Staz Charlie Blood is a powerful vampire who rules the Eastern district of Demon World. According to rumors, he is a bloodthirsty and merciless monster, but in reality, Staz is just an otaku obsessed with Japanese culture and completely uninterested in human blood. Leaving the management of his territory to his underlings, Staz spends his days lazing around, indulging in anime, manga, and games.
When Fuyumi Yanagi, a Japanese girl, accidentally wanders through a portal leading into the demon world, Staz is overjoyed. But just as he is starting to feel an unusual attraction to her, his territory is attacked, resulting in Fuyumi's untimely death. She turns into a wandering ghost and the crestfallen Staz vows to resurrect her as this would mean being able to travel to the human world, something he has always dreamed of.
Blood Lad follows Staz and Fuyumi, soon joined by the spatial magician Bell and the half-werewolf Wolf, as they travel to find a magic that can bring humans back to life.
[Written by MAL Rewrite]
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Stark700
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
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.
Camna
Blood Lad is a classic example of taking a typical genre type and applying a currently popular twist on it; in this case you end up with yet another supernatural comedy Most titles that fall under this category are barely passable, but Blood Lad seemed to stand out from the rest of the crowd so I gave it a chance. I mean a vampire boss that is more interested in the otaku culture of Japan over fresh human blood… that doesn’t sound too unoriginal and downright unbearable, right? Well I’m going to tell you why I was neither right nor wrong in Blood Lad’s case.The story follows Staz, a vampire boss of the demon world. He is feared across the demon world for being one of the most powerful bosses around and is also known for always accomplishing any goal he sets out for. So when Fuyumi, a young and big-breasted Japanese girl, accidentally makes it into the demon world and is killed, Staz decides he’ll help bring her back to life. Already two typical character types have been established: an overpowered hero and a big-breasted, clumsy heroine. So, if it sounds to you like a pretty typical hero saves damsel-in-distress story then you’re absolutely right—because that’s what it is. But that is not all it is. Let me explain.
One of the best things about this series was the comedy. It wasn’t forced, it wasn’t complicated, the references to Japanese culture were easy to understand for any anime fan, it was not overused and it was just downright hilarious. But the credibility of the series cannot be justified by just one aspect of the plot even if the show is prominently defined by this aspect—and that is where Blood Lad quickly let itself down. At first, the comedy held up the dialogue in a good way but it soon became hard to overlook the lacking parts of the rest of the dialogue. The comedy became repetitive and started to let down the dialogue and eventually the plot also. Where Blood Lad’s story went wrong is when they failed at mixing bad drama and action with good comedy—and then tried to patch up their faults with more good comedy. After this much repetition, the good comedy became bad comedy and the plot became even less comprehensible because of the overuse of unneeded gags.
Just like the story, Blood Lad’s art started out great but was relatively let down by a certain aspect. Prominently the most annoying part of Blood Lad’s art was the obscure and abstract changing of colours, backgrounds and art within certain scenes at an attempt to pair with the comedic side of the plot. At first it worked well but this soon enough, just like the use of comedy, became forced and overused. Apart from this annoyance, Blood Lad’s art was actually one of the series’ strong points. The animation was always fluid, the art was consistent, the character designs and the design of the Japan influenced ‘demon world’ worked very well together and over all the animation, when not overused, matched the mood of the series and the genre by having simple and somewhat goofy character designs like typical comedy series do but also mixing it with typical shounen character designs, this caused a nice blend of the comedy and action. Apart from the certain abstract scenes mentioned before, the art was far from an eyesore and actually helped maintain the series when it began to fail.
The soundtrack goes with the series in a pleasurable but non-memorable way. The opening song did a great job of giving me a positive view when I started the anime and when I started the new episode every week. Even when I knew the anime that was starting after the minute and a half song was far from perfect. The soundtrack worked well in matching the moods of different scenes and didn’t separate the viewer from the voice acting but instead accompanied the seiyuu’s dialogue well.
The characters in Blood Lad all play a relatively necessary role in the show but the way some of these roles were developed is probably the weakest point of the series. In some cases there is no development at all, they are simply placed in the series for the short time they are needed then used later on for gags. But, with it being a 10 episode series and of the comedy genre, which doesn’t typically have or need much character development, I do take into account that it would be very hard to develop all the characters they introduced. So I’ll only be judging the development of the main characters. Staz, obviously, has the most development as a character throughout the series and for a comedy series this should have been absolutely fine, here’s the problem though-- it didn’t feel like enough. The flashbacks and dialogue he’s involved in don’t provide enough substance to give me a reason to care about him. Little character development in a comedy series is acceptable but if it is not handled well, which in this case it wasn’t, it makes you care about the character less. If you don’t care about the main character then it is hard to care about anything he or she is involved in, which in a main character’s case is usually everything to do with the series. The biggest let down of the series was the underdevelopment of Staz, if you can’t get your viewer to care about the main character then the anime falls apart.
Blood Lad was a show that let itself down more than it let the viewers down, because it could have been much more than it ended up as.
But after all this negativity in this piece of writing I can honestly say that I still really enjoyed Blood Lad. No it didn’t impress me as much as I was expecting, yes it had a lot of flaws, but the overall charm of the series kept me watching. If you’re a fan of this anime I can understand why and I can also say I am a fan. If I can’t point out the flaws in a series then how can I properly call myself a fan? Blood Lad was a fun experience and I still hold to my previous comment that it was neither unbearable and unoriginal nor bearable and original, because honestly from a critical standpoint Blood Lad didn’t impress me or frustrate me—it just gave me enjoyment.
After reading this review I hope you have a good idea on all the flaws of Blood Lad. But if you were interested in this series like I was I encourage you to look past the flaws and have fun with this anime, it might not be the most empowering, impressive, revolutionary anime in existence but it is great for some enjoyable watching and sometimes that’s all that matters. If you can look past that fact then who knows you might really enjoy this anime. Give it a shot.
