the blink times

To escape the hype on the Twilight saga, I’ve been spending almost every other night with this awesome series in my archives. Blood+ was given to me a couple of years ago, but characters like Edward Cullen have made me somewhat cautious with vampire flicks. Japanese productions are no exception to such an impression—the live action version of Blood: The Last Vampire, with its stunning visuals and gorgeous babes, also failed to deliver a compelling story. With blood-sucking stories pervading the media, one can’t help but feel that the scriptwriters have wasted precious time plagiarising Bram Stroker.

But Blood+ was quite an exception and I would like to argue that it has certain features that make the narrative more intelligent than any of the Twilight novels, or films.

First, there is a clear biological basis for the existence of vampires, or Chiropterans, as they are more commonly known in the series. As discovered by Dr. Julia Silverstein, these creatures possess an extra nucleotide that enables them to take on a human form and yet have superhuman strength. Instead of supernatural beings with occult powers, the vampires in Blood+ are an alternative species, with traits and behaviours that adhere to an evolutionary framework. For example, the blood of the Chiropteran queen is fatal to the progeny from another queen. This gives the protagonist, Saya, the ability to kill and destroy any creature that is spawned from her sister’s blood, because the two girls are the only queens of their generation.

Second, the themes of humanity and family ties have a stronger resonance than heterosexual romance. I do not really subscribe to the idea of  “two lovebirds against all odds” because there is more to life than just being dictated by one’s feelings. Although Blood+ does have a love story on the side, the main course with the character development is still the concept of self-actualisation and coming to terms with one’s place in a harsh world. Both Saya and her elder brother Kai constantly struggle to find a reason for fighting. In doing so, they begin to understand a bit more of themselves and their purpose in life. For those who are familiar with the series, there’s actually a lot of depth and development to Kai’s character and I feel much of the story’s moral underpinnings can be dervied from his experience.

Finally, and perhaps in my opinion the most tangible aspect, is the soundtrack by renowned composer Hans Zimmer. With works like The Last Samurai, Pirates of the Carribean and Batman Begins, need I say (or write) more? The haunting music for Blood+, with much of it on Haji’s melancholic cello, is no exception. The German musician is a genius, period.

Blood+ will be available for loan to all friends and readers of the blog. If you’re a straight bloke, I guarantee Saya will be a hotter pick than Bella from Twilight…anytime.