''Blood+'' (stylized as ''BLOOD+''; pronounced "Blood Plus") is a Japanese

anime is Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japane ...

television series produced by

Production I.G is a Japanese animation studio and production enterprise, founded on December 15, 1987, by Mitsuhisa Ishikawa and headquartered in Musashino, Tokyo, Japan. The letters I and G derive from the names of the company founders: producer Mitsuhisa Ish ...

and

Aniplex is a Japanese anime, music production and anime licensee company owned by Sony Music Entertainment Japan. Established in September 1995, Aniplex has been involved in the production and distribution of several anime series, such as both ''Fullm ...

and directed by

Junichi Fujisaku is a Japanese screenwriter and novelist that mostly known for his work on the ''Blood'' franchise and '' Ghost in the Shell: Arise'' series, produced by Production I.G. Career Junichi Fujisaku started working at Production I.G in the late 199 ...

. The series was broadcast on

MBS MBS may refer for: People * Mohammed bin Salman (born 1985), crown prince and prime minister of Saudi Arabia * Mohan Bikram Singh (born 1935), Nepalese politician Places * MBS International Airport (IATA code: MBS), Freeland, Michigan, US * Mari ...

and TBS from October 2005 to September 2006. ''Blood+'' is licensed for international distribution in several regions through Sony Pictures' international arm,

Sony Pictures Television International Sony Pictures Television Inc. (abbreviated as SPT) is an American television production and distribution studio. Based at the Sony Pictures Studios complex in Culver City, it is a division of Sony Entertainment's unit Sony Pictures Entertainm ...

(SPTI). ''Blood+'' was inspired by the 2000 anime film '' Blood: The Last Vampire''; however, there are only a few allusions and basic elements from the film. Fujisaku has been involved with both works, including acting as the director for ''Blood+'' and writing the

novelization A novelization (or novelisation) is a derivative novel that adapts the story of a work created for another medium, such as a film, TV series, stage play, comic book or video game. Film novelizations were particularly popular before the advent of ...

of ''Blood: The Last Vampire''.

Plot

The series is initially set in September 2005 in

Okinawa City is the second-largest city in Okinawa Prefecture, Japan, following Naha, the capital city. It is located in the central part of the island of Okinawa, about north of Naha. As of December 2012, the city has an estimated population of 138,431 and ...

(Koza) on

Okinawa Island is the largest of the Okinawa Islands and the Ryukyu (''Nansei'') Islands of Japan in the Kyushu region. It is the smallest and least populated of the five main islands of Japan. The island is approximately long, an average wide, and has an ...

near the US

Kadena Air Base (IATA: DNA, ICAO: RODN) is a highly strategic United States Air Force base in the towns of Kadena and Chatan and the city of Okinawa, in Okinawa Prefecture, Japan. It is often referred to as the "Keystone of the Pacific" because of its highl ...

. Under the care of her adoptive family, the protagonist Saya Otonashi had been living the life of an

anemic Anemia or anaemia (British English) is a blood disorder in which the blood has a reduced ability to carry oxygen due to a lower than normal number of red blood cells, or a reduction in the amount of hemoglobin. When anemia comes on slowly, th ...

amnesia Amnesia is a deficit in memory caused by brain damage or disease,Gazzaniga, M., Ivry, R., & Mangun, G. (2009) Cognitive Neuroscience: The biology of the mind. New York: W.W. Norton & Company. but it can also be caused temporarily by the use ...

c, but otherwise ordinary schoolgirl. However, her happy life is shattered when she is attacked by a Chiropteran, a hematophagous bat-like creature that lives by feeding on human blood. Saya learns that she is the only one who can defeat them, as her blood causes their bodies to crystallize and shatter. Armed with her special

katana A is a Japanese sword characterized by a curved, single-edged blade with a circular or squared guard and long grip to accommodate two hands. Developed later than the ''tachi'', it was used by samurai in feudal Japan and worn with the edge fa ...

, Saya embarks on a journey with her family, friends, allies, and her

chevalier Chevalier may refer to: Honours Belgium * a rank in the Belgian Order of the Crown * a rank in the Belgian Order of Leopold * a rank in the Belgian Order of Leopold II * a title in the Belgian nobility France * a rank in the French Legion d'h ...

Haji, to rid the world of the Chiropteran threat and recover her identity. The course of the journey reveals the background history of the Chiropterans and Saya's mysterious past, which extends into the mid-19th century. Over the course of the series, Saya travels across the world from

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

, and finally the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

Production

Produced by

and

and directed by

, ''Blood+'' was inspired by the 2000 anime film '' Blood: The Last Vampire''; however, there are only a few allusions and basic elements from the film. Fujisaku has been involved with both works, including acting as the director for ''Blood+'' and writing the novelization of ''Blood: The Last Vampire''.

