Customer Reviews

Black Blood Brothers: The Complete Series

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

There's really not a lot of original, un-cliched vampire television and/or movies out there. Your best bet is anime.

One good example of this is "Black Blood Brothers," an all-too-short anime that spins up several kinds of vampires -- good, bad, and creepy ones. Gorgeous art, a likable lead vampire, and a very unique mythology -- and while the first couple episodes are decent but not outstanding, the story starts to really bloom when the bad-guy vampires enter the scene. Too bad it ended WAY prematurely.

Two vampires -- powerful Jiro and his little brother Kotaro -- are stowing away on a Chinese ship on their way to Japan. Their destination: the Safe Zone, where vampires and humans are allowed to coexist. But then a firefight breaks out on board between some immigrant vampires and an anti-vampire military squad, and Jiro has no choice but to get involved.

Afterwards they are helped by a Company worker named Mimiko -- but things get nasty when the military shows up again. And then Jiro learns that his little brother and Mimiko are with the immigrant vampires -- and one of them is a Kowloon Child, the most lethal and contagious form of vampire. And it's headed for the Safe Zone.

Unfortunately this battle isn't the last one Jiro must face. More vampires are attacking them, and some old acquaintances of Jiro's are involved -- including the malignant Cassa, a former companion of his who betrayed him and his long-dead lover. As more Kowloon Children rise in the city, Mimiko starts doing research on something called the "eleventh yard," which is somehow key to the future of the Kowloon Children (and in turn, to everybody else as well).

"Black Blood Brothers" spends a minimum of time setting up its mythology -- you get to see what's going on through brief flashbacks and references to the past (Jiro's grief-filled battle with Cassa in the war). But it's an interesting one -- lots of different breeds of vampires, with different powers, weaknesses, and histories.

It's also a great blend of comedy, mild horror and bullet-dodging action. And in the second half of the series, the action and horror start amping up in a slow build to the climax. But it has some softer edges too -- there are flashbacks to Jiro's tender relationship to the dead Alice, as well as a cute budding relationship with Mimiko (including some rather erotic feeding scenes. The one problem: it feels like there was a second season planned (which was never made) so there are some plot threads hanging.

Jiro is a likable vampire protagonist -- despite being deadly and rather tragic at times, and occasionally whomping his brother on the head, he can also be funny, goofy or affectionate. Despite his tragic past, he doesn't go all emo on us, and he has outbursts of all-too-human emotion ("You're DEAD!" he yells at an ally who messed up their travel plans) that make him very likable.

Kotaro isn't quite as endearing, primarily because he's a spunky little kid. It's almost impossible not to make them annoying, but he does have some endearing moments. And though she seems rather irritable at first, Mimiko makes an excellent potential love interest for Jiro. Cassa is deliciously nasty, and there's also the enigmatic child-king Sei, the delightfully sociopathic Clock, and the traumatized Kelly.

Despite its lack of a "real" ending, the "Black Blood Brothers" series is a solid anime series -- it has a delightful balance of blood, vampires, laughs and plenty of action. Definitely worth checking out.

From 2004-2006, author Kohei Azano and illustrator Yuuya Kusaka had worked on his light novel series "Black Blood Brothers" (a.k.a. BuBuBu) which was serialized in "Monthly Dragon Magazine" and "Monthly Dragon Age". In 2006, Studio Live and Group TAC produced a 12-episode anime series which aired on Tokyo MX.

With the popularity of vampire-based series and storylines in America as of late, now is a perfect time for FUNimation to release the vampire-based anime series on Blu-ray.

The series is directed by Hiroaki Yoshikawa (who worked on "Chaos;Head", "Grenadier" and various "Pokemon" films), writer Yuu Sugitani ("Gin Rei", "World of Narue") and features character designs by Toshiyuki Sugano (various "Dragon Ball" related series, "Trigun", "Gungrave"), art backgrounds by Yoji Yoshikawa ("Grenadier", "EX-Driver", "Aria the Natural") and mechanical design by Nishiki Itaoka ("Grenadier", "Alien Nine").


