RazorFine Review

In a new-type technology world, Major Motoko Kusanagi and her partner Bateau are part of a covert division of the Japanese police.  It is their job to investigate the cyber crime and crimes committed by runaway robots.

In their world, it is almost impossible to find a person who hasn’t been tampered with by electronics.  But, as Major Motoko states, “if we all reacted the same we’d be predictable and there’s always more than one way to view a situation what’s true for the group is also true for the individual.  It’s simple, over specialize and you breed weakness, it’s slow death.”  That is why it is important for Togusa, the second most prominent male in the story, to be a part of their team.  As an almost human being, except a slight brain augmentation, he adds a different view on the situation for the team.

Ghost in the Shell
3 Stars

In a new-type technology world, Major Motoko Kusanagi and her partner Bateau are part of a covert division of the Japanese police.  It is their job to investigate the cyber crime and crimes committed by runaway robots.

In their world, it is almost impossible to find a person who hasn’t been tampered with by electronics.  But, as Major Motoko states, “if we all reacted the same we’d be predictable and there’s always more than one way to view a situation what’s true for the group is also true for the individual.  It’s simple, over specialize and you breed weakness, it’s slow death.”  That is why it is important for Togusa, the second most prominent male in the story, to be a part of their team.  As an almost human being, except a slight brain augmentation, he adds a different view on the situation for the team.

The team encounters what first appears to be a hacker they call the Puppet Master.  This so-called Puppet Master specializes in implanting false memories in unsuspecting people, just so they will do his dirty work.  The first case starts with a poor and unsuspecting garbage man, a pawn of the Puppet Master’s, who is tricked into believing he has a neglectful wife who wants a divorce, and a daughter who blames him for the divorce.  The Puppet Master gets him to use a public phone, so he doesn’t get caught, to try to hack into his wife’s ghost to better understand the reason for the divorce.  When Major Motoko and her highly skilled team of cyber crime fighters realize what is going on they must catch up with the oblivious garbage man, who ends up leading the team straight to the person who “helped” him.

The team races around the film to only discover that the Puppet Master is an artificial intelligence that has no shell.  The Puppet Master leeches onto anyone he can and controls everything the pawn of choice does.

Major Motoko, once a beautiful shell of a woman, is reduced to a child after tearing apart her last body to get at the Puppet Master.  The thing I like the most about the shifting of her ghost from one shell to the other was when she began talking she had the personality and voice of the child, but soon personalized to her normal self and voice.

The anime is artistically beautiful; however, they did a horrible job at explaining what is going on before they dove into the story.  The voice over at first sounds pretty poor, but after a while you get used to it and it stops distracting you from the story.  I hope that by then you have a good grasp on the film, if not you could easily hit stop, because you really aren’t missing much.

I have had a couple people recommend this to me on some forums I am part of, and I have to say, this is the first time I have thought their recommendation sucked.  Forgive me, I know…  With so many agreeing, why didn’t I like it?  Honestly, I haven’t the slightest clue, this is the typical story for typical me, technology, gadgets, telepathy, guns and action.  On top of all those mouth-watering genres, there is absolutely no love story, none at all.  However, for some strange reason, it just sucked.  Best of luck with this one, many people enjoy it however I did not.

Last week I watched and reviewed Princess Mononoke, one of Hayao Miyazaki’s well-known masterpieces and said that I would tackle Spirited Away the following week, since it was the first screenplay he wrote after Princess Mononoke.  Well, that week is here and I must say, I throughly enjoyed this film.  Miyazaki sure has one wild imagination because his films are strange in their own way.

Sen to Chihiro no kamikakushi
5 Stars

Last week I watched and reviewed [Princess Mononoke], one of Hayao Miyazaki’s well-known masterpieces and said that I would tackle Spirited Away the following week, since it was the first screenplay he wrote after Princess Mononoke.  Well, that week is here and I must say, I throughly enjoyed this film.  Miyazaki sure has one wild imagination because his films are strange in their own way.

