Blood-C–Full Series Review

Thoughts: I tend to watch a wide variety of anime series each season. As I've said before, my belief is that watching anime that falls outside my preferred niche helps me to be better able to speak about the wide variety of anime that's available, even series which are (sometimes dramatically) flawed. I usually (thought not intentionally) find myself in agreement with prevailing opinions; while every series is bound to have its fans as well as its detractors, critics' tastes usually seem to be skewed further in one direction than another. That's why I find myself in an odd position, because I've, for the most part, really enjoyed this series while many other people whose opinions tend to be similar to my own have found themselves bored or frustrated with the pacing of the plot. The fandom at large seems to have similarly panned the show (the ANN thread devoted to its discussion is entertainingly contentious) which has at times given me a few laughs as well as caused perhaps the tiniest bit of soul-searching. As someone with fragile self-esteem, it's difficult to keep from questioning why my own reactions might be so different from those of the people who I admire. Despite (or perhaps more because of) being one of the few dissenting voices in regards to this series, I've actually been looking forward to tackling a review.

I'm the type of viewer who appreciates when the producers of a series attempt to tackle ideas that are broader than the scope of the series' plot. I'm willing to forgive quite a few strange production choices if the series as a whole is unified by an interesting theme or idea. One the surface, Blood-C appears to be a show of 2 minds that are forced to share screen time. Saya, the main character, exists as an entity who projects naïve sweetness during the daytime hours and transforms into a killing machine at night, wielding a sacred sword and plowing through demonic enemies as if they were warm butter. This contrast between cuteness and violence has been presented before, most notably in series like Elfen Lied and Higurashi no Naku Koro ni which are specifically known for it. While the brutality in these series might be seen as counter-intuitive to the idea of moe, in truth the characters are simply expressing character traits more in line with "yandere" characters (how murderous jealousy can be considered "moe" I'll never understand, but that's probably one of the big reasons neither series resonated with me). Saya, while also moe and murderous, still feels atypical; in essence,the existence of her two personality facets is an interesting way of examining the false ideal of the sweet, ideal, iconic schoolgirl character who personifies anime to so many fans.

Without spoiling too many specific plot details, the initial shock of seeing chipper, clumsy and cute Saya walk the streets at night and brutally dismember horrific monsters begins to die down as the façade of the supposedly quiet town slowly begins to crumble. Characters who at first seem friendly slowly start to feel manipulative and it eventually becomes obvious that a score of secrets are being kept from Saya. Even the monsters she slays speak about a covenant she's broken, of which she has no memory. She begins to question what's happening to her and eventually discovers that her current life is nothing but a farce and her personality a construct meant to dupe her for the sake of a bet. Saya's situation becomes a strong metaphor for the falseness of the idealized moe traits so often used in the place of genuine character development where female anime characters are concerned. Any time that Saya begins to come to a conclusion of her own volition or begins to ask too many questions of her peers or suspect something about her surroundings, the slate is wiped clean; people are violently murdered, frightening Saya into a state of incredulity, or she wakes up with her memories having been made so foggy that she no longer knows to question what has happened. Many complaints I heard from others regarding the series was that they felt that this incarnation of the Saya character didn't jive with the strength and fierceness of her previous incarnations, which is what made the final few scenes so tantalizing (and so painfully brief); just as the anime industry would rather crank out female characters in a few palatable flavors to make an easy buck, it's in the best interest of the series antagonists to keep Saya sweet, naïve and inoffensive, which makes the reformation of her personality at the series' conclusion all the more triumphant.

What seemed to frustrate many viewers about the show was the slow pace of its plot revelations. For the first few episodes, the façade of the separate day and night portions of Saya's life is kept in place. To those watching the series weekly, I'm sure it appeared as if the creators were going to play things completely straight and I agree that it could be frustrating to feel so stuck in place. I had the benefit of catching up with episodes 3-6 in one go which seemed to perfectly bring me up to date with the plot without the lengthy wait time in between, and by that point things were moving enough that the subsequent weeks in between episodes weren't as off-putting (I admittedly did really get impatient waiting for the new episode each week, but only due to anticipation). I suppose the question I would ask of other people, though, is what purpose an info dump in the second episode would have served? Part of what kept me watching the series was the building tension that came about from the subtle nuggets of information that could be gleaned each week from the minute differences in Saya's daily routine. I certainly wouldn't have traded that experience for 2 episodes of talking and 10 episodes of unfocused sword fighting against a boss character whose threat level is based primarily on his proximity to the protagonist and his ability to blend in and appear harmless.

One aspect of this series that's easy to agree upon is that it's horrendously violent. At some point within the last few years I've become extremely squeamish when it comes to physical violence, even when the gallons of blood and severed limbs are merely drawings being animated. The version of the series that's being streamed is censored, often quite heavily. While this may be a deterrent to some peoples' enjoyment, the amount of violence that's even suggested by what's seen is at the far end of what I'm able to tolerate. Without spoiling too much, the show also isn't shy about showing the death of named characters - expect to be shocked more than once.

The series is good on its own merits, but its final few scenes are spent setting up the plot of the upcoming (June 2012) film so be prepared for another frustrating waiting period. Despite this, the end to the series proper is satisfying and manages to wrap up the story threads revolving around the town and its mysteries. What mostly disappoints me about the series itself is its last few episodes; the penultimate episode is what so many people seemed to want much earlier on - an info dump - and is therefore plodding and boring. The final episode reveals Saya in her full glory, but only near the end. While this itself was satisfying, it would have been nice to have seen her break out a bit earlier and come into her own, because I do enjoy the character (and the anime landscape is always sorely in need of more female warriors whose panties aren't a plot point).

As one of the few champions of this series I'm comfortable in saying that I really enjoyed the mysteries surrounding the plot, and the fact that the series had an interesting perspective to offer on schoolgirl characters resonated with me in a way that helped to smooth over some of its bigger flaws. I think that the show's more measured pace is necessary to offer the sort of quiet suspense building and big payoff of the second half. On the whole, I enjoyed it.

Pros:

• The show serves as an examination of the falseness of moe schoolgirl characterization, depicting it as an act of hiding Saya's true self.
• The unsettling tone and measured pace create a tense atmosphere.

Cons:

• The pace at which information is revealed may be too slow for viewers expecting a pure action romp.
• The violence... oh the violence...

Recommended? Considering the cold reception this series has received elsewhere, it would be difficult for me to offer an unconditional recommendation. However, despite being squeamish about most of the violence and understanding about others' reservations towards the show, recommend it I shall. I enjoyed the experience.

More: