Blood-C
Blood-C | |
Genre | Action, Supernatural |
---|---|
Anime television series | |
Directed by | Tsutomu Mizushima |
Written by | Clamp (story) Nanase Ohkawa Junichi Fujisaku |
Music by | Naoki Satō |
Studio | Production I.G |
Original network | Mainichi Broadcasting System, Tokyo Broadcasting System |
Original run | July 8, 2011 – September 30, 2011 |
Episodes | 12 |
Manga | |
Written by | Ranmaru Kotone |
Published by | Kadokawa Shoten |
Magazine | Monthly Shōnen Ace |
Demographic | Shōnen |
Original run | May 26, 2011 – present |
Anime film | |
Blood-C: The Last Dark | |
Directed by | Naoyoshi Shiotani[1] |
Written by | Clamp (story) Nanase Ohkawa Junichi Fujisaku |
Studio | Production I.G |
Released | June 2, 2012 |
Related | |
Blood: The Last Vampire (2000 anime film) |
Blood-C, is a 2011 anime/manga series and 2012 film produced and collaborated by Studio Production I.G and manga creators CLAMP.[2] This is Production I.G's second anime series related to the Blood franchise, the first being Blood+, which aired in 2005–2006. An animated film, Blood-C: The Last Dark will release in Japanese theatres on June 2, 2012.
Summary
Saya Kisaragi is a seemingly-normal girl who is overly clumsy and kind. She lives with her father, the head of her hometown's shrine, and learns the "art of the sword" from him. When she is faced with various forms of "trials" that test her kindness, it brings misfortune for her being "overly-kind". Against misfortune and for the sake of her friends, she maintains her kind heart and becomes stronger. However, in her journey, how will she fare? Why is she being tested?
Characters
- Saya Kisaragi (更衣小夜, Kisaragi Saya)
- Voiced by: Nana Mizuki
- The main protagonist of the series; Saya is an upbeat, cheerful, and kind girl who is overly polite, even with her closest friends. Despite being extremely athletic when it comes to sports, she is normally clumsy, always in a rush, and tends to be late to school. Saya trains under her father as a miko and is a very skilled sword fighter. Those outside of her family are oblivious to her duty as a hunter of Furukimono, or monsters that inhabit the town. During her fights with Furukimono, her eyes sometimes turn into an eerie, almost demonic-like, red. Throughout the series Saya is constantly attacked by Furukimono and she fights them with the understanding that she is doing what her mother had done before she passed away. However, as time passes Saya is no longer sure of her duties and even her identity. At one point she realizes that she cannot remember her mother's face or appearance even her name.
- It is eventually revealed that Saya is the subject of an experiment to see if she would maintain her sweet-natured personality or revert to a previous more violent and bloodthirsty one. The entire town she lives in was built specifically for the purpose of the experiment and all her classmates are actors in an elaborate farce. Each time she defeated a furukimono, she would consume its blood, but through drugs and hypnosis, she would never recall anything that had happened. She was given the surname "Kisaragi" to express that idea that she was cloaking herself in a false life.
- In the finale, Saya regains her memories and kills the demonic furukimono, Cerberus, after it kills the twins and Tokizane. She is subsequently forced to fight Tadayoshi; when she defeats him, Tadayoshi hints her newly awakened skills will help her reach somewhere. Enraged with Fumito, she pursues him, but is hindered by a multiplying furukimono while Fumito escapes by helicopter. He shoots her in the left eye when she attempts to leap after him and Saya lands in a river, where she later washes ashore. When she has recovered, she leaves the town for a city in the distance, presumably to continue going after Fumito.
- Tadayoshi Kisaragi (更衣唯芳, Kisaragi Tadayoshi)
- Voiced by: Keiji Fujiwara
- Saya's father and the priest at the shrine where he and Saya reside. While Saya is out fighting the Furukimono, he worries about her, though he is not inclined to show it. He cares deeply for Saya and helps with her training, often commenting on her clumsiness. Tadayoshi is actually a hybrid between a furukimono and human due to the mating between the two species. When he fights Saya at the finale, Saya kills him when she realizes that an over-excessive consumption of her blood has driven him berserk. In his final moments, he confesses that his paternal feelings for her were genuine and he cherished their time together. Saya grieves deeply over his death and recognizes him as her father.
