Trinity Blood

This is an excellent anime action/horror series set in the apocalyptic future. The anime series is also suitable for October (close to Halloween) or any other month.

Like I said before, I have an interest in ghosts, werewolves, and vampires, the key monsters for the show. I believe that both Father Havel and Father Leon remind me of Viggo Mortensen's portrayal of Aragorn in The Lord of the Rings, and Father Leon also reminds me of Hugh Jackman's portrayal of Van Helsing. As I watched the series, I was surprised the Vatican had survived for over 900 years. At first, I wondered if it was possible for a woman to hold the positions of cardinal or bishop. This epiphany came to me when I discovered that Lady Caterina is a cardinal and Laura Vitez, who plays Esther's mother in the series, is a bishop. My query to my grandma, who is knowledgeable about religion, perplexed me.

My favorite episode from the show is episode two, where Father Abel and Tres meet a little girl named Elise Wasmeyer, who has telepathic powers and the ability to take over people's minds. So anyway, I really love this series.

This anime contains 24 episodes! And sadly I have to report it has an open ending! Some matters don't get explained! My guess is that there was going to be a sequel but because of low ratings never got made! After reading some articles on the net it seems that only a small Japanese audience are interested in a dark,Gothic series like this! Well to be honest I don't know what they mean by that because "Trinity Blood" isn't dark and certainly not in comparison with other anime about vampires! I suspect that it has something to do with the biblical references and the catholic church that have a prominent role in the series! But don't let these references put you off! They are not trying to convert you! And the reason why the Vatican are in charge of the human world will be explained! The story is not that difficult to follow! Mostly the story is about the battle between good and evil!(The action scenes depicting these battles are quite impressive and effective!) Very predictable at times! That doesn't mean that you won't be surprised by the events! Because you will! There are a few twists and turns that made the story more interesting! The story works thanks to the drama the characters endure! The main characters are very likable and that is why you will care for them! I could go describing the different characters! But I am not going to! Part of the fun for this anime is discovering who these characters are! "Trinity Blood" is beautifully animated (good mix of animation and cgi)and very stylish! The musical score is superb! (There is this exciting battle theme! When you hear this theme you know that something spectacular will happen.) In comparison with other anime about vampires "Trinity Blood" isn't entirely original! But it does add some new ideas and elements that makes it worth watching!

The level of perfection Trinity Blood evokes can only be described as breathless. I have watched many different anime and this show has reached a pinnacle of beauty which I have not seen in others. It is much like a moving painting, so rich with color and vibrancy, and the seamless integration of both CGI and single-cell animation makes it a technological tour worth taking.

What fascinates me the most by Japanese animation is the reoccurring motif of machine vs. human and spirituality vs. society. Both of these conflicts are seriously considered in Trinity Blood without the actual plot and characters being bogged down. Also, one must consider the various aesthetic differences between U.S. culture and Japan. I don't think finality is considered an important aspect for completion in Japanese culture. The story must go on, and nothing really ends. (Although it appears the author of the manga died before the completion of the story, which explains why their is a wanting for more closure.)

I personally don't like to be patronized when I watch a film. There is something much more mysterious and fascinating to be able to watch the characters develop without a whole lot of unnecessary exposition. I think Trinity Blood deserves repeated viewings in order to truly appreciate the plot it weaves. Even the smallest characters are treated with the utmost importance, and yes, even I want to see more. But is that really a bad thing?

The movie is great and is definitely worth watching, if you are not obsessed with idealistic stuff. If you're expecting perfection, then don't watch it; don't watch anything at all – it will only add to your feeling of frustration. But if you simply like anime, then it is a good film.

Actually, the basic rule of any movie-lover is to watch movies before reading any comments or reviews on them. Comments and reviews are actually useless; they make you biased, since they present only personal opinions of people who are complete strangers to you. So why should you listen to them if you are clever enough to form an opinion of your own? I was lucky to watch this series without this extra "educational baggage", and I liked it. If I had read the comments or reviews before, I probably wouldn't have watched it, and I personally think I'd have lost a lot. The plot seemed to me good enough; the characters (all of them taken together) were quite balanced; enough action, enough saliva; some very hard to find values, a lot of big words and actions, and some characters developing through the movie, which is on the whole a rare thing in anime and sure, interesting to watch. Some moments were fantastic, some were so-so, some seemed too short, some felt too long. Just like in any other anime film you care to name.