Media

Anime

The ''Blood+'' anime series premiered in Japan on October 8, 2005, on

/ TBS, replacing ''

Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Destiny is an anime television series, a direct sequel to ''Mobile Suit Gundam SEED'' by Sunrise and the overall tenth installment in the ''Gundam'' franchise. It retains most of the staff from ''Gundam SEED'', including Director Mitsuo Fukuda. Se ...

'', with a new episode airing weekly until the final episode aired September 23, 2006, totaling 50 episodes. The series is directed by

and features original character designs by Chizu Hashii. Each season has separate opening and ending themes from a variety of artists, with the final episode using the season one ending theme. The series simultaneously aired on

Animax , stylized as ANIMAX, is a Japanese animation satellite television network, dedicated to broadcasting anime programming. The channel also dubbed other cartoons in Japanese language. A subsidiary of Sony Pictures Entertainment Japan, it is headq ...

, Sony's Japanese anime

satellite A satellite or artificial satellite is an object intentionally placed into orbit in outer space. Except for passive satellites, most satellites have an electricity generation system for equipment on board, such as solar panels or radioisotope ...

channel, with its

networks Network, networking and networked may refer to: Science and technology * Network theory, the study of graphs as a representation of relations between discrete objects * Network science, an academic field that studies complex networks Mathematics ...

in Southeast Asia and South Asia also later airing the series. Through Sony's international division, ''Blood+'' was licensed for distribution in multiple regions. The English dub of the series, aired in the United States on

Cartoon Network Cartoon Network (often abbreviated as CN) is an American cable television channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. It is a part of The Cartoon Network, Inc., a division that also has the broadcasting and production activities of Boomerang, Car ...

Adult Swim Adult Swim (AS; stylized as

dult swim Dult is a village in Batala in Gurdaspur district of Punjab State, India. It is located from sub district headquarter, from district headquarter and from Sri Hargobindpur. The village is administrated by Sarpanch an elected representati ...

and often abbreviated as s is an American adult-oriented night-time cable television Television channel, channel that shares channel space with the basic cable network Cartoon Network and is programme ...

programming block, premiering March 11, 2007, and running till March 23, 2008. The English dub also aired in Australia on the

Sci Fi Channel Syfy (formerly Sci-Fi Channel, later shortened to Sci Fi; stylized as SYFY) is an American basic cable channel owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming division of Comcast's NBCUniversal through NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment. Launc ...

and in the Philippines on

Studio 23 Studio 23 (officially Studio 23, Inc. and previously AMCARA Broadcasting Network) was a Filipino television network owned by ABS-CBN Corporation. The network was named for its flagship station in Metro Manila, DWAC-TV and carried on UHF chann ...

. The first Region 1 DVDs were released in North America on March 4, 2008, with a simultaneous release of a single five-episode volume and a twenty-five episode box set, ''Blood+ Part'' One. Sony continued released individual volumes on a regular basis. Despite that Sony Pictures Television International since 2014 has not completed releasing Volume 5 of the first half of the series. Leaving the first half separate releases incomplete. The second half was released in a second box set, ''Blood+ Part Two'', on October 20, 2009. In June 2020 the entire series was added for free streaming in the US on Tubi TV.

Soundtracks

Except for the opening and ending themes, the entire musical score for ''Blood+'' was the work of noted film score producer

Hans Zimmer Hans Florian Zimmer (; born 12 September 1957) is a German film score composer and music producer. He has won two Academy Awards, Oscars and four Grammy Awards, Grammys, and has been nominated for two Primetime Emmy Awards, Emmys and a Tony Awar ...

and noted composer

Mark Mancina Mark Mancina is an American film composer. A veteran of Hans Zimmer's Media Ventures, Mancina has scored over sixty films and television series including ''Speed (1994 film), Speed'', ''Bad Boys (1995 film), Bad Boys'', ''Twister (1996 film), Twi ...

. ''Blood+'' was the first anime project Mancina worked on, and afterward he stated that working on the project turned him into an anime fan. All of the opening and ending themes were created at Sony Music for the project, after the production team, headed by Yutaka Omatsu, presenting the project concept and ''Blood+'' worldview. The opening and ending themes are performed by a variety of artists, including Hitomi Takahashi,

Chitose Hajime is a Japanese singer from Amami Ōshima. She sings in the shima-uta style particular to that region, with distinctive falsetto effects. History Early life Chitose Hajime began learning shamisen under her mother's encouragement from a young ag ...

