First Impressions – Blood Lad
I love it.
Fun, fun, fun. I can’t believe Blood Lad will only have 10 episodes, but boy will these be 10 highly enjoyable episodes. Even as I write this, I still have a stupid grin on my face from just watching the premiere. And I suspect I’ll have this grin every week when I sit down for more Blood Lad.
Ludicrously Silly
An awkward elevator ride.
I already knew I was in for something whacky from the get-go, but nothing could have prepared me for the real deal. Let’s start with Staz, the reluctant gang boss in charge of his own territory in what can only be described as one continuous turf war. That’s right, the demon world is just like some sort of bad part of town with gangsters clashing day to day. Oh, and dragons flying overhead. But let’s not sweat the details. So Staz is a prestigious vampire, whose lineage is overshadowed by his love of all things Japan. In particular, he loves reading manga, playing JRPGS, and collecting figures. What a guy. I’m sure the elitists out there are foaming at the mouths at yet another textbook case of otaku pandering and self-imposition. But who cares. The point is, Staz doesn’t have time to suck the blood of pretty ladies and deal with rival gang encroachments because he’s too busy hiding in his man cave. Really, this guy is living the life. All he has to do is go out every once in a while and pop someone’s heart to keep things in control. And then everything else is taken care of for him by his loyal mooks, who attend to his insatiable appetite for more otaku goods.
Even vampires can hnnng!
But Blood Lad isn’t done here. As ridiculous as the whole premise already is, we are introduced to Fuyumi, a human girl who wanders into Staz’s territory thanks to a mystical curtain-portal-thingy. The goons capture and prepare to do all sorts of horrible things to her because they’re monsters and that’s what monsters do, but Staz has other plans. No, he doesn’t want to eat her or suck her blood. This is a rare opportunity to have a one-sided nerd-gasm speak with one of the humans who made all the things he loves, and Staz isn’t about to let it pass him by. Well ok, so he does develop a bit of an urge to bite into her “white, soft-looking neck” every time Fuyumi looks him in the eye, but honestly I think Staz’s attraction to her isn’t completely driven by his vampiric instincts. I’m betting the tough guy really fell in love at first sight, except he probably doesn’t understand what love is and his instinctual thirst for blood doesn’t help either. In any case, things happen, and Fuyumi ends up comically dead thanks to some giant man-eating plants. The last time I saw comic deaths done right was in Angel Beats!, so hats off to Blood Lad for this.1
Of course, if it were to end right there, Blood Lad wouldn’t be half as entertaining. So Fuyumi “returns” as a ghost, leading Staz to believe that there’s still a chance she can be revived. Thus begins an epic quest to bring back to life an unfortunate girl cut down in the prime of her youth. But first, a visit to the local “cafe” for some… beer and bar snacks.
Extras
Gosh, I just love this show. A ridiculous setting with ridiculous characters and ridiculous developments. All while disguising a constant progression of plot that is deceptively nonexistent because you’re too busy clutching your sides in pain from laughing so hard.2 If the rest of the show is going to be like this, I don’t think I have to be worried about the short length of only 10 episodes. Blood Lad will get it done; I’ll just be sad to see it go so soon.
1Someone’s sure to be offended, so I should add that death is serious and should never be made light of. But still, just let us have our fun.
2The humorous yet expositionally important cafe visit really impressed me. Although the bit with the mimic was a bit too obviously telegraphed and convenient.
About Sumairii
POWUH: and Athenaeum Châtelaine with 2212 comments
This is so cute and adorable for some reason, I love it! 😀
I had reservations about this show since I don’t usually care for random goofiness shows with no real overall plot. However, Blood Lad was the best of all the summer season premieres I’ve seen thus far! It’s so hilarious! And it’s randomness is charming. 😛
I think Staz is one of the most adorable vamps I’ve ever seen. I can’t stand loli vampires as they just seem off to me, but there something about this guy’s love for all things Nippon and his huge desire to visit the human world, that I find so cute. The demon world is interesting and the characters are fascinating. The 3-eyed panda thing was also kawaii! 🙂
The girl wasn’t annoying, which is always a plus in my book. In fact, she’s taking the whole “being dead and trapped in another world she knows nothing about” thing pretty well. She and Staz have a connection and I find the fact that he wants to suck her blood a hint of romance to come. The comedy is so funny as well, I loved seeing Staz going through his collection, him reading “Dra-gunball” manga, having a Naruto/Goku cellphone charm, and him finding out that Square Enix doesn’t know the meaning of the word “final” when it comes to Final Fantasy. (Oh, has that poor boy only had FF1 all this time? He need to do some serious shopping when he gets to our world.) 😛
This romcom is so cute and funny that I really want to see it through. Wolf boy that looks like he could be Toshiro‘s brother will be interesting to meet as well in the future. I can’t wait till the next episode. I give this an 8/10.