Our heroine Chihiro is in the midst of a big move to the suburbs with her family when they take a wrong turn at a dirt road near some spirit shrines and end up at the opening of a large building.  Her adventurous middle class parents decide to get out of the car and investigate.  Chihiro refuses to go, begs them to come back, but finally gives in and grabs hold of her mom as they walk down the long dark tunnel.  On the other side of the tunnel there was another opening across a room that lead to a bright and sunny field of grass with a path leading to what seemed like a run down amusement park.  With every step they took the abandoned park seemed to draw them in.  Once they crossed the river and walked up the steps they smelled the delicious aroma of a banquet waiting for them.

Upon finding the feast, Chihiro’s parents sat down and began gorging on the food in front of them.  Chihiro, still nervous about the consequences of being discovered, stood outside the barrier that held her parents.  Chihiro wandered off to explore, while her parents pigged out on food, and ran into a boy named Haku.  Haku was frightened that she was there and told her she needed to leave before the sun went down.  With only seconds before the sun went down Chihiro ran off in the direction of her parents.  When she arrived at their side she discovered two large pigs dressed in their clothes.

Frightened and feeling abandoned, Chihiro ran off in the direction of the car, only to discover that the grassy field was now a river with a ferry drawing nearer.  Day had become night and she was becoming see-through.  When the ferry reached the bank where Chihiro stood, it began unloading its passengers.  The passengers all began walking towards the bath house at the end of the village in a parade of colors.

Chihiro had ran off and hid in nearby bushes where Haku finds her moments later.  He tells her to eat a berry or she would disappear.  If a human does not eat food from their world they will disappear, if they eat the wrong food, like her parents, then they will turn into pigs.  Haru secretly leads her into the bath house, where everyone is freaking out because there is a human in their world, and tells her how to save her parents.  Chihiro must get to the boiler room and beg for a job from the spider-armed Kamajii, the keeper of the boiler room.  This is when Chihiro meets Lin, one of the women who take care of the baths.  Lin leads Chihiro to the office of Yubaba, the witch that runs the bath house, and determines the fate of the people in the world.  After nearly being spotted a couple of times she finally makes it to see Yubaba.  Chihiro needs a job in the bath house or Yubaba will change her into an animal, so she begs Yubaba and gets turned away multiple times.  Finally Yubaba gives in and Chihiro signs a contract giving away her name, from that point on she becomes Sen and that is where her real adventure begins, but you’ll have to watch to see the rest of that.

Hayao Miyazaki’s films are fun to watch and enjoyable all the way till the end.  The story in this is fun to follow along with, and easy on the brain.  This one is very predictable, but that does not detract from the story.  Comparing this to Princess Mononoke, I would have to say that I enjoyed Spirited Away much more.  Yeah, the story in Princess Mononoke was fun, and full of battle, but the struggles of a sheepish girl in a new world was way more fun to see how she accomplished everything.  A must see for those who enjoy the other Miyazaki films.

Don’t worry, I had seen Mononoke-hime, also commonly known as Princess Mononoke, back when I got introduced into the anime world, so I am not just watching it now.  I also know that it is a little over played on the review home front, and most everyone has seen this masterpiece, but I thought it would go nicely with the Spirited Away review I have planned for next week. 

Mononoke-hime
4 & 1/2 Stars

Don’t worry, I had seen Mononoke-hime, also commonly known as Princess Mononoke, back when I got introduced into the anime world, so I am not just watching it now.  I also know that it is a little over played on the review home front, and most everyone has seen this masterpiece, but I thought it would go nicely with the Spirited Away review I have planned for next week.  Another film by the same director, Hayao Miyazaki, is Howl’s Moving Castle.  Jeff, a fellow anime buff who used to do reviews along side me, reviewed it back in mid-January, but he didn’t enjoy it as much.

I don’t normally do the super popular animes, but let’s face it, Hayao Miyazaki is a genius in the anime world, so I have to cover them sometime.