Satire
"Every vampire fiction reinvents vampires to its own needs. You take what you want." When and why did vampires become so popular in the past few years? The only conclusion that I could really come to was the Twilight series by Stephenie Meyer. It's the series that sucked the blood (and money for that matter) out of adolescent girls everywhere. Why? Somewhere along the line I think our society forgot what vampires are supposed to be. The premise of ‘Vampires’ were originally made to be terrifying beings that were both intimidating and powerful. If you don't know what I'm talking about regarding what a vampireideally should be, I would promptly direct you to Hellsing Ultimate where you may bask in the bloody goodness that is Alucard.
The story of Blood Lad is pretty unoriginal. Vampire meets a human girl, the human girl gets into trouble, and the vampire becomes the hero to save her. Pretty cliché. The plot of Blood Lad, however, is pretty good. The demon world is interesting in itself based on the premise of the 'bosses' that control territories, the hierarchy of demons, and the Demon Acropolis (where top tier demons reside). Material is presented at a good pace that keeps the audience interested rather than confused; at a ten episode run, that's quite a feat. One last thing that I want to mention is that Blood Lad is lined with constant references to other anime and anime characters. If you're like me and enjoy knowing what is being referenced, you'll think or say something to the equivalent of, "Fuck yeah! I got that reference. Sweet!" as you give yourself a high five.
The art/animation of Blood Lad is good. It's an anime of 2013 and thus there it's essentially a basic standard to have good animation and art. The action scenes look nice, the characters look good, and everything flows well overall. Nothing to complain about here, but also nothing to brag about. The sound portion is decent enough. The OP and ED are both pretty good; I enjoyed them both, but they aren't something that warrants watching and listening to every episode. There are a wide array of voices for the characters and I liked how fitting they were for their respective characters.
I enjoyed watching the characters of Blood Lad interact. Each of them is interesting in their own sense of the word. Staz, the main protagonist, is a vampire of prestigious class/breed and 'boss' of a territory in the demon world. He’s also and an otaku that aims to quench his thirst for something that isn’t blood; he's infatuated with all things from the human world, but mainly things from Japan. He collects anime, manga, video games, Japanese attire, and becomes entranced by anything new from the human world. This is also part of the reason he is attracted to Fuyumi, the female lead. Fuyumi is a human girl from Japan who ends up wandering into the demon world accidently and subsequently turned into a ghost after dying. She entrusts her future to Staz in hopes that he can return her back to being human. She's really shy, quiet, and humble for the most part. Bell, a spatial magic sorceress, acts like a second female lead. She's provides quite a few comedic moments and often teases Staz. She's clever and deceptive, but also is also quite the softie. While those three are the really prevalent characters, many other characters take up their fair share of screen time such as Wolf, Braz, and Liz. I don't think there was a character I legitimately didn't like in the whole series, however there also wasn't much meaningful development for the series’ characters either.
Overall Blood Lad is entertaining to say the least. I enjoyed what it had to offer for a story about vampires and the supernatural. Fan service is really prevalent in this series and did become slightly a nuisance for me; it seems they took every opportunity to showcase cleavage and added it in. The series runs for only ten episodes, which is a shame because it leaves a lot of questions unanswered and feels rather incomplete. If you're looking for a fun, simple show to watch, Blood Lad might be what you're looking for; just don't expect any deep themes or depth that makes a series great.
post_human
Oh, damn, those vampires again, it seems they are everywhere, and why am I complaining when I am reviewing a vampire anime? First lets make it clear I picked up this only for the fact that it seems like it would be a comedy and for the Seinen tag. Turns out it is mostly a comedy anime but I don't understand why its Seinen? This is typical Shounen manga with damsel in distress formula with a supernatural comedy twist, but definitely not Seinen ( some uncalled for ecchi doesn't make Seinen,sorry), so stop advertising false information. Story The story of Blood Lad follows our "hero" Staz whois a vampire in the makai (demon world) who doesn't drink human blood & is also an otaku, he is a leader of a small portion of demon world but mostly spends his time watching anime, reading manga and playing Japanese video games. One day our "heroine" Fuyumi accidentally wanders into the demon world and ends up in Staz's territory, Staz is so excited to finally meet a human girl but when he was a bit busy protecting his territory Fuyumi gets killed and turns into a ghost. And thus the story begins as our hero decides to revive Fuyumi into a human again. But wait there is a catch, Staz is not as heroic as it seems, actually he has a strong desire to drink Fuyumi's blood so he secretly wants to resurrect her for that. And thus our heroes trial begins as he tries to find ways to reach his goal. The story was a bit boring at the start but after a few episodes it starts to get a bit interesting, mostly due to some nice side characters most of whom actually are cliche Shounen characters but none the less likeable. The main likeable thing about the story is not its premise or the character backgrounds (which are too generic if you ask me) but the comedic side of it, the continuous pun at typical Shonen's like Staz trying to use Kamehameha was really funny stuff and it keeps the show enjoyable but when the writer tries to make things a bit serous with romance and family chemistry stuff then it starts to fall apart cause the main storyline for this anime is not original at all, we really have seen all those cliche stuff way many times before.
From me story gets 6.5 out of 10.
Characters
The characters are not the strongest aspect of this anime, Staz is actually alright when he acts his funny self but his back story and all other aspects of his character are to bland for me but at least he is better than our heroine Miss-I-am-so-innocent-and-dumb-and-typical-with-unnaturally-big-breasts Fuyumi, come on we had these kinds of heroines for so long its just unbearable now. And those unnecessary ecchi stuff, provocative dresses and shameless fan service is just too awful to waste my breath on.
But not all is lost in the character department either because of some strong side characters, I mean Braz, Bell & Liz are almost impossible not to like and although a typical rival character I did like Wolf, and other side characters like Staz's gang members (Deku,Saty,Yoshida) were written with quite a lot of care it seems. So all I can say about the whole character business is that if Kodama would have given his main characters the same level of care as he did most of his side characters it would have been a way more better anime in my opinion.
The characters get 7.5 out of 10 (and that's mostly for all the characters minus the main two).
Art/Animation
Unarguably the animation is top notch and the best thing about this anime, the action sequences are colorful and a delight to watch, the character designs are lovely and the whole animation is fluid and crisp, it is one of the things to be amazed of in this show. But sadly that is not enough, you need good story and solid main characters to tell the story with your nice animation.