POWUH: Metanorn Lover with 167 comments
There was some “PLOT” in the show.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
Can anyone tell me what this means? I’ve looked at it several times, but I just can’t quite get the meaning…LOLi
They really do have a great little spark going on don’t they? And very well played in it’s pacing, for a first episode.
I really don’t see how people can be put of by her death, it was offscreen, and as cartoony as possible without be stupid.
And yes, this guys needs more FF. He should stop at 6, however.
POWUH: 800-899 and Mad Scientist with 814 comments
Not even FFVII? I might be inviting a war here… XD
I honestly don’t expect people to be that put off by Fuyumi’s death, but you never know on the internet.
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
What?! No FFVII?! That means no badass Cloud vs. Sephiroth rivalry! Just the thought of it is outrageous!!
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
That means no more making the game play me rather than me playing the game. Inflated!
POWUH: and Athenaeum Châtelaine with 2212 comments
Must have FFVII!!!
Best in the series.The world isn’t complete with out Cloud, Vincent, and Sephiroth. And where would we be without the awesome music?I say let him stop after 8 and just get the soundtracks of the rest, particularly the “Distant Worlds” albums.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
fine. I’ll take 7. keep the rest.
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
Why not go until FFX and FFX-2? I heard those two were good.
POWUH: and Athenaeum Châtelaine with 2212 comments
Uggggh…-_- I know some like it, but Tidus and Yuna were just…ugh, to me. The only this I liked about either of those games was the music and the song “1000 Words”.
POWUH: and Athenaeum Châtelaine with 2212 comments
If I’m not mistaken “loli” is short for “lolita”. Here’s what I could find on where the term comes from, but know that I think in terms of slang, the definition has broadened a little from that. Basically when I say that, I don’t like all those little girl vampires that look like cute children until you realize there’s just something not right about them. Like Sunako from Shiki.
I just find them creepy rather than interesting, I like most of my vamps either teenage or adult looking.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
I was just joking around.I know full well what a LOLita is.I agree they can be incredibly creepy. But at least you’ll enjoy your demise!
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
I find them interesting because of the twist that comes with loli vampires. They’re like the face malevolence hiding behind a mask of innocence to those they charm into following them and their appearance makes for an overwhelming contrast to the decades, if not centuries, that they’ve been alive. And when it comes to anime, whenever there’s talk of a vampire queen, about 80% of the time, it’s a loli.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
this proves the world is a great place.
POWUH: and Athenaeum Châtelaine with 2212 comments
I think it’s mainly because most of the ones I see are done mainly for the “cute” factor and the contrast of the fact that these are cute little girls with dark secrets. They play so much on the “cute” angle, rather than the “mature immortal” that the vampiresses themselves end up just as annoying as any other normal lolis that I see. (I for one, find lolis 9 out of 10 times, very annoying and intolerable. They’re either trying to act like bratty adolescents, infantile idiots, or too-mature-for-their-age emo adults. Which is normally why I avoid them at all costs…:( )
The only ones in an anime that I can remember being done with dignity was Seth from Trinity Blood and a nameless one from Nightwalker.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
I am a helpless fan of the doki doki kawaii….
POWUH: Meta Resident and Metanorn's Hime-chan~ with 1758 comments
Seriously, that dude and another vampire guy! Rivals for Staz, yatta~
Fuyumi is just an adorable blob of fancervice <3
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
…serviceblob…
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
Something just didn’t click for me with this show. Maybe it will in the future, but I just didn’t get much out of this first episode. Didn’t really like the look of the whole show, but I really didn’t like the look of Staz, to be honest.
We’ll see how it goes when they get to the human world, maybe I’ll enjoy that more. Elsewise, it was just passable for me.
POWUH: 800-899 and Mad Scientist with 814 comments
I dunno if the appearance will change much as the show goes on. Most shows keep a fairly consistent art style (unless they’re PSG or something). Maybe it’ll grow on you eventually?
Looks aside, did the goofy hilariousness do nothing for you?
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
I just didn’t find it hilarious, just characters being dumb. The only characters that I enjoyed for their characterization were Deku and Mamejirou.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
They really were the best characters.
POWUH: Metanorn Lover with 175 comments
so now we got vampire otaku who want real girl but now she a ghost go full want her human again.
indeed he is also demon boss area indeed we just meet sadao maou’s vampire otaku distant relative.
