Blood Blockade Battlefront (Japanese: ????, Hepburn: Kekkai Sensen, lit., "Bloodline Battlefront") is a Japanese sh?nen manga by Yasuhiro Nightow. It has been published bimonthly in the magazine Jump SQ.19 from February to April 2009 and moved to Jump Square upon the former's ending. The plot revolves around a young photographer named Leonardo Watch, who obtains 'the All Seeing Eyes of the Gods' at the cost of his sister's eyesight. After the incident, Leonardo moves to the city of Hellsalem's Lot to join an organization known as Libra to fight several monsters as well as terrorists. The manga has been published in the United States by Dark Horse Comics.
An anime adaptation by Bones premiered in early 2015, Funimation licensed the series for streaming in North America. Both the manga and anime were well received by publications due to its story and characters. A second season aired from October to December 2017.
Video Blood Blockade Battlefront
Plot
Blood Blockade Battlefront centers around the crime fighting organization "Libra" and their battles in Hellsalem's Lot, formerly known as New York City. Hellsalem's Lot was created when a portal to the "Beyond" opened, becoming a paranormal melting pot of monsters, magic and the everyday mundane life, and it is up to Libra to clear the streets of trouble and prevent the horrors of this city from spreading to the outside world.
Maps Blood Blockade Battlefront
Characters
Libra
- Leonardo Watch (??????????, Reonarudo Wotchi)
- Voiced by: Ry?ta ?saka (Vomic) Daisuke Sakaguchi (Japanese); Aaron Dismuke (English)
- A kind and humble young photographer who came to Hellsalem's Lot to help his ailing sister. A mysterious entity gave him the "All Seeing Eyes of the Gods", granting him a variety of powerful ocular powers, at the cost of his sister's sight. His eyes have their limits; when overused, they have a tendency to "shatter", causing his eyes to bleed. He tends to be bullied by Zapp and his lack of fighting skills usually puts him in danger, especially against those who covet his power.
- Klaus Von Reinherz (?????
V ???????, Kurausu Fon Rainherutsu) - Voiced by: Tarusuke Shingaki (Vomic) Rikiya Koyama (Japanese); Phil Parsons (English)
- Leader of Libra. A large, very powerful man with a distinctive underbite, he is actually very well composed and gentlemanly and honest to a fault, with an unshakable will. Master of the Brain Grid Blood Battle Technique (???????????, Buren Gur?do Ry?ketojutsu), which he can use to create large cross-shaped weaponry and seal away enemies. Klaus is also very intelligent, being able to play "Prosfair", a three-dimensional chess-like game so complex and bizarre that it is known to drive humans mad (Klaus himself begins to bleed internally after playing the game for four consecutive days without rest) and is usually reserved only for one distinct species in Hellsalem's Lot that has studied it for a thousand years. His ultimate technique allows him to imprison the Blood Breeds, as they can not be killed due to their immortal nature, but to do so, he must learn the enemy's true name, thus requiring Leo using his powers to reveal it.
- Zapp Renfro (????????, Zappu Renfuro)
- Voiced by: Yoshimasa Hosoya (Vomic) Kazuya Nakai (Japanese); Ian Sinclair (English)
- A hot-blooded, womanizing Libra member and master of the Big Dipper blood-fighting style's Kagutsuchi branch, which allows him to manipulate his blood into blades and explosions. He is very well trained, being able to keep up with beings much faster than what the human eye can normally follow. His juvenile actions often get him and the rest of Libra into trouble. He is Leonardo's partner and despite his usual attitude, he cares about him in some way. He is always trying to defeat Klaus in a battle but is always the one to lose.
- Chain Sumeragi (?????