The animation gets 8.5 out of 10.
Sound
The sound effect is appropriate for the show but nothing that really pulls your attention into it. The Opening theme is "ViViD" by May'n which is a nice opening for the show but doesn't really makes you want to get the listen to it as a separate form of entertainment. The ending theme is "BLOODY HOLIC" by Yuuka Nanri which is rather bland is my opinion and really doesn't go with the show, it tries somehow force the romance into the front of the situation which unfortunately I say is not the strongest aspect of the show, its the comedy that is, the opening song at least acknowledges that.
The sound gets a 6.5 out of 10 from me (its okay but really nothing to write home about).
In the end of the day the writer did try to make a show which tries a different take on the vampire theme and the otaku twist is nice with the pun at other animes & manga bit is nice but unfortunately it seems that he himself sometimes forget what his initial intentions were and tries to inject serious stuff into the fold and force some unnecessary ecchi and romance into the mix which turns a otherwise quite innovative and fun idea into a cliched mental anguish for the viewers.
OVERALL SCORE
6.5 out of 10.
LeFlower-kun
Blood Lad is a supernatural anime, revolving around a mystical realm involving the main character, Staz, a vampire boss in charge of a territory who is surprisingly also an otaku and a huge fan of everything Japan-related. It is weird yet unique. The story starts of when a human girl (the main female character, sadly I forgot her name) appears from nowhere in town and thus Staz's people find her, knowing Staz will be fascinated by the human girl. Then he realizes that she is fading from the world of living and he decided to help her initially for his own goals. He gets help fromhis friends and yea.
However the story of this anime is really inconsistent, it is like sht happens, then it becomes good again in a matter of time, fluctuating the repetitive pattern. Some episodes are really interesting with it's action scenes and humour and it is so hilarious most of the time while it also contains many references to real anime in our world, however, some episodes are just SO boring I actually fell asleep for half an episode and could not wake up until my room was drooling from liquid......inconsistency is majorly a lack down for this show.
The animation and art quality was decent to say the least. The character designs were well made and they were recognizable, sadly though, it isn't amazing either. The background colours were quite random, they were all over the place and although it is a demon world, every single street in this world shouldn't look like its graffiti done by a 5 year old brat.
The music was fine, the opening was catchy and a bit addicting, but then the ending song was quite wrong, it doesn't fit well with mood of the ending of any episode, doesn't collaborate well or match nicely to present a neat and long lasting effect to the audience, every time the ending song played, i felt like i was in a funeral with a group of friends singing a sad song. Also, noneo f the soundtracks were memorable, but o well.
The characters were all-rounded, there were the girls who only tried to get laid with Staz, and then the male characters who were nicely brought in. Wolf, the masochist was basically a power-house, he could tank an entire army including Staz and he was strong as well, being that said, one of my favorite scenes was him fighting Staz in a boxing match. He also showed feelings towards liking Fuyumi the main girl (oh i remembered), helping her out. Staz was quite likable, a badass overpowered damning kamikaze here and there fanboy who gets all the chicks day and night. However, none of the characters were well developed, reducing the potential of these characters. Building a development, story or background of a characters especially the main characters will definitely provide and deliver more feels towards the show, and we will care more about them, because when Fuyumi was fading i didnt even cry, when staz was beaten up, i didnt cry or flood a river in my room becaue I already knew that he would wake up and trash the enemy in a matter of 3 seconds.
Blood Lad, was not terrible or extremely bad, but the potential wasted was disappointing as I really did expect more from these characters and even the plot as well. Pacing was poo, inconsistent episode delivery too. The humor and action were the notable qualities that were well done in this anime. It is a good comedy and fantasy genre anime
In a nutshell, Blood lad will give you quite a lot of laughs, but you can be sure to feel safe because there isn't anything sad or tragic here, don't worry your room will not flood with tears. You wont give any damns, when someone dies. Inconsistency kills Blood Lad, leaving it stoned, becoming little bacon-bits.
Marthgun
this was an incredibly surprising anime, i was walking home from the supermarket and was jumped by a gang of biker lesbians. they beat me so bad. omg. what have they done to me. i just complimented them on their hair cut. so i get home, take a shower and in my pocket was a note. one of them must have put it in there i thought. but it was just a grocery list and to my utter horror i forgot the cucumbers. i was terrorfied. in fact, it was a terror STORM. but since i watchanime, i knew that i had to muster the courage through hard work and walk back to the store and face my enemies. but ofc first, i needed to train. so i did four pushups and i curled the freshly bought gallon of milk a few times.
feeling pumped, i headed out. one of the many OP's of naruto played through my head. and as i rounded the corner, i could smell the diesel and hairspray in the air. i stalked up to the group and i yelled KAMEHAMEHA!!!!
and they laughed so hard some fell off their bikes. clearly i had scored precious damage points. so i walked in, grabbed my cucumbers and came back out ready to toss a few extra vegetables at them. but they were gone. and at that moment, the theme to rocky kicked in and i knew i was the VICTOR.
so i went home and watched blood lad, which i found to be very funny and cool. so much like me, it was an instant classic. You should watch this too. the ending sucks, b/c the rest of the story needs to be animated. I hope they make another season or continue it somehow.
SovietPsycho
Alright yall Ima keep this short and simple for a short and simple anime. Blood lad, to put it simply, was funny. For one, it made a great job of making the whole mood feel light-hearted, even when people were "dying" and the mood was supposed to be set serious it had never felt that way to me. For a while now I had tried to search for an anime taht even from the very start I could tell was going to be an anime that didn't have such intense and heavy moody characters.... COUGH all those characters who think smiling isa sin COUGH. Even then though, it was hard to find something both interesting and light hearted, I wanted something like hunter x hunter. Blood lad had successfully accomplished that for me.
So that's it for my short and simple review, this anime is comedic, light-hearted, has plenty of action, enjoyable, has a very nice story and plot, and it's only problem is that it wasn't longer. 10/10 would bang the end PEACE OUT.
