「ひとはいさ」 (Hito wa Isa)
“With People…”

I’m not too sure how to take Nene and Nono’s complaints about how boring their small town is, because it felt like CLAMP was trying to tell us that Blood-C’s been purposely uneventful so far. It was as if they were mocking us by saying they’re going to tell this story their way and that they could care less about any bandwagoners who have already hopped off. Or at least, that’s the way I sarcastically interpreted the in-show complaints, making the once again laid-back first half of the episode slightly more enjoyable.

For a moment, I thought Kanako was going to turn out to be someone other than she seems, but that was nothing more than a tease. The delicious cafe that Itsuki had in mind turned out to be Guimauve too, further shattering my hopes that something interesting would happen in the first half. I don’t really mind the format that the show is sticking to, but I am curious about the direction that Production I.G and CLAMP have in mind. Three episodes in, I’m still having a hard time figuring out what the overarching plot is, so I do wish they’d give me a little bit more to go on to get me excited about something. The most interesting parts have been the rhetoric-like monologues heard at the beginning of the premiere and the end of this episode, which sound like Fumito is talking about Saya’s true nature. Since there hasn’t been any mention of Saya’s powers, I gather those red eyes of hers are related to what he’s referring to.

It could very well be that the big twist in the series will involve Saya herself and that her good-willed nature shown thus far is intended to heavily contrast some upcoming change in her character. This latest furukimono hunt was the first time I recall seeing a very different side of her — one that was enjoying the bloodbath — so I’m even starting to wonder if she has some vampiric blood flowing through her veins. After all, we haven’t seen any chiropterans (i.e. bat-like creatures) yet, and this is supposed to be a remake of the Blood concept. Luckily, while the direction of the series leaves something to be desired, the bloodier side of the series continues to elevate itself — this time with an ancient monster that disguises itself as a train and hypnotizes its victims into boarding it. I didn’t find the setting overly creepy, but I did appreciate the stark shift in atmosphere. Once the story does pick up, those scenes should play out even better.

I’m still optimistic that the story will pick up at some point, which will hopefully begin with Shinichirou getting more screen time. It may come at Itsuki’s expensive because of how dense Saya is, but it’s well worth it considering he’s the only person I can see shaking things up at the moment.

* For the record, yes I also found it odd that Saya didn’t try to save the bread store owner.

 

Preview

55 Comments

  1. So the blah first three episodes were just CLAMP telling us to go f&*k ourselves? I feel so much better now! 😉

    Or, you could make good episodes that lull you into a false sense of security while actually involving you with the characters and being entertaining. Either one works…

  2. So, did anyone else notice that Saya went from concerned about the missing person to just watching him die without even trying to stop it, or even showing any sign of regret?

    ZeruFenrir
    1. I was thinking the same. Noone can tell me she didn’t see that coming.
      A hypnotized guy who was missing for two days already (where was he in that time btw?) stumbles to a dark station where an extremly suspicious train shows up without anyone in?
      Of course there is going to be a monster, but instead of, for example, knocking the guy out and boarding the train herself, she watches him get killed. To see the monster in action before fighting, maybe?
      I guess saving people isn’t part of her night job. I find it increasingly hard to accept the changes from the goofy, clumsy and terrible songs singing girl to the uncaring, emotionless fighter. This character doesn’t really work well for me.

      Zreon
    2. THANK YOU ZeruFenrir! I mean WTF WAS THAT!?!?! shoddy writing? Mistake? she followed the dude for like forever, and she obviously had the skills to do that whole “100 slash per second ish” so what gives? CORNY!!! and its gonna be soooooooooooooooooo generic when these “CHARACTERS” start reveling themselves as Vampire scientist, Hunters, and all around “connected to the situation” cornballs!…….AND going back to EP #1, How the F@CK she be diving in and out of water, wrestling some Beast ALL WHILE MAINTAINING PERFECTLY PLACED AND DRY GLASSES!??! get the F&CK outta here LOL!!!!

      BROOKLYN otaku
    3. I guess she likes the blood-bathe, I’m thinking that she has a different personality controlling her when her eyes goes fiery red. The same thing goes for the poor man. The inner-being of Saya can’t help but enjoy the scene.

      Just a thought…

    4. Things I want to say had been said. But still I think I could think of Saya as someone cruel and ruthless, if that was her classmate she probably have no feeling as well.

      lkaze
  3. One thing that should be mentioned…

    This is not a remake of Blood+. It is a re-imagining which means they are using the same main character (Saya) and telling the story a different way. In this series she does not have 2 brothers, looks very different, and her father is a priest.

    I think Clamp wants to show us that she is living in a boring picture perfect town. Yet underneath all that calm and sunshine is a rotten core where evil has come to breed. The problem is they are only slated for 11 episodes so spending most of the 1st 3 showing us the calm before the storm is too much. If this was a 2 cour series or more (the original Blood+ was 50 episodes) then it would be ok to go at a slower pace.

