown time beforehand, Saya hunts several Chiroptera at Yokota Air Base (the events of Blood: The Last Vampire). Several months later, the Vietnam War begins. Saya enters third sleep soon afterwards.
- 1972 Chiroptera sightings in Vietnam confirmed. Christmas bombing. The Red Shield injects Haji's blood into a hibernating Saya to cause an artificially induced awakening, resulting in her going berserk, killing Chiroptera and humans alike. Saya cuts off arms of both Haji and Carl. The dying original David entrusts Saya (in her fourth sleep) to George Miyagusuku. Haji, displeased by the incident, distances himself from Red Shield. Red Shield are unable to establish his whereabouts, but there are sightings of him in Hong Kong.
- 1975 End of the Vietnam War.
- 1996 George adopts Kai and Riku. Their parents were killed in a traffic accident.
- 2002 Joel (6th) becomes the head of the Red Shield.
- 2004 Saya awakens in Okinawa without her previous memories. She lives with the Miyagusuku Family, under the surveillance of (the 2nd) David, with the agreement that once Saya remembers her past awakenings, she will go with the Red Shield.
- 2005 Saya reunites with Haji and is caught up with the fight against Chiroptera. George Miyagusuku becomes a Chiropteran. Saya is forced to kill him. With Kai and Riku in tow, Haji and Saya once again ally themselves with Red Shield. Diva awakens soon after.
- 2006 Diva and Carl launch an attack on the Red Shield Headquarters. Diva kills Riku amidst the assault but not before forcing him to impregnate her. Carl's projectile spikes impale Joel in the spine and he is confined to a wheelchair thereafter. The Red Shield's command ship was forced to self-destruct in an attempt to take down Diva.
- 2007 Chiroptera sightings in London. Unable to resist his desire to fight Saya, Carl disobeys Diva in order to do so, but ends up losing his life. Amshel orders Solomon not to save Carl. Solomon betrays Diva repeatedly by warning Saya of her plans and eventually leaves Diva, no longer wishing to be her Chevalier. Saya tracks the Chiropteran to an Air Force base in North Carolina, and pursues Diva to New York City. D67 is used in food spread throughout the world. In New York City, Diva, James and Amshel are finally killed. Haji goes missing, they are unable to confirm if he died or not, Kai and Saya return to Okinawa along with everyone else. She then falls into her fifth deep sleep. Kai carries her into his family's grave, where George had once shown Saya her cocoon she had slept in.
- 2013 Kai visits his family's grave where Saya sleeps. He takes his adopted children (Diva and Riku's twin daughters) and they both see the rose Haji has left for Saya.
Novels
There are two different novels based on the Blood† mythology. They are published by Kadokawa Shoten.
- Blood†: The official adaptation of the TV series.
- Blood† Russian Rose: Adaptation of the TV series.
Manga
There are three different manga based on the Blood† mythology. These are published by Kadokawa Shoten.
- Blood†: The official adaptation of the TV series, by Asuka Katsura (桂 明日香), serialized in Monthly Shonen Ace. Consists of five volumes.
- Blood† Adagio: A story focused on Saya and Haji's past in Russia, by Kumiko Suekane, serialized in Beans Ace. Consists of two volumes.
- Blood† Yakō Jōshi: A Haji solo story, prior to the events of the TV series, by Hirotaka Kisaragi, serialized in Ciel. Consists of one volume.
Game
There is a PS2 game, Blood†: One Night Kiss and is directed by Goichi Suda and produced by his studio, Grasshopper Manufacture, famous for the GameCube/PS2 game, Killer7. In the game, players control Saya, and an original character by the name of Aoyama.
There is a PS2 game called Blood: The Last Vampire with two volumes based on the Blood: The Last Vampire film. It contained over two hours of animation that was produced by Production I.G. In the game the player is given the choice of how they wish the story/plot is to be developed and the gameplay leads to 42 possible endings. A PSP version of this game has been made and it contains both parts of the PS2 game on one UMD. The PSP version contains a strategy flow chart, a CG gallery and specially edited movies. Oddly, the plot of the PS2 game Blood: The Last Vampire and Blood† anime diverge greatly. In the PS2 game Saya retains the same character that she had in the film, including the same costume, the events of the anime Blood† never occurred.
Episodes
Music
| # | Transcription/Translation | Performed by | Episodes | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Aozora no Namida", 青空のナミダ (lit. Tears of the Blue Sky) | Hitomi Takahashi | 1-13, and last episode: 50 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2 | "Season's Call" | Hyde | 14-25 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 3 | "Colors of the Heart" | UVERworld | 26-38 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 4 | "Raion", 雷音 | Jinn | 39-50
References
External links
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