Onto the anime, in this movie you follow the adventure of Ashitaka, the last prince of the Emishi people.  A gigantic rogue boar attacked Ashitaka; he survived the attack but was infected with a curse that would eventually kill him.  The villagers agreed there was nothing they could do for him and banished him in the middle of the night.  Banished with nowhere to go, Ashitaka searches for a cure for the curse on his arm left behind from the rogue boar.  The villagers of Irontown graciously take him in after he rescued a few of their men.

On Ashitaka’s first night in the village, San, the human daughter of the wolf goddess Moro, attacks the village.  She is attempting to assassinate Lady Eboshi, the leader of Irontown, in hopes it will drive the humans away from her home, the Sacred Forest.  San becomes injured and Ashitaka takes her to safety, but not before being injured himself.  From that point on, Ashitaka’s mission is to create peace between the humans and the animals.

A monk by the name of Jigo comes to town to team up with Lady Eboshi to sever the head of the Forest Spirit.  The Forest Spirit, also known as the god of life and death, is what the gods and goddesses of the forest, easily noticed because they are large, are there to protect.  In the end, the animals, even humans, all must work together to save the forest, and the rest of the world itself.

There is a love interest in this, but it isn’t sappy, which makes it okay.  The demons as they say are merely just rogue animals with blood oozing about.  Rather nasty, so hold off on the Ramen if you have a weak stomach, I do.  The Forest Spirit is a little trippy looking if you were expecting something different from a deer body and human-ish face that morphs night and day.  The story rocks, not if ands or buts about it.  Anyone who disagrees obviously has not been able to watch it several times without getting bored.  I don’t know of many animes that I have been able to watch more than twice, without getting bored of the story.  I cannot wait for Spirited Away next week, so check back if you are a fan of Hayao Miyazaki.

When a powerful sword from the past shows itself and tries to rule the world, the two brothers, who are at constant battle, must put aside their differences in order to save the people they feel compelled to protect.

Inuyasha, the half-demon who wields the Tessaiga, needs to work together with his brother Sesshomaru who carries a full demon and the owner of the Tenseiga. Together, they need to beat a powerful demonic sword known as So’unga.

Inuyasha the movie 3
4 Stars

When a powerful sword from the past shows itself and tries to rule the world, the two brothers, who are at constant battle, must put aside their differences in order to save the people they feel compelled to protect.

Inuyasha, the half-demon who wields the Tessaiga, needs to work together with his brother Sesshomaru who carries a full demon and the owner of the Tenseiga. Together, they need to beat a powerful demonic sword known as So’unga.

So’unga has the power to control the person who attempts to wield it, and when Inuyasha takes hold of it to destroy it the sword begins to control his mind.  Inuyasha’s friends continue to help him to destroy the demons to come even though he does not ask for their help.

The sword eventually makes its way to the place of the final battle between Inuyasha’s father and Takemaru, a suitor of Izayoi and also her killer.  So’unga resurrects the 200 year old corpse of Takemaru and uses him to do his bidding.

With intense battles lasting the entire movie long it is entertaining.  This time I watched it with English subs, which should make my friend happy, so the dialog was a lot better.  This time the movie does quite a bit of catching you up on some necessary background information, and the movie has no place in the series, so feel free to just watch it for the hell of it. 

Back in November, I reviewed Inuyasha the Movie: Affections Touching Across Time where I explained that Inuyasha does not require any extreme knowledge, just some basics.  The movie is set in two times, feudal Japan and present time.  The character Kagome is the one who travels back and forth across the time barrier to continue her normal life in present time and to help Inuyasha with the Shikon Jewel in feudal Japan.

Inuyasha 2
4 Stars

Inuyasha is still one of my favorite series.  When I mentioned it to a fellow anime-buff, they told me I must watch the subbed versions, not the Adult Swim version.  Way better in his opinion, so I must take that advice and re-watch the entire series.

The same old crew is in this film, so don’t worry I’m sure your favorite didn’t get left out.