, Hyde,

Mika Nakashima is a Japanese singer and actress. Five of her studio albums, one of her mini-albums and one of her compilation albums have reached number one in Japan's Oricon album chart. She also embarked on an acting career, most notably as Nana Osaki in the ...

Angela Aki known professionally as , is a pop singer, songwriter and pianist. Biography Early life Aki was born in the small town of Itano in Tokushima Prefecture, in the mostly rural island of Shikoku. Her mother is Italian American and her father is ...

Uverworld Uverworld (stylized as UVERworld) is a Japanese Rock music, rock band consisting of six members and originating from Kusatsu, Shiga. They have released eleven studio albums and over thirty singles and have sold over three million records worldwide ...

Jinn Jinn ( ar, , ') – also Romanization of Arabic, romanized as djinn or Anglicization, anglicized as genies (with the broader meaning of spirit or demon, depending on sources) – are Invisibility, invisible creatures in early Arabian mytho ...

, and K. In an interview with Production I.G staff, Omatsu noted that he felt Sony did an excellent job of providing music fitting for each season, as did the team of Zimmer and Mancina. Four CD soundtracks, all produced by Hans Zimmer, have been released in Japan by

Sony Music Japan , often abbreviated as SMEJ or simply SME, and also known as Sony Music Japan for short (stylized as ''SonyMusic''), is a Japanese music arm for Sony. Founded in 1968 as CBS/Sony, SMEJ is directly owned by Sony, Sony Group Corporation and is ...

through their

label. was released on February 2, 2006. It contains six tracks: selections from

Johann Sebastian Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the '' Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboard w ...

's '' Cello Suite No. 5 in C minor (BWV 1011)'' performed by , who is the cellist behind Hagi's playing in the series. The seventh, and final track, is a bonus remix of the music performed by . The soundtrack included a DVD with a special episode telling some of Hagi's backstory and a music video with Furukawa playing the first track, . The first full soundtrack, ''Blood+ Original Soundtrack 1'', was released on April 26, 2006. It contains fourteen instrumental tracks of background music used during the series and one vocal song "Diva", sung by Elin Carlson, which is the song the character Diva sang in several episodes of the series. On September 27, 2006, ''Blood+ Original Soundtrack 2'' was released with an additional eighteen tracks of instrumental themes from the series. ''Blood+ Complete Best'', released October 25, 2006, is a limited edition compilation set containing a CD, a DVD, and an eighty-page booklet that includes a full episode guide and some final notes from the series production staff. The CD includes the full versions of all eight series' opening and ending theme songs, as well as last two instrumental tracks from the first soundtrack. The DVD contains music videos for each of the theme songs from the CD.

Manga

To lead up to the ''Blood+'' anime series, three ''Blood+'' manga series were released and published in three different manga magazines. The ''

tankōbon is the Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or cultur ...

'' volumes of all three series were published by

Kadokawa Shoten , formerly , is a Japanese publisher and division of Kadokawa Future Publishing based in Tokyo, Japan. It became an internal division of Kadokawa Corporation on October 1, 2013. Kadokawa publishes manga, light novels, manga anthology magazines su ...

. ''Blood+'', by Asuka Katsura, is a five-volume series that first premiered in ''

Monthly Shōnen Ace is a monthly shōnen manga magazine in Japan published by Kadokawa Shoten, started in 1994. Unlike the big shōnen weeklies with circulation figures in the millions, ''Ace'' is aimed at a less mainstream audience, and has a particular emphasis on ...

'' in July 2005. It covers the same story events as the anime series. ''Blood+: Adagio'' was written by Kumiko Suekane. It is a two-volume series that premiered in the September 2005 issue of ''Beans Ace Magazine'' and follows Saya and Hagi's experiences during the

Russian Revolution The Russian Revolution was a period of Political revolution (Trotskyism), political and social revolution that took place in the former Russian Empire which began during the First World War. This period saw Russia abolish its monarchy and ad ...

. The third series, ''Blood+: Kowloon Nights'', released in Japan as , is a single tankōbon series by Hirotaka Kisaragi. It premiered in the September issue of ''Asuka Ciel''. Set in Shanghai, it follows Hagi as he searches for Saya and the complications he must deal with. Unlike the other ''Blood+'' manga adaptations, which are both '' shōnen'' works, ''Blood+: Kowloon Nights'' is a '' shōjo'' manga, particularly of the ''

shōnen-ai ''Yaoi'' (; ja, やおい ), also known by the ''wasei-eigo'' construction and its abbreviation , is a genre of fictional media originating in Japan that features homoerotic relationships between male characters. It is typically created b ...

