7.1 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Saya is a seemingly normal girl living with her father in a shrine. During the day she goes to school and spends time with her friends at a local cafe. But when night falls Saya is called upon to protect her village from strange monsters.
Starring: Nana Mizuki, Tatsuhisa Suzuki, Atsushi Abe, Masumi Asano, Keiji FujiwaraAnime | 100% |
Foreign | 98% |
Action | 25% |
Fantasy | 18% |
Mystery | Insignificant |
Horror | Insignificant |
Thriller | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.78:1
English: Dolby TrueHD 5.1 (48kHz, 16-bit)
Japanese: Dolby TrueHD 2.0
English
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Four-disc set (2 BDs, 2 DVDs)
DVD copy
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 4.0 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 4.5 | |
Extras | 2.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Note: It's next to impossible to discuss Blood-C without at least hinting at one major plot point which might
be considered a spoiler. For those who haven't seen the series and don't want to be able to even guess what's being
hinted at, it's probably best to just skip to the technical aspects of the review, below.
Most of us have probably shaken our fists at the sky at some point in our lives and demanded of any unseen
omnipotent entities that we assume are watching us, “Why are you doing this to me?” The vagaries of life take
most of us on a veritable roller coaster ride of highs and lows, but when things get really bad, we’re more often
than not prone to wonder what we’ve done to deserve such misfortune, searching (usually in vain) for a cause
and effect scenario. Rather interestingly from a psychological perspective, we very seldom tend to question fate when
good fortune comes our way, something that some might argue is at least as deserving of inquiry as
bad luck. Job set the template for a human being besieged with calamity, and the writer of that iconic Biblical
tome gave the reader a fascinating framing device, where we’re privy to the fact that Job’s trials and tribulations are
part of an epic “game” of sorts between the forces of good and evil. But for poor Job, who has no idea that he’s a
pawn in a kind of unseemly spiritual battle, it just seems like everything is going to hell in a handbasket, with him
powerless to do anything about it. Something akin to that scenario is at the core of the often gruesome but quite
compelling anime series Blood-C, a sequel of sorts to Blood +. Once again we have a heroine named
Saya, and she is once again a formidable katana wielder out to rid her sylvan village of some pretty nasty monsters.
But Blood-C has a whole “meta” aspect to it, including an omniscient narrator who lets us in right from the get
go that there’s something else going on here than the mere “girl fighting goblins” plotline we’re watching. In fact, the
narrator presents the viewer with the very same framing device that the long ago writer of the Book of Job did in that
piece, providing a window into what is a tableau where at least some of the participants aren’t aware they’re part of a
“staged” reality.
Blood-C is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of FUNimation Entertainment with an AVC encoded 1080p in 1.78:1. The series is awash in shades of red and black, and those pop extremely well throughout virtually every episode. Line detail is quite clear and sharp and character designs, while a bit formulaic at time, also have some distinctive elements. The beasts, which often seem to have erupted from a nearby H.P. Lovecraft story, are suitably spooky, kind of like mutant gargoyles come to life. As with several other recent FUNimation releases, there are some recurrent banding issues, which are especially noticeable when the image fades or segues to another sequence.
Blood-C features Dolby TrueHD mixes for both the English language dub (in 5.1) and the original Japanese language version (in 2.0). As is typical with these releases, the Japanese version is not only obviously narrower, it's much less aggressively mixed. One really interesting aspect is the complete difference in tonal qualities between the Japanese and English Sayas. All of this said, the English audio is absolutely remarkable in terms of its ambient environmental surround activity. What's ironic is that some might expect the battle sequences to be the showiest aspect of the mix—and there's no denying that these sequences are showy—but what really impresses over and over is the subtle use of things like cicadas buzzing, the breeze rustling the leaves, and similar effects, effects which often melt into each other in very lifelike ways and often provide some startling immersion. Fidelity is excellent and dynamic range is extremely wide.
Blood-C seems to be a fairly rote series on its surface, what with its magically empowered young girl battling a host of supernatural ghouls. But the framing device here is what gives the series its edge, and it ultimately blossoms at the end of the series' rather short arc into a disturbing and very compelling experience. Getting there is a bit of a slog, though, and it takes a certain amount of patience (and tolerance) to make it through the more standard elements to get to the gist of what makes Blood-C so fascinating. Those who are willing to peer past the appearance into the essence may find this to be an unusually provocative series, though everyone should be aware this is, as its title intimates, a pretty bloody affair from start to finish. This Blu-ray offers excellent video and superior sound, and comes with some appealing supplements. Recommended.
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