Blade

Plot synopsis:
In 1967, a pregnant woman is attacked by a vampire while giving birth. Doctors are able to save her baby, but the woman dies of infection.
Thirty-one years later, the child has become the vampire hunter Blade. He raids a rave club owned by the vampire Deacon Frost. Police take one of the vampires to the hospital, where he feeds on hematologist Karen Jenson and escapes. Blade takes Karen to a safe house where she is treated by his old friend Abraham Whistler. Whistler explains that he and Blade have been waging a secret war against vampires using weapons based on their elemental weaknesses, such as sunlight and silver. As Karen is now "marked" by the bite of a vampire, both he and Blade tell her to leave the city.
Meanwhile, at a meeting of vampire elders, Frost, the leader of a faction of younger vampires, is rebuked for trying to incite war between vampires and humans. As Frost and his kind were not born as vampires and are therefore not pure-bloods, they are considered socially inferior. In response, Frost has one of the elders executed and strips the others of their authority.
Upon returning to her apartment, Karen is attacked by a policeman, who is a "familiar", a human slave controlled by a vampire. Blade subdues the familiar and uses information from him to locate an archive of vampire history. Later, at the hideout, Blade injects himself with a special serum that prevents him from succumbing to his desire to drink blood, which would ultimately turn him into a vampire. However, the serum is beginning to lose its effectiveness due to overuse.
While experimenting with the anticoagulant EDTA as a possible replacement, Karen discovers that it explodes when combined with vampire blood. She manages to synthesize a vaccine that can cure the infected, but learns that it will not work on a human-vampire hybrid like Blade. Frost and his men attack the hideout, infect Whistler, and abduct Karen. When Blade returns, he helps Whistler commit suicide and arms himself with special syringes filled with EDTA.
When Blade attempts to rescue Karen from Frost's penthouse, he is subdued and taken to the Temple of Eternal Night, where Frost plans to perform the summoning ritual for La Magra, the vampire blood god. Blade is drained of his blood, but Karen allows him to drink from her, triggering his vampirism. Frost completes the ritual and obtains the powers of La Magra. Blade kills all of Frost's minions, including his mother, and confronts him. During their fight, Blade injects Frost with all of the syringes, causing his body to explode.
Karen offers to help Blade cure himself, but he asks her to create a new serum instead. In a brief epilogue, Blade kills a group of Russian vampires.

Tags: murder, flashback

Review:
Fantastic anime series..
This is the first TV show I've ever got into that is "anime" and I enjoyed what I saw.
Obviously I didn't want to watch something like "Ninja Scroll: The Series" without first checking out an anime series that was more my style so I chose "Blade" out of Marvel's attempt to create anime shows.
All I can say is that this worked.The animation is kind of "halfway".
The animation for Noah van Helsing is rather awful but the detail they put into Makoto and Blade is amazing.The fight sequences are rather stereotypical of anime here.
At least once per episode Blade has his weapon in a drawn state and he goes across the enemies against a dark blue background and that is enough to say that an enemy is dead.
I prefer the Yoshiaki Kawajiri style where it has white flashes with black in between while actually showing the action.
In this it made it seem like the writers were deliberately cutting corners to advance the plot.The standout episode for me is the last one.
The live action Blade: The Series ended off with "How long have you been working with Blade?" *credits* this one ended off with Deacon Frost being killed and Blade walking off into the sunset to fight more creatures of the night.On that note if you're going to see this series as anything, see it as a remake of the original 1998 film.
In comparison, this definitely is the short straw but its entertaining enough.One more thing before I finish up.
I've seen the Japanese original audio and the English dub.
The English dub is by far the better of the two.
Anyone who knows me will know that sounds completely foreign but the Japanese one - especially Makoto - are unemotional and I call them annoying when they are trying to portray emotion (which no matter what will be defined as non-stop screaming).
The English dub isn't perfect but its by far the best of the options.Overall if you are a fan of the Daywalker, I suggest a viewing..
Best animated series of Blade ever..
When I first heard about this new series, I had no idea that it was also part of a an ongoing project of anime produced by Marvel based on X-Men and Iron Man. So out of the three of them, I chose Blade because I'm a huge fan of the character; having first seen him in the stellar "Spider-Man: The Animated Series" and then on the big screen with the equally impressive first "Blade" film.I didn't know what to think.
I thought it going to be a lazy cash-in on a once-obscure superhero, but it turned out to be much more than I expected.
It's got all the great elements of the films and comics, and then some.