? , Chein Sumeragi) - Voiced by: Seiko Yoshida (Vomic) Y? Kobayashi (Japanese); Trina Nishimura (English)
- A suit-clad werewolf with the power of invisibility and collaborator from the Loups-Garous from Nowhere (
???????? , R?-Gar?zu furomu N?uea) organization. She can move at high speeds (being able to keep up with Zapp's chain of explosions from one end of the real world to deep into the alter-world) and does a large portion of Libra's reconnaissance work. Her personality is sadistic, often causing physical harm to others or showing indifference to those in peril (mainly to Zapp for his womanizing tendencies). However, she is shown to be somewhat caring of her teammates at certain points in the series, mostly evidenced towards Leo. Her power is erasing her presence, which needs a link (a chain) to connect her to the world in order to counter the effect of her ability or she will cease to exist. - Steven A. Starphase (???????A????????, Sut?bun ? Sut?feizu)
- Voiced by: Kenji Hamada (Vomic) Mitsuru Miyamoto (Japanese); J. Michael Tatum (English)
- Libra's second-in-command. A shady man with many connections. Master of the Esmerelda Blood Freeze, a kick-based fighting style that freezes enemies on contact. He is a gentleman, like Klaus.
- K.K.
- Voiced by: Ai Orikasa (Japanese); Stephanie Young (English)
- A lively and confident Libra member who sports an eye patch, who can be very impatient at times, but also motherly. She is very devoted to her husband and two young sons and fights with high-power guns that electrocute enemies.
- Deldro Brody & Dog Hummer (?????????? & ??????, Derudoro Bur?di & Dogu Ham?)
- Voiced by: Keiji Fujiwara & Mamoru Miyano (Japanese); Mike McFarland & Orion Pitts (English)
- Two men in one body. Dog Hummer is a handsome man who had his blood replaced with the liquefied body of the serial killer and "bad boy" Deldro Brody. Brody can materialize as a gigantic living armor that surrounds Hummer, granting him immense physical strength. The two are often kept sealed away in the deepest part of Hellsalem's Lot's largest prison but are sometimes called up to aid Libra in dire situations, due to their raw power. Based on Carnage.
- Zed O'Brien (???????????, Tseddo Oburaien)
- Voiced by: Hikaru Midorikawa (Japanese); Alex Organ (Season 1), Chris Wekhamp (Season 2) (English)
- A stern merman with similar powers to Zapp, as they were both taught by the same master. However, Zed's ability is wind-based, unlike Zapp, who is fire-based. Joins Libra after being abandoned by his master in Hellsalem's Lot. Zed is trained to use the Shinatobe branch of the Big Dipper blood-fighting style, which generates Tridents and threads from his blood. Based on Abe Sapien.
- Gilbert F. Altstein (??????F?????????, Giruberuto Efu Arutoshutain)
- Voiced by: Shinya Fukumatsu (Vomic) Banj? Ginga (Japanese); Francis Henry (English)
- Klaus' butler and member of Libra. His face is covered with bandages, making him appear similar to a mummy. He is known for being a famous combat butler, and has regenerative powers. He drives a custom vehicle with many weapons, and is very fierce despite his even demeanor. Handles most of Libra's intelligence work.
- Blitz T. Abrams (?????T???????, Burittsu T? Eiburamusu)
- Voiced by: Akio ?tsuka (Japanese); Mark Stoddard (English)
- Klaus' former mentor and world-famous vampire hunter. His nickname Lucky Abrams (?????????, G?un no Eiburamusu) is the result of the many curses placed on him by his vampire enemies that he has made over the years. Whether it's due to his luck or the curses counteracting each other, Abrams has never actually been harmed from it. However, countless people have fallen victim to the curse in his stead which has left him to be rightly feared by some of his colleagues at Libra.
- Patrick (?????, Patorikku)
- Voiced by: Unsh? Ishizuka (Japanese); Major Attaway (Season 1), Ray Hurd (Season 2) (English)
- Libra's arms craftsman, dealer and occasional combatant.
- Neyka (???, N?ka)
- Voiced by: Reina Ueda (Japanese); Alexis Tipton (English)
- Patrick's ponytailed assistant, very skilled and also gluttonous, having spent an entire Libra office party just eating food.
- Sonic Speed Monkey (???, Onsokuzaru)
- Voiced by: Y?ma Uchida (Japanese); Monica Rial (English)
- A monkey that's capable of moving at the speed of sound, also known simply as Sonic. It steals Leonardo's camera, but eventually becomes his pet after Leo saves him.
Others
- Femt (????, Femuto)
- Voiced by: Akira Ishida (Japanese); Josh Grelle (English)
- The self-proclaimed King of Depravity (???, Daraku-?), ruler of Hellsalem's lot, and the ringleader of a powerful crime syndicate operating in the city known as the Thirteen Kings. Known for his sadistic personality and tendency to stir havoc in Hellsalem's lot merely for the sake of excitement. To this end, he's always willing to give his enemies a chance to win (though he'll often throw temper tantrums when they do).
- Aligura (?????, Arigyura)
- Voiced by: Satomi K?rogi (Japanese); Tia Ballard (English)
- The Queen of Monomania (???, Hensh?-?). She is the one who fused Dog and Deldro in order to create her "ideal boyfriend" with the power and ruthlessness of the latter and the handsomeness of the former. As her title of monomania implies, when Aligura finds something she wants, she'll devote everything she has to get it without any regard for whatever may stand in her way.
- Theodora (????, Zeodora)
- The Queen of Hypersensitivity (???, Kabin-?), considered the hardest of the Thirteen Kings to handle. Theodora is said to reside in the deepest part of Hellsalem's Lot. She possesses such a sensitive nervous system that it is able to detect almost all activity in the city. Through contracts, she is also capable of improving the nervous systems of others to a similar level provided they can handle the stress of it.
- Michella Watch (??????????, Mish?ra Wotchi)
- Voiced by: Nana Mizuki (Japanese); Sarah Wiedenheft (English)
- Leonardo's little sister whose sight was stolen by a demon who forcibly implanted the "All Seeing Eyes" on her brother. The events of the series are narrated to her by Leonardo.
- Vivian (????, Bibian)
- Voiced by: Miyuki Sawashiro (Japanese); Lindsay Seidel (English)
- A girl working at a diner that Leonardo usually frequents. She cares about him quite a bit, comforting him with food or drink when he needs it.
- Master (????, Masut?)
- Voiced by: Riki Kagami
- Master of the diner.
- Don Arlelelle Eruca Fulgrouche (???????????????????, Don Arurueru Eruka Furugurushu)
- Voiced by: Sh?z? Iizuka (Japanese); Kenny Green (English)
- Powerful mob boss of the alterworld, and huge fan of Prosfair. Being made out of various brains, and with the ability to bend space and time, Arlelelle's skill on Prosfair is insurmountably high. Because of this, he does favors to humans who win Prosfair endurance matches against him; losers give the "remainder of their lives" to him, their minds incorporated into Arlelelle's brains so as to continue playing the game against him until life's end. Klaus is a friend of Arlelelle's, having endured 5 matches against him, and thus Arlelelle is much more lenient and accepting of Klaus' requests.
- Amagranoff Luozontam Ouv Lee Neji (??????????????????????, Amaguranafu Rozontamu ?vu Ri Neji)
- Voiced by: Ikue ?tani (Japanese); Alison Viktorin (English)
- Nicknamed "Neji", a beyondian with a huge affinity for hamburgers from the segregated franchise Jack & Rocket's (a take on Johnny Rockets). He has physical characteristics similar to a mushroom, and releases memory-erasing spores when put through heavy stress. The power of the spores is evident: he does not remember his mother and neither does his mother remember him. Leonardo bought hamburgers for Neji, and the two became friends; however, after certain events happened in the series with people trying to sell Neji's spores as weapons, Neji releases spores that are too powerful, and thus he and Leonardo must restart their friendship, as they have forgotten each other.
"Neji" means "screw" in Japanese. So he was designed as short plus screw shape.