The story dives with Inuyasha transformed in his human state.  Since he is a half breed he spends one day a month completely defenseless.  With him being utterly useless he stays in the hut, his friends set out to defeat Naraku, who is near by and attacking.  Naraku is the central antagonist in the series, but was not included in the first movie.  Kagome is on Shippo’s back trying to attack Naraku with her sacred arrows, but Shippo gets worried as usual and ends up leading Naraku straight to Inuyasha.  Naraku demolishes the hut where Inuyasha is hiding just as the sun rises.  Luckily, the sun rose too, transforming him back into a demon.  Inuyasha is back and ready to fight, the team works together to defeat Naraku once and for all.

All of this takes place in a matter of minutes.  From the time you see Inuyasha as a human, to the end of the opening credits for the film, they defeated their most difficult nemesis.  That sounds a little far-fetched to me.  The fight seemed far too easy, but the big-ass vacuum in Miroku’s hand disappeared, so it must be true.

The rest of the story is centered around a new demon named Kaguya, the Princess of the Heavens, or so everyone believes.  Kaguya has a knack for using people to get what she wants, she obtains Naraku’s minions, Kagura and Kanna.  Kagura and Kanna do her bidding for a while, but Inuyasha and the gang are attracted to her since she is powerful.  Kaguya offers Inuyasha his biggest desire, and for a second it looks like he had fallen for her trap.

After watching the series, the first movie and now this one, I would have to still agree that Inuyasha is still one of my favorites.  I still enjoy the silly saga, the cheesy dubbing and the characters stories.  Yes, Sango meets up with Kohaku, for those who wondered.  Yes, Inuyasha and Kagome kiss, in case you thought you heard that.  Moreover, the gang splits up for a second, but is quickly drawn together like magnets.  Fans of Inuyasha the series will enjoy this, but you don’t necessarily need to see the first movie, since they don’t correlate.

Now here is a classic anime, Akira.  This one is a little older than I like to review, but I figured it was a good time to throw it out there.  If you haven’t heard, they are coming out with a new live action Akira in 2009, hopefully they will improve a few things.

Akira
3 & 1/2 Stars

Now here is a classic anime, Akira.  This one is a little older than I like to review, but I figured it was a good time to throw it out there.  If you haven’t heard, they are coming out with a new live action Akira, hopefully they will improve a few things.

This is post World War III, 30 years later to be exact, in Tokyo.  Tokyo was destroyed in the war and Neo-Tokyo was built on the remnants of the old city.  Don’t start thinking this is a paradise, no way, the city is riddled with gangs, crime and shady political characters in office [what’s new about that?].

Kaneda, known for his fast bike that everyone wants, is the leader of one of the gangs.  Kaneda’s gang is constantly at war with the gang of Clowns.  During one fight, in particular the police and even the military interrupt the fight.  Most of the bikers fled the scene, but Kaneda and his crew were captured as they watched the military abduct a small boy and Tetsuo, a member of their gang.  The small boy, Takashi, is no ordinary boy though; he is one of the three already-made super humans, known as the Espers.

Since the military captured Tetsuo, they begin to use him as a test subject as well.  He undergoes the procedures to become an Esper as well.  Once he discovers his newly given power, he becomes drunk with power, lashing out at everyone who gets in his way.  All the while that he went on his rampage, people were telling him to be careful, that he would surpass the safety zone for the super human status.

Obviously, Tetsuo didn’t listen, because he ended up letting the power take over him and Akira took him away.

The really only fascinating part about this is the graphics.  Of course I watched the dubbed version, so I can’t really judge that too harshly, but even the story line was a little weak to me.  I know people would love to disagree with that statement, but I am entitled to my own opinion.  But back to the graphics, for 1988 I am shocked that it was that good.  The bike color trails were pretty neat as well.  Now, the faces looked a little funky, but overall good quality art.

To be honest, the only reason why I even sat through this was to see Akira.  I mean I could have fast-forwarded, but that would have been far too easy.  The general public rates this anime rather high, but for me, it was just O.K. and at the same time a little disappointing, Akira is definitely no Nosferatu!

