DVD Review: Black Blood Brothers
Rating: 
Before you read this review, in the interest of full disclosure, I should point out that I am not a vampire person. I think they’re way overdone these days. However, there are lots of vampire fans out there, which is why I’m a little surprised that Black Blood Brothers has slipped under the radar in America.
In Black Blood Brothers there are two kinds of vampires: the regular kind (think Anne Rice) and the Kowloon Children. The Kowloon Children are a recently-emerged bloodline; their point of origin is the now-deceased Kowloon King. Kowloon children differ from regular vampires in two significant ways: they can convert humans and other vampires to their bloodline simply by biting them (regular vampires have to convert people the old-fashioned way: by feeding them some of their own blood, and they can’t convert other vampires) and they exert mind-control powers over their ‘children’. Also, while the earliest generations of Kowloon Children (direct descendants of the Kowloon King) seem relatively reasonable, later generations are raving lunatics with one impulse: to chomp whoever is in sight and turn them to Kowloon Children as well.
Ten years before the series opens, the emergence of the Kowloon Children caused a vampire war known as the Hong Kong Crusade. The war ended when Jiro Mochizuki, a vampire who had lost his lover/creator in the war, killed the Kowloon King. Since then he’s been in hiding with his little brother, Kotaro. As the series opens he and Kotaro leave their sanctuary and venture into the world, returning to Jiro’s native Japan and the Special Zone, an island off Japan’s coast where humans and vampires live in relative peace. The Special Zone is run by the Order Coffin Company, a corporation composed of both vampires and humans. The Company runs every aspect of the island’s government, including law enforcement: they employ special vampire suppression teams as well as Compromisers, humans trained to resolve vampire disputes without violence.
News of Jiro’s return to the world has preceded him, however. His arrival at the Special Zone is greeted by an attack of unknown vampires and by Mimiko, a Compromiser sent by the Company. Touched by Kotaro’s cuteness and Jiro’s air of mystery, she promises to help them settle into the Special Zone.
It’s easier promised than done, though. The vampire clans living in the Special Zone are reluctant to accept responsibility for a notorious vampire capable of killing a Source Blood (the powerful progenitor of a vampire bloodline). Even Sei, Jiro’s ally in the Hong Kong Crusade, refuses to offer his protection, for reasons unknown. The only clan head who shows interest is the sociopathic Zelman Clock, who seems to guess at some secret surrounding Kotaro’s existence. Predictably (but amusingly) Jiro and Kotaro are forced to shack up with Mimiko, whose good nature is tested when her apartment is mysteriously blown up.
Things grow ever more dangerous for the trio when Kowloon Children start to pop up in the Special Zone. Tracing the outbreak leads Jiro to Cassandra, a friend-turned-enemy who betrayed him during the Hong Kong Crusade. She’s not after Jiro though; Cassandra is now a Kowloon Child, and she has a much grander scheme in mind than killing him.
Black Blood Brothers’ scant thirteen episodes delve into vampire clan politics, the complex role of the Company, a deadly secret hidden in the Special Zone, Cassandra’s plans, and the secrecy surrounding Kotaro’s origins. There’s also sword fighting, speedboat racing, and lots of neck-sucking, vampire-impaling action. It almost works.
But that’s a lot to pack into thirteen episodes, and many elements are left unexplained: the nature and motivation of the feud between Jiro and Cassandra, the annoyingly vague events of the Hong Kong Crusade, and the structure and purpose of the Company. The series is based on some light novels, and it shows- you don’t have to turn your brain off to watch the show, but you can fold laundry or paint miniatures or something while it’s on. The ending, while unexpectedly bittersweet, will probably not be enough for many viewers.
Which is a shame, because the characters in Black Blood Brothers are interesting and sympathetic, even if some are a little stereotypical. In the first episode, Kotaro was set up to be an annoying, careless little brat, but he ended us growing on me. Mimiko is a common sort of anime heroine: ditzy, kind, eager to help, but ready to pound Jiro if it even looks like he’s trying to peek down her blouse. There’s Cassandra, the seductive psychopath; Sei, the incredibly powerful vampire trapped in the body of an adorable little kid; a flamboyant Company detective; the dangerous-but-entertaining Zelman Clock; and, finally, Jiro, the mysterious hero with a tragic past. But while he does his share of brooding and angst-dripping, Jiro possesses a sharp sense of humor and has some truly funny scenes, mostly involving his weaknesses: water and sunlight.
And that’s a refreshing thing about Black Blood Brothers. These vampires have weaknesses: they can’t enter the Special Zone without being invited; they are susceptible to death by silver, impalement, and water. They aren’t Anne Rice-Queen of the Damned vampire superheroes. They can be defeated, and often are, even by humans.
The animation by Group TAC/Studio Live is nice and clean, though there’s nothing special about the character designs. Pointy noses and round faces abound. Kotaro seems to be channeling Quatre from Gundam Wing, with khakis, a vest, and a mop of blonde hair. Jiro is the tall, dark type, though his clothing is hardly discreet- he wears the bizarre combination of black palazzo pants, a pointy wizard hat and a bright red coat with more buckles than a closet full of straitjackets (and sometimes a parasol to boot). But when you look at what the other vampires are wearing these days, it doesn’t really stand out that much. As for the voice acting, both the sub and dub are great. Funimation does some of the best dubs around.
The opening and ending themes are fairly typical: the opening, “Ashita no Kioku” is an energetic pop song with the usual lyrics about protecting those you love etc. The ending song is rather nice: “Shingiru” by Loveholic is a sad, angry song about lost love.
The Funimation release is well-done; the DVD covers are handsomely designed. Each of the three volumes includes trailers, textless songs and commentaries from the Japanese cast and crew. The show is rated TV-MA, though that seems to be a rather extreme reaction to the show’s violence and occasional sexual innuendo. I wouldn’t have any qualms about giving this to a twelve-year-old to watch.
Black Blood Brothers certainly isn’t the best anime to come out this year, but it’s entertaining, even for a non-vampire fan. If you have a few days off work or a weekend with the spouse gone, it might just be worth a few hours of your time. Just don’t expect too much.
Details
Publisher: Funimation
Director: Hiroaki Yoshikawa
Stars: 3
Running Time: 300 minutes
MPAA Rating: TV-MA
MSRP: $29.98
Release Date: 2/26/2008
Buy:
http://www.amazon.com/Black-Blood-Brothers-Chapter-Tidings/dp/B0010X8NK0/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1218500990&sr=8-1
Links
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0878230/
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