Blood-C Theatrical Movie: The Last Dark (CLAMP/Production IG)

[omimon]

I don't think the word "vampire" has appeared even once during the whole series.

[Mura]

I enjoyed this movie, I certainly don't regret watching it. It wasn't great but I could get into it. Saya's team did have some interesting characters this time around as well.

[Fnights]

Mediocre movie for a mediocre serie, not completely a failure but i was expecting a different ending after all these useless characters, all what happended in the village, but well... lots of unaswered questions, maybe they will continue the franchise and made another tv serie.

[Kazu-kun]

Originally Posted by Fnights

Mediocre movie for a mediocre serie, not completely a failure but i was expecting a different ending after all these useless characters, all what happended in the village, but well... lots of unaswered questions, maybe they will continue the franchise and made another tv serie.

I personally don't want another tv series. The movie, while not great, was good enough to redeem the series in my eyes. Let's leave it at that.

[ars89]

Enjoyed the movie and was better than expected, but it still didn't hit me. The series was mediocre, but the movie felt a little better, but the whole ending climax sequence didn't work for me. I could see them go back to it with that kind of end. Though honestly if there is another blood series i hope its unrelated like the past ones have been.

[articuzwolf]

maybe CLAMP should just leave Blood franchise alone

the movie is not that bad but other than Fumito killing himself, I don't see any reason to drag the content for almost 2 hours

[Newhope]

MEH movie better than the god awful series but thats not really saying much....

I'am actually surprised they made the movie to be honest considering how badly the series sold.

[creb]

Woops. Didn't realize we had a separate thread for the movie. Re-posting my impressions:

I really enjoyed the last few episodes of the tv series for its cheese factor.

So, I had some expectations for the movie.

I guess what was said earlier about the crew that did the tv series and the movie being completely different was true.

On the plus side:

* Gorgeous. I generally hate Clamp-style art, but somehow this crew managed to do it without it looking completely stupid. It looked fantastic.

* The glasses never came back. Thank gawd. She looks far better without them.

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On the down side:

* Boring. Completely lacking the cheese factor entertainment of the last few episodes from the tv series. It was a slow moving drama, which I just didn't find all that interesting.

* I'm trying to decide if I just don't get what in the world Fumito was actually trying to accomplish, or if I do, and am rejecting it because it was just so stupid (not in the good, cheesy, lol last two episodes of the tv series way, but in the why did I just waste 1 hour and 47 minutes of my life-oh wait, it was very pretty-way).

[Shmoof]

So

Spoiler for What did I just watch?:

Fumito was also a Furukimono / Old One / Elder Bairn regulator of some sort like Saya was or something to that effect. He kept creating the artificial monsters so Saya could...what? Keep eating them? Now she's alone again or some such since he's dead.

The series started to lose me after the blob creature and then the purple spider frog. The movie lost me when the vast majority of it involved some kids hacking computers. I just didn't enjoy it.

Honest question: who else laughed out loud when they saw the face of the final monster? I even made some Lord of the Rings reference with the falling and ball that reminded me of Sauron's eye.

Great music though. Especially that closing song.

[Von Himmel]

It's a perfect romance story as expected from clamp!

.....

If you look at the movie that way (where it's a story of a boy who's in love desperately trying to save his loved one), it suddenly makes everything better!

On a serious note though, I wonder how much old one left after the movie. There's also the part where Saya haven't paid Watanuki...but that might be explained in the upcoming xxxHolic

[Kazu-kun]

Originally Posted by Von Himmel

It's a perfect romance story as expected from clamp!

Yeah, I saw it as a lesbian romance and it worked wonderfully.

[Nightengale]

Originally Posted by Von Himmel

It's a perfect romance story as expected from clamp!

.....

If you look at the movie that way (where it's a story of a boy who's in love desperately trying to save his loved one), it suddenly makes everything better!

What do you mean look at the movie that way?

It's the only way to look at the movie.

[Von Himmel]

Wasn't people expecting gore and action in this movie?

[Nightengale]

Originally Posted by Von Himmel

Wasn't people expecting gore and action in this movie?

Probably.

But looking at Blood-C as a whole, both the series and the movie, if you viewed everything that's happened entirely through Fumito's POV...

Then Blood-C was really at its core, a beautiful, insane and tragic love story of a man's obsessive one-sided love with a monster.

From his beautifully crafted 'slice-of-life' that allowed him to enjoy the illusion of a 'normal' life with the girl he loved.

From how he manipulated everything, leading him to become the singularity in Saya's life, even if it was pure hate.

From his heartfelt wish to save her, with methods best left unsaid.

And if we assumed that Fumito used to be human, then how he presumably experimented on himself as well... to become the same monster as the one he loved.

Isn't it just beautiful?

[Kakkou]

Originally Posted by Nightengale

Probably.

But looking at Blood-C as a whole, both the series and the movie, if you viewed everything that's happened entirely through Fumito's POV...

Then Blood-C was really at its core, a beautiful, insane and tragic love story of a man's obsessive one-sided love with a monster.

From his beautifully crafted 'slice-of-life' that allowed him to enjoy the illusion of a 'normal' life with the girl he loved.

