6.5 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
The story revolves around Mina Tepes, princess-ruler of all vampires, and her "protector," Akira. Mina gains permission to create a special district for vampires, "The Bund", off the coast of Japan by paying off the national debt of the Japanese government. Tensions, however, run high as fearful humans and extremist vampire factions begin to interfere with Mina's wish for peace with the human world.
Starring: Aoi Yûki, Yûichi Nakamura, Chiwa Saito, Ken Narita, Yuzuru FujimotoAnime | 100% |
Foreign | 94% |
Action | 25% |
Romance | 19% |
Supernatural | 9% |
Horror | Insignificant |
Drama | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1, 2.35:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Japanese: Dolby TrueHD 2.0
English: Dolby TrueHD 5.1
English
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Four-disc set (2 BDs, 2 DVDs)
DVD copy
Slipcover in original pressing
Region A, B (C untested)
Movie | 3.5 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 2.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Did anyone ever think Bela Lugosi was sexy, for crying out loud? Yes, women evidently fainted at those early 1930’s screenings of Dracula, but probably not due to Lugosi’s sex appeal. Even later depictions of the famed vampire like the Hammer outings didn’t exactly reek of sex appeal, at least with regard to Dracula himself, if not the often pulchritudinous females who were frequently cast as damsels in distress. Frank Langella holds the singular honor of being the first “modern” sexy Dracula, and his Broadway and screen adapatations are often heralded as sly and lascivious takes on the ancient character. But sometime after Langella’s Dracula had faded into the sunset (or sunrise, as the case may be), somehow vampires as a species (so to speak) became incredibly romantic (even Romantic) figures, doomed souls with chips on their shoulders who seemed to have everything a teenage girl could want in a boyfriend. Add in a petulant werewolf or two and you have the makings of a massive cultural phenomenon a la Twilight. That same approach is taken by Dance in the Vampire Bund, an interesting if ultimately surprisingly tame outing by famed director Shinbo that has a lot of fascinating ideas roaming around its anime head, but doesn’t seem to have the ability to focus any of them into a compelling presentation. Dance in the Vampire Bund ends up being an OK time killer, certainly interesting and unique enough to hold the viewer’s attention, but after it’s all said and done, a lot of fans are probably going to be asking themselves, “That’s it?”
Dance in the Vampire Bund is another native HD presentation from FUNimation, encoded via AVC in 1080p and mostly in 1.78:1 (some flashbacks and similar elements play in 2.35:1), and the image quality is one of the best selling points of the series. This is often a very nice looking series, full of great, sharp (no pun intended) animation, with a great, varied palette that pops very nicely throughout the run of the show. Character designs are also well above average, and the line detail on this Blu-ray is excellent. There are a number of different styles the show employs, and while nowhere near as innovative as, say, Soul Eater, Dance in the Vampire Bund exploits a number of disparate approaches—including the "Vampire Maid" interstitials—that keeps the show visually interesting. If the series itself had been able to rise to the level the visual presentation often does, it would have been a much better enterprise.
Dance in the Vampire Bund offers the original Japanese language track in a lossless Dolby TrueHD 2.0 format, while also offering a surprisingly nice Dolby TrueHD 5.1 English dub. There are pluses to both of these options. The original Japanese track seems to capture the vocal nuances of the characters perhaps better than the English track. On the other hand, this is a fairly inventive soundtrack, full of sound effects and score that are incredibly bass heavy at times, and the 5.1 track really allows that copious use of LFE to spread out and envelope the listener. Fidelity is excellent on both of these choices, and there's a very nice dynamic range present on both of them. For those who can't abide reading subtitles, you don't have to feel too guilty in opting for the English language track, and in fact there's a good argument for listening to it one way or the other, as it does offer a fair amount of immersion and surround activity.
This is one of those series that I'd put squarely in the "close, but no cee-gar" category. Dance in the Vampire Bund actually has a lot to recommend it, and it may find its own cult audience, but it simply traffics in too many time honored clichés to ever really break free and present something truly innovative. The added detraction of a slightly smarmy undercurrent running through Mina's storyline at least may also turn off some viewers. But the show does feature a very strong visual presentation, and the soundtrack is bristling with energy and a lot of low end "oomph." This may be a case where you'll want to check Dance in the Vampire Bund out as a rental before commiting to it as a purchase.
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