VIDEO:

"Black Blood Brothers - The Complete Series" is presented in 1080p HD 16×9. The series was released in 2006 and is an upscale, but picture quality-wise, it is a good upscale in which edge enhancement is limited and I did not see any combing or major compression artifacts. Blacks are nice and deep and I've checked to see if there was lot of haloing and I didn't see too much of it, but there are scenes where you do see it but by no means is it distracting at all.

At first, I had questioned the overall look of this vampire anime series. I thought Jiro's red outfit was somewhat lame at first. But actually, the costume kind of grown on me and if anything, I can possibly see how cosplayers would go crazy to dress like Jiro or the Dark covenant. But character designer Toshiyuki Sugano (worked on key animation for "Dragon Ball" related series) did a good job with the overall character designs. There is a bit of softness to the overall look and feel to the series.

As for art backgrounds, this is where things differ quite a bit. At times, there are backgrounds that really look nice and some that look plain. Usually, Yoji Yoshikawa is known for solid background art, from his work on "Aria", "Grenadier" and "EX-Driver" but according to the director in the final episode audio commentary, the production group were under the gun in trying to produce this anime series to the final seconds of it having it released and aired on Tokyo MX.

So, it does explain why the series does utilize mostly close up face shots and very little art backgrounds and there are some frames where the blue lines are seen instead of black.

Up-close animation was good and some of the fighting scenes were cool but it's a series that doesn't show fluid battle scenes, more like pieces of scenes of Jirou slashing a vampire rather than the actual frames of action of him doing it. But I figured that since it is shown on Tokyo MX (and is the home for Tokyo Governor Ishihara, the Hanshin Tiers and F.C Tokyo) and is partially owned by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, you're not going to see major violence. There is a small amount of blood but nothing to be scared of.

If anything, the more mature themes, comes from the English dub dialogue (which uses profanity) but other than that, the series is not scary at all.

Overall, animation is fine, while the final episode was especially well-done.

AUDIO:

"Black Blood Brothers - The Complete Series" is presented in English Dolby TrueHD 2.0 and in Japanese Dolby TrueHD 2.0. I have to admit that I was surprised to find out that this action-driven anime series was presented in English Dolby TrueHD 2.0 since most of the anime releases have received a 5.1 lossless soundtrack.

So, for the most part, both lossless soundtracks are front channel driven. Those with a modern receiver can receive a more immersive soundtrack by having their receiver set on stereo on all channels but for the most part, both lossless soundtracks are front channel-driven.

I watched the series both in Japanese and English and both are well-done. I actually enjoyed the English dubbed soundtrack a lot and did test this disc on a few systems and screens. Audio is crisp and clear and its important to note that the English version does give it a more mature feeling because of the profanity that is used. Much different dialogue than its Japanese counterpart.

I will say that the subtitling may be hard to read for those with smaller screens, especially since it utilizes a smaller white font.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

"Black Blood Brothers - The Complete Series" comes with the following special features:

DISC 1:

* EPISODE 1 Commentary - Audio commentary by original creator Kouhei Azano, voice actress Mikako Takahashi (Hibari) and Ryoko Nagata (Mimiko).
* EPISODE 2 Commentary - Audio commentary by original creator Kouhei Azano, voice actress Mikako Takahashi (Hibari) and Ryoko Nagata (Mimiko).
* EPISODE 3 Commentary - Audio commentary by original creator Kouhei Azano, voice actress Mikako Takahashi (Hibari) and Kaki Ueda (Swan).
* EPISODE 4 Commentary - Audio commentary by original creator Kouhei Azano, voice actress Mikako Takahashi (Hibari) and Kaki Ueda (Swan).
* EPISODE 5 Commentary - Audio commentary by voice talents Mikako Takahashi (Hibari), Kaki Ueda (Swan), Hiroki Yasumoto (Cain Warlock).
* EPISODE 6 Commentary - Audio commentary by voice talents Mikako Takahashi (Hibari), Kaki Ueda (Swan), Hiroki Yasumoto (Cain Warlock).
* EPISODE 7 Commentary - Audio commentary by voice talents Mikako Takahashi (Hibari), Kaki Ueda (Swan), Ryoko Nagata (Mimiko) and original series creator Kouhei Azano.
* EPISODE 8 Commentary - Audio commentary by voice talents Mikako Takahashi (Hibari), Kaki Ueda (Swan), Hiroki Yasumoto (Cain Warlock) and original series creator Kouhei Azano.