'' (or Boy's Love) genre. All three manga adaptations have been licensed for release in English in North America by

Dark Horse Comics Dark Horse Comics is an American comic book, graphic novel, and manga publisher founded in Milwaukie, Oregon by Mike Richardson in 1986. The company was created using funds earned from Richardson's chain of Portland, Oregon comic book shops known ...

Novels

There are two Japanese

light novel A light novel (, Hepburn: ''raito noberu'') is a style of young adult novel primarily targeting high school and middle school students. The term "light novel" is a ''wasei-eigo'', or a Japanese term formed from words in the English languag ...

adaptations of the ''Blood+'' series. ''Blood+'', written by Ryō Ikehata with illustrations by Chizu Hashii, is the four volume official novel adaptation of the anime series, expanding upon the events of the fifty-episode anime series and giving greater background on the battle against chiropterans. The first volume was released in Japan on May 1, 2006, by

under their male oriented

Kadokawa Sneaker Bunko Kadokawa may refer to: *Kadokawa Corporation, the holding company of the Kadokawa Group **Kadokawa Content Gate and Kadokawa Mobile, both former names for BookWalker **Kadokawa Future Publishing, a subsidiary of Kadokawa Corporation and the publi ...

label. The remaining volumes released every four months until the final volume was released on May 1, 2007. The second adaptation titled , is a two-volume series written by Karino Minazuki and illustrated by Ryō Takagi. It was released at the same time as ''Blood+'', with the first volume was released on May 1, 2006, and the second on September 1, 2006. The series, published under Kadokawa's female oriented label Beans Bunko, details Saya and Hagi's lives at the start of the 20th century and the

. Both novel series have been licensed for release in English in North America by

. Dark Horse released the first translated ''Blood+'' novel on March 19, 2008. In 2017, Fujisaku wrote a third novelization of ''Blood+'', titled ''Blood#'', which takes place after the series finale, focusing on Diva's grown children, Hibiki and Kanade.

Video games

Two

Sony , commonly stylized as SONY, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. As a major technology company, it operates as one of the world's largest manufacturers of consumer and professional ...

PlayStation 2 The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October 2000, in Europe on 24 November 2000, and in Australia on 3 ...

video games have been created that are based on the ''Blood+'' series. Both games are currently only available in Japan and have not been licensed for release in any other countries. ''Blood+: One Night Kiss'', from

Namco Bandai Games is a Japanese multinational video game publisher headquartered in Minato-ku, Tokyo. Its international branches, Bandai Namco Entertainment America and Bandai Namco Entertainment Europe, are respectively headquartered in Irvine, California and ...

and

Grasshopper Manufacture is a Japanese video game developer founded on March 30, 1998 by Goichi Suda. They are well known for creating titles such as ''killer7'' and the '' No More Heroes'' series. History The company was founded on March 30, 1998 in Suginami, Ja ...

, is an

action-adventure game The action-adventure genre is a video game hybrid genre that combines core elements from both the action game and adventure game genres. Typically, pure adventure games have situational problems for the player to solve to complete a story ...

that was originally released on August 30, 2006. Set in the fictional town of Shikishi, players spend most of the game playing as Saya, occasionally switching to Aoyama, an original character created for the game.

Goichi Suda , known by his alias Suda51, is a Japanese video game designer, writer and director. Affiliated with Human Entertainment from 1994 to 1998, he founded Grasshopper Manufacture in 1998 with a number of other Human Entertainment staff to produce thei ...

was the game's director and writer in consultation with Fujisaka, while

Masafumi Takada is a Japanese composer and sound designer, best known for his work on the soundtracks for '' killer7'', ''God Hand'', '' No More Heroes'', and the '' Earth Defense Force'' and '' Danganronpa'' series. Takada often collaborates with guitarist and ...

was composer. Production was completed on a tight five month schedule so it would release within the anime's broadcast. The cel-shaded graphics based on those of Suda's earlier title ''

Killer7 is a 2005 action-adventure video game developed by Grasshopper Manufacture and Capcom Production Studio 4 and published by Capcom for the GameCube and PlayStation 2. The game was written and directed by Goichi Suda and produced by Hiroyuki ...

'' using a custom-built engine for the

, while the purely urban setting was settled on by Suda as a return to the setting of his earlier game ''

Moonlight Syndrome is a horror-themed adventure game developed and published by Human Entertainment for the PlayStation in October 1997. An entry in the company's ''Twilight Syndrome'' series, the game was directed and co-written by Goichi Suda. Retaining the com ...

