Title: Trinity Blood

Genre: Action/Drama

Company: Gonzo/Trinity Blood Production Committee/Victor Entertainment/WOWOW

Format: 24 episodes

Dates: 29 Apr 2005 – 28 Oct 2005

Synopsis: In the post apocalyptic future, the world is divided between humans and vampires. The Vatican leads the humans, while the vampires are controlled by a matriarchy. Constant acts of terrorism from a third party upset the balance between the two powers leading to the brink of total war. In charge of revealing and eliminating this mysterious third power, Priest Peter Abel Nightroad, a vampire consuming Crusnik, holds the fate of humanity in his hands.

The Highlights

Art: Highly detailed.

Music: Elegant and very pleasing to the ears.

Plot: Disjointed and unnecessarily convoluted.

Characters: Assembled from other anime.

Vampires, guns and nuns can only be seen as ingredients for disaster. This recipe has been botched so many times that nothing except mediocrity should be expected. Attracted by the nostalgia of Hellsing, and hooked by the eye candy, I decided to take a leap of faith… a leap I honestly won’t be taking again. Simply put, this anime takes copious amounts of ideas and crushes them together into a hackneyed mesh called Trinity Blood.

The first few seconds should automatically ring the word “ Gonzo ” as this anime kicks off with a beautifully animated fight scene. While the choreography is nothing worth writing home about, the stunningly detailed art and elegant animation is something only a small handful of production companies can pull off. While Trinity Blood may not be a true Gonzo production per se, it is still a noteworthy visual feat for the company. With effective music to set the pace of the fights, this series sure knows its aesthetics.

What Trinity Blood doesn’t know how to do is write a good story. Sure, there are some interesting elements sprinkled around the trite plot, but the presentation is so disjointed, it’s hard to tell exactly what the series is trying to pull off. At times, one begins to wonder just why so many side stories occur when they serve no significant purpose in the first place. These semi-filler episodes may add intrigue, but they seem pointless in light of the main arc.

The series also has a bad tendency of liberally taking ideas from other shows. Quite frankly, it is hard to evaluate Trinity Blood without mentioning Trigun and about half a dozen other anime simply because all the characters are personalities that are taken straight out of other shows. One would think that the producers would buffer lack of originality with seamless organization, a la RahXephon, but this series never manages to smoothly connect all its elements together. As a result, the grand finale, instead of being an epic conclusion, is a massive train wreck giving off pretty explosions.

Trinity Blood is one series that finds its niche among action junkies. However, for those who want substance, the haphazardly assembled cast and the predictable plot make this almost unbearable to watch. Much like pain killers the aesthetics are the only saving grace, but the effects are fleeting. Overall, if you need your Gonzo fix for that year, watch Speed Grapher or Gankutsuou instead.

The Rating: 5



Reviewed by: Shadowmage