PS I gave this anime a 9/10 for the sheer reason that it did what it set the mood for. It didn't have a peaceful nonchalant mood but has everyone dying and crying for days. It struck for a light - hearted fun enjoyable short anime to watch. It's plot was quite good for an anime so.
So when you watch this don't expect the deepest plot ever, with twists and turns and amazing woahs after every episode, if you're tired of being serious watch this anime. If I had had a serious mood and been searching for that, this anime would have gotten a solid 6. But it didn't, it hit exactly what it wanted to hit, and that's why I felt that this anime was more than enjoyable. It set the mood, it carried out the mood, and it kept it at that pace for the entire time without missing a single beat. PEACE OUT NO I AM REALLY DONE 14/10 WOULD BANG PEACE OUT!
ImPops
I couldn't stand this show. It was so boring, cliched, generic, uninteresting, annoying, unfunny, and just stupid. I didn't want to know what any of the episodes contained after what is established to be after the 2nd episode. I couldn't careless. These characters were the worst thing about this show, I couldn't stand to think why they are even in the show, it all felt like excuses for entertainment. All of them were easy to look in the eye and know what they are, and that's great, I love a show that can establish something, but when you are obnoxious about it, then you are boundto make it tiresome and annoying.
The show carefully explains what this whole story is about, saving a human's life. Now it sounds serious, but they executed it like it was child's play. Wow, I am so interested how they are going to save a human's life. They went through boxing, they fought a boring ass side villain, the main character has family problems, and, and... wait, why do they all sound so simple, but not even a single bit of original idea's in it? DING DING DING, you hear that folks? They made a show not only to slowly advance what the main story is about, but to shove in every cookie cutter activities just to make a show cool. WOW, THIS SHOW IS A NEW HIT. A BIRTH TO A NEW GENERATION OF STEALING IDEAS FOR TEENAGE ENTERTAINMENT. I GUESS WE GOTTA HAVE A NEW TITANIC WHERE THEY HAVE TO PLAY GOLF TO WIN THE GIRL OF THEIR DREAMS! DOESN'T"T THAT SOUND EXCITING??
Even the whole story is dreadful, I can explain one sub-plot without making it sound entertaining, but that's how the actual show is. Here is one sub-plot I have summarized while watching this show, and yes, it is spoilers. Here we GO!
The main character and the human ran to see the main characters buddy. They found him coincidentally and asked how to resurrect a human. He wants to know why the main character cares, and the main character just does. His friend asks for a competition and he agrees. If the main character wins, he gets to know how to resurrect, however, if he loses, he needs to give away the human. He was unaware what the competition, generally we all thought they were just going to fight it out using their powers, well they are fighting, but by boxing. The human is wearing a costume for fan service. The main character and his friend were fighting, and the main character drained his strength by using his fangs. His friend transformed into a werewolf, but it was pointless. The main character was about to conclude the fight, but the girl starts crying and said to stop fighting. The other girl, who was unbriefly introduced in the 2nd episode, stopped the fight by teleporting the characters to a different area. The werewolf gives in and explains about the resurrection.
You starting to see how boring and plain this was? Well if you watch the anime, you aren't going to be thrilled about watching the actual event, because it is, so, damn, BORING AND ANNOYING.
I can't understand how this can happen. I don't understand why people think it is funny and original, I don't know why people think this is a masterpiece, and I don't know PEOPLE ENJOY IT. It's the fact there are vampires that are way overrated in this show, how there is a werewolf, there are monsters in the show, the main character is all powerful and is chill about it, a girl looks attractive that they dress her up and make her do things that no standard girl would ever do in their entire lives because she is played like a plain girl, so WHY MAKE HER LIKE THIS AT ALL, and... you know what, this is why it is enjoyable because IT IS SO GENERICALLY BULLSHIT.
Well there are more shows out there that are like this, and people seem to enjoy them and don't care, so I guess trying to prove why it's bad is pointless.
I give it a 3/10, twilight but with boobs.
nineup
I will keep this short and sweet. This was a funny anime, very short, easy to binge watch. The story has potential, but it doesn't really go anywhere. It is very rushed and you did not get attached to the characters. Overall it was a mediocre anime in which I enjoyed the comedy, but I would not recommend wasting your time on it.
dragynfaerie
I'm gonna begin this at the end. Blood Lad ends on a cliffhanger. I had not clue it was the last episode until I noticed the count on my list. I was tempted to rate it down just for ticking me off. I enjoyed Blood Lad. I began it with skepticism because all things vampiric have been letting me down recently. The concept of a pwoerful vampire infatuated with humans and the human world to the point of being an otaku is intriguing and amusing. I like the quick pace of the writing. The animation style is artsy.It's purposefully flat and '70s comic looking to give the watcher the sense that indeed this is not the human world.
Staz, our otaku vampire prince, is an anti-hero. He is not a good guy. In fact he tells you he's not. He's a demon afterall. Most of the demons he runs across are in human form, but there are some in other forms. I was never sure if our leading lady was dense or just overwhelmed. She was likeable, but I didn't love her.
Blood Lad is good, but it is too short and the story doesn't end. I hope there is a 2nd season.
Naru-sama
The most basic summary of Blood Lad I could think of would be Staz a ruler of his district is just obsessed with Japanese culture and basically gets more obsessed when a human, Japanese girl named Fuyumi is cast into the underworld and meets Staz. Then, eaten by a plant Fuyumi dies and the rest of the show is about trying to resurrect Fuyumi and Staz's actual feelings for her. The fast paced story goes great with the just as fast Character Development with in just about every episode a new character is introduced, not all ones you like, but none the less new. Ithas references to other anime and anime creators so it makes hilarious. This is a good anime if you want something to raise your spirits and make you think.