What I like more about this series is that, unlike the films, the writers actually take the time to explore Blade's past.
Blade is much more developed in this series; something even the films, save for the first two, the third film failed to do.
In this series, Blade comes across as a tortured and much more sympathetic hero, making him a much more rounded character.
And the supporting cast is equally impressive, especially the spunky, street-wise Makoto, who really grew on me as things went on.
She and Blade are like kindred spirits; both have lost a loved on in the past, but push forward for the greater good which makes them heroes.But no superhero epic would be complete without villains and this one's got a lot of bite(no pun intended)with a vast assortment of baddies for our heroes to encounter, including the big bad boy himself, Deacon Frost.
Needless to say, the Deacon Frost in this series, is equally brutal and sadistically evil as his film and comic book counterpart at the same time.
But surprisingly, his back-story makes him a sympathetic character as well, despite his evil nature.
But Frost has bigger and nastier plans for humanity and it's up to Blade, Makoto, and several allies(including some surprises that will make fans giddy with excitement)to stop him at all costs.What follows is a deliciously delightful dessert of action, suspense, thriller and horror with a side of dark humor, thrown in for good measure.
The action scenes are really impressive, but my only complaint is that it's a little too tame in places, making it seem "PG-13" like despite the fact that Blade is a gruesome and bloody superhero.
At least in Blood+(another equally impressive series)the vampire slaying is shown very vividly.
Blade on the other hand, plays it safe; presumably to reach a wider audience.
I like my vampire slaying shown in full force, not in quick-cut motion, which may turn some people off.
Also, the techniques that Blade shows off when killing his enemies, becomes a little repetitive after a while, but it's the well-written stories and plot that makes up for it.While not as bloody as the films and other vampire-slaying epics like Blood+, Marvel Anime: Blade, is a worthy addition to fans of the character.
This series has won over any skepticism I had before viewing this series, and I enjoyed the ride.
Great characters, great stories, great art, simply great series.
A second and third viewing is not out of the question..
Action, Horror, Suspense.
Eric Brooks--known as Blade--seeks revenge on Deacon Frost.Deacon Frost, the vampire lord who killed his mother while she was still pregnant with Eric.
With all the powers of a vampire with none of their weaknesses, Blade's quest for vengeance leads him throughout Southeast Asia in search of Frost.
where, in Vietnam, he discovers a vampire plot that threatens to take down the whole world.Blade is actually considered a "vampire immune human" due to the rare circumstance of his mother having been bitten by a vampire while she was giving birth.He was later bitten by a test tube vampire which gave him the strength of a vampire, without their weaknesses.However, in the films, Blade does still crave blood.Blade's name is derived from his obvious talent with knives and swords, which he swings around and tosses at monsters with great flourish.The character originally appeared in Marvel Comics vampire series, staring Dracula, in the 70's.
He returned years later to help Spider-Man out with a vampire problem, and has since been absorbed into the greater Marvel Universe, with S.H.I.E.L.D. even designing and supplying many of his weapons.Blade is part of the Marvel anime series, which also includes the Wolverine and Iron man anime series.
No word about whether this series will feature any other popular marvel characters, but I wouldn't be surprised to see at least Nick Fury make an appearance.
Marvel studios is working with Mad House productions and Superhero Anime Partners, so we likely won't have to wait too long for an official subtitled release (unofficial subtitled versions will, of course, hit the Internet within days of each episode, but those are of questionable legality - and sometimes questionable quality)..
'Blade' anime series gives vampire fans new adventures from Marvel character.
I've never been a big fan of Marvel Comics.
I don't read any of their titles on a regular basis.
I enjoy all the movies, but fancy myself more of a DC guy.
The Marvel characters I gravitate towards seem to be the anti-heroes and darker ones like Ghost Rider, the Punisher, and Blade.
I like all the Blade films and the short-lived TV series.
What's not to like about watching a half-vampire / half-human who uses his namesake to eradicate the evil bloodsuckers of the world?
Now we get to enjoy an anime version of the vampire hunter's adventures thanks to Marvel and Japan's Madhouse.The "Blade" Anime Series includes all 12 episodes on 2 DVDs. The show takes off when Eric Brooks, known in the vampire world as Blade, goes on the hunt for Deacon Frost.
Frost is a rare four-fanged fiend that killed Brooks' mother.
Blade partners up with several interesting characters in his quest for vengeance.
He even runs into Wolverine in one of the episodes.
The animation for this show is superb.
There's plenty to keep your eyes glued to the screen.