DISC 2:

* EPISODE 9 Commentary - Audio commentary by voice talents Mikako Takahashi (Hibari), Kaki Ueda (Swan), Hiroki Yasumoto (Cain Warlock) and original series creator Kouhei Azano.
* EPISODE 10 Commentary - Audio commentary by voice talents Mikako Takahashi (Hibari), Kaki Ueda (Swan), Ryoko Nagata (Mimiko) and original series creator Kouhei Azano.
* EPISODE 11 Commentary - Audio commentary by voice talents Mikako Takahashi (Hibari), Kaki Ueda (Swan) and original series creator Kouhei Azano.
* EPISODE 12 Commentary - Audio commentary by voice talents Mikako Takahashi (Hibari), Kaki Ueda (Swan) and original series creator Kouhei Azano.
* Original TV Spots - (2:27) Original Japanese TV commercial spots. (presented in standard definition)
* Original Commercials - (4:29) Original commercials for the various DVD releases in Japan (presented in standard definition).
* Sneak Peeks - (5:16) "Black Blood Brothers" sneak peaks (presented in standard definition).
* Textless Opening Song - Ashita no Kioku
* Textless Closing Song - Shikirou
* Trailers - Upcoming FUNimation Entertainment Trailers.

JUDGMENT CALL:

I have to admit that with the vampire craze still in full-effect in the US, it's perfect timing for FUNimation Entertainment to take advantage of the craze by releasing the anime series "Black Blood Brothers".

As mentioned earlier, I was taken back by the red outfit of the main protagonist, Jiro. I was not feeling any love for this vampire in a red campy outfit but it somehow grew on me and I figured that the Victorian look for some of these vampires will surely attract the cosplayers out there.

But I found the storyline to be quite interesting. In a "Angel" (for the "Buffy the Vampire" series fans) type of way, having this vampire take on other vampires is pretty cool. Granted, you're not going to find any major love between the characters of Jiro and the human Mimiko but their friendship and their adventures through the Special Zone was quite interesting to watch.

The characters, primarily with the three main characters, Jiro, Kotaro and Mimiko were fun to watch, as the humorous banter between the three characters is quite fun to watch at times. Especially to see Jiro teasing Mimiko and to see her get very violent when she feels she is being teased. And as for Kotaro, it's interesting to see Jiro punish his young brother by slamming his head into the wall (yes, Kotaro is a young boy but he is immune to having his face bashed to a wall or being thrown around).

I'm not too familiar with the light novel series from Kouhei Azano, so I'm not too sure of how much of the actual storyline was not featured on the anime series but judging from this series alone, viewers should be content that you do receive some closure with this series and it helps to know that this is a short anime series at 12-episodes long. Also, Azano does play a major role in the audio commentary included in this Blu-ray release.

"Black Blood Brothers" may not be a blood-fes nor a dark, violent anime series but it is a fun and enjoyable series and for the most part, an easily accessible short anime series from FUNimation Entertainment on Blu-ray. I know that there are people who will balk at the decision to not have a lossless 5.1 soundtrack but I'm not going to complain for a series that was released in 2006.

But PQ for an upscale and the inclusion of the Japanese lossless 2.0 soundtrack should make some fans happy. Also, this release also has a lot of audio commentary (one for each episode) by the original Japanese voice talent and a few with the original creator Kouhei Azano plus a good amount of extra special features included as well. This may be the first anime series on Blu-ray in the US to have a commentary track for each episode which is fantastic!

