Black Blood Brothers, Chapter 2 – Emergence anime review
Episodes: 5-8
Genre: vampire, supernatural, action
Release Date: March 25, 2008
So, maybe I spoke too soon. After the somewhat derivative and forgettable first installment, Black Blood Brothers has turned into something fresh, original, and quite possibly something good. If you haven’t already, go on and check out my review of Black Blood Brothers Chapter 1.
This second installment sees Jiro and Kotaro in the special zone, and making quite the splash. Mimiko’s apartment being a little to small to house three people, Jiro and Kotaro set about trying to curry favor amongst the various vampire houses, in order to obtain a place to live, and a formal endorsement of their existence within the Special Zone. However, as luck would have it, this proves far easier said than done, as even the most welcoming houses deny the brothers outright. As the episodes progress, the reason for this refusal is revealed, along with a number of new threats, from rogue, jealous vampires to Kowloon Children, culminating in the kidnapping of Kotaro, and the revelation of a hidden thirteenth sector within the Special Zone. As you can probably tell, there’s a whole lot going on in the world of the Black Blood Brothers.
There area number of interesting characters introduced in . There’s Zelman Clock, a leader of one of the Special Zone houses, who despite his appearance is an ages old vampire – possibly even older than Jiro. You’re not quite sure whose best interests Zelman is looking out for, but his cool and calculating nature leads you to believe that whatever plotting is going on his head is quite big. Then there’s Sei, the Dragon King of the East, a reincarnated vampire who now resides in the body of a young boy. There aren’t too many sequences with Sei, but his authority comes across as rarely questioned. Finally, the black haired vixen glimpsed in the flashback segments of the first four episodes (as well as the Japanese insert) is finally given a name and relation within the story, namely the older sister of a yellow-rain-jacketed Kowloon sniper seen in the credits. All in all, this is a cool cast of characters that, to me at least, seem completely unlike those found in your other run of the mill vampire shows.
Finally, there’s the tone of the show. With episode 5, Black Blood Brothers finds its footing, and sets off running. Gone are the lengthy doses of annoying Kotaro, the cringe-inducing cute setups, in favor of a driving and immediate narrative. Every episode on this disc is tightly composed, with little to no wasted minutes, which kept me engaged and watching multiple episodes in a single sitting (again, something I don’t usually do). Lastly, the character designs, while discussed in the previous review, continued to grow on me here. I love the look of each and every character here– the sort of friendly big-eyed stares and “fangorious”, dangerous smiles. There’s an element of cute, but it’s secondary to the element of comic-book strength. Very cool.
In closing, Black Blood Brothers Chapter 2: Emergence solidified the series appeal for me. While I was unsure of the first installment, I will gladly be checking more of these out.
The DVD
Again, a very nice disc from Funimation. And, once again, all of my previous comments and criticisms hold. This time around the Japanese art insert proves a lot more interesting than the American insert, which looks a little too similar to the American art for Chapter 1. I quickly flipped the insert around and never looked back. Also worth noting is the fact the amray itself is clear plastic, ensuring that you won’t forget about the DVD’s double-sided cover.
Once again, each episode comes with a commentary track, and like the last disc, these are all pretty high-energy, fun, and overall more interesting than your usual commentary track. That said, I’m not sure how many people are really going to go back and watch the episodes with these commentary tracks, even though the episodes themselves stand to be watched multiple times.
Rounding out the package are the usual Funimation trailer gallery, textless opening and closing songs, and original television commercials for the show.
All in all, I quite liked this disc. If you’ve been stalling on Black Blood Brothers, now’s the time to start checking it out.
About the Author
I liked Black Blood Brothers volume two even more than volume one, which I really enjoyed. The bad thing is there are only 12 episodes, so it’s gonna be over quickly!
this is awsome thanks for letting me know
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