''. Suda and the studio were asked to hold back on their established tone, with Suda's initial plan for the game's Saya to be a Chiroptera clone killed at the game's end being vetoed. , from Sony Entertainment, is an

adventure game An adventure game is a video game genre in which the player assumes the role of a protagonist in an interactive story driven by exploration and/or Puzzle video game, puzzle-solving. The Video game genres, genre's focus on story allows it to draw ...

released on July 27, 2006. Set during the year between episodes 32 and 33, after Riku's death, the game alternates between an "Active Demo" section where the player can make decisions that change the story line, and full action sequences where the player, as Saya, fights with her sword to collect chiropteran crystals. In addition to the two PS2 games, Sony Entertainment released the PSP game on September 7, 2006. It is an

adventure An adventure is an exciting experience or undertaking that is typically bold, sometimes risky. Adventures may be activities with danger such as traveling, exploring, skydiving, mountain climbing, scuba diving, river rafting, or other extreme spo ...

role-playing video game A role-playing video game (commonly referred to as simply a role-playing game or RPG, as well as a computer role-playing game or CRPG) is a video game genre where the player controls the actions of a character (or several party members) immers ...

that uses animated sequences from the series as well as new footage created specifically for the game. The game is set during the first season of the series, and features an original story in which Saya, joined by three friends from school, investigates the mystery of her father's disappearance. A Java game, covering most of the anime's plot is also available.

Fan book

In September 2006, ''

Newtype is a monthly magazine publication originating from Japan, covering anime (and to a lesser extent, tokusatsu, manga, Japanese science fiction, seiyuu, and video games). It was launched by publishing company Kadokawa Shoten on March 8, 1985, with i ...

'' released ''BLOOD + Encyclopedia'', a special issue fan book that includes interviews with the staff and cast, an episode guide, and information on the related media – the manga, novels and video games.

Reception

When ''Blood+'' first aired in Japan, it was shown in TBS/MBS's 6 pm. Sunday

timeslot Broadcast programming is the practice of organizing or ordering (scheduling) of broadcast media shows, typically radio and television, in a daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly or season-long schedule. Modern broadcasters use broadcast automation ...

, which has mostly been used to air anime since 1993. After ''Blood+'' began airing, the ratings for that time slot began dropping. The drop in viewership became more pronounced after

NHK , also known as NHK, is a Japanese public broadcaster. NHK, which has always been known by this romanized initialism in Japanese, is a statutory corporation funded by viewers' payments of a television license fee. NHK operates two terrestri ...

's baseball anime ''

Major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

'' premiered on a competing channel in the time slot. Carl Kimlinger of

Anime News Network Anime News Network (ANN) is a news website that reports on the status of anime, manga, video games, Japanese popular music and other related cultures within North America, Australia, Southeast Asia and Japan. The website offers reviews and oth ...

gave the series an overall score of B stating, "The plot is propulsive, never lingering for long in one place, yet never rushing to leave". In December 2005, ''Blood+'' was one of several anime series selected as being a "recommended as an excellent work" at the 9th annual

Japanese Media Arts Festival The Japan Media Arts Festival is an annual festival held since 1997 by Japan's Agency for Cultural Affairs. The festival begins with an open competition and culminates with the awarding of several prizes and an exhibition. Based on judging by ...

. The series was ranked number 41 on

TV Asahi JOEX-DTV (channel 5), branded as (also known as EX and and stylized as TV asahi), is a television station that is owned and operated by the subsidiary of certified broadcasting holding company , itself controlled by The Asahi Shimbun Compan ...

's list of top 100 favorite anime series for 2006.

References

External links

Official ''Blood+'' website

Official MBS ''Blood+'' website

* {{Monthly Shōnen Ace 2005 anime television series debuts 2005 manga 2006 Japanese novels 2006 Japanese television series endings 2006 manga 2006 video games Action anime and manga Animax original programming Aniplex Blood: The Last Vampire Dark fantasy anime and manga Dark Horse Comics titles Fiction about amnesia Fiction set in the 2000s Films scored by Mark Mancina Hack and slash games Japan-exclusive video games Kadokawa Beans Bunko Kadokawa Shoten manga Kadokawa Sneaker Bunko Light novels Mainichi Broadcasting System original programming Military anime and manga Okinawa Prefecture in fiction PlayStation 2 games Production I.G Seinen manga Shōjo manga Shōnen manga Suspense anime and manga Television series by Sony Pictures Television TBS Television (Japan) original programming Video games about vampires Vampires in animated television Vampires in anime and manga Video games based on anime and manga Video games developed in Japan Video games featuring female protagonists Video games with cel-shaded animation Vietnam War fiction Yakuza in anime and manga