Say Hello to the Black Blood Brothers

A salaryman armed with his electric guitar blew this blogger away in Black Heaven. You might also remember my unabashed adoration for Black Cat. The underworld of Black Lagoon continues to titillate. Even the annoying Pinoko couldn’t take me away from Black Jack. And now, I can see myself waffling pleasantries about Black Blood Brothers. Isn’t it something? Slap the word black in the title, and I am drawn like a moth to a flame.

Black Blood Brothers, henceforth BBB or possibly B3, tells the tale of the battles of humans and vampires. In the middle of the Holy War, a powerful vampire intercedes. Sounds familiar? Probably. A betrayed hero? Check. A lost lover? Check. Torn loyalties? Check. An angsty past? Check. A perky girl in tow? Check. Like I said, it sounds familiar. It offers an old story, true. Yet it fashions the idea into a potential journey of scuffling, bawling, and all-around giggling.

The three main characters, Jirou — the sword-wielding bloodsucker –, Kotarou — the Jirou’s young ward –, and Mimiko — a human facilitator — are neither perfect nor without flaws but I can honestly admit, without a shred of doubt, they are awesome characters to watch. At least for the moment. On the first few scenes of the series, I thought I stumbled on another pretentious post-apocalyptic anime trying to impart eloquent angst. But no. The appearance of a young Kotarou erases doubts. Nothing beats a slapstick gag involving an exuberant child and a sleepy vampire. And as if to squelch disagreeable questions, it proceeds to display elite fighting skills and general incompetence. The result is damn entertaining. Physical comedy combined with gun-toting nightwalkers shows a future of much lurv for yours truly. I can be infatuated easily.

With the exception of Sakurai Takahiro as Jirou, I am not entirely familiar with the other cast members. Not that it matters since the key players presented a superb job, especially Kotarou’s VA. Like many of the voice actors, I also have not heard of BBB’s director Yoshikawa Hiroaki. But given the entertainment value and the cliffhanger choice of the first three episodes, I should not fear.

The music is slightly forgettable but I commend the choice of the ED theme. I was surprised by the inclusion of a Korean track and the familiar voice of Loveholic’s Ji Sun. The title escapes me but the short verses almost ascertain repeated airplay. I salute whoever employed Loveholic to BBB. I am a big fan of this band and I am a proud owner of their first and second albums. (Minor pimpage. Listen to Sky and Sarah’s forest.) I can’t wait for the full track.

If pushed in the right direction, Black Blood Brothers can turn into a huge favorite of mine. It may become a popcorn anime filled with jaw-dropping action or, possibly, a series with a solid plot. Or maybe it could surprise audiences with a (gasp!) character driven season. As long as it consistently stimulates this blogger, I wouldn’t be so picky.