The colors are vibrant and the artwork is stylish.
Fans of anime will love it and those who don't necessarily enjoy the style will appreciate it for the gory visuals and intelligent story lines.Writer Warren Ellis (Secret Avengers) penned the tale for the series.
It's intricate and each episode ties together, forcing you to keep up.
It's not a show you can jump into in the middle.
Even if one segment stands alone, there's so much occurring in the background that viewers will be lost when it comes to events the characters discuss regularly.
The special features included in the collection will thrill fans.
There's a 30-minute documentary entitled "Special Talk Session: Marvel Anime's 'Blade' and 'Wolverine.'" The director and crew are interviewed about working behind the scenes on the shows.
Two featurettes, "The Marvel Anime Universe: Blade Re-Awakened" and "Blade: The Vampire Slayer," give viewers a more in-depth look at how the series came to be.The "Blade" Anime Series DVD will please comic book and horror fans alike.
If you love the character already, this will satisfy you.
If you're a vampire fan, get ready for a variety of bloodsucking monsters you've never dreamed of before.
There's an abundance of evil beasts we get to see destroyed in different ways.
I also wanted to mention this has a fantastic audio mix.
You can hear all sorts of great effects and sounds throughout the episodes.
This is a must-have for everyone who loves horror films and comics..
Best version of Blade in animation.
This is defiantly a good show for people like me who aren't that familiar with Blade.
To be honest I wasn't that familiar with Blade until I watched this anime he does appear in Spider-Man the animated series, Hulk and the agents of SMASH and Ultimate Spider-Man but the problem with those shows were they didn't go into enough detail about Blade however this anime mini series actually gave him a chance to shine.
Even though this show doesn't have Whistler instead Blade has a partner called Mekodo who hated him at first because Blade killed her dad because he turned into a vampire.
But in the 11th episode she gets killed by Deacon but Blade obeyed her request by killing her as a human.
The action sequences and the sword techniques were just awesome.
The only other draw back about this show was that Milo Ventimigila was voicing Wolverine again I like the guy but not as Wolverine.If you are in to anime's which are horrors with vampires or swords man or if you are just a plain Marvel fan who isn't into many anime them I would definitely recommend Blade.
I didn't even finish this thing, it was that boring..
I've come to the conclusion that Marvel comics and anime should never mix.
After watching this and Iron man the anime and giving up basically part way through.
First things first, the opening credits music and closing music is bland heavy metal music with nothing really to it.
Apparently they couldn't afford any performers for the openings or closings to these things like regular anime.
The second thing, I'm not really wanting to make this a main point, but this anime is so tame, it's basically PG-13 compared to the movies with Wesley Snipes.
I realize with some comic book characters like X-Men/Iron-Man, I don't expect massive violent content or anything.
But Blade the anime involves vampires and it's mostly bloodless.
You can at least try Japan to skirt the boundaries with this title considering the content.
Third thing, the vampires have human agents everywhere in this damn thing, it's rather unbelievable, the second episode is guilty of this of having nearly everyone in the Japanese law enforcement of a major city being human agents for Frost and other vampires, including the Lieutenant of the police!
And they imply even further up the scale to the government.
This is never brought up again as they just move out of Japan and drop this little bit full of possibilities next episode.
It's even funny that the police guy in the second episode literally once he finds out his partner is another freaking human agent for the vampires, just punches him out after he threatens him once.
Kudos to them for researching different type of vampires from Asian countries instead of having him just battle vampires, no it has to be harpies or something in one episode.
Oh and killer felines in the second episode.
This gets to be rather silly.
Where's Whistler?
Oh wait he's been replaced by a Van Helsing character.A lot of Blade's origin is covered again, because apparently no one has seen the Wesley Snipes movie at all.
Well it's OK considering all the stuff involving Blade's past is the only emotionally interesting stuff to happen in the anime in the episodes I've seen.Makoto's stupid grudge against Blade is rather cliché.
The animation is good well that's about it, the music sounds like stock cues from a DTV movie.
Again, mostly the anime is way too PG-13-ish in it's content, I mean you can put some mature content in it.
Instead most of the vampires don't bleed or anything they just bust into ash or burn away when stabbed or killed.
The show also seems to jump over anything to do with Dracula from the comic books but that's OK.
I mean it would have been nice if Dracula showed up as a baddie in this too.
But I guess we are just on Frost still.
Not much in the way of background of much of the characters besides Blade and Van Helsing.
Otherwise the others are rather cardboard.
The action scenes aren't that spectacular either.