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
I see Staz more as the fusion of Maou and Urushihara. More of Urushihara if he’s lazing around. For a territorial boss, he’s basically a NEET.
POWUH: 800-899 and Mad Scientist with 814 comments
I’ve also been hearing things like “Staz is Lucifer taking Maou’s role”. So I guess Blood Lad is what would have happened if Lucifer did succeed in usurping Maou’s title? I can’t say this would have been bad for Ente Isla…
POWUH: 500-599 with 519 comments
It was funny but the one thing that confused me was how Staz just wrote Fuyumi off after she became a ghost. Sure she’s not human anymore but she is still from the human world so why are you not asking her about nerd-stuff still? 0_o. She does not need to be human for that…
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
Well, it seems his interest is more than just one layer….
POWUH: Meta Resident with 1692 comments
She no longer has blood. Staz may want to deny the whole blood-sucking thing, but he can’t entirely go against his instincts.
I thought this was a very good and funny beginning. Usually I’m not a fan of frenetic humor, but if they can keep up the energy of this first episode this will be one of the cases where I do enjoy it.
POWUH: 800-899 and Mad Scientist with 814 comments
I think HannoX has it right here. It’s undeniable he wants someone to talk to about otaku stuff, but more than that, he wants a human to interact with.
I still think he’s more smitten with Fuyumi than purely interested in her blood, but we’ll just have to wait and see. Although I have a feeling we may not ever see her back as a human, because the story would be pretty much over.
POWUH: and Athenaeum Châtelaine with 2212 comments
I agree on both fronts. I think that he lost interest because once she became a ghost, she was just like every other ghoul and monster in the demon world, and to him that’s boring.
I also doubt that she will ever return to human. He might just find that he falls in love with her despite her being a ghost. 🙂
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
I was so reluctant to look at this that I had the downloaded episode sitting in my computer for days because not only had I read the manga a long time ago (the first four chapters), at the back of my mind, I wasn’t really fond of the idea of a comedy about a “vampire otaku”. However, it does have a different feel between reading a manga and having the same story animated on your computer screen.
Where the casting is concerned, Blood Lad is like a resting spot for the seiyuus this season until the second season of Valvrave kicks up in Fall. There’s not just Ryota Ohsaka and Ryouhei Kimura here but we also have Yuki Kaji in the mix. That’s right; Yuki Kaji has a role in this, too. Go figure. Yeah, this show has 10 episodes but MAL also confirms that it’s going to have an OVA as well.
The pacing was shaky. By comparison, the studio was able to successfully fit the entire first two chapters into the first episode but personally blew it when they gave a glimpse of a character in the demon world who was supposed to appear much later in the human world. I’m beginning to understand why most manga fans are unhappy when their manga isn’t being properly adapted.
One thing that wasn’t appealing. Like Highway, I didn’t much like Staz’s appearance. With his gray looking skin tone, he was more of a zombie rather than a vampire. Other than that, I see him as a result of what you get when you put Sadao Maou and Urushihara together and that was enough to keep the humor going.
In conclusion, this adaption is acceptable enough to pass the time if you’re free for the moment but I wouldn’t say I’d be that excited and in a rush for the next episode to arrive.
POWUH: and Athenaeum Châtelaine with 2212 comments
I think it was funny that his seiyuu went from voicing a space vamp and a reality traveling devil last season, and this season he’s like a mix of the two: a reality traveling vampire. 😛
Also, I beginning to understand what people are talking about when they say Yuki Kaji is in everything. His roles are pretty broad though, with this, Brothers Conflict, and of course, Shingeki, all during the same season.
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
Yeah, Ryota Ohsaka’s roles this year are all inhuman. I can’t think of one in 2013 where he played a regular human being.
Yuki Kaji’s presence in anime is beginning to extend as much Kana Hanazawa lately and he has a role in most of the vampire animes this year. One in Spring (Kakumeiki Valvrave), one in Summer (Blood Lad) and two in Fall(Kakumeiki Valvrave Season 2 and Diabolik Lovers). When did he suddenly get such an adoration for vampires?
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
… employment…
POWUH: Meta Resident with 1692 comments
Yep.
POWUH: Meta Team and The Mad Scientist with 5525 comments
Interesting to see people split on Staz’s design. I personally love the way he looks (and acts). He’s what makes the whole show enjoyable. Definitely one of the better comedies this season. Most of them didn’t even get me to smile, let alone laugh.
I’m a bit sad they’re going back to the human realm so quickly when the demon realm is so damn cool. It’s just a normal city filled with crazy monsters – what more could you want?