It's important to note that the series is not for younger audiences. For the most part, it's a safe, accessible anime series that doesn't show too much blood but it does have its darker moments and the anime series English soundtrack does have its fair share of profanity.

Overall, "Black Blood Brothers" is a fun, vampire anime series with a good amount of humor, drama and action. It's not the best anime TV series on Blu-ray in the US but it's easy to get into and it is quite fun and very enjoyable and despite being only 12 episodes long, the series makes up for it with the Japanese audio commentary for each episode, which is rarity for any anime Blu-ray or DVD release, especially to have the original creator involved. That is very rare.

So, I really enjoyed this release and the "Black Blood Brothers - The Complete Series" is definitely worth checking out!

Jiro, aka "The Silver Blade" is a vampire famous for defeating the Kowloon Children (extremely contagious and insane vampires) during the Holy War. 10 years later, Jiro and his little brother Kotaro make their way to the Special Zone, a city that bars the entrance of Kowloon Children - unless they are invited in. Which the well meaning Mimiko accidentally does. Jiro is once again forced to confront Kowloon Children in order to protect those he holds dear, and face his painful past.

I was surprised at how much I actually liked this show. Reading the description I had no expectations (not really a vampire person), but I was pleasantly surprised when I actually liked the characters and found the story interesting. It does a good job of maintaining a balance of action and mystery, between the current battle against the Kowloon Children and flashbacks slowly reveling Jiro's past. As vampire stories go, this is a pretty good one and Jiro is unexpectedly likable and interesting. I was almost shocked that he wasn't all-powerful when angry - instead he is simply really good. It was quiet refreshing.
The problem I had with this series was the ending. Mostly in that it doesn't really have one. The last episode left me feeling like "Great, we've reached the halfway point - where is the rest?" The pacing of the series feels pretty good, until you reach the end and still have stuff left undone and unexplained. It would have been so much cooler if they had actually fit everything into the 12 episodes they had.

Still, it was worth watching, and most of the important stuff concerning Jiro's past is explained. I don't think I would pay $30 for it, but if you can get it for less then give it a shot.

If you like vampire shows, here is another one I enjoyed: Trinity Blood Box Set (Viridian Collection).

It is hard to find a vampire story that is actually good, what with all the Twilight stuff going around. This is a character based story revolving around Jiro and his little brother. It takes place in a world where people know about vampires, but chose to co-exist. Jiro and his brother are trying to get to the "Special Zone" (a place where vampires are welcome) but run into problem along the way and afterwards. There is also a fair amount of comedy in it, a rare thing in most American vampire stores, but common in anime. I recommend this to anyone who is a fan of vampires or anime. It will probably convert you to the other depending on which one you started from.

This is one of those shows that kinda comes from nowhere and leaves a lasting impression. I was rather impressed with Black Blood Brothers. The storyline and interaction between the characters makes this a show well worth owning.

As the title says the anime is great. If I was just judging the anime it would get 5 stars!
however, I'm not sure if this happened because there was no padding in the box or because it was already damaged.
But the case arrived with cracks in it. I'm a little bit of a perfectionist and this just annoyed me!

Really good anime. Not the best, but start to finish a well developed story and beautifully animated for a tv show.

Good Stuff

I have this, and I must say even though it is short, it is worth watching and owning. And best of all, it has a ending that is complete. The characters and english voicing is great! I have this on blu-ray and its amazing. I also had trinity blood, but I sold it! The pope in that show was an annoying, whiny kid and the story was choppy with a horrible ending! Not to mention that they had some great characters but they never truly developed them!
:( If you have to choose, go with Black Blood Brothers! I don't have time to go into all the details, but even though BBB is shorter, its a complete series without major drawbacks. Trinity blood however, bah-----it's not worth owning imo.