- Fumito Nanahara (七原文人, Nanahara Fumito)
- Voiced by: Kenji Nojima
- Saya's neighbor and the owner of Guimauve, a coffee shop near Saya's home. He is also a friend and junior of Tadayoshi back in their high school years, although he attended it much later than Tadayoshi. Fumito usually serves breakfast for Saya and makes bento lunches for her. He once stated to Saya that she is special to him, and that she is more important to him than anything else. After her battles, he expresses his concern towards Saya by bringing coffee and guimauve to her after her battles. Saya once questioned him about his guimauve asking if they were always pink in colour — he is mysteriously states it depends what is mixed in them. He is revealed to be the series main antagonist, being the one behind the experiment to see whether Saya would revert back to her previous personality. Unlike his persona in the experiment, Fumito demonstrates himself to be a sadistic and remorseless character who allows his defectors to die violent deaths and obsessed with Saya and her abilities, but still maintaining a teasing and cordial demeanor towards her.
- In the finale, Fumito reveals his intention had been to manipulate the Shrovetide. When Saya was originally captured, Fumito had made a deal with her that if she could retain her old personality, then he would help her gain the ability to kill humans again, since she had made an earlier contract with an unknown person that would not allow her to do so. Using Saya's blood, he has been controlling the furukimono and drugging Tadayoshi so he would be strong enough to wound her. However, Fumito had not intended to honor his agreement and unleashes a replicating demon to kill off the town's remaining residents while he flees by helicopter. He shoots Saya in the eye to prevent her from pursuing him, revealing that the pink guimauve was made from furukimono blood and supposedly tastes like human organs, asking Saya to tell him if it is the case when she can devour humans.
- Yūka Amino (網埜優花, Amino Yūka)
- Voiced by: Masumi Asano
- A classmate of Saya's that often has lunch with her. She presumably dies when she is killed by a Furukimono. In the penultimate episode, it is revealed she is part of the "main cast" who were given protection from furukimono and was more or less informed by what is happening in the town while the "extras" used were expendable. She and Itsuki have followed the rules of the experiment, confronting Kanako and the others when they attempt to defect. However, she proves to be as ruthless as Fumito and shows little value toward human life, doing whatever she needs to do achieve goals. Despite her youthful appearance, she is older than she appears and agreed to participate Fumito's experiment in order to become the governor of Tokyo. She is the only remaining survivor of the town aside Fumito and the only survivor of the "main cast" in the end.
- Nono & Nene Motoe (求衛のの&ねね, Motoe Nono & Nene)
- Voiced by: Misato Fukuen
- Twin sisters who are also Saya's schoolmates and tend to repeat one another. They admire Saya and enjoy playfully teasing her for her naivete. Both were presumably killed by Furukimonos. In the penultimate episode, they reveal themselves to be "main cast" actors in the experiment centered around Saya. Unlike their false personae, they are self-centered, cruel and extremely ruthless. It is implied that they have an unscrupulous past and they joined the experiment specifically to have their past records erased. Defecting from the rules of the experiment so that they can leave the town sooner and still reap the rewards for participating, they viciously mock Saya as she is breaking down and express their disgust at Saya's true nature. Both sisters are violently killed by the Cerberus furukimono in the series' conclusion.
- Itsuki Tomofusa (鞘総逸樹, Tomofusa Itsuki)
- Voiced by: Atsushi Abe
- The class president. He has a crush on Saya, to which she is completely oblivious, despite the evident comments of her friends that emphasize his interest on her. He is the presumably only remaining survivor on the attack of a Furukimono at Saya's school. Though a "main cast" member, he and Yuka do not defect from the experiment's rules and become suspicious of Tsutsutori, Tokizane, and the twins. Unlike most of the main cast, he develops genuine feelings for Saya, even though he knew what she was. In the conclusion, he attempts to shield Saya from being shot by one of Fumito's private soldiers, revealing his true feelings for her as he dies.
- Shin'ichirō Tokizane (時真慎一郎, Tokizane Shinichirō)
- Voiced by: Tatsuhisa Suzuki
- A quiet classmate who harbors a secret interest in Saya. He is usually seen skipping lunch, as he stated once to Saya that he'd rather sleep than eat. Tokizane eventually discovers Saya's secret and confesses his feelings to her, but apparently dies after being killed by a Furukimono. In actuality, he did not die and is one of the "main cast" in the experiment centered around Saya. Tokizane apparently joined the experiment for money and defects to Tsutsutori when she promises a larger sum. In order to force Saya into recovering her memories sooner, he obtains a vial of Furukimono blood that Tsutsutori had Saya drink. Unlike his false persona, he is obnoxious, impatient, cold, and deeply disgusted with Saya's true nature. Tokizane, like the other defectors, are caught by Fumito, Yuka, and Itsuki shortly after they attempt to escape with Saya. Like all cast members, it is implied that he is using a pseudonym. He is the first to be killed by the furukimono Cerberus in the series' conclusion.
