Blood Lad – 10 [END]
Heart attacks were had.
Hey guys. It’s time for the Blood Lad finale! There’s just one problem though. This didn’t feel like a finale at all, and I’m not very pleased about it.
Fuyumi Corner
Well this is awkward…
A lot of this last episode is dedicated to Fuyumi. Only appropriate given that this whole shebang started off with her, but unfortunately it’s still not enough. Basically Staz has a little chat with Fuyumi’s father about her future. Except he’s not really her father, and more accurately Bell’s father looking to adopt Fuyumi because Neyn says so. And we’ve already gone over Neyn’s motives before. So what does Mister Hydra Heads want? Apparently he just wants to make Fuyumi and Neyn happy out of respect for Mister Yanagi in the human world. Of course, making both Fuyumi and Neyn happy might not be possible in the current situation, so now we have the heart-to-heart discussion with Staz. There’s the usual stuff about whether Staz truly cares about Fuyumi, something which many of us have been questioning since the beginning. And the answer is: no, Staz still doesn’t know what he wants to do with her. But it turns out that’s OK, because Fuyumi is also equally unsure of what she wants.
Hey, we don’t really know what we want but let’s keep on going.
So yeah. Not the kind of conclusion any of us were expecting, I’m sure. We’ve come all this way with the relationship between Staz and Fuyumi, and in the end there’s really minimal development. If anything, our heroes are only more sure of how unsure they are. Hurrah. Well, to be fair I am being a little too critical. I guess you could say that there has been a step forward now that Staz will be trying harder to consult Fuyumi and pay closer attention to her thanks to some duping on the part of Hydra Heads. But that’s little comfort when all we see of it is Staz forcing on a wooden smile (at least he’s trying) and then falling back to being pushy when Fuyumi doesn’t go down the track he has in mind. Despite being the closest thing to a wrap-up in this episode, it’s still frustratingly unresolved.
Demon World Stuffs
What a champ.
If you thought that was painful, you’re not going to like the whole rest of the episode. Basically it was my worst fears confirmed: a bunch of exposition and no conclusion whatsoever. Remember those shows where at the end of an arc it feels like the show could end right there?1 Well this is pretty much the exact opposite: a show where at the very end it feels like not even a single thing has ended. There are only a few instances where I can tolerate this, and Blood Lad’s circumstances don’t appear to qualify for any of them. This isn’t some mid-season break ala Fate/Zero or Jormungand. This isn’t a show apparently popular enough to quickly pull a second season out of thin air at the end of the first.2 Really, there is absolutely no excuse for such a shoddy unresolved ending. Well, except for the unfortunate lack of 2 or 3 more episodes, I suppose. But this episode cap was already preordained since the beginning as far as I know, so the staff should have been able to plan for it.
Here, have an action shot.
Instead, all we get is a bunch of “and then what”. Which is really disappointing. I’d use stronger language but fortunately I’m not that upset all things considered. Anyway, I’ve gotten off-track a little, so let’s get back to the topic. Back in the demon world Braz is still in an awkward position with Goyle. They chat and scuffle for a little bit, and then Liz flies in to save the day. Perhaps the point of this is to plant the seeds out doubt in Goyle’s mind and potentially setting up for some kind of rebellion from the demon world police against Wolf-Daddy. But we won’t know anything for sure because there’s no more Blood Lad. Next up is the revelation that the mystery body from last episode does in fact belong to Blood-Daddy. There was a lot of heavy hinting for it, but I couldn’t believe it until Braz confirmed it. What I’m confused about is why he would be willing to give his father’s body to Akimu. The way he talks it almost seems as if he thinks daddy is all resurrected now. But we all know that’s not true. All he’s done is hand his father’s body over for Akimu to use as a puppet. And if you ask me, that’s more of an insult than anything. Has he gone so far that he’s willing to abandon even this much dignity for his deceased parent?
Daddy’s back(?)
Plus, I can’t imagine someone who has already been defeated by Wolf-Daddy to be the mystery “more qualified for the throne” guy. First of all Blood-Daddy is already dead so that’s moot. And I really can’t see this mystery fit for the throne being Akimu either. Sure, his ability to assimilate others’ body parts is rather impressive. And if he can eventually channel Pantomime’s ability to copy abilities, he would certainly be looking rather formidable. But something tells me despite all the strange things in the demon world, they would not stand for having an experiment on the throne. We’re talking about a guy who’s not even a real demon. If not the general public, surely the elite demons in the acropolis would not tolerate such a thing. Unless, of course, this is exactly what Braz is going for: to upset the existing hierarchy. But despite all of his scheming, I can’t see him wanting this to happen either. What would be in it for him and his family? They’re already noble demons, despite having been cast aside by Wolf-Daddy.
