Blood-C Episode 8--The Return of Singing

Although my initial frustration about CLAMP making yet another crossover has worn off, I'm still not happy with the serious pacing issues that this series has.




If it weren't for the fact that Saya was covered in blood for nearly half the episode, it was pretty much identical in structure to the episodes before the twins' deaths; the majority of the episode was spent on dialogue and a couple of dropped hints with a Elder Bairn battle tacked on at the end for good measure. And while CLAMP does know how to do romance, the long conversation between Tokizane and Saya felt a bit strange. I guess that this could be explained later if the show reveals that he has further secrets, but right now that simple of an acceptance seemed odd to me. Then there was a long bath scene (with singing!) with a couple more hints dropped and then it's back to school for a classroom massacre that, without the censors, might have given Deadman Wonderland a run for its money. It almost looked like there wouldn't be a fight at all this week, but when it did happen, it felt a bit phoned-in, like someone said, "Oh yeah, this show is supposed to be gory."




People who have been reading my posts about this series since it started know that I have been very patient with this series. When it started and the Blood+ fans cried foul, I gave it the benefit of the doubt. I was one of the people who said "wait and see, there's a lot of possibility here, and this show could surprise you." With the first cliffhanger ending of one of the twins getting attacked inside the shrine, I thought that the plot had finally arrived and that the show would jump straight into action and story developments. Now, it still looks like it can't get its priorities straight. I'm sure that there is a way to balance gory action with slice-of-life-style school scenes, but this is not it. It's not that I'm angry at the series as I am disappointed that it can't seem to decide what it wants to be outside of a vehicle for CLAMP to make Watanuki a dog. I will still blog this series to the finish, but it's past time for the show to still use subtle plot hints and shock value to draw people in. It's time to deliver on all the foreshadowing and make use of the potential that it still has.

Blood-C Censor Corner







Images from NicoNico.com.