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
…a normal City filled with crazy humans…
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
We get that in almost every show. It’s nothing new.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
::sigh:: I tried…
POWUH: 600-699 with 691 comments
how about a strange city with normal humans o/
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
I’d see that as a city under a dictatorship.
POWUH: Meta Team and The Mad Scientist with 5525 comments
If the city *IS* a monster then I’d be happy as well!
POWUH: Meta Resident and Metanorn's Hime-chan~ with 1758 comments
Ikr? Hell(lets say) was portrayed in a very interesting, goofy and almost casual way 😀 It’s so cool
POWUH: 600-699 with 691 comments
look on the bright side… it’s not watamote
POWUH: 600-699 with 691 comments
i wonder how being a ghost or a vampire changes anatomy… i want to study them…FOR SCIENCE \@0@/
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
I can sense dissection in that sentence. Hopefully that won’t be the case. The thought of dissecting vampires for personal information traumatizes me to no end. 😉
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
I fully support AllenandArth in this endeavor.
POWUH: Meta Resident and Metanorn's Hime-chan~ with 1758 comments
Do you, by any chance, know Prof. Stein? 😀
POWUH: 600-699 with 691 comments
of course, yes we made school together, good times, good times.
POWUH: Meta Resident and Metanorn's Hime-chan~ with 1758 comments
Aaah, yes. No wonder you sounded just like our professor. 😀
POWUH: 600-699 with 691 comments
not really i was just winging it, i lied just to see your answer… i approve of him though…hahahahahaha
i love messing with peoples head ^-^9
POWUH: Meta Resident and Metanorn's Hime-chan~ with 1758 comments
hehe ^^ It’s fun talking like that. Until someone starts to take it seriously 😀 Then it’s kinda weird
POWUH: and Athenaeum Châtelaine with 2212 comments
I just marathoned through Shiki a little while ago, and your comment totally reminded me of that awesome show. I’m on board for a little anatomical study…FOR SCIENCE!!! 😛
POWUH: 600-699 with 691 comments
MWAHAHAHAHAHA I’m gathering followers, now i just need an army, Super high-tech and destrutive weapons…and a lolipop! the world will be mine to experiment with! A new world order…i’ll call it BIB…super world order BIB!
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
Oh, man. I need to build a resistance against this threat and fast.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
go team science
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
@Irenesharda: Since you mentioned marathoning Shiki, I forgot to tell you this. There are two specials of the series: episodes 20.5 and 21.5. They’ll serve as extra closure for what happened in the village.
POWUH: and Athenaeum Châtelaine with 2212 comments
Oh, I saw them both! I liked 21.5 more than 20.5 since I though Nao was whining a little too much considering she was suffering the consequences of her own actions. The crazy mother in other one was really interesting though, especially since she closed up some of those loose ends, such as how the fire started.
POWUH: Meta Resident and Metanorn's Hime-chan~ with 1758 comments
Well, hello, there favorite release of the season! How are you? ^_^
OMG I love this show 😀 So fun and whacky, it’s amazing <3 I remembered Beelzebub while watching this. Though Blood Lad is much better, hands down. Staz is just adorable, and Fuyumi, that (kinda) blob of fancervice is like a bitchslap to all the shows who made their heroines like that with serious intentions. OMGOMGOMG I love this shoooow~ And the art too! And how they portrayed hell, I love it ALL~ <3 *~*
POWUH: 900-999 with 915 comments
DAT SKULL! I’ve never seen a skull so cute in my whole life *o*
POWUH: Meta Resident and Metanorn's Hime-chan~ with 1758 comments
ikr? and the sounds the bones made!!
POWUH: 600-699 with 691 comments
have you at least paid attention to how wrong your comment sounded just now???
i really like Asian kung-fu Generation…
anyway back to your comment…
I approve *-*9
POWUH: 900-999 with 915 comments
I… I don’t… I’ve never listened to Asian kung-fu Generation, sorry D=
POWUH: Meta Resident and Metanorn's Hime-chan~ with 1758 comments
You’re on an anime blog. There’s a lot of stuff that can sound even more wrong that it actually is 😀
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
Is there such a thing as moe skeleton? Because I do believe we’ve found the first one.
POWUH: 800-899 and Mad Scientist with 814 comments
Even in death, Fuyumi is moe.
POWUH: 600-699 with 691 comments
of course there is, such complexion made of pure white… ohhh such courves…such placement soo moe!so many way experiment @0@
POWUH: Meta Resident and Metanorn's Hime-chan~ with 1758 comments
o-o such passion