Have you ever felt like you spent your entire life searching for something that you will never see again?  Chiyoko Fujiwara definitely spends eternity looking for the man that gave her the key to his heart.

At the beginning of the story, Japan was at war and anyone who opposed the war was sought after by military police.  Chiyoko Fujiwara, the main character, at the time was a young and aspiring actress, who in the future will star in many films spanning thousands of years.

Millenium Actress
5 Stars

One day she was walking down the street when a stranger bumps into her, he quickly apologizes and hurries off into the bushes.  With police hot on his tail, Chiyoko lies and sends the police in a different direction.  She then joins the stranger and offers him a safe hiding spot for the night.  Chiyoko takes him to her family’s store and the two sit in the storage room and talk for just a bit.  The only thing she learns of the stranger is he is a painter, he opposes the war and he has a key that is the most important thing he has.

The next day she is walking home thinking of the stranger in the storage room, once she arrives back at her house she notices the key in the snow by her porch.  This frightens young Chiyoko so she scoops up the key and rushes to the store to find the police searching for the mysterious painter.  The painter had successfully made it to the train station, leaving Chiyoko to wonder if she would ever see him again.

From the moment Chiyoko met the strange painter she knew she loved him, so she spent the next thirty years searching for the painter.  She carried the key on her mission to find him, only to lose it or get it stolen from her periodically.

When Chiyoko grew old, she decided to retire to her quiet mountain villa, where she would live out the rest of her life, no longer searching for the mysterious painter.  One day a director, who you come to find out, knew her when she was younger, shows up to interview her for his documentary, “The Seven Specters: The Legend of Fujiwara Chiyoko.”  With him, he brings the key she had lost on the set of her final movie.  The key unlocks the story of her life; it brings her back to the days of searching, movies and her childhood.  She takes her two guests through each movie from her past in chronological order.  In every movie she acted in, she is the same character, always the girl in distress searching for the boy who stole her heart.

Chiyoko admits that she hoped the painter would see her in one of her movies, and by the mid-50s, she was at the peak of her stardom.  Surely, the painter would see her, which is only if he is still alive though.  The rest of the story is a mystery unless you watch it for yourself.

This was a well thought out movie, every minute kept me guessing if I was going to see Chiyoko reunited with the person she loved and searched for thirty years.  I am not much of a fan of love stories or romance, but this was good.  The movies she acted in kept the pace up beat, there was action involved and a good bit of fantasy.  The story lacks in humor, but here and there you might chuckle, so do not go looking for that when you watch this.

For those of you who watched Paprika, and liked it, this the same director, Satoshi Kon.

A promise is a promise, when Keitaro Urashima was young, he promised a girl he liked that they would get into Tokyo U together.  Fifteen years later and he still has not made it.  At this point, he has failed the entrance exam twice already and has begun to lose all hope.  Now at the age of 20 he has been offered the manager job at the Hinata Inn that his grandmother owns, while she is away.

Ruba Hna
Custom Rating

A promise is a promise, when Keitaro Urashima was young, he promised a girl he liked that they would get into Tokyo U together.  Fifteen years later and he still has not made it.  At this point, he has failed the entrance exam twice already and has begun to lose all hope.  Now at the age of 20 he has been offered the manager job at the Hinata Inn that his grandmother owns, while she is away.

The Hinata Inn is an all girls dormitory.  The girls who live here are interesting and different in every way.  When Keitaro entered the Hinata Inn for the first time in forever, he does not realize it is an all girls dormitory, so he goes to the outdoor hot springs, thinking he is completely alone.  When Naru Narusegawa, one of the residents, meets him in the bath, she is a little over-shocked.  She runs screaming and chases him into the locker room where Mitsune Konno, also known as Kitsune by her friends, is changing out of her normal clothes.  Keitaro run out of there to meet up with Kaolla Su, a young junior-high girl who is very talented in robotics.  Haruka calms all the girls down and explains that he is here to be the new manager of the inn, and without him, the inn will cease to exist.  Once Motoko Aoyama, another resident, returns to the inn, the series begins to settle down, but that is only after Motoko attacks Keitaro for being a strange man in an all girls dorm.