Extras
Boy it sure would be nice for all of these questions to be answered, wouldn’t it? Well too bad. Because now it’s all over and there’s nothing we can do about it other than pray that a second season or at least some OVAs will come out that help smooth things out. I personally don’t follow sales so I have no idea as to the future (if there even is one) of this franchise. But regardless, I still find it in poor taste to end things like this. I will admit that it does make some sense if you consider the anime to purely be a promo for the manga. And that does help temper my displeasure. But all the marketing rationale in the world doesn’t excuse an almost complete lack of conclusion. This is almost as bad as an ending for a manga that suddenly got axed. You manga readers know what I’m talking about. And surely we haven’t reached the point where an entire anime series serves only as an advertisement for its source. That would just be ludicrous. But anyway, now I’m venting again. So I’ll just leave off with some final thoughts about Blood Lad as a whole.
This wasn’t a bad show at all, and I would wholeheartedly recommend it for fans of the fantasy genre. There are some annoying bits where characters act wishy-washy and potential developments aren’t pursued, but it’s not so bad when you consider the light comedy and action aspects of the show. Basically, watch Blood Lad to pass your time with a few good laughs and a dash of fanservice. Plus it’s only 10 episodes so it should be fairly easy to get through even with a tight schedule. Just don’t expect an actual ending when you’re done.
7/10
1I’m looking at you, Sakurasou.
2Date A Live comes to mind.
About Sumairii
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
I didn’t find this series all that compelling from the start. And in the end it felt like they didn’t even bother. I don’t mind series that don’t finish the whole story, but hit a mid-way stopping point (like I thought Red Data Girl did) after some major event. But this one didn’t really have a major event, for anyone. It just felt like it was a complete fizzle. Staz’s appeals to Fuyumi just felt like more of his bullying, not some major decision or resolve or turning point.
And while I love seeing romance and romantic feelings, Bell’s crush on Staz just felt like it was written in because they needed a conflict. There wasn’t really any motivation given for her to be in love with Staz. I mean, throw us a flashback or something or show us where she changed from “you jerk you stole my portal” to “I wish I could be with him”. It’s not like they had that much interaction. Fuyumi’s “I don’t really know what I feel about him” felt much more authentic.
In general, there wasn’t a lot of motivation for anyone’s actions. Braz, Hydra-head, and Yoshida were about the only characters who actually had any reasons shown for what they were doing. Everyone else just kind of seemed to do stuff, and while that’s sort of realistic (for people to just do something that’s in front of them without really thinking about it), it’s not very compelling.
This show just never grabbed me. I’m not a fan of the character designs or the art, I didn’t find the whiplash-inducing mood swings funny or endearing, most of the humor fell flat throughout. For me it was something to watch on a night where there wasn’t much else and I wasn’t that busy (Mondays). And the ending was, frankly, terrible. If they’d at least gathered up some of the loose ends, not even tied them up, but at least not leave them all strewn about on the floor, it would have been MUCH better, but they didn’t even bother to do that.
POWUH: and Athenaeum Châtelaine with 2212 comments
Well, this finale was interesting and yet bittersweet.
First off, the whole thing mostly centered on Fuyumi and her arc, which I find the least interesting. I actually was a little upset by what was going on here, and found myself sticking up for Nyen in this case. It’s nice that Fuyumi and Heads just decided everything for her. As the mother, she should definitely have a say in what will be best for her and her daughter. The two women didn’t ask to be merged into one. I understand that if you want Fuyumi to stay in the human world, that’s fine, but why does that mean you had to cut off all contact with her and make her thing you disappeared or something? And now that Fuyumi is a demon, I totally advocate for her mother to take custody of her now. She is STILL her parent, despite what Heads says, I don’t see why….ughhhh. I don’t even know why I’m getting so worked up about this, the show is over. It’s just it put such a sour note on an otherwise okay finale to a good show.
