Blood Lad Review

    The main character of Blood Lad, Staz, is a vampire boss in charge of a territory and, surprisingly, an otaku who has a deep and abiding love for all things Japanese. Instead of concentrating solely on Action, Romance, or both, it chooses to immerse itself in Comedy, thereby setting itself apart from the other similar works by choosing a different path to take. Despite this, it gets off to a good start; however, the abrupt conclusion to the unfinished story leaves a sour taste in your mouth.

    The anime adaptation of Blood Lad features a dark sense of humor and a generally quick pace throughout. Staz's love for anime and callousness are both beautifully processed, as are the thousand different kinds of creatures that live in the demon world. The storyline of the show is not overly complicated. The premise was introduced very clearly in the very first episode, and the anime developed very coherently from that point onward.

Animation

    The animation was very clean, even when depicting the demon world or other dark settings. The overall color scheme and contrast may take some getting used to as it has the feel of a children's cartoon. The backdrops are fairly simple in terms of complexity, and the level of detail is, at best, adequate. When it came time for the action sequences, the movement was smooth, and there were no frames in which the characters appeared to be someone else. When art transitions were used, they were perfectly timed and placed. They did an excellent job of capturing the moods and settings of each scene.

Characters

    You can't simply discuss the show without also discussing the various characters that appear on it. The cast of Blood Lad features a wide variety of hilarious characters who complement one another and the story's clever writing in a way that works exceptionally well. Not every joke is fully realized in the script, but the writers clearly know they're dealing with the absurd and play to that. What makes everything work so well is the way that each character has great chemistry that feels so real and does not feel contrived or cliched in any way. My favorite character is Yukiotoko, the snowman who is cold because he is alone. The anime's character design contains a number of original ideas and fresh takes on classic monster types.

Sound

    I didn't find anything that particularly stood out to me, but overall, I would say that it was a positive experience. The selection of songs was thoughtfully done, and the animation does a great job of enhancing the overall experience. The opening and ending songs are lovely, but the real stars of the show are the characters.

Conclusion

    Among the anime releases in 2013, Blood Lad is among the most entertaining. I've seen quite a few, but for some reason this one just blows me away. The pace slowed down a bit in the show's later episodes, but the characters were interesting enough to keep you watching. Although the fact that there were only 10 episodes was a letdown for me, I must say that I am quite satisfied with Blood Lad. Those who appreciate a good laugh while watching anime will likely enjoy this series.