- Kanako Tsutsutori (筒鳥香奈子, Tsutsutori Kanako)
- Voiced by: Miho Miyagawa
- Saya's homeroom teacher, an easy-going woman who used to be a folklore researcher. She joined the experiment to study Saya and witness the Shrovetide, the only time when demons are allowed to consume humans, and publish the results, but had grown impatient and angry that Fumito would constantly erase Saya's memories after every battle. As a result, she convinces Tokizane and the twins to join her and force Saya to recover her memories sooner, but is caught by Fumito. As the other defectors are killed, Fumito reveals he had been aware of Kanako's impending betrayal and had given her a fake talisman that would not protect her. Despite Saya being able to save her from being devoured by the Cerberus furukimono, Kanako is decapitated by Tadayoshi.
- Dog (犬, Inu)
- Voiced by: Jun Fukuyama
- An unusual puppy with strange marks on his body who is usually seen near Saya, who finds that it can actually speak and refers itself as the owner of a shop that realize wishes for those who pay an according price, hinting that he might be Kimihiro Watanuki, a character from the CLAMP manga/anime xxxHolic. He claims that the reason for him to get close to Saya is to make a wish of hers come true.
Media
Anime
The anime was announced in the May 2011 issue of Shōnen Ace magazine where it would be revealed as a collaboration between Studio Production I.G and the manga creator group CLAMP. CLAMP was in charge of creating the story and original character designs while Production I.G handled the animation. The anime is published by Aniplex and directed by Tsutomu Mizushima with Junichi Fujisaku, who previously worked on Blood: The Last Vampire and Blood+, as creative supervisor. Nanase Ohkawa also supervises the scripts and co-writing them with Fujisaku while Kazuchika Kise is adapting CLAMP's character designs for animation and Naoki Sato is composing the music. The opening theme is "spiral" performed by Dustz,[3] while the ending theme is "Junketsu Paradox" performed by Nana Mizuki. The anime aired between July 8, 2011 and September 30, 2011 on MBS and TBS and was also simulcast in North America and the United Kingdom on Nico Nico.
Episode list
No. | Title | Original airdate |
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Manga
A manga adaptation by Ranmaru Kotone began serialization in Shōnen Ace magazine on May 26, 2011.[4]
Film
A 2012 anime film titled Blood-C: The Last Dark[5] will be made after the anime series.[6]. After the end of the final episode, a teaser of the film announced that it will be released on June 2, 2012. [7] The film will also be funded by the Agency for Cultural Affairs with 50 million yen.[8]
References
- ^ "Blood-C: The Last Dark Anime Film's Trailer Streamed". Anime News Network. December 02, 2011.
{{cite web}}
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(help); Text "http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2011-12-02/blood-c/the-last-dark-anime-film-trailer-streamed" ignored (help) - ^ "CLAMP, I.G to Collaborate on Blood-C Original Anime". Anime News Network. March 24, 2011. Retrieved May 11, 2011.
- ^ "DUSTZ、アニメ「BLOOD-C」のオープニングテーマに大抜擢 | Musicman-NET". 2011-05-23. Retrieved 2011-05-23.
- ^ "New Manga Magazine Newtype Ace to Launch Next Month". Anime News Network. August 6, 2011. Retrieved November 1, 2011.
- ^ "Blood-C Vampire Anime Film to Be Titled 'The Last Dark'". Anime News Network. November 25, 2011. Retrieved November 25, 2011.
- ^ "CLAMP's Blood-C to Be Made as Both TV Series & Film". Anime News Network. April 8, 2011. Retrieved May 11, 2011.
- ^ "Blood-C Anime Film Slated for June 2, 2012". Anime News Network. September 9, 2011. Retrieved November 1, 2011.
- ^ "Japan Government Helps Fund Budori Gusuko, Blood-C Film". Anime News Network. October 2, 2011. Retrieved November 1, 2011.
External links
- Blood-C Official website Template:Ja icon
- Production I.G website Template:Ja icon
- Blood-C (anime) at Anime News Network's encyclopedia
- Blood-C at IMDb