Crow's Blood

This six part series is mostly set in an all-girls Japanese high school. Students aren't too welcoming when Maki Togawa transfers in to their school. There is something rather strange about her from the start... and that is before black blood drips from her nose! Soon after her arrival very disturbing things start to happen. Aoi falls from the roof and crashes onto a concrete table in front of her friends; she is twisted and broken but still alive; within a couple of days she seems fully recovered. Student Kaoru Isozaki learns that Maki had been killed in an accident before her father, Doctor Akihito Seto, treated her with an experimental procedure. She contacts journalist who helps her find out more. As the series progresses it becomes clear that Maki is infecting other girls leaving them prone to violence and virtually immortal.

Usually gory, genuinely disturbing horror is restricted to films so it was nice to get a six part series that contains such material. It does of course mean it won't be for everybody as there are a lot of very gory moments from start to finish. The story is effective with a good reason given for Maki's condition and the way she spreads it. It develops at a good pace leading up to an impressive finale when the school girls are isolated in remote area during the annual field trip. The cast, mostly members of idol group AKB48, do a fine job even if they are clearly a bit old to be playing high schoolers. Most notable are Mayu Watanabe who is very likeable as Kaoru and Sakura Miyawaki (of HKT48) is delightfully scary as Maki. Tetsuya Bessho also impresses as Dr Seto; probably the series' most real main character. The series has a great look and style... in some ways it felt like a 'live-action anime' rather than a typical live action series. Overall I'd definitely recommend this to horror fans looking for something a little different.

This was the first Japanese series to be aired as part of UK Channel Four's 'Walter Presents' strand of foreign dramas... on the strength of this I hope it isn't the last.

These comments are based on watching the series in Japanese with English subtitles.

Okay... Let's get this out of the way. Crow's Blood is a fan service mini-series for the Japanese Idol group AKB48. The creator of Crow's Blood, Akimoto Yasushi, is the founder of AKB48 and all of the principle cast are members of AKB48. This is important if you really want to understand what you're watching...

Although some of the girls had some acting experience before this came out, the girls in AKB48 are primarily singers and dancers, not actresses. The acting isn't Hollywood quality but the girls act a hell of a lot better than the Beatles, KISS, or the Ramones ever did in their movies. Here's the thing though... The target audience did not care about that. I know, because I'm a fan of AKB48 and I was in the target audience.

Crow's Blood is actually a very well written series though. Akimoto hired top notch writers and directors for the project! It combines the concepts of zombies and vampirism in a truly unique way. The special effects are second to none. Even given that the acting is not going to be everyone's ideal, the special effects are actually where the series falls short. While they are excellent in every way, this is ultimately a drama/thriller. So as amazingly amazing as the special effects are, they are necessarily rare. As the story progresses fans of gore will want more, but because they are excellent they can be a little too much for the squeamish.

Crow's Blood actually quite extraordinary as a television horror series written for a bunch of teenaged singers and dancers!

First couple of episodes were good, kinda went down hill from there

I think you can tell I didn't like this :) I watched only 1 episode before giving up so my review is going to be based only on that.

Actors doing the teenagers are overacting every scene, it is really painful to watch. I am not expecting Oscar worthy performances but every time they are in scene, they display one emotion in a very exaggerated manner. There are several scenes where the girls push each other against the wall and getting into each other faces. Considering that this was the first episode and that they just met I found this quite weird. I assume this is what director wanted. I just don't find this style of TV show appealing. Scenario is interesting as an idea, this is sort of 21st century take on Frankenstein/another take on zombie genre. It also shows understanding of how teenagers behave, but due to all exaggerations I found it difficult to watch. If it was a graphic novel, I would have found it enjoyable. That is why I am giving it 4 stars.

In terms of horror, this is a different style of horror than the one I am used to. I noticed it in some other Japanese horror movies: no suspenseful music, or any added camera suspense. The horror that is happening is clearly showed, not much left to imagination.

It is not all as bad as I make it sound, I managed to watch the entire episode before giving up. For example, I couldn't watch a whole episode of The Rain due to being annoyed with the script... At least here, the script is interesting.

with Quentin Tarantino, added a pacing score, & vulgar nuances of j- horror meets western production values, you would get something probably very similar to what is going on here in the ideally titled mini series, CROWS BLOOD.

The commercials for it on El Rey Network during Halloween really intrigued me. Then once I got the time to DVR it I was sorely disappointed that the airing was dubbed in English & commercials in between. I watched the first 2 episodes and then stopped watching because it was not presented as it should be. I knew there was 6 episodes & I would be damned if I did not see the rest.

Eventually I got all 6 episodes, no commercials, Japanese language, English subbed, & I cant be any happier. See, I had a good feeling about this show, especially since I am a fan of a lot of Japanese gangster movies & their horror movies from the far east. I have to say seeing this style of visuals & story that could easily be a movie, have been pulled off really well for a TV series. There has been a boom in horror / drama themed TV shows in the USA & this fits among them very nicely. I'm sure it would rise in popularity if the show was also released on netflix.

The cast is very likable, especially the schoolgirls who are very sexy & adorable, but are capable of such hideous, despicable things. The doctor comes off to me as a Japanese version of a grindhouse modernized copy of Doctor Death from 1973 & provides a promising solution to the human condition but only follows up with zombie-like girls striving on inner decay & black bloodied noses. This use of black blood reminds me also of a great horror film from New Zealand from the early 90s called The Ugly. It is effective & works really well in a lot of scenes.

I still have the rest of the show to watch & I thoroughly enjoy it. I hope they decide to do a second season or I can come across more shows like this in the future. My only real request is to eventually see their OST music somewhere soon. The music for the show is really dark & has a very mysterious feel to it. Job well done there!

Yasushi Akimoto has created a great show with very thoughtful ideas behind it all. Should we let people die naturally as it has been since the beginning of time, or re-animate them with scientific advances that undermine the very laws of nature? You will soon discover the answer to this beautiful madness only by watching, CROWS BLOOD.