Okay... Let's get this out of the way. Crow's Blood is a fan service mini-series for the Japanese Idol group AKB48. The creator of Crow's Blood, Akimoto Yasushi, is the founder of AKB48 and all of the principle cast are members of AKB48. This is important if you really want to understand what you're watching...
Although some of the girls had some acting experience before this came out, the girls in AKB48 are primarily singers and dancers, not actresses. The acting isn't Hollywood quality but the girls act a hell of a lot better than the Beatles, KISS, or the Ramones ever did in their movies. Here's the thing though... The target audience did not care about that. I know, because I'm a fan of AKB48 and I was in the target audience.
Crow's Blood is actually a very well written series though. Akimoto hired top notch writers and directors for the project! It combines the concepts of zombies and vampirism in a truly unique way. The special effects are second to none. Even given that the acting is not going to be everyone's ideal, the special effects are actually where the series falls short. While they are excellent in every way, this is ultimately a drama/thriller. So as amazingly amazing as the special effects are, they are necessarily rare. As the story progresses fans of gore will want more, but because they are excellent they can be a little too much for the squeamish.
Crow's Blood actually quite extraordinary as a television horror series written for a bunch of teenaged singers and dancers!
