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Blood+ (Cartoon Network)

common sense media says

Powerful girl battles vampires in gory anime.

parents & educators say
  • 33% say there are positive role models
  • 33% say there are positive messages
See all 14 reviews | Review it

What parents need to know

Parents need to know that this anime series is extremely violent and often scary. Vampire-like monsters hunt men, women, and children, killing them with their sharp teeth and extra-long claws; blood also spurts out of decapitated victims' throats. The young female protagonist masterfully wields a sword, slashing both beasts and men, and many tense moments are accentuated with spooky music. The protagonist and other young female characters are also sexualized; wear ultra-short skirts; and sometimes talk about not eating to avoid getting fat.

Positive messages: The protagonist is an athletic, sweet young woman with super powers, which conveys the idea that women and girls can be strong and powerful. But the she's also sexualized to an extent, and romantic encounters happen to her rather than engaging her as an active participant. In one scene, a schoolgirl complains that "I just look at pizza and gain three pounds!"
Violence: Ultra-exaggerated, gory anime violence. Heads are chopped off and bodies impaled, and there's gunfire, sword-wielding, military scenes, and fields of dead bodies.
Sex: Schoolgirl skirts are super short and sometimes flip up to reveal underwear. Teen girl body parts get lots of attention. In one episode, an older man kisses the schoolgirl protagonist romantically.
Language: Pretty mild, mostly of the "hell" and "damn" variety.
Consumerism: Not applicable.
Drinking, drugs, & smoking: Not applicable.
Our ratings and reviews are informed by child development guidelines. Learn more.

More on Blood+

What to talk about

Talk to your kids
Families can talk about different styles of animation. What characterizes an "anime" series? If you're familiar with anime, what themes do you see repeated in different series? In general, how is animation different in kids' shows and more adult-oriented shows like this one? Why use animation to tell grown-up stories in the first place? How does animation affect the story being told?

What's the story?

What's the story?
The seemingly normal Saya (voiced by Kari Wahlgren) lives with a loving adoptive family, goes to school, competes in track and field events, and discusses politics with her friend. But a flashback to her previous life shows that she was once involved in a bloody massacre and wielded a sword against terrifying, vampire-like beasts called chiropterans. As her memory returns, young Saya faces her fate as savior of her family, friends, and countrymen.

Is it any good?

Is it any good?
 
The story is compelling, mysterious, and complex. But be forewarned: Though it's animated, BLOOD+ isn't for kids. Violent scenes go beyond a simple dead body or stabbing -- be prepared for dramatic, slow-motion beheadings and gallons of red blood spurting out of amputated limbs. And it's not just the bad guys who wreak havoc; in a flashback scene, Saya slashes her way through a group of people, and it's unclear what her motive is and whether she's only killing bad guys.

Anime is known for its sexual portrayals of young female characters, and while this isn't an X-rated series, Saya and other underage female characters also wear exaggeratedly short schoolgirl skirts, which sometimes pop up to reveal a glimpse of underwear. The girls' sexualized nature extends to other parts of the series, too -- in one scene, an older male kisses Saya by surprise, and possibly against her will, but the kiss then turns romantic.

TV themes & details

TV Details
TV Rating: TV-MA
Network: Cartoon Network
Cast: Crispin Freeman, Kari Wahlgren, Olivia Hack
Genre: Science Fiction
Where to watch: Cartoon Network
This review was written by Sierra Filucci
 
 

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What parents & educators say

13
Based on 3 parent & educator reviews:
  • 33% say there are positive role models
  • 33% say there are positive messages
Read the reviews

Most useful reviews by all members

Izunami-chan
adult
 
Awesome!
This is probably my favorite anime on tv right now. It's obviously not meant for little kids because of the violence (which is pretty evident even from the first minute and a half of the first episode, which I loved), but I haven't really noticed any sexual themes or anything. There is one kiss in it so far, but it wasn't exactly a real one; Hagi was just giving Saya blood so she could fight. Anyway, I think this is a great show for older teens and up to watch, because it has a really great story and Saya presents a powerful, yet realistic, female character.
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SilentAngel
teen, 17 years old
14
 