When I said settles down, I obviously meant that it got crazier.  There are normal episodes here and there but then there are a few where it gets so strange I was unsure on what to think.  The plot is pretty basic, it takes you on the adventure of how Keitaro is going to find the girl he promised he would meet again at Tokyo U.  With a basic plot, they had to spice it up somehow, so that is when the writers used their imagination to its fullest.  Entire episodes spent in dreams, random twists to the plot and adventures are seen throughout the entire series, it gets far from boring.

The love triangle between Keitaro, Naru and Mutsumi Otohime begins when they all three failed the entrance exam to Tokyo U and ran away to the neighboring city to escape their friends ridicule.  Keitaro really likes Naru, Naru refuses to admit it even to herself that she likes Keitaro too, and Mutsumi loves Keitaro.  Naru spends the majority of the series beating up on Keitaro for his clumsiness that makes him look perverted.  After a bit in the series a few twists are taken with the certain love triangle, which turns out to be a small surprise in the end.

For a romantic comedy, this is one heck of a show.  I can’t say that I really liked it though, the flying turtle threw me for a loop.  The randomness of the entire series kept me more interested than the love interest between Keitaro and the two girls.  There is random magic involved, Motoko’s awesome sword skills and perverted boys.  One thing I really did like was the fact that you connected with the characters, which always helps.

Gene Starwind and his adolescent business partner Jim Hawking work together to help anyone with anything they need, as long as it pays well.  The two of them take on a job as a simple bodyguard of a mysterious outlaw.  This outlaw turns out to be Hilda, the most sought after outlaw of the Kei space pirate guild.  When Hilda is killed in battle Gene and Jim are left the XGP15A-II, a highly advanced spacecraft also known as the Outlaw Star.  Also, just before Hilda was killed the three of them came in contact with a bio-android named Melfina.  Hilda was in search of Melfina.  Melfina was made to connect to the over-advanced spacecraft, the Outlaw Star.

Outlaw Star
4 Stars

Gene Starwind and his adolescent business partner Jim Hawking work together to help anyone with anything they need, as long as it pays well.  The two of them take on a job as a simple bodyguard of a mysterious outlaw.  This outlaw turns out to be Hilda, the most sought after outlaw of the Kei space pirate guild.  When Hilda is killed in battle Gene and Jim are left the XGP15A-II, a highly advanced spacecraft also known as the Outlaw Star.  Also, just before Hilda was killed the three of them came in contact with a bio-android named Melfina.  Hilda was in search of Melfina.  Melfina was made to connect to the over-advanced spacecraft, the Outlaw Star.

The Outlaw Star needed to be repaired and restocked with ammunition after the battles with the space pirates, and the only person that they can turn to is Fred Luo.  When Gene went to Fred for the supplies, Fred was under attack by the known assassin, Twilight Suzuka.  Gene fights Suzuka to save Fred, eventually offering his life in place of Fred’s.  When the crew of the Outlaw Star prepared for their next departure, Suzuka decided to tag along uninvited.  The crew works together to complete tasks and bring in money, but Gene always thinks of the get right quick schemes.  Gene’s harebrained idea is to enter the intergalactic race on Heiphon, but soon comes to realize that it costs money to enter.  Gene had to go beg Fred to sponsor him, but since Fred is in love with him, it was not too hard.

During the race, the Outlaw Star is attacked by the McDougall brothers’ ship, which is being piloted by Harry McDougall under the false last name of Williams.  While Melfina is busy navigating the Outlaw Star, Harry McDougall enters the ship’s navigation system and reveals he is a bio-android as well.  After the race, the Outlaw Star needed more opportunities for riches, and they take on a series of tasks to reach their goal.  Some strange characters pop up, like the old man outlaw who needs their help recovering a large load of dragonite.