    I’m hoping they (Clamp) will step up their game soon.

    Karmafan
    1. I get what they were going for, really. They wanted to build up the town as seemingly normal but give it an eerie vibe. This best shown by Saya just staring off in the quiet distance. But its executed at a dull pace, and its 3 episodes already. We could have this done in one episode and started the plot. Now, its all just speculation, and this is the first instance of something that might actually happen.

      fragb85
      1. You mean Shiki? I was one of the people who enjoyed and watched it week by week, and I thought it is a very rewarding experience, especially the final 1/4 of the series. To bad it didn’t get the recognition I believe it deserved.

      2. Shiki spent way too much time showing us every single person in the village when it started. I almost dropped it a couple of times and about the time the main kid in the story got bit it really picked up and ended up an amazing story. Very slow start just like this series. Shiki also had very unusually drawn characters (like CLAMP does with this series).

        I really think CLAMP plans this as a huge multi-cour story and this first 11 episode season is just the beginning. If that does turn out to be the case then I can see the beginning being slow.

        Karmafan
  4. This show is such a contrast. On one hand the first half is essentially a repeat of the last 2 episodes, with more dull uninteresting talk and relationships. The second half however is amazing with silent creepy build-up scenes, a terrifying monster and really good fights. They really need to change this formula.

    fragb85
  5. Well Saya didn’t know exactly what she’s up against other than her father saying it’s stronger than the previous monsters she was fighting before. So she can’t be sure if the baker was hypnotized, being controlled, possessed, or just a shell with a parasite infested in the body. But I still felt like she could have saved him if she was given more time.
    I think Saya is cute and a very nice girl, so even if this anime is “more CLAMP than BLOOD” I still enjoy it (if less gore was possible). I bet Saya likes the wild type such as Shinichirou over Itsuki, the smart-looking type. I can’t wait for the next episode to see how their relationships develop.

    Pikachu
  6. I do hope something happens soon. So far I have yet to grasp the plot of this show. All I’m seeing is a monster of the week and everything is back to normal the next day. I would also like to add that the characters are not believable in any aspect.

    Odeus
  7. For me, “We’re trying to paint a picture of a dull, uninteresting place before we break out the awesome” is not a legit reason for producing three dull, uninteresting episodes. There are ways of portraying that while still giving the audience something of quality to watch.

  8. Does anyone know how long this series is going to be? I guess they’re going at too slow a pace for it to be 1 cour… well, I’m hoping at least. >.> I really hope they change it up next week.

    I didn’t even notice her smiling (creepily) during the fight. I can’t believe she didn’t even try to help the baker though… It really caught me off guard, the way they killed him… (partly because I was falling asleep). I also liked the atmosphere inside the train.

    Yuumei
  9. I was seriously betting with myself whether Saya would sing again this episode
    I feel kind of cheated watching this show, yet I don’t feel the urge to drop it, so the best thing I could do might be begging clamp to pick things up faster
    Although the creepy fight near the end almost made it worth it! And seeing saya’s other side is pretty interesting. I went wtf a little when saya didn’t even show any signs of saving the baker. I wonder if that because she doesn’t want any eye witnesses to her actions. And her satisfaction while being blood drenched is pretty disturbing.
    Next episode is more about shinchirou so yes I’m totally digging it.

    kgfj
    1. I’m looking forward for her singing, I like her voice, it seems like the VA is enjoying herself singing as well. To bad this episode doesn’t have it. I don’t think we will see Saya singing that lengthily again next time, it’s about time for things to finally start taking pace, we are already 1/4 of the series.

  10. Best episode of Blood-C to date, the pacing for the entire episode is good and lots of meaningful events and character conversations(as compare to last episode), the mood change in the latter part is also very well done.

    So far I’m very curious to what the role of Shinichirou to the series, to me it seems that he knows something, also around 21:08 the enemy say “Honour the Covenant” to Saya (thought it might be that the enemy is just talking to himself) but that part really sparked my interest level higher for this series.

    Other notes:

    – The BGM at around 16:34~ has a very eery feel on it, really helps in elevating the mood, because it seems to be indicating something is going to happen. Like it!
    – It is always nice to see Saya on a blood-bathe, she is literally soaked in blood, also I can’t help but love how cool is that fiery red eyes of hers. Pure ownage this time.

  11. Another tragic episode, I’m so glad I never got my hopes up for this because overall many people seem to have taken a disliking to it and I can see clearly why, the plot is just non existent, there is nothing to particularly look for and they are already 1/4 through the series. That’s terrible, I’m not surprised since CLAMP these years are just terrible in general.

    1. The slowness of Blood-C is nothing compare to how slow I consider a shounen-theme series like Naruto and Bleach are. It is almost 10 years since they started. I would have appreciate it if Naruto and Bleach just follow a format of animating an arch when it finishes then continue a new season once another arch is finish, that way it will be more meaningful, a battle would not need 3-4 ep of all talk and flashback. I already stop watching Naruto and Bleach years ago, simply because the Final 100 episode of Naruto (first season) is nothing but fillers (same with Bleach).

