Review of Blood Blockade Battlefront
Baccano! fans, this show is for you! Trigun fans, you'll probably greatly enjoy this show, but it's not the same, so don't go in expecting a protagonist who's Vash's spiritual successor (same mangaka). Art: The animation by studio Bones is wonderful. Bones is one of those studios where, no matter how long their shows are, you can always expect a certain level of quality in their work. Sakgua is not a rarity. Though my favorite part of the art and animation would be the way Leo's eyes look. Mostly because the blue-glow and mechanized look are pretty much perfectly combined and the colors all contrast perfectlyto make the eyes pop and draw attention (a perfect explanation as to why Leo where's goggles).
Sound: The music is definitely brilliant. One of my favorite OSTs ever. The jazzy music for the more fun scenes and some more emotional pieces. It does a good job of filling the silence. The OP is amazing, as is the ED. Both dubs are really good and most every character is perfectly cast. Leo's English voice actor has a slightly shaky start (Aron Dismuke: Alphonse Elric (Original FMA), Lucifer/Urushihara (The Devil is a Part-Timer)) but after an episode or two he really gets the hang of his role. Zapp's ENG voice is HILARIOUS and J Michael Tatum does a great job as Stephen. Plus, we have Micah Solusod (Yukine (Noragami), Soul (Soul Eater), Gakushu Asano (Assassination Classroom)) playing the main villain.
Story: The story can be confusing at times. And sometimes it's just like... what? Though, when it's allowed to shine, it can be incredibly interesting. The story is fun when its not confusing. And the whole concept itself is interesting. And I'm kinda a sucker for stories that take place in NYC.
Characters: The characters are pretty great. Leo reigns as king. And they all have pretty great chemistry together. They play off each other well and their interactions all seem natural and like this is all a completely normal occurrence. I give this category an 8 as opposed to a nine mostly because Gilbert (who has a moderate sized role in the manga) has almost zero screen time as well as Zed, who isn't unlikable, he just wasn't really in the show for long enough for me to really get attached to him. Also, Brody and Hummer is an extremely compelling character(s) and he/they doesn't really get much focus.
Though, I give this category an eight as opposed to a lower score is because of the way Libra functions after Leo joins. One of my favorite dynamics in the series is that between him and the rest of his teammates/friends. This is mainly because Leo is a wimp. He's physically weak, he's small, he's shrimpy, and he looks like a little kid (being told that he looks to young to be hanging out in an underground fighting ring). Because of this, he is unable to really defend himself or get in fights. Because of this he has to rely on his teammates to protect him and save him when he gets himself kidnapped (like, four times in 12 episodes, seriously). Despite this, his teammates also rely on him to find vampires and their names for them so they even stand a chance of defeating them because of his magic eyes. This mutual dependency is what makes Leo's presence in Libra both explained and hilarious when he get caught in insane fights between his teammates and other monsters.
Final: This show is SO MUCH FUN. And I definitely recommend checking it out. You'll probably have fun!