From how he manipulated everything, leading him to become the singularity in Saya's life, even if it was pure hate.

From his heartfelt wish to save her, with methods best left unsaid.

And if we assumed that Fumito used to be human, then how he presumably experimented on himself as well... to become the same monster as the one he loved.

Isn't it just beautiful?

Sounds lovely on paper but the only thing I really got out of this movie was that Saya will probably never, ever touch a cup of coffee for the rest of her life.

Great production values ugly CG crowds notwithstanding and the story was nothing to write home about at all but as a popcorn flick it worked. Could have used a bit more action than buddy buddy time with the hackers, especially since the final showdown was a letdown but I didn't actually mind the slow parts too much. Anything's better than happy retard Saya repeatedly skipping to school while singing shit.

The only thing the TV series has over the movie is the comedy. It was a rather unique comedy.

[Nightengale]

Originally Posted by Kakkou

Sounds lovely on paper.

No offence to CLAMP, but I think that sums up all of their most recent work perfectly.

Originally Posted by Kakkou

Saya will probably never, ever touch a cup of coffee for the rest of her life.

Not that hard, considering she got herself a 'forever alone, fated for death' ending.

[Kanon]

Originally Posted by Nightengale

Probably.

But looking at Blood-C as a whole, both the series and the movie, if you viewed everything that's happened entirely through Fumito's POV...

Then Blood-C was really at its core, a beautiful, insane and tragic love story of a man's obsessive one-sided love with a monster.

From his beautifully crafted 'slice-of-life' that allowed him to enjoy the illusion of a 'normal' life with the girl he loved.

From how he manipulated everything, leading him to become the singularity in Saya's life, even if it was pure hate.

From his heartfelt wish to save her, with methods best left unsaid.

And if we assumed that Fumito used to be human, then how he presumably experimented on himself as well... to become the same monster as the one he loved.

Isn't it just beautiful?

Greatest love story ever told. Or it would have been if it had actually been told decently.

The movie was not good enough to redeem the horrible series in my eyes. It was barely average, in fact. Blood-C remains a complete failure. I hope they'll just forget about it. That's certainly what I'm going to do.

[Kazu-kun]

Originally Posted by Nightengale

Isn't it just beautiful?

Yeah, no, I think I prefer my (lesbian) take on the movie.

[TinyRedLeaf]

I think I'm among the few, if not the only one, who enjoyed the movie.

While all the points raised above — about the pointlessness of the plot and most of the movie's characters — are valid, strangely enough, none of them registered in my mind while I was watching the film.

I must have left my brain at the door without knowing, because I thoroughly enjoyed the dark, brooding atmosphere and the gore and action (what little of it there was). I especially liked how movie Kisaragi Saya is so much more attractive than TV series Kisaragi Saya.

In other words, yes, I was completely superficial, and liked what I saw as a result. Hey, I was tired, and I wasn't looking for something brainy at the end of a long day, so shoot me.



I were to make a half-hearted attempt at critique, I would just say it's such a pity that, given Clamp and Production I.G's ideas for the world of Blood-C, they didn't develop them further in the TV series. Instead, most of the series was wasted in "Groundhog Day" episodes, with a mad rush towards a poorly explained finale. It was left to the movie to pick up pieces which the creators should have known they couldn't possibly explore adequately in less than two hours. In the end, it seems there just wasn't enough directorial/editorial oversight over the project. So, yeah, it could have been a beautifully tragic love story, but it ended up being badly told. A lost opportunity, what a shame.

Originally Posted by omimon

I don't think the word "vampire" has appeared even once during the whole series.

Well, if nothing else, Blood-C has widened the creative possibilities of the "Saya" concept. She has to be a girl, usually in high-school sailor uniform, preferably black. She must wield a katana, naturally with preternatural effect. And, finally, she must be the "last" of some supernatural race. She doesn't necessarily have to be a vampire, after all. In Blood-C, she's the last of the Old Ones, hence the "Last Dark". (Ah, yes, the quirks of Japanese-English... I think they meant the "Last of the Dark Ones", but that would probably be a mouthful for domestic audiences.)

[T-6000]

Originally Posted by TinyRedLeaf

I think I'm among the few, if not the only one, who enjoyed the movie.

It's starting to sound like I'm the only one here that actually enjoyed the Blood C series. In fact, I get the feeling that I'm one of few Clamp fans here. But I think it's partly because I'm old. I grew up with some of Clamp's classics such as Magic Knight Rayearth and Cardcaptor Sakura, and by today's standards it doesn't seem like they've aged well for a modern audience because I'm hard pressed to find a younger Anime/Manga fan who enjoys Clamp's older series (or most of their new ones, for that matter). *shrugs* But I think that comes with the territory for being a Manga/Anime fan. Alot of Anime & Manga people hate I actually enjoy, and alot of Anime & manga other people love I hate with a passion (such as Love Hina. For the love of all that's holy, why do people enjoy this POS series?!)

Back on topic, are you guys watching the Japanese version of the movie or has it been released in your local areas? I'm still waiting for news on a U.S. release here.