Blood: The Last Vampire
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| Blood: The Last Vampire | |
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 DVD cover of the Region 1 release of Blood: The Last Vampire |
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| ブラッド ザ ラスト ヴァンパイア (Buraddo Za Rasuto Vanpaia) |
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| Genre | Action, Horror |
| Animated film | |
| Director | Hiroyuki Kitakubo |
| Producer | Ryuji Mitsumoto Yukio Nagasaki |
| Writer | Kenji Kamiyama |
| Composer | Yoshihiro Ike |
| Studio | Production I.G Aniplex |
| Licensor | Manga Entertainment |
| Released | November 18, 2000 |
| Runtime | 48 minutes |
| Manga: Blood the Last Vampire 2002 | |
| Author | Benkyo Tamaoki |
| Publisher |  Kadokawa Shoten |
| English publisher |  Viz Media |
| Demographic | Shōnen |
| Serialized in | Monthly Ace Next |
| Published | April 2001 |
| Light novel: Blood: The Last Vampire: 闇を誘う血 | |
| Author | Junichi Fujisaku |
| Publisher | Kadokawa |
| Published | January 2001 |
| Light novel: Blood: The Last Vampire: Night of the Beasts | |
| Author | Mamoru Oshii |
| Publisher | Kadokawa |
| English publisher | Dark Horse Press |
| Published | July 2002 |
| Light novel: Blood: The Last Vampire: 上海哀儚 | |
| Author | Junichi Fujisaku |
| Publisher | Kadokawa |
| Published | December 2005 |
| Game | |
| Developer | Production I.G Sugar and Rockets (PS2) Sony Computer Entertainment Japan (PSP) |
| Publisher | Sony Computer Entertainment Japan |
| Genre | Horror, Adventure |
| Rating | CERO 12 |
| Platform | PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable |
| Released | December 21, 2000 January 26, 2006 (PSP) |
| Related | |
Blood: The Last Vampire (ブラッド ザ ラスト ヴァンパイア Buraddo Za Rasuto Vanpaia?) is an anime film produced by Production I.G and Aniplex and directed by Hiroyuki Kitakubo. The film premiered in theaters in Japan on November 18, 2000.
A single-volume manga sequel, Blood: The Last Vampire 2000 written by Benkyo Tamaoki, was published in Japan in 2001 by Kadokawa Shoten, and in English by Viz Media in November 2002 with the title slightly modified to Blood: The Last Vampire 2002. Three Japanese light novel adaptations have also been released for the series, along with a video game. It also spawned a fifty-episode anime series, Blood+, which is an alternate universe story.
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[edit] Plot
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Please help improve this section by expanding it. Further information might be found on the talk page or at requests for expansion. |
The story is set in the American Yokota Air Base located in post-WWII Japan, a few months before the beginning of the Vietnam War. Its main protagonist is a girl named Saya, who hunts hematophagous bat-like creatures called chiropterans for a secret organization known as the Red Shield.
[edit] Characters
- Saya (小夜 Saya?) hunts chiropterans using a katana. It is implied that she is the last remaining vampire and called "the only remaining original". Saya has no weakness to sunlight, although it is unknown if she has any of the other vulnerabilities often attributed to vampires. She does, however, become distressed when she encounters religious paraphernalia. Saya displays superhuman senses and strength, as well as cunning, resourcefulness, and skill. The manga series suggests she was a human-vampire hybrid. Her age is unknown, but a picture of her with nine other people is shown in the movie with the date 1892 and the word "vampire" attached to it. Though she holds most humans in disregard, she seems to have some sort of respect for David. Voiced by Youki Kudoh.
- David is a man working for the U.S. government. He relays the missions to Saya and helps her at various points in the movie. Voiced by Joe Romersa.
- Red Shield (赤い盾?), the US government organization that Saya and David worked for.