Anyways, Fuyumi and Staz actually were the weakest in this episode. Fuyumi being as blank, vapid, and indecisive as usual, and bizarrely unfeeling towards the whole reveal around what happened to her own mother, or the fact that she has a brother and sister now. I seem to think this character less and less, and I’m glad that I don’t really have to see her again. Staz, was a little bit better this episode but he didn’t have much to do. Heads Hydra, Bell’s dad, is actually pretty interesting and I would have liked to see more of him. It’s a shame he was saved for the last episode.
Well, other than that, we see that Braz escapes and is going on with his plans, and Wolf-Daddy is going to talk to his bastard son. This is actually the more interesting of the subplots in this story, but it gets absolutely no closure, so that’s regrettable. I am actually interested that Braz brought his father back to life and how that goes. I’m not concerned that his father was killed in the first place since he’s a vampire aka the undead and being brought back to life is really all parts and parcel with the whole thing. However, I’m not sure how this is all going to pan out. I highly doubt Braz will give any part of his father to a lunatic experiment like Akimu, so I expect there to be a catch somewhere along the way. Braz is the king of double meaning and hidden motives, so whatever he’s planning, it will ultimately serve his and his family’s purpose.
As for the wolves, I don’t think Wolf is going to take too kindly to his deadbeat royal dad anytime soon. Also, would he be willing to fight against the vamps who could potentially include his best friend and rival? Again I doubt it. As for the royal police, I have no idea what will happen to them. I do agree a little with what Cheif Goyle said about not living in the past. However, I also have to point out that he wasn’t the one whose parents were murdered in a coup d’etat, and he wasn’t the one whose species was made subservient to another by stated coup. So I’m a little in Braz’ court with that.
So, nothing else of import really happened, with mostly everything staying at status quo, and a hint at future events being shown. All and all, this series was really good, and it almost achieved “great” near the end, but ultimately dropped the ball at the last minute. Staz, Braz, and many of the monster characters were really well done and funny. Most of the female characters were simply archetypes and not really all that great, which did take away from the show a bit, especially where Fuyumi was concerned. However, it was full of comedy and plot and I hope that is does one day get a second season.
I give episode 10 a 7/10 and this show a solid 8/10. Hilarious and full of parody fun, yet with a little plot to keep it going, Blood Lad had more pros than it did cons.
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
If Staz can bring Fuyumi back to life, and if that’s what Fuyumi wants, would it not be better for her to live in the human world with her father? I think at Fuyumi’s age, she should have the majority of the choice, which is primarily what Heads gave her, especially by imposing conditions on Staz to make sure it’s what she wants.
I don’t really see why Neyn should be the sole decider. Heads really just intervened with Neyn on Fuyumi’s behalf.
POWUH: and Athenaeum Châtelaine with 2212 comments
First off, Fuyumi is really hardly a character that can barely decide what she wants for breakfast, let alone what to do with her life. However, that non-withstanding, I just hate how it felt like both husbands were just talking over their merged wife and ended up deciding things with not a word from her. And there when the mother, who wishes to be with her daughter now that she’s in the demon world, after missing out on most of her life because human husband said so, now they say oh no, she should make her own decisions.
Fuyumi is what? 14? 15? Even 16? Either way, she’s still a minor and would still be under the guardianship of her mother, and even as a little girl, her mother should have had some say as to how she was going to be in her daughter’s life. Visiting rights, something! I know this isn’t real or anything, but something about that whole scenario was off putting for me and really soured the episode.
Yet, anyway, it’s not like the girl cares or anything. We don’t even have an explanation of what she thought happened to her mom, or that she even cared that she was still alive or that she has a sort-of sister and a half-brother. She just kind of goes on and is blank-faced only caring about how her father is feeling right now. Well, how did you think your mother felt all these years never able to see or hold her child? But no, Fuyumi has more interesting things to think about
Ugh, I just…it bothered me, that’s all. :/
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
No, Fuyumi stayed with Yanagi because he made a compelling argument that the demon world is no place for a human. And he’s right: How long did it take Fuyumi to be killed in the Demon world? A day? And it wasn’t something she had any control over.
So Neyn made her own choice about where to live. We also don’t know why Neyn decided she wasn’t going to come to the human world anymore (the behavior that started all the trouble in the first place). Since they all knew about each other at that point, it wouldn’t have been so awful no? So I don’t think we can absolve Neyn here either, or put all the blame on either Yanagi or Heads for making decisions. Heck, Heads even hints that he always loses arguments and decisions when he argues for his plan.
