Gekijouban Blood-C: The Last Dark

I used to enjoy Animes and Mangas quite a lot when I was younger, but haven't really watched a lot ever since I left my teenage and young adult years behind. But I do manage to squeeze in the occasional series or movie here and there.

From the synopsis to "Blood-C: The Last Dark" then it sounded like it would be rather interesting, or at the very least have some great potential.

And now having seen the movie, I must admit that I was a bit disappointed, because the movie turned out only to be mediocre. There was nowhere near as much gore and violence as people had made it out to contain, and the storyline started out in a great pace and was interesting, but it quickly took a turn, and not for the better. The movie quickly toned down in pace and sort of started to drag out with too many scenes with just dialogue and plot building, whereas the action, gore and mayhem were left in the side track.

Animation-wise, then "Blood-C: The Last Dark" was quite alright. Although I didn't really fully welcome or grasp the reason for why they had to make use of CGI animation alongside with ordinary Japanese style animation. It just didn't blend all that well; pick one style and stick with it.

I was so cursed to watch the English dubbed version, which was also sort of a moment of irritation, as I prefer to watch everything in its original language. Dubbing, despite it being in 2014, is still painful to witness, and it is rare that you come across dubbing work that is really done with such gusto, heart and soul that it is actually up to level with the original language.

I assume that you have to be a fan of the series to properly enjoy this. I must admit that I didn't even know that there was a series, not before after having read some IMDb reviews for this movie.

I usually prefer anime series to movies, but since I'd seen the series Blood-C, which this follows, and it has an unsatisfying ending, I thought there might be a resolution here. I think you could see this as a stand alone movie, but it would make much more sense of you have seen the series first.

Saya, the unfortunate 'girl' from the series is now in Tokyo hunting the monsters from her old town. They like to eat people, brutually. She is actually chasing her mortal enemy Fumito. When she hooks up with a bunch of conspiracy theorist youths who are also after Fumito, she figures they will help her get him. Her new friends are honest and nice, but they don't know what they're mixed up in, or who or what Saya really is.

Suffice to say, this show is dark, gory and not for kids. The animation is awesome, which only intensifies the gruesome scenes. If you haven't seen the series, check it out, its even more hectic than this, unless you get the stupid censored version like I did, which chops out so much of the bloody violence, it almost makes the show redundant.

The movie corrected nearly all the flaws in the series, from the erratic and poor animation to the weak plot and lack of real character development, etc.

Overall flow of the movie was solid, better character building and growth that lead to actually empathizing or at least understanding the group.

Ending was "reasonable" but still a bit disappointing. Don't get me wrong it tied up many loose ends, but there was a chance for more growth in Saya's character and a resolution that was a little less predictable, if she had chosen the other path.

I give this movie 10 stars because of its amazing combination of CGI and tradigital animation. In places, it was seamless, combining camera moves with (apparently) hand-drawn animation. There were also scenes combining large CG crowds with CG & Painted backgrounds. While not a pro animator, I keep up with how effects are done, and while I THINK I know how thinks were done, it was still a jaw-dropping visual feast throughout.

The movie I saw was dubbed by Funimation, and I thought it was great. Maybe if I spoke and understood Japanese, I would feel differently, but in my experience, they always do a thoughtful and intelligent job. Funimation Channel was where I saw the movie, and their network also carried the series on which it was based.

If I were to offer any real critique, it was the choice to use the very elongated figure style, which was also done in the series. But this was an obvious creative decision.

I plan to buy the DVD, when released by Funimation.

This movie is the ending to the Blood-C anime by CLAMP. IF you haven't seen the anime or are not familiar with other works by CLAMP then you may be disappointed to find that the movie is not all about action but is more focused on the fate and struggle of the protagonist. CLAMP likes making stories that leave you thinking so if you are looking for an exciting action movie then this might not be the movie for you.

Also, this movie can be appreciated better by those who have read/watched other works by CLAMP since there are aspects of the movie that are more clear to those who have watched/read xxxHolic than those who have not.