The basic problem of people who hate this movie (I can't even think how anyone can HATE a movie) is misunderstanding of the plot, or rather, not understanding it at all. And instead of trying to make it out, these people flood forums with negative reviews saying that the plot is awful. I actually never read the novel, and I never saw the manga, but still I had no problems with understanding the plot, the characters, their backgrounds and their complexes. I think anyone with some common sense and a tiny bit of imagination can grasp what is going on in there. 8-) And then again, there are dozens of sources that can help clarify some places.

I'm not arguing with people who dislike the director's work, drawing style, color schemes, or scene arrangement – those are sensei, they probably know better, they're the experts. I'm just a humble TV-rat, these things are beyond me, I never notice them.

And there are people who just were not touched by what they saw. Ye gods, that does not make it a bad movie, guys. There are a lot of films that raise problems we are not interested in – can we call these movies bad and advise others against watching them? This film is not a masterpiece (though I'm sure the criteria are different with each individual person among the audience), but it surely does not deserve to be labeled a failure (though the criteria are different again). The ending did seem a bit abrupt, and I can say I wanted more, looks like it ended two or three episodes earlier than it should. But, considering the circumstances, what can I do about it? Just accept it the way it is. There will be nothing more, alas.

My point is: watch the film, if you feel like doing it. If you're not biased, if you're not taught how to think of the movie, you will most likely find something that will compensate for the time you spend watching it.

P.S. (About people who write reviews) In one of the Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children reviews (not on IMDb) some guy wrote that it was so stupid when Cloud jumped with that big sword of his; considering the size of the sword and Cloud's constitution, Cloud shouldn't be able to even raise the sword, let alone jump with it so high in the air… (8-(

I'm sorry to say this but, for me, Trinity Blood was a disappointment. It could've been so much better.

* The art is quite good (really good sometimes). I wish they had gone for a darker style, though, there were too many huge-eyed girls and sunny scenarios (with birds singing and all) for my liking. On the bright side, you have to love the main Crusnik's design, and Gunslinger and the Sword Dancer look really good too.

* The characters... Well, this is one of the downsides of the series. Abel, the main character, was really annoying most of the time. The heroine was the stereotypical big-eyed, cute and good-hearted, not-particularly-interesting-or-intelligent anime heroine. The pope invariably made me want to get into the TV and slap the "whiny-ness" out of him. Ion was the typical character who acts without thinking all the time and, although they try to present it as "noble", I just found it stupid. There were some potentially interesting characters, though, but, of course, they weren't developed further than the first short introduction. *sigh*.

* The direction was poor, at least in my opinion: they alternated fast (and quite well directed, yes, I have to give them that) action scenes with slow-paced, serene scenes --without any kind of transition, sometimes--, which kept me wondering about the director's sense of rhythm instead of letting me enjoy the series. Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against slow-paced scenes. But you have to know how to use them, and how to fit them into the episode.

* The story was promising (not particularly original, but it had potential). But in my opinion 24 episodes are too few for the complexity they seemed to be aiming for, and in the end you're left wondering why did they include this and that character or storyline if they didn't plan to develop them at all. The ending made me feel frustrated. In case you don't know, the original writer died before he could finish the story, and it shows. The series keeps building up to something and when it ends... well, it doesn't live up to what you expected.

And just another point: I've heard people describe this series as "dark", and I keep wondering why. If you're looking for a dark series, I wouldn't recommend this one at all. You've been warned.

OK, after re-reading this it makes me wonder why I even gave it a 5 out of 10. OK... the series isn't *awful*. I guess you can enjoy it on some level. But it certainly didn't work for me. I kept watching it expecting it would get better, but it actually ended up worse.

Hope it helped.