Awesome Anime!
This is one of my favorite animes. I don't really see why this anime is scary, but I guess some people just think different things are scary. I really like the main protagonist of the series. But, that's because I like the quiet/shy people in animes. Overall, I give it a 8.5 out of 10.
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Mharu Skii
teen, 17 years old
 
YAY! Vampires
This is one of my favorite animes ever. I love the entire series and almost all the characters; Hagi especially.
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Sayuri
teen, 16 years old
 
pretty good, for people like me
this anime was very good, IF you like violence. this show is NOT for the faint hearted. But the story line and premise is very interesting.
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AnimeAngel13
teen, 17 years old
 
I LUV THIS ANIME!!!! ^^
Blood+ is my FAVORITE show on t.v. Me and my sister luv it! <3 Saya is almost exactly like me! ^^ I luv many of the characters in the anime. Saya, Hagi, Lulu, Riku, Kai, Irene, Solomon, and the many others. Also, the violence doesn't bother me at all! I just wish that there would be more Blood Plus...
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yankee01
teen, 16 years old
 
good
one of my saturday night shows
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Saya
teen, 18 years old
 
Not mentioned earlier...
I love this anime dearly. But, I recently purchased this anime, and I was shocked! One of the male protagonists, Riku, is raped and killed (it wasn't very graphic but some non-graphic images were shown) by the female antagonist, Diva, so she can impregnate herself, in one of the later episodes. Since this episode is due to air Nov. 10th 2007 (Episode 32, Boy Meets Girl) I felt that people may want to protect their children from this sort of violence. Overall though this is a great anime, although I wouldn't recomend it for small children. It's a very violent series and the uniforms (which I consider normal) may seem a bit skimpy to some. But it has many great characters and a wonderful storyline, so, any adults and teens interested in anime are likely to enjoy this show.
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whaleoh4060
teen, 14 years old
14
 
I just saw five minutes of the first episode and felt disgusted. There are heads being ripped off and blood spurting everywhere and people get cut to pieces. Honestly common sense if you say this is 15+ how come you say other shows like trinity blood and even death note are 14+ and 17+ when they are much less gory. This show is not particulary to my taste .
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VForNoVendettas
kid, 10 years old
13
 
Not to bad
Its not that bad actually, I'm a fan of most anime and its not horrible like more, if you think this is bad look at Elfen Lied.
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good father ...
adult
 
This is personally one of my favorite shows, it deals with mature themes, not because of sex or violence, but near the end gets very tragic, phylisophical and psychological torment, but the violence is extremely gruesome and gory, but it has no sexuality what so ever, you consider girls dressed in miniskirts inapropriate, if you have been to Japan, that's how every girl is supposed to dress, it's the national school uniform, and unlike shows like Air Gear or Desert Punk, which are the most sexual anime's that are not porn I have ever seen, this is completely appropriate in manerisms, and it is much more of a problem here in America about not eating to prevent fat then in Japan, but if your kid is easily scared, or is faint of heart, this is definitely not for them
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smarty2016
teen, 14 years old
12
 
I loved this anime. The violence was a little much at times, so you should only watch it if you can tollarate it. My mom watched it too and saw nothing wrong with it.
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misamane isawesome
teen, 14 years old
12
 
preteens might like
sure its violent but the mc saya always protect her family and fight monsters to survive . and when she kisses an older man it was ok because they been friends since th 16th century and are vampires LIKE DURR
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merc_scum
adult
13
 
this is an amazing series but I recommend watching Blood the last vampire first then youll understand whats going on. as for what they say about an older man kissing a younger girl the main character Saya is 102 years old and as for the short skirts thats what the style of uniforms they wear in Japan depending on the school and time of year.
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Tenoni
teen, 14 years old
 
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