- Chiroptera, meaning "hand wing" and translated as 翼手 (yokushu?) in Japanese, are hematophagous bat-like creatures. They are extremely long-lived individuals that are comparable to humans in intelligence. Their natural appearance is much like a large, monstrous, long-limbed bat. Chiroptera live by feeding on human blood. They possess extraordinary speed, strength, and supernatural healing abilities and can heal almost instantly from any non-lethal wound. The only way to easily kill them is by introducing any amount of blood from Saya into their bloodstream.
[edit] Production
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Please help improve this section by expanding it. Further information might be found on the talk page or at requests for expansion. |
[edit] Media
[edit] Manga
Using a concept from Mamoru Oshii, Production I.G had Benkyo Tamaoki write a sequel to Blood: The Last Vampire to complete the story.[1] It brings Saya to the year 2002, with a new generation of handlers and continuing her quest to destroy Chiropteran.[2] Appropriately named Blood: The Last Vampire 2000 (ブラッド ザ・ラストヴァンパイア２０００ Buraddo Za Rasuto Vanpaia2000?), the single volume title was published in Japan by Kadokawa Shoten in April 2001.[3] It was licensed and released, in English, in North America by Viz Media under the title Blood: The Last Vampire 2002.[2]
| # | Original | English | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Release date | ISBN | Release date | ISBN | |
| 1 | May 1, 2001 | ISBN 4-04-713404-X | November 5, 2002 | ISBN 978-1-56931-779-2 |
| David has retired and Saya has a new handler. In order to investigate a lead on a Chiropteran, David's replacement enrolls her in Jinkōsen Shūritsu Valley High School under the name of "Saya Otonashi". While fighting a chiropteran, Saya breaks her sword again. David sends her a replacement saying it is the last thing he will be able to do for her as he is reaching the end of his life. Saya learns that chiropterans once co-existed with humans, but the humans began experimenting on them in the 19th century to try to gain immortality. However, the experiments failed and the chiropterans were left with an increased killing instinct, greater combat abilities, and without their former regard for human lives. In an attempt to stop these new breed of chiropterans, the scientists developed two anti-chiropteran weapons. The first, a prototype, was named Maya. She still needed to drink blood like other chiropterans and could transform. The second, Saya, did not need to drink blood and had no transformation abilities so she was considered the perfected weapon. The two girls look identical, having been created from the last living original chiropteran. Maya, who seeks out Saya, wants Saya to eat her so they can then become one pure-blood chiropteran. Later, the Red Shield is unable to find Maya's body, but it is not shown if Saya did eat her. Saya kills her handler and walks off into the night. | ||||
[edit] Light novels
A trilogy of light novels have been created in relation to Blood: the Last Vampire and published by Kadokawa. Published in Japan in October 2000, Blood: The Last Vampire: Night of the Beasts (ブラッド・ザ・ラストバンパイヤ 獣たちの夜 Kemonotachi no Yoru?) was written by Mamoru Oshii. It was published in English in North America by DH Press on November 23, 2005.[4]
The second novel, Blood: The Last Vampire: The Blood Which Invites the Darkness (ブラッド・ザ・ラストバンパイヤ 闇を誘う血 Yami o Izanau Chi?) was written by Junichi Fujisaku, who also directed the related Blood+ anime series. This was published in January 2001.[4] [5]
The third novel, also written by Fujisaku, is Blood: The Last Vampire: A Tragic Dream in Shanghai (ブラッド・ザ・ラストバンパイヤ 上海哀儚 Shanhai Aibyō?) and was published in July 2001.[4]
[edit] Video games
In 2000, Production I.G and Sony Computer Entertainment Japan co-produced a two-volume Blood: The Last Vampire video game. The game features a musical score by Yuki Kajiura with Youki Kudoh reprising her role as the voice of Saya, and over two hours of theater quality animation. It is a graphical adventure that brings Saya and her hunt for Chiropterans to Tokyo in 2000. There she meets a seventeen year old boy who begins wondering about Saya and the history of "Blood". Both volumes of the game were released to the PlayStation 2 in Japan on December 21, 2000.[6][7]
