From Marvel, Madhouse and Sony comes the Blade Anime on DVD July 31st. This 2 disk set features all 12 episodes of the series and comes in a clam shell case with a disk on each side.

The Blade Anime has a very Japanese style story with a samurai theme to it. This is found more-so than in X-Men, Iron Man and even Wolverine—other Marvel series’ made into Anime.

Characters return cross-over style with an appearance by Wolverine and new characters are introduced such as Makoto, a vampire hunter who helps Blade in his quest for revenge against Deacon Frost.

Here is the synopsis from the back of the set:

Eric Brooks – known as Blade – seeks revenge on Deacon Frost, the vampire who killed his mother while she was still pregnant with Eric. With all the powers of a vampire and none of their weaknesses, Blade’s quest leads him throughout Southeast Asia in search of Frost. In the Golden Triangle, he discovers a vampire plot that threatens to take down the whole world.

The story has a lot of great points including back story on the main characters, however the negatives are the fact that some corners felt cut and the story jumps around a bit.
The picture quality is great, however some parts seemed to have weak animation and some re-used frames.

Blade is very action packed and features a great music score as did the other Marvel Anime’s. The story itself is very entertaining regardless of the nit-picks and at times was very emotional and well written in that respect.

Extras include the following interviews:

The Marvel Anime Universe: Blade Re-Awakened
The Vampire Hunter: Origins and Adaptations
Special Talk Session: Marvel Anime’s Blade and Wolverine

All in all a good Anime, Blade won’t really disappoint fans of the comic, live action movie’s or fans of Anime in general. I really enjoyed it and kept moving it ahead to see how it would turn out.

I recommend the Blade Anime to anyone who is a fan or for those who are looking for something new and generally violent and fantastical.

GRADE: B+ (I just felt that the flaws were very noticeable, it was still a great Anime).

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