Eventually after 26 episodes, you reach the end.  The ending is awesome; it was the only part I could stay focused on to be honest.  The epic battle between the McDougall brothers and the Outlaw Star is full of twists.  Harry and Melfina both navigate their teams to the Galactic Leyline, the main thing everyone is searching for the entire series.  Watch the series to see how the rest of the story pans out.

Let’s just say that this anime is interesting.  It starts good, gets a little slow in the next 14 or so episodes and then has a good ending.  A few filler episodes in the middle are worth watching just for the sheer comic effect, but have little meaning.  Except oh yeah, Gene got neat bullets.  I watched the dubbed version of this, since it came out quite some time ago.  I am not sure, if it was the dubbed version or if the writers really did mean for it to be as cheesy as it was at times.  Not to mention the couple of times that Gene was a little creepy, whether it was how he looked or the words he said.  The overall series is good, I liked the anime, the idea and the characters, but it was just too darn drawn out for me.

Vampires, guns and ghouls plague this series.  This particular series is rather entertaining.  You meet a series of weaker villains like the Valentine Brothers until you finally get to Incognito.  Incognito is supposed to be Alucards equal, the only one that should be a difficult match.

Alucard faithfully serves his master Sir Integra Wingates Hellsing after she discovered him years ago.  The story does not start out immediately telling you the details of Alucard and Integra’s past, but halfway through the series you learn about Integra’s childhood. 

Herushingu
4 & 1/2 Stars

Vampires, guns and ghouls plague this series.  This particular series is rather entertaining.  You meet a series of weaker villains like the Valentine Brothers until you finally get to Incognito.  Incognito is supposed to be Alucards equal, the only one that should be a difficult match.

Alucard faithfully serves his master Sir Integra Wingates Hellsing after she discovered him years ago.  The story does not start out immediately telling you the details of Alucard and Integra’s past, but halfway through the series you learn about Integra’s childhood.  In the first episode, you meet Seras Victoria, a military girl who became the only survivor of her squad after a vampire turned them all into ghouls.

Ghouls are what the artifical vampires, also known as freaks, create.  The freaks drain all of the blood from the body of their victim, creating a zombie-like minion.

Seras Victoria is nearly killed by the horde of ghouls that was once her comrades.  Alucard shows up just in the nick of time and asks if she would like to become a vampire and she agrees to being bitten by her master Alucard, but once she becomes a vampire, she instantly begins to regret it.

Seras Victoria refuses to drink the medical blood given to her each night; the lack of blood makes her weak.  Alucard advises her to drink to regain strength, even offers his blood from a cut he received from Paladin Alexander Anderson.  She refused, knowing that if she drank his blood Alucard would no longer be her master, she would be alone.  Soon after that decision, she gives in to needs and drinks the blood on the table.  I thought it was strange how they gave her the blood though; they gave it to her with a bowl and spoon.  Sort of looked like tomato soup and here I was questioning why they did not give it to her in a goblet, it would have looked more classy.  Either way she gains strength and is able to wield her enormous guns, like the Halconnen.

The story starts a little weak, with switching villains every episode, but when the story starts to be centered on the defeat of Incognito it becomes less weak.  Switching the villains every episode makes it semi-difficult to stay focused.  The final battle scene between Alucard and Incognito is played out well, little speech, little action and ends in a bloody mess.

I had very little time to watch this anime, but I am a big fan of vampire stories and when a good friend of mine recommended this to me, I figured it was worth watching.  I have to say that I enjoyed it; things here and there were a little strange, but over all a decent series.  The series opener was a real catchy tune, I do not normally focus on that, but I rather enjoyed the song.  “World Without Logos by Yasushi Ishii” I believe is the song, also the opener includes a wandering dog, which was strange to me at first, but it turns out that is Alucard’s other form.  I definitely would recommend this to anyone seeking vampires, blood and mayhem!