A 48 minute long trailer masquerading as a movie.

Taking place during 1966 in Japan, before the United States launches its attack on Vietnam. The government has other concerns dealing with vampire like, shape shifting creatures called Chiropterans. The creatures are blending in with regular people and are feeding on them. A girl named Saya armed with a sword, and super human strength is sent to kill the creatures. -summary

Some consider Blood: The Last Vampire a masterpiece. I consider it a masterpiece as well. It's a masterpiece in providing the blueprint on exactly how not to make a movie, and any aspiring film maker would do himself a favor and take notes. Blood: The Last Vampire to me, is a 48 minute long trailer displaying advanced animation techniques and that is just about it. As I mentioned for my title, it's nothing more than a trailer masquerading as a movie. But somehow, its supposed greatness has managed to fool quite a few people.

Visually, Blood: The Last Vampire can hold its own against the best. 3D CGI and digital animation are combined effectively. One thing that I have to say is that this long trailer is a feast for the eyes. Everything is done with exceptional care; facial expressions, displaying rank on military gear, name tags, lighting during subway tunnels, action, and it glides flawlessly to each scene.

Another subtle detail is that the artwork provides the time period and current event, such as Halloween to help establish its setting before it's mentioned. Some of these details don't really require much attention, and it's a brilliant technique to establish the setting. I also give credit to the voice work. Almost all anime make you believe that everyone can speak Japanese. Blood: The Last Vampire actually uses bilingual voice actors which does add to the realism, but someone forgot to tell these people(and the fans) that these features alone doesn't make an anime great.

It really baffles my mind when supposed film cinephiles, those who truly claim to know film actually believes this has a great story. I'm still trying to find this greatness after ten years, and I consider myself pretty good when analyzing film. First of all, we have a main character with no background and no motivation. If she is a vampire, why is she killing her own kind? Why does Saya freak out to the mention of Jesus name and crucifixes? Does it repel her according to vampire folklore? If it does, then a plot hole was actually created. More whys on the way... Why can't she kill humans? Why was a military installation and a school targeted? Why was this particular time period used as the setting? Thanks to the lack of thought put into the most important aspects to any film, which happens to be the story and plot. You can forget about learning these things.

This is how I see it. The story could have taken place anywhere, anytime, and any character resembling a creature of the night could have filled this role. Due to the severe lack of character background and story, there is no way to link a real connection. Therefore, playing connect the dots is rather futile, and you have a main character with pretty moving pictures that anyone who requires thought in their movies may not even care about.

This movie as one can see, creates a lot of questions that are supposedly, and subtly fitted in the storyline to create mystery. Make no mistake about this, the mystery is definitely there. However, I don't find all of the lack of information accompanying the mystery too interesting.

To summarize, Blood: The Last Vampire is not for everyone. It is definitely not for those who need a good well written story containing character development and a plot. However, it is definitely for those who crave excellent visuals and action first. There is lots of violence and a bit of profanity, but I do not recommend this one at all.

Pros:
-Superb and very detailed animation & artwork

Cons:
-Phantom story. A whole lot of "?"