Oct 092000
 
two reels

Saya, a vampire hunter in Japan just as the Vietnam is about to heat up, is sent by a secret organization to a girl’s school on an American military base. There she seeks out vampiric demons that hide as students.

Quick Review: I’d like to say you should rush out and see this anime film immediately.  Mixing cell animation and CG, no anime looks better.  It suggests an intricate world, with analogies galore.  The pre-Vietnam setting is an underused one, particularly for vampires, and ripe for inspection.  Blood: The Last Vampire, is set up to be brilliant.  But it isn’t, and I can only recommend it when all other options are missing.

The problem is that this isn’t a movie at all.  Running just 48 minutes, it feels like the middle of a film.  None of the mysteries are explained.  None of the possibilities are explored.  Outside of revealing Saya as a vampire (a surprise ruined by the title), her background isn’t touched upon.  Who is she and why does she hunt?  What are the demons she kills?  What is the organization she works for?  What is the connection to the American war?  Nothing is answered.  All the film gives us is Saya running in, finding demons, and fighting them.  The end.  Perhaps a sequel (and a prequel) will make this interesting.  Until then, it nicely animated, but vacuous.