Halo_Crystal
Before I start this review, I would first like to say that I did not enjoy this anime. I decided to try out the English Dub, and though I didn't mind it the voice-acting, there were points where listening to some of the dialogue spoken frustrated me. I had started this anime a while back and stopped watching for a bit as it did not peak my interest, but figured I should just finish it off because it is a short season. Let's get into this. Story - 5 The story was meh to me. It didn't really interest me nor kept me engaged, especially withthe main plotline. But I felt the side stories, the relationships between some of the characters were interesting just a bit more, but that is really all. I do like the idea that it is set in the demon world, giving the viewer a bit of new atmosphere... despite it looking like a normal city. Some of the sub stories in the anime were a bit stupid, like the romance between Fuyumi and Stax or Bell liking Stax because of some reason. It just sort of happens, and really, I just found it more irritating them heart-warming. There is no sense of development for these romances, and it didn't feel realistic to me.
Art - 6
Surprisingly, I liked the art. It was simple and clean. Nothing grand at all, but passable. There were some demons designed to look ugly as hell, but luckily those would only be minor characters. Our main Character's designs were also pretty cool too. There are some problems I had with the how Bell and Fuyumi are over-sexualized, usually revealing their breasts or asses. They are usually dressed "appropriately" for each situation, and it annoyed me. Though it was not my main focus, it was still a bother.
Sound - 3
Nothing really stood out for me in anime music wise. I don't remember any of the music and the opening was meh. Probably one of the few weak points of the anime, actually.
Character - 4
The characters in the anime are unique in their own ways, especially with their special abilities. I do love how Stax is a full-on perverted Otaku, and I found him an amusing character to watch. I also did enjoy Wolf, and wish I could have seen more of him in the story. There were some weak characters like Fuyumi. She is useless. Like hell, she is useless. Wolf, Stax and Bell always seem to be saving her ass and trying to keep her safe. She does nothing to benefit the characters, and is just sort of there for the plot and give these characters some purpose. Bell was also a weak character. Despite having such an unique ability, I just found her annoying, not at all cute. Whenever she was around, she just frustrated me. I wish she had become a cheeky girl, yes, but also not be tied down by her feelings for Stax.
Enjoyment - 3
I did not enjoy this anime. Watching each episode felt like more of a chore, and I would find myself swearing at the characters due to their stupidity. Though, I did get some few laughs, I still found myself mostly frustrated. I would just think that this kind of anime is not what I enjoy to watch. Sure, I love watching something to laugh at, which I think this anime was aiming at, but this was just plain ridiculous.
Overall - 4
Coming to a close, I give this anime a four. I was close to give it a three, but it just didn't seem right. It wasn't that awful. Blood Lad could be enjoyed by others, but with me, I just don't enjoy it. Maybe someone who enjoys complete ridiculousness and don't mind the constant fanservice would like to give this a try. Upon this review, my final score is a 4 out of ten.
Asfaria
I just want to mention first that I have read the manga for Blood Lad (up to where it’s translated) and that this was actually my first manga ever (so it’s a bit special to me). However, that doesn’t mean it’s one of my favorites and really I think it’s just average overall. I’ll be making many comparisons between the manga and anime (without spoilers of course). Story – 6/10 I do really like the unique the initial plot. It follows Staz who is a vampire that is the leader of a section of the underworld. Staz also happens to be an otaku for all things fromthe human world, especially things from Japan, from anime to figures to Final Fantasy. And yes, they make a lot of references to different things (Dragonball might have the most). One day, Staz hears from his henchmen that a human girl suddenly appeared in the streets. Being who he is, Staz can’t resist meeting her. However, due to an unfortunate series of events involving giant plants, the girl (whose name is Fuyumi) ends up dying only to turn into a ghost. Staz (for reasons that are somewhat selfish) vows to help Fuyumi get her human body back. They travel everywhere in search of clues and even go back to the human world for a short time. They slowly piece things together about how to return Fuyumi to her human form but what they uncover is a much bigger story that pulls them in even though Staz really wishes he could just get this all over with at times.
When it was announced that Blood Lad would only have 10 episodes, I was kind of skeptical how they would fit everything in, and, whether or not they would go past where the manga is translated into English as there are about 15 chapters that are not translated (about 1/3rd of the manga at this time). While not too many problems came from having a shorter series, the anime was very fast paced. Blood Lad is a series that tends to jump around a lot and lose focus of the overall plot amidst a sea of side plots. With the fast pacing, there were times during some episodes where the plot switched between places so fast that it became hard to follow. Most of the episodes also end at awkward points in the story and kind of cut up the story in ways that I think mess up the story (at least if you are watching one episode a week like I did).
Art – 7/10
The anime was done by studio “Brains Base” who is known for works like Baccano, Durarara!!, Amnesia, Natsume Yuujinchou, etc. While they’re previous works (as far as I’ve seen) usually have very impressive art, I felt they went a little overboard with Blood Lad. The animation looks great and the fight scenes are well animated, but the anime was just way too colorful in my opinion. The Blood Lad manga had a much darker edge (despite being a comedy manga), and the wide array of colors in almost in almost every moment of the anime kind of dampens that effect at times. But there are some places, like Staz’s otaku room, which do benefit from the colorful animation, but they are few and far between.
A problem with the art that the manga also suffers from is in its character designs. While I really like some of the characters’ designs (like Staz, Braz, and Akimu), there were many that I thought were just strange. Fuyumi and Bell especially look awkward and Wolf’s face in his werewolf form just looks kind of strange and unnatural the way it’s elongated. The characters are also very vividly colorful especially when it comes to hair color, which goes back to the last part. Still, Staz and several other characters do have very good designs.
Sound – 6/10
The soundtrack is also very average. I really only noticed one track that stood out to me while the rest was mostly average, but I also never noticed any really disliked. The one good track sounds kind of mysterious and is used in the few darker scenes or just before the comedic scenes (the latter of which kind of ruins its effect).
The voice actors did a great job of portraying their roles with Staz’s being the standout performance. His voice actor, Ohsaka Ryota, does an amazing job portraying the otaku vampire and all of his craziness. With Fuyumi (who’s just kind of bland to start with) her voice actress did fit the role well, but was still boring. I also found Wolf’s voice in his werewolf form to be very annoying and kind of cheesy.