POWUH: Meta Resident with 1692 comments
I agree that this show didn’t have a conclusion–it just stopped. And at a lousy place, too. Unless a second season is quickly announced, in which there can be a proper conclusion, I can’t see much of a reason for anyone to buy it if it becomes available on BD or DVD. It’ll just leave you frustrated at its end.
I did think the premise was good as were the earlier episodes. But then they just started throwing in stuff out of left field which had little to no relation to the story. Some stuff just got dropped and major developments, such as Braz and Wolf Daddy and the whole thing about Neyn regarding Fuyumi as her daughter and wanting her to live with them in the Demon World, came in late and were given short shift. And then everything just ran down and stopped.
A lesson in how not to do a series.
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
Yeah, we got an excellent 10-episode series a couple seasons ago in Mondaiji-tachi ga Isekai kara Kuru Sou Desu yo?, fitting more than two complete story arcs, quite a lot of characters that we got to know, and good handles on why they act the way they do. I don’t know if Blood Lad was more complicated, or harder to figure out, or had more characters named, but it was nowhere near as successful as a series, in my opinion.
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
We have another 10 episode series that’s on its way out this season: Fate Kaleid Liner Prisma Illya. Even though it’s being handled by a different studio, you can still feel the Type Moon vibes. The characters in that are cute and the story is epic and compelling with a perfect balance of action and humor. What’s most interesting about series are the magical girl’s ability to become Heroic Spirits. Honestly, it’s way more entertaining than Blood Lad.
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
Yeah, I’m watching Prisma Illya, and I’d agree it’s far better than Blood Lad. Even with Illya’s angsting around, and Miyu’s Misaka Mikoto-esque “I’ll drive everyone away so they won’t get hurt” attitude…
POWUH: Meta Resident with 1692 comments
Two big things that also makes Prisma Illya better than Blood Lad are that it has an overall narrative arc with everything adding to the story as it builds towards its conclusion and that it will clearly have a proper ending.
POWUH: Metanorn Lover with 175 comments
well give open door to wonder what next.
give staz want be fuyumi’s dark hero yet more challenge for them.
braz’s whole “my name is braz you killed my father prepare to die” is now full effect give bring back his own father.
wolf boy still want be one person to be staz.
etc etc give leave more to come give ova ep coming next.
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
I’m already sensing a “Goku and Vegeta” style rivalry for superiority between Staz and Wolf.
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
And so Blood Lad finally comes to a close. Rather than just randomly stopping, it felt like one big cliffhanger screaming “to be continued” despite the fact they indicated the show was over with that “END” note at the finish. Now all that’s left is that upcoming OVA.
With so many questions out in the open, it would have been good if there were two episodes to spare but my guess is the anime stopped dead in its tracks here because it’s dangerously close to the manga and the studio needs more material to continue. Last I checked, there were 27 chapters and still ongoing.
I had a feeling Fuyumi would turn down being brought back to life if it meant losing her memories. She was the main drive for the series but she mostly was a wallflower, like others were needed to get her going. Compared to Bell, she was a notch lower in appeal.
Overall, it was an above average show worth passing some time to watch but nothing that great. Generally, it alright but got shaky in the storytelling in some areas. To be honest, even though I read the first four chapters of the manga, I was hardly looking forward to the anime because it didn’t raise enough interest for me. Especially when the idea of an otaku vampire wasn’t sinking in well but having Ryota Ohsaka playing the lead made me give it a chance and it turned better than expected. The seiyuus were great voicing the chosen characters. Ryohei Kimura is awesome as Braz.
POWUH: Meta Resident and Metanorn's Hime-chan~ with 1758 comments
Now that was anticlimactic.
I didn’t expect the ending to be so bad, because the show was fairly good. It was definitely done well, so why that ending? And it said ‘END’ too. But I don’t thing
or rather, hopethat this is it. There’s just too many questions now, too many loose ends. It’s just as with Kaibutsu-kun. I didn’t eve know I was watching the last episode, until I attempted to find the next one and couldn’t.Awwww, pleeeeease, I want mooore ><"
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
Don’t worry. Like I said in my comment above, there’s an OVA coming before the year is over. So far, there hasn’t been a precise release date.
POWUH: Meta Resident and Metanorn's Hime-chan~ with 1758 comments
I hope an OVA will be enough to tie all those loose ends.