  12. Should they have renamed the first 3 episodes as “A normal day with Kisaragi Saya”? I mean the whole 3 episodes felt like it was 1 and only started to pick up by the end of episode 3.. The slow phasing would have worked out if the target audience was PG13 (I would have liked the pointless action when I was that young.. like Ultraman or so). But when you see all that blood, the target audience can’t be that young can they?

    And yeah.. I too was wondering why the heck did Saya waited for the guy to get killed?

    MrRei
  13. I felt really something was going on when the teacher said she was investigating something and then became a teacher. I think the whole town is some kind of experiment or Saya. Something like that.

    diaz
  14. tsk..she let the bakery owner die, damn her…for a protagonist, she may seem kawaii but shes truly a sadist, she just observe and let the guy brutally killed before acting….tsk

    tsk
  15. I remember when the original Blood came out, it was intended as a teaser for a whole franchise. The Saya portrayed in that story was nothing but sheer badass (swooooooooooorrrrd!!!!!!!). This set up a really sad let down for me when watching Blood +, but in its own right was good. The Saya of Blood + came across as more helpless amnesiac than an unwilling hero. Now with Blood C, I think a lot of the harsh reviews need to look back at previous Clamp works, and also see what they are trying to do. 1) This is a boring and simple town 2) Saya isn’t exactly helpless or totally unwilling 3) All this time making the secondary characters fleshed out will end in sadness and death. Stick with it guys, it has potential to turn out great.

    Nanashi
  16. what is with the hypocriticalness of Saya? first you guys complain on how she’s nice ( which I think is completely stupid because there are girls like her in real life)then when she doesn’t save anyone you people label her as “evil”. So anime characters who are douches are so much better than the ones who help people because that’s “different” “unique” and “original”. Because having douchey main characters will score points for us fans in the originalty department instead of the oh so annoying good protaginist who would put his or her life on the line to protect people from harm.

    1. It happens often when a series that has a following to it announces another project and it turns out to be nothing like that following expected. The very fact that CLAMP was directly involved in this should’ve set off alarms that it was going to be quite a bit different than what they were used to overall, but they still expected it to be almost exactly the same, but slightly different. They expected one thing, but it’s not the “perfect” image they had in mind for it and after being, for them, mostly disappointed 3 straight times, they just tend to point out almost every negative thing they can think of, whether they mean it or simply to vent.

      I still find Saya to be quite adorable (https://randomc.net/image/BLOOD-C/BLOOD-C%20-%2003%20-%20Large%2003.jpg), yet badass (https://randomc.net/image/BLOOD-C/BLOOD-C%20-%2003%20-%20Large%2032.jpg) and, maybe it’s just me, but I haven’t really minded how things have gone so far. Maybe it’s because of how constantly over-the-top a bunch of anime have been lately that a slower, more quiet pace is refreshing to me.

      As mentioned, it is quite possible that there will be multiple seasons of this and these first 11 are merely the 1st part of it.

      HalfDemonInuyasha
  17. Likely antagonists seem to be the teacher and the cafe owner. The fact that he keeps narrating those creepy segments with the Galilean thermometers makes me really uneasy about him (It is the same voice actor right? correct me if I’m wrong). As for the teacher, what else could she be investigating besides the creatures? But hey, considering how uneventful its been so far maybe a random antagonist will just show up instead.

    Anyone else think it absurd that the bakery owner who has been missing for two days wasn’t already dead by the time Saya caught on? I mean, considering that he got killed off pretty quick as Saya just looked on and did nothing. It would’ve made more sense to me if it was some random other person. Not to mention how she randomly did nothing to save him that others have pointed out. She didn’t need to wait that long to confirm the creature’s existence.

    UnknownVoid
  18. Café Guimauve reminds me a bit of Café Alpha from YKK, one of my favourite mangas. Sometimes I think for fun I should start running a café in the middle of nowhere myself with good coffee and cakes and no more than one or two nice customers per day you can have a chat with. Unfortunately, the whole thing would have shaky economic foundations and you can’t choose your costumers either.
    However, in the earlier posts it was accuratly mentioned that the town is actually creepily quiet and that the café owner might be a bad guy. I would add the streets where never a car can be seen despite Saya always carefully watching before she crosses them.
    Just for clarification, of course I wouldn’t be a creepy café owner but a nice one!

    jreding
  19. dude this sucks there was nothing wrong with original monsters they were mean scary and had a purpose but these do not they all look different i mean the strong ones looked different last time but it was explained as each one evolved different abilities but they all retained the same physiology but these new ones look like overgrown mismatched chiapets from herculon 5 i was happy with the old monsters dont fix what is not broken these things just seem to eat people they cant even fly i just hate japanese style monsters they lack realism and look like they have been strung out on crack

    nosdormu

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