In 2006, Production I.G and Sony re-released the game. Both volumes were combined into a single game for the PlayStation Portable (PSP). The game was called Yarudora Series Vol. 5: Blood: The Last Vampire (やるドラ ポータブル Blood the Last Vampire?) and was released in Japan on January 26, 2006. The combined game included new cover art and additional features, including a strategy flow chart, a digital art gallery, and some exclusive movies.[8][9]
[edit] Anime series
In 2005, Sony and Production I.G announced the creation of Blood+, a fifty-episode anime television series. Held to be an alternate universe telling of Blood: The Last Vampire, it has only minor connections and similarities to the film and many differences. Blood+ premiered in Japan on October 08, 2005 on MBS/TBS and aired until September 23, 2006.[10][11] The series was directed by Junichi Fujisaku and features original character designs by Chizu Hashii. Through Sony's international division, Blood+ was licensed for distribution in multiple regions.[12] In the United States, the series was broadcast as part of Cartoon Network's Adult Swim from March 11, 2007 until March 23, 2008. Like Blood: The Last Vampire, Blood+ has resulted in the creation of multiple manga series, light novel series, and video games.
[edit] Live action film
In May 2006, Bill Kong, producer of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and Here, announced that he was producing a live-action film adaptation of Blood: The Last Vampire, directed by Ronny Yu, and primarily filmed in English rather than Japanese.[13] The film's setting is shifted slightly from the anime to 1948 at a United States Army camp in Tokyo, shortly after the conclusion of World War II during the American occupation of Japan.[14] Saya will be a 400-year-old half human-half vampire who hunts vampires which are also her only source for food. Normally a loner, Saya forms a friendship with a young girl while preparing to battle Onigen, the highest ranking of the vampires.[15]
Kong and Yu were planning on financing the project themselves without the support of Production I.G.[14] However, in November 2006, Production I.G officially consented to the film. Through Manga Entertainment, French Pathe will act as the film's production company.[16] While Yu has been kept on as the film's producer, Chris Nahon is taking over as the film's director.[17][18] Korean actress Jun Ji-Hyun, who changed her name to Gianna Jun for the release, will portray Saya.[19] Rather than being paid a straight license, Production I.G will receive a percentage of all revenues generated by the film. Originally slated to be released worldwide in spring 2008,[16] the film is now scheduled for release in June 2009.[20]
[edit] Reception
The film has been praised for its blend of 2D and 3D elements, with Academy Award winning director James Cameron stating: "Digital imaging has entered a new era. The world will come to consider this work as the standard of top quality in digital animation."[21] It received the Grand Prize for animation at the 2000 Japan Media Arts Festival.
In the first week of it's North American release, more than 70,000 DVDs and 30,000 VHS copies of Blood: The Last Vampire had been sold.[22] Within the first month after it's release, it became Manga Entertainment's top selling title in the company's history. The film also appeared on both the Video Business, Billboard, Video Store Magazine and Entertainment Weekly lists of top DVD sales. The company attributes this success to their use of two unconventional marketing methods: a limited theatrical release before the DVD release to market the title and offering the entire film for free on the day the DVD was released through a streaming video broadcast on Sputnik7.com where it was downloaded by more than 61,000 viewers.[22][23]
We are very excited to bring a film like Blood to America and present the newest digital film technology to all entertainment platforms. Its success has proven to be a landmark time in the history of Manga Entertainment.
—Marvin Gleicher, President of Manga Entertainment, ICv2[23]
According to Electronic Gaming Monthly, Blood: The Last Vampire was one influence behind the "striking visuals" of the video game Crackdown.[24]
[edit] References
- ^ Macdonald, Christopher (2000-08-01). Interview: Production I.G.. Anime News Network. Retrieved on 2008-04-10.
