Blood: The Last Vampire (Blu-ray)

The first all-digital anime production, Blood: The Last Vampire hails a new era in Japanese animation. Written by Ghost in the Shell creator Mamoru Oshii, the story follows a hunt for blood-sucking Chiropterans, revolting vampire creatures who mimic a human likeness. The big gun against these monsters is the enigmatic young Saya (voiced by Yuki Kudoh of Jim Jarmusch's Mystery Train), a Japanese schoolgirl who could easily give Buffy a run for her money. With a riveting story that only scratches surfaces and suggests an upcoming series, Blood's biggest disadvantage is its running time, which clocks in just above 40 minutes. Fortunately, the long-awaited DVD release includes the documentary The Making of Blood: The Last Vampire. Running almost as long as the movie itself, The Making of... shows how the animation team raised the bar by leagues to create Japan's first "fully digital" animated feature. Not to be confused with animation based on digitally created images, such as in Toy Story, Blood's process involves scanning hand-drawn images into computers, where artists perform the final coloring and rendering, an economical practice used by Disney since 1995's Pocahontas. With character designs by popular illustrator Katsuya Terada (Zeiram) and direction by Hiroyuki Kitakubo (Roujin-Z), the results are a staggering visual journey. Despite its short length, Blood: The Last Vampire is no doubt the future of anime, bound to claim its place next to landmark films such as Vampire Hunter D and Akira. Lewis Somoza Manalo, Barnes & Noble