Review : Blood+

Saya is a seemingly ordinary girl with a large appetite, living with her foster family on the sunny coast of Okinawa, Japan. She just has one little problem, she can't remember anything from more than a year ago.

When attacked by an inhuman beast, known as a Chiropteran, memories start slowly coming back. After surprisingly regenerating her wounded legs, a tall stranger appears and hands her a blade. Seemingly in a trance, Saya takes the blade, trickles her blood over it and slices the beast in half.

Afterward an organization named Red Shield make themselves known to her. Their objective is to destroy the Chiropteran threat. But the only way they can do that, is with Saya's help, as her blood is the only thing that can defeat them. Obviously not having much of a choice Saya is thrust into an underground war between Red Shield and The Chiropterans, but coming to terms with what she is and what she must do, weighs heavily upon her mind.

The design and flow of the narrative is simple and well paced, making the story easy to follow. Saya's psych is also well represented by her facial expressions, it's easy to tell when shes acting on instinct, rather than rationally. The art is faultless, but generic, drawn in the usual anime style. There is blood, gore and strong horror themes, so it's probably best kept to a slightly older audience.

Blood+ is a good, modern vampire story, full of action, comedy and a lot of gore. Saya's inability to remember her past, keeps the story interesting and the reader guessing. It's a pity it isn't as in depth as it's anime version and only lasts five volumes.