Characters – 5/10
This is where the anime drops in my opinion. While Staz is great and sometimes unpredictable, some of the other characters (especially Fuyumi) are very one dimensional and boring. It was the same way in the manga, too. Fuyumi is just one of the most boring female protagonists I’ve ever seen. She’s your typical damsel in distress who gets thrown around by everyone (with occasional fanservice) and doesn’t ever do anything herself. Since the entire plot and most of the side plots are centered on her, it really ruins the story at times because of her being unable to do anything while everyone else fights to help her regain her humanity.
Now for some of the better characters. Hydra Bell is a demon who uses magic that opens portals to wherever she wants to go and can even view things in other places just by making a rectangular shape out of her fingers. She enjoys messing with Staz and testing his powers to see how strong he really is. Wolf is a territory boss just like Staz. He and Staz have known each other since they were kids and have an interesting relationship as rivals. Braz is Staz’s older brother who Staz hates. He often experiments on Staz and is kind of one of the antagonists of the series. Liz is Staz’s younger sister and the jail keeper of what appears to be the largest prison in the underworld. She hates Staz because he gets most of Braz’s attention.
The rest of the background characters are either forgettable or were just introduced around the end of the anime and barely get any screen time. It’s a pretty large cast of characters for an anime with only 10 episodes.
Enjoyment – 6/10
I thought the series was rushed too much and would have done much better with 12 or 13 episodes. The manga was already fast paced and the anime only sped that up as it sometimes put about 3 chapters into a single episode. The art is just too colorful in my opinion, and the soundtrack really doesn’t stand out at all. While Staz is a good protagonist, Fuyumi is just a horrible heroine. The rest of the cast is both good and bad as well. It’s definitely not the best show this season, though it’s not really the worst either. If you’re looking for vampire anime (despite being extremely different) I would recommend Shiki instead. If you’re looking for comedy and action then try Blue Exorcist which has a very similar feeling and similar protagonists.
Zaku88
There exists an alternate world full of demons which one can reach through magical portals. A somewhat air-headed human girl named Fuyumi accidentally travels though such a portal and is soon captured by demons. Luckily Staz, the head of the demons, is a carefree vampire who wants to break away from his clan's past and has no intentions of harming Fuyumi. Unfortunately, he's not terribly attentive and Fuyumi is soon gobbled up by a giant flower-monster. Greatly attracted to something unknown about Fuyumi, Staz vows to restore Fuyumi's ghost to her former body, which is now a frowning pile of bones. Blood Lad is a light-heartedaction/comedy with a fair dosage of ecchi. An extremely short and ultimately incomplete work, this is a good watch as a shonen piece. There is not enough depth or complexity to warrant the seinen tag nor is there enough character progress to warrant a romance tag. If you're looking for some bloody quick action (of the fighting/magic sort) by all means give this a try. If not, I'd wait to see if there is a sequel before jumping in. As it is, there are too many unanswered questions for this to be a fulfilling watch.
Animation:
Blood Lad seems to be going for a cool shonen look. The coloring is quite saturated (except for the vampires' pale skin) and lots of characters have rather funky clothing. Backgrounds are rather simplistic and detailing is only average at best. Character styling is definitely unique with a lot of interesting designs and twists on established monster stereotypes, my favorite being Yukiotoko, a snowman who is cold from his own existence. In certain short sequences characters are drawn with different hair colors, a stylistic choice I guess. What kind of irritated me was the fact that the protagonist Staz was drawn with such a lack of emotional range. He is either calm and collected or grinning and collected. While a laid back protagonist is fine, having some emotional range would do a lot to engage the viewers.
There's plenty of action in this show with a range of physical and magical battles. There are quite a few non-traditional attacks that differentiate this from your typical show but nothing that will knock you off your feet either. Expect a fair amount of blood and carnage though, with this being a pretty light-hearted show, nothing is really gruesome in an Elfen Lied sense. There is a fair amount of ecchi in this show ranging from finger licking to bouncing body parts and skimpy clothing.
Sound:
Blood Lad opens with a rock based OP fit for the amount of action in the show. I don't really like the melody and don't particularly care for the singer's voice. The ED is a slightly slower rock piece with a much better singer and melody. The "cool" theme is further reflected in the BGM, which has a percussion-heavy tune with electronic, guitar, and brass-based instruments that gives the series a unique feel.
The VA cast is relatively young and new but does a fair job at bringing some life to the characters. I think Emi Bridcut did a great job as Hydra Bell, who has by far the most depth out of all the characters.
Story:
This is a fairly light-hearted show though there are some pretty late plot twists/revelations. The show has quite a few subplots running alongside the main plotline of trying to revive Fuyumi. Annoyingly, these subplots are developed a lot more than the core goal. In fact, once Staz decides to revive Fuyumi, he seems to be doing everything but that (i.e. getting endlessly sidetracked). Thus, while we learn a lot about Staz's family and the demon realm, we still don't have a good grasp of how Fuyumi can be a human again.
As explained above, expect meandering arcs about various subplots, many of which have their own rising action and climax. While the story progression is fair, there are still way too many unanswered questions at the end of the show. The final conclusion is more of a teaser than a conclusion, which obviously begs for a second season. The caveat is that the events of this show are the type that a viewer soon forgets (think the gap between White Album and White Album Second Season). Thus, I recommend waiting for a second offering for a more complete viewing.
Character:
While the show has a lot of interesting and unique personalities, I felt there was a lack of actual development. Hydra Bell is probably the only character that shows any growth and development through the piece. Staz starts as a lazy but powerful vampire and ends the same. Fuyumi starts as a clueless living girl and ends up as a clueless ghost. Wolfboy starts as an underdog fighter and remains such at the end. While you get fair exposition on important characters, we'll have to wait till the second season for any real development.
Value:
If you walked into this series based on a potentially intriguing relationship between Staz and Fuyumi forget it. Drop this and move on or this show will leave you with an agonizing, unfulfilled feeling. Otherwise, add this to your list and wait for a second season. Blood Lad is a unique but incomplete work; a concept that, due to such a partial execution, really doesn't hold its own.
