Review of "Trinity Blood Vol 1"

Review Type: Manga & Anime
AshenPhoenix's Rating: 3 of 5

I was so very excited to hear of this series when it first was announced as an anime series; finding such iconic vampiric series like Hellsing and Blood: The Last Vampire not to my liking, I was especially hopeful for something new.

Not to say Trinity Blood isn't something worth seeing, but it's hardly something earth-shaking. And the same can be said for its manga counterpart; it's good, a worth-while-read... but not what I'd call a "masterpiece" by a long shot. I mean, for some of the complex paneling the story is hard to follow even for relatively veteran manga readers, and for a 'first series' -- forget about it.

The artstyle is very similar to the anime, which is to say, it's full of overly gorgeous men and women with outlandishly beautiful enemies, costumes, and fight scenes. Not that that's all a bad thing, mind you. Some of the bloodied vampire vs. vampire scenes are well worth wading thru the somewhat droning dialogue. And while the stories for each chapter are interesting per-say, they can easily get weighed down by droning and tedious explanations and villainous rants. However, Trinity Blood still manages to be enjoyable in a few respects; a few choice positives being (at least in my opinion) Father Abel Nightroad (cliche name but what can you do?) and the 'android soldier' Tres AKA- Gunslinger (I found his 'genocide mode' most entertaining). These characters may not be anything groundbreaking (I actually found a pleasant familiarity with Father Nightroad to Vash the Stampede) but there's still enough depth to them that you'll take a second look. Sister Ester, on the other hand, I found less appealing in the manga than the TV series (though she's not all that different), considering her reckless-and-beautiful-young-nun-bent-on-revenge aspect isn't anything new, and her rather emotionally-driven-bitterness towards vampires is - again - a simple recycled formula.
Though perhaps I'm being too critical. I really do enjoy this series, but probably the anime a great deal more. One thing I found as a slight improvement vs. the anime in this was the surprise friend-turned-betrayer-and-villainous-mastermind Dietrich; who's personality shines thru a bit more in this version than I feel it did in the anime, which is always nice. And the Latin words he used at the near-end were by far my favorite little piece of culture.

Hopefully the issues I mentioned will be dealt with, or at least lessened in the second installment. I'd very much like to buy this series should it improve. Forgive me if this review sounded too harsh, but I have to honestly speak my mind and even if I like something, I won't sugar-coat or side-step any of the flaws it possess.