Blassreiter - The Complete Series Part 1by Holly von WinckelReviews may contain information that could be considered 'spoilers'. Readers should proceed at their own risk. Studio
Credits Grade: 9 Imagine a world where the next step in human evolution is a melding of humans and technology. Now imagine that, in that world, the technology brings a high degree of superiority complex to the party, and a low degree of empathy. Further, imagine that the humans are at a severe disadvantage, because the human/techno hybrids have a grand plan, and aren't telling what it is. Not even their own kind. Great, now you are in the world of the Blassreiter anime.The opening motorcycle race scene is as smoothly and lovingly animated as the cut scene in any video game. (Perhaps not too surprising, as one of the two studios contributing to the original production is Nitro+, a video game development studio, and Blassreiter was originally a light novel.) I was hooked right away. The dedication to the portrayal of motion and the importance of movement to the plot is maintained throughout all 12 episodes. It seems to me that some anime tends to surrender visual stylings in favor of anime conventions, perhaps simply because it's easier, or faster, or cheaper that way. Maybe all three; animation is notoriously tricky, slow, and expensive. In case you were worried, Blassreiter sticks to plenty of the old standards of anime production: cleavage, explosions, total disregard for the conservation of mass. The good stuff. There is an overarching biblical end-times structure to Blassreiter, and if that is something that puts you off, don't bother watching Blassreiter. That theme gradually gathers more steam as the episodes progress. Despite that all-too-well-known plot, Blassreiter does not become predictable. For one thing, there is no clear protagonist, no clear antagonist. Only suspicions and hints. To complicate things even more, there are two anti-heroes in the twelve episodes of Part 1 but no explicit villain. The scale of devastation is remarkable, the death toll is truly Shakespearean, and the death scenes leave no gut unwrenched. For those who are sensitive to such things, you should know that there is considerable violence and gore, including domestic violence. There is swearing, which accelerates in frequency and degree of taboo violation as the series goes on. There is kind of a lot of screaming. Although relevant to the story, screaming is not my favorite noise, and tends to make me mute the sound. Oh, and all the sub-plots are mildly moralistic life lessons. Some of us watch entertainment media to get those; others watch it to get away from that. You've been advised. Probably anyone who likes sci-fi, nanobots, high speed, high octane, high caliber ass kicking, and an ominous dystopian forecast for our species will like Blassreiter. However, unless you have access to Part 2, it's probably not smart to watch Part 1. If you like it as much as I did, you'll get to the end of the twelfth episode and realize that you don't know what happens next, and won't find out for a while. Written: November 29, 2009
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