- Raju Jugei Shizuyoshi (???????, Raj? J?g? Shizuyoshi)
- Voiced by: Hidekatsu Shibata (Japanese); Robert Bruce Elliott (English)
- A legendary blood fighter, considered a "Blood Battle God" (???, Kett?shin), founder of the Big Dipper style blood technique and the master of Zapp & Zed. It is not known if he is alien or human, as he lost most of his body during blood training, being only an arm and a barely visible face under a tattered robe & a wild boar skull. With a biting personality and brutal discipline of training, he and Zapp stood on acrimonious terms. Known for disappearing for decades at a time and taking down high-ranked Blood Breeds, he comes to Hellsalem's Lot while fighting the Blood Breed Herlelle Lucando Lozo Thietkaua gi Murmhavat, along the way rigorously testing Zapp and leaving Zed at the hands of Libra, before a sudden disappearance.
- Lieutenant Daniel Low (??????????, Danieru R? Keibuho)
- Voiced by: Y?ya Uchida (Japanese); Justin Cook (English)
- Police officer who requests cooperation from Libra on risky situations in exchange for not arresting the organization.
- Angelica (??????, Anjerika)
- Voiced by: Rina Kitagawa (Japanese); Jamie Marchi (English)
- Code name used by the secretary of the League of High Order Spirituals. She can use her powers to teleport. Zapp develops feelings for her when he first meets her at a KDFC restaurant.
- Elder (??, Ch?r?)
- Voiced by: Ikuya Sawaki (Japanese); Duncan Brannan (English)
- Code name used by the general manager of the NY branch of the League of High Order Spirituals. He acts as a fixer for the league, and also works as a hospital doctor. He is a mastermind of bai sema. In the anime, he asks for Libra's help in tracing the whereabouts of Black and White.
- White (????, Howaito)
- Voiced by: Rie Kugimiya (Japanese); Megan Emerick (English)
- An original anime character. A mysterious and beautiful girl that appears before Leo and becomes friends with her. She is, in reality, not a human, but a sentient barrier, one of the many (not sentient ones) holding back the Great Collapse from happening. The reason for her still being on the Earth is by her parents' sacrifice to make her part of the barriers. At the end of the first season, she sacrifices herself to completely reseal the Great Collapse again, as the rest had been destroyed by her brother. Her brother aids her in this feat, being repentant of his actions. Her real name is Mary Macbeth (?????????, Mear? Makubesu).
- Black (????, Burakku)
- Voiced by: Rie Kugimiya (Japanese); Micah Solusod (English)
- An original anime character. White's older twin brother who shares his body with the King of Despair (???, Zetsub?-?), one of the Thirteen Kings who has an interest in Leo. Black had taken up the mantle of a blood breed host in order to save his sister. His Blood Breed also tries to cause the Great Collapse a second time but at the end he rebels against his Blood Breed and accepts his sister's wish to sacrifice herself in order to save the world, and helps her with it. His real name is William Macbeth (??????????, Uiriamu Makubesu).
- Benjamin Macbeth (???????????, Benjamin Makubesu) and Emma Macbeth (???????, Ema Makubesu)
- Voiced by: Hidenobu Kiuchi and Yukana (Japanese); Chris Hury and Jessica Cavanagh (English)
- Original anime characters. The deceased parents of William and Mary, both of them came from families of pureblood psychic casters and were investigators for the League of High Order Spirituals. Benjamin and Emma also worked, respectively, on a whiskey factory and as a housewife, and both were shepherds. The family's story is based on the play of the same name.
Media
Manga
The manga was originally released in 2008 as a one-shot chapter called Kekkai Sens?, which only featured very few members of the final cast and had a much different tone, focusing more emphasis on it being a vampire hunting story in a contemporary city. The publication originally began on January 5, 2009 in the Jump Square magazine with the title Kekkai Sensen - Maf?gai Kessha (???? -?????-) where it ran until March 4, 2009, followed by another one-shot in October 2009 in Jump SQ.M magazine. In May 2010 the manga switched to Jump SQ.19 magazine for serial publication. Jump SQ.19 magazine ceased publication on February 19, 2015, and serialization resumed in July 2015 in the new switched back to Jump SQ Crown magazine.