- ^ a b Blood: The Last Vampire. Viz Media. Retrieved on 2008-04-10.
- ^ Blood: The Last Vampire books. Production I.G. Retrieved on 2008-04-10.
- ^ a b c Blood the Last Vampire manga and novel releases (Japanese). Production I.G. Retrieved on 2008-05-07.
- ^ Blood+ Staff and Cast. Production I.G. Retrieved on 2007-12-16.
- ^ Blood: The Last Vampire (Game Edition). Production I.G. Retrieved on 2008-03-14.
- ^ IGN Staff (2000-10-13). Blood: The Last Vampire: Obscure, unsual, and never coming to the states, but perhaps of interest to Production I.G. fans. IGN. Retrieved on 2008-03-14.
- ^ Gantayat, Anoop (2005-12-05). Sony Brings Blood to PSP: PS2 adventure title going portable with promise of single-handed play.. IGN. Retrieved on 2008-03-14.
- ^ やるドラ ポータブルシリーズ ～Blood the Last Vampire ((Japanese)). Sony Computer Entertainment Japan. Retrieved on 2008-03-14.
- ^ Production I.G Unveils Blood+. Anime News Network (2005-05-11). Retrieved on 2007-12-16.
- ^ Japan's TBS Confirms Anime's Move from Saturday, 6 p.m.. Anime News Network (2008-02-05). Retrieved on 2008-02-05.
- ^ Blood+ Licensed. Anime News Network (2006-01-23). Retrieved on 2007-06-08.
- ^ 'Blood: The Last Vampire' Live Action. ICv2 (2006-05-19). Retrieved on 2008-03-14.
- ^ a b Ronny Yu and Quint discuss FEARLESS, Jet Li's retirement and BLOOD: THE LAST VAMPIRE!!. Ain't It Cool News (2006-09-14). Retrieved on 2008-03-14.
- ^ More Blood: The Last Vampire Images. BeyondHollywood.com (2008-01-22). Retrieved on 2008-03-14.
- ^ a b Live Action Blood: The Last Vampire. Anime News Network (2006-11-03). Retrieved on 2008-03-14.
- ^ Leroy, Caroline (2007-10-15). Blood : The Last Vampire : photo exclusive! (French). FilmsActu.com. Mixicom. Retrieved on 2008-03-14.
- ^ 1st Live-Action Blood: The Last Vampire Still Posted. Anime News Network (2007-10-16). Retrieved on 2008-03-14.
- ^ Jun Ji-hyun Changes Name to Gianna Jun for Blood: The Last Vampire. BeyondHollywood.com (2007-05-22). Retrieved on 2008-03-14.
- ^ Pathe Distribution - Blood, The Last Vampire (French). Pathe Distribution. Retrieved on 2008-06-04.
- ^ Stroud, Michael (2001-08-27). Marketing First for Last Vampire. Wired News. Retrieved on 2008-03-14.
- ^ a b Streaming Blood Yields Sales (2001-09-04). Retrieved on 2008-03-14.
- ^ a b Blood: The Last Vampire Sets Manga Record. ICv2 (2001-10-30). Retrieved on 2008-03-14.
- ^ Ford, Greg (April 2007). "Crackdown: Cracking the case". Electronic Gaming Monthly (214): p. 41. Ziff-Davis.
[edit] External links
- Official Production I.G Blood: The Last Vampire website (Japanese)
- Official Aniplex Blood: The Last Vampire website (Japanese)
- Official Production I.G Blood: The Last Vampire English website
- Official Manga Entertainment Blood: The Last Vampire website
- Blood: The Last Vampire (anime) at Anime News Network's Encyclopedia
- Official Viz Media Blood: The Last Vampire manga website
- Blood: The Last Vampire, 2002 (manga) (manga) at Anime News Network's Encyclopedia
- Blood: The Last Vampire: Night of the Beasts (manga novel) (manga) at Anime News Network's Encyclopedia