AgelessPharaoh
When i read the plot line for this anime i was thrilled , honestly speaking , i really was . I felt this show had a lot of potential , but it turned out to be a random packed bagage of genres . From action to nonsense , from there to drama and back to nonsense in a split of a second i was shocked that it was possible . Don't get me wrong i enjoyed that and had this little feeling that something like that might just happen in this show after the first 30 seconds . In a way it soundslike i am contradicting myself here . Ok , in other words this show turned out to be something else that i thought it would be , but even so it wasn't bad .
The story was nicely told , not rushed , a lot of things that i didn't expect to happen , happened , plus that if this anime will continue an even better story will arise , that's only my speculation , i didn't read the manga , or any other spoilers , lets call it ' instinct ' .
What i didn't see here was any character development , maybe a little on Staz's part and Liz's side as well , but otherwise the main heroine was the same from the start to the end , useless , with an acute Orihime Syndrome , the bad guys were nice , but totaly inexistent , let's not forget about the ones who would normaly aid the MC , the support characters , they were the best ( sarcasm here ) . Anyway we can't expect any major difference in the characters in a 10 eps long anime , that is almost impossible , i think .
Art and Animation were above averange that is for sure , the effects were really nice done , plus the design of the world was done perfectly for this kind of show , well the mangaka who wrote this has done that , but lets give credit to the animators as well .
For the Sound part i didn't really notice anything special , maybe i am tone deaf , but that is my humble opinion .
All in all this show is made to make you laugh at how a vampire is trying to revive a human girl , even if that means leaving his safe zone . Maybe in the future the story will get a lot more serious , but until then those who haven't watched it do so you won't regret a thing .
PS : Here the vampires don't sparkle in the sunlight , so don't worry and enjoy .
RomanceZero
I loved this anime. As you can see I gave it an 8 for overall because I just love vampires. If you love vampires, harem, and a girl who dies within the first episode by a plant than watch this! There is a scene were this main female character is naked (so don't watch it with parents.) I found this anime REALLY funny and I just loved Staz. The story is about this girl who somehow got into the monster world and everyone there were surprised and sorrounding her so yeah she was pretty freaked out. Now they called Staz which is their leader sortaand he I think he likes manga and Japan (i'm not 100% sure) So when they brought the girl to him he was really interesting in her because she was a human... and he hasn't met humans I think. Then he leaves her in his room because there were some people outside and they were doing bad things and he had to get rid of them. Now he left this plant there which eats people... So as you can guess the plant ATE the girl and she was there as a ghost (not really scary) naked. (but they brought her clothes.) That's the story.
I loved the art,sound, and characters.
Overall in MY opinion the anime was an 8 out of 10 because of the comedy
EbiNewin
The Video review is up on my youtube, but here is the written Review. Story - 4/10 Vampires used to be seen as fearsome creatures back in the day, but these days they are usually seen as heroes or anti-heroes. The story begins as a normal day of a vampire named, Staz Charlie Blood, his own territory boss, until, Fuyumi Yanagi, an ordinary human girl wanders herself into the human world and is taken to Staz. Now naturally when you think of vampire, they’ll of course suck her blood, but unlike his ancestors he avoids attacking humans. However Staz does find an interest in her, untilshe is killed and turned into a ghost. So the main premise of the show is that Staz is trying to find a way to resurrect Fuyumi back to a normal human. So he can find that satisfaction he had for her when she was alive, because when she turned into a ghost he lost that attraction. It’s a basic plot, but following the story is kind of hard.
The show is only 10 episodes long and usually one episode has like around 3 different plots. The story jumps around a lot, and that can be confusing. It felt really rushed and even in the end it wasn’t satisfying, as if it was setting up for something bigger. This in turn is kind of disappointing because I was really interested and hooked into the world of Blood Lad. The Demon world, is such a unique and exciting place. I like how the writers were able to put all these supernatural creatures, from vampires to werewolves to frankenstein and many more creatures into one show, and it actually makes some sort of sense. Because there is so much different powers and abilities in this world, if you were to look away for just a bit you could miss out on something. Because there is so much things going on, it’s quite easy to miss something along the way.
Characters - 7/10
Staz Charlie Blood is the main protagonist of the show. He is the boss of a territory in the Demon World. He is rather powerful often usually able to defeat any opponent, and that is proven further down the track as he becomes stronger. What you probably didn’t expect is that Staz is also an otaku. He is obsess with Japanese culture whether its video games or manga. But it’s more like he’s obsess with the human world, as hinted when he saw Fuyumi. Despite looking unreliable, he is dependable, once he’s made up his mind he tries very hard to achieve his goal, even though he may not look like it, he has enough motivation to. What I like about this character is the mystery surrounding his past and his motives. Because he has interesting past, but also his motives are mystery as well, which really adds to his character, if he didn’t have those mystery surrounding him, he would be a generic never say die character, with a bit of cockiness added. The fact that he’s an otaku, many common anime lovers can relate to a protagonist. Because to be honest, not a lot of people are a fan of vampires, because you know…twilight.
Fuyumi Yanagi is the main female heroin in the series. Actually I wouldn’t really say heroin more of a constant damsel in distress. She is a normal Japanese School Girl who accidentally wanders into the Demon world and gets herself killed and therefor she becomes a ghost. Although she is very kind and supportive person, she is completely useless. Yes it does make sense since she comes from the human world, it would make sense for her not to have any powers. She’s pretty much just around for plot device. She relies a lot of the other characters around her to get things done. She is Staz’s driving force, but also everyone else’s object, because she literally gets tossed around by everyone. Seriously she’s rather generic and kind of annoying. She’s also kind of there for fan service. The only the conflict I did enjoy from her was as the series went on, she grows accustom to the demon world which brings the question, does she want to be a human or stay as a demon. But that storyline is short lived and left unanswered.
Bell Hydra and Wolf are the other main characters of the show. Bell is a mischievous treasure hunter and her defining appearance is her oversize big ass backpack. Who knows what she carriers in there, maybe just a lot of different frames she uses as portals, because that’s her power. She's around to pretty much ruin people’s day, she’s not evil, but she’s very tricky which can annoy some, and I like her interactions with Staz, because she rivals him. Wolf is Staz’s friend and rival, not much can be said about him other than he is wild. He’s motivation for helping Staz is because he simply has a crush on Fuyumi. But even he was barely given enough screen time to be interesting, there was really any development in him and he is supposed to be Staz’s rival, and Staz did develop.
Most the characters have an interesting backstory and past, but because of the run time and how short the anime was, it wasn’t fully explored. Most of the characters only had a few episodes to shine, but there wasn’t enough development in them. Even some of the later characters in the series were hinted of motivations for doing what they were doing, but that is left unanswered, so you’re wondering why was this character introduced in the first place. Also because the ending is left open ended, the character development just felt like one piece of a great puzzle that was going to be something bigger. So it really feels incomplete and it’s disappointing because I felt there could’ve been potential for these characters.
Animation and Sound - 7/10, 6/10
This was probably Blood Lad’s strongest point lies, which is the art style. It’s a unique art style, all the characters besides Fuyumi have the evil anime eyes, so you can’t really tell who’s good and who is bad, which I like. Also the Demon world is surprisingly full of colours, everything really looks unique and because they jump around the demon world a lot, you get to see a lot of different settings. Also all characters look unique as well and they look good. Albeit the colour scheme is still very basic and you can see as if some of the backgrounds weren’t completed, but that just goes to the art style. Some people are going to have a problem with the art, because it’s not typical and does look sometime simplistic. The animation does shine around some of the fight scenes though, the effects look good and every character has their own power and animation which is a really shining point in the anime, but it’s too short lived most of the fight scenes.
The soundtrack is ok, it’s nothing special. The soundtrack suits the mood and different settings and locations of the show. The show has a good mixture of gothic music to suit the theme of the show, I particular like it the most when they play some punk rock in it. Of course being a vampire theme anime you’re going to get some organs in here and there, but that’s not to say they have some comedic music in there from time to time. The opening and ending themes are ok, the ending does it job, however I do enjoy the opening as it really sets up the show very well, not to mention it basically shows what’s going to be happening in the whole show.
Enjoyment - 7/10
One thing Blood Lad does very well is having a character with an otaku background. So despite being a vampire he is somewhat relatable. But because when you have a character based on an otaku population, most of the jokes in the show are based on different anime and manga etc. And if you don’t get the reference you’re probably not going to be laughing as hard, but if you do get the reference they make you can enjoy the show. Some of the other jokes tend to involve slapstick comedy, so other than parodying and slapstick they don’t have a huge range of jokes. Because during my time of watching Blood Lad, I don’t think I laughed really hard. But only some jokes where I did get the references, I got a good satisfaction out of it. The genre really surprised me, because I was able to see so many different supernatural things in one place and see how the world unfolds around them, which is what I like about the show.
Verdict - 6/10
For the story of Blood Lad I give it a 4. For the reason it’s incomplete and hard to follow, yet it has a simple premise. Plus the story felt really rushed and yet, it didn’t conclude properly. The only thing I really enjoyed was the whole concept of the Demon world, as I felt I really needed to see more because it was an interesting world.
As far as characters go, they get a 7 from me. Reason being I think most of them were interesting to a point, but they just weren’t fully developed and left out, so I was disappointed. But I did enjoy the character interactions with each other and I think Staz’s mystery really adds to him. I did find the characters likable by the way.
For the animation and sound I give it a 7 and 6 respectively. The art style is unique and that’s positive, but because it’s unique it may not appeal to too many people and plus some of it looks basic. But I like how everything is unique and actions scenes were great, but short lived. The sound does it’s job and opening theme setups the anime really well.
For my own personal enjoyment, I give it a 7. I’m not a huge fan on vampires, but the anime was able to create a character I normally don’t enjoy as much to a character I like because he’s relatable. And I understood some of the references the anime was making, and it made me laugh which it should be doing for a comedy series. But I found myself confused sometime because the story constantly jumps and expects me to be paying attention to everything, expects it to be funny even when I don’t get the references.
So after rounding all the scores up I give Blood Lad a 6/10. It’s not a bad anime, it’s above average because it’s uniqueness and likeable cast of characters. The main character is relatable, however if you don’t understand some of the references, you’re probably not going to enjoy it as much. I recommend this anime to Vampire fans, as I think that’s the only type of people who may enjoy it, because it’s hard to follow.
moonlight-ana
Officially finished Blood Lad! Final thoughts? 3.5/10 I picked this up as it had been sitting in my Hulu queue for quite some time now, the art was what caught my eye when I added it to the list and to be quite frank that's really the only reason I continued on with it. Plot- 2/10 It really wasn't that interesting to me, I found the show hard to keep interested in as I didn't find it really intriguing, the plot itself did peak my interest but when I was actually watching it, I found myself anticipating the end more than anything. I never found Otaku culture in animeto be fascinating, the genre itself was honestly ruined for me a while back. I prefer every other genre than that. And even though it had action and comedy it truly wasn't my cup of tea.
Animation-
5/10
The art itself was nothing too special but it was pleasing! The fight scenes did really get me absorbed into the show when they were happening, I'm also a small fan of pop colors at random moments so I also did enjoy those scenes. But that being said, if I hadn't added it into my list years ago I doubt I would've watched it today as the art didn't really catch my eye as compared to other stuff I've watched.
Characters-
3/10
Once again, the characters weren't exactly interesting in my opinion, the only ones I truly enjoyed weren't even the main *main* characters, and that was Wolf and Bell. Otherwise, I didn't really enjoy them, I pitied Liz and Fuyumi more than anything, everyone else seemed to annoy me, especially Staz. I just couldn't click with them. If a majority of them didn't have dub voice actors I found comfort in, I probably wouldn't even like them as much as I do.
Overall thoughts-
I'm not saying it's the worst anime known to man, I'd rather go through this again than deal with the disaster that is Rosario, but will I ever pick up the manga? Maybe, it's at the bottom of my list. Will I rewatch this or collect merchandise from it? Nope! I might give it a try again in the future but it's wasted potential in my opinion.