The first tank?bon volume was released on January 4, 2010; ten volumes have been released as of April 3, 2015. The series was licensed for an English release by Dark Horse Comics.
Volumes
Anime
The manga was adapted into an anime television series produced by studio Bones and directed by Rie Matsumoto as first announced in May 2014. Funimation Entertainment is licensing the series to stream on its official website. The anime adaptation premiered on April 4, 2015. The series was licensed by Madman Entertainment and AnimeLab for an English release. The final episode was originally scheduled for broadcast on July 4, but was delayed further due to exceeding the length of its normal 30 minute timeslot. It was eventually scheduled for October 4, 2015. A 25-minute original video animation titled "King of the Restaurant of Kings" was bundled with the official Blood Blockade Battlefront guidebook that was released on June 3, 2016. A second season began airing in October 7, 2017 to December 24, 2017, and it ran for 12 episodes.
Reception
Reception to the manga series of Blood Blockade Battlefront received generally good critical response. Dustin Cabeal from Comic Bastards said "The writing is strong and the dialogue is very sharp." He also praised Nightow's art calling it "unique." Additionally, he referred to it as "strange at first, but it's quickly become one of my favorite mangas [sic] of all time." Brigid Alverson from MTV Geek criticized the artwork for being hard to follow and stated "it boils down to a matter of taste. Blood Blockade Battleground is a good choice for readers who like a lot of action and don't mind being dropped into the middle of the story, without a lot of setup." On the other hand, The Fandom Post's John Rose praised the artwork more specifically the monsters' designs. He highly recommended it to Trigun's readers as well as superhero comic reader, sci-fi hero and Futurama fans. Several of the volumes have also appeared in rankings for bestselling manga.
The anime adaptation of the series has received critical acclaim by reviewers. Jacob Hope Chapman from Anime News Network praised the cast and studio Bones' work. Additionally, he liked the consistency in quality and commented "The contiguous threads laced through these episodic adventures are beginning to converge fast, and while I can't see the full picture yet, I know Rie Matsumoto is building the anime-original material of Leo's romance into something special. The animation continues to be jaw-dropping. The music continues to be soul-warming. There's never enough time in one writeup to talk about everything that makes the episode so damn good. Blood Blockade Battlefront continues to be The Very Best." Jarius Taylor from the Fandom Post called it "both ridiculously cool and ridiculously weird" and praised the cast like Chapman. In a later review he said "It's still not entirely clear what this show is going for yet but for now it's a good ride and I have more than enough faith in the people behind it to believe the destination will be worthwhile." Rachael Verret, a writer from The Mary Sue, gave the series a perfect score having pointed out its "energy and joviality" seen through the cast and the ending sequences which reminded her of another series, Baccano!. Similarly, Chapman wrote an article titled "Three Reasons Why Blood Blockade Battlefront is the Best Show of the Spring" commenting "It's the coolest, cutest, and cleverest anime I've seen in a long time, easily the best new show of the Spring 2015."
The first DVD of the series sold 4,784 units during its debut. Meanwhile, the first Blu-ray sold 12,171 units in its first week of release. For the Newtype preliminary awards for 2015, the series was sixth in the category "Sound" while fourth in the category "Theme Song" for "Sugar Song to Bitter Step." In the category "Best Mascot", Sonic ranked first. In another poll by the Japanese magazine Entermix, the series was voted as the second one most popular one.
References
External links
- Official anime website (in Japanese)
- Blood Blockade Battlefront at Dark Horse Comics' official website
- Blood Blockade Battlefront (manga) at Anime News Network's encyclopedia
Source of article : Wikipedia
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