drama: November 2006 Archives

Saya lives in Okinawa with her adopted father, the ex-soldier George, and her adopted siblings, Kai and Riku. This teen likes to pole vault, hang out with her friend and eat a lot. But Saya doesn't remember her past and routinely gets blood transfusions. Then strange things start to happen around town. She sees a strange man playing cello in public who seems familiar to her. A monster kills a man at school and goes after her. The cellist appears to help her and tells her to fight.

Just who is Saya?

Saya's true identity is one of the main story threads in "Blood+", a 50-episode anime that ended its run not too long ago in Japan. Saya is familiar to anime fans from the movie, "Blood the Last Vampire". "Blood +" further elaborates and expands on her story.

We learn what Saya is, the reason why she fights and why that mysterious cellist called Hagi acts like her bodyguard/assistant when we all know he's the main love interest. Personally, I found him too dull and liked another of Saya's suitors - the suave and charming Solomon. But alas, Solomon and Saya are not meant to be. (Pouts and slaps scriptwriter.)

Some folks pointed out that the show was bogged down by too many subplots. Let's see. "Blood +" also deals with the questionable actions of the American military, the clash between two secret organizations, other love interests, a fatal sibling rivalry, a new species with unusual DNA, manmade creatures who bemoan their sad fate, semi-decent sword fights and a plot to populate the world with blood-sucking monsters. What else did I miss? You get the drift.

Other fans were disappointed with the ending and complained about the lackluster "boss fight" as if the show was some video game and the final episode was the last level. Puhleez. Sure, I would have wanted a better payoff for the time spent watching all 50 episodes and the headache I got tearing up at certain parts but the show wasn't that bad.

It could have been great though.