“Trinity Blood” is one of the more recent series of Japanese anime that details the relationships between humans and vampires. The setting of Trinity Blood takes place in the far future. This time setting is about nine-hundred years into the future putting the time frame of the thirtieth century at least. Trinity Blood has a very interesting story behind the series as Earth is recovering from an apocalyptic war nine centuries prior to the current setting. It said that civilization was destroyed and humanity had finally reestablished itself.
In terms of dealing with vampires, Trinity Blood looks to be a futuristic version of “Hellsing” a popular Japanese anime title also dealing with vampires. It somewhat mirrors that of Hellsing because people could get turned into vampires and ghouls by the simple implantation of a special chip. In the case of Trinity Blood, the technology that created vampires known as the Methuselah are created as a result of nano-machine technology discovered on the planet Mars. Somehow, it looks to be reminiscent of the movie “Species II” where the alien DNA used to create Sil was found on Mars. But, Trinity Blood wasn’t cheesy like Species II.
Two races of beings were created: Crusniks and the Methuselah. The colonists returned to Earth and the war broke out. The main character is named Abel Nightroad who is a Crusnik. While the Methuselah feed on the blood of humans, the Crusniks feed on the blood of vampires. This tends to serve as some sort of balance to keep the vampires in check. However there are only four Crusniks. There are many things in Trinity Blood that are similar in Hellsing.
In the far future, there are several major powers: The Vatican Church, the New Human aka Methuselah Empire, the Rosenkreuz Orden (Rose Cross), and the Kingdom of Albion. The Rose Cross serves as the antagonistic group of the series. The Vatican serves as the hero force of the anime. There is something that mirrors that of Hellsing as the Vatican serves as a major military force in combating vampires. The Vatican are major military powers in both Trinity Blood and Hellsing. On the contrast, the Vatican Church serves as the main antagonistic groups in Hellsing.
It’s understandable that the Vatican is a major military power in Trinity Blood since the setting takes place from Italy to Eastern Europe where Catholicism runs very strong. This is indeed a very interesting touch as the Vatican is still existent that far into the future. The feel is a good mix of old school and new school where the buildings look to be from the seventeenth to nineteenth centuries at the same time people use high tech weaponry and vehicles. The Vatican even has its own large aerial battleship.
The main character of the series is Father Abel Nightroad who is a Crusnik. He serves as an agent of the Vatican’s AX special division. The AX is similar to the Iscariot division in Hellsing where elite priests and nuns do the fighting. Abel Nightroad is to Trinity Blood as Alexander Anderson is to Hellsing. But the two of them contrast from each others. Abel doesn’t like to resort to violence and Alexander likes to go knife happy. The two of them do have regenerative powers. Abel is very much kind and gentle while having a clumsy nature. He can transform into his Crusnik form when fighting vampires.
He is assisted by: Esther Blanchett, Noelle Bor, Hugue de Watteau aka Sword Dancer, Kate Scott aka Iron Maiden, Tres Iqus aka Gunslinger, Vaclav Havel aka Know Faith, William Walter Wordsworth aka Professor, and Leon Garcia de Asturias aka Dandelion. Each of these members have their own special abilities for combat. The AX is very diverse.
Noelle has the power to read minds.
Sword Dancer is skilled in swords and different blades.
Iron Maiden has the powers of astral projection. She tends to manifest herself as a holographic image.
Tres is an emotionless battle android is programmed like the Terminator. He executes orders with sheer efficiency and ruthlessness while wielding two handguns.
Havel has the ability of optical camouflage and flight.
Wordsworth comes up with the inventions.
Leon uses his ability of fighting with disks and a bazooka. He’s forced to fight for the Vatican due to serving a one-thousand year long sentence for the murders of his wife and several clergymen. Leon is the only professional soldier in the AX.
Trinity Blood is a very refreshing take on vampires. If you enjoyed watching Hellsing and Hellsing Ultimate, you may enjoy watching Trinity Blood. This is by far one of the best vampire anime series I have ever seen. Trinity Blood lasts for twenty four episodes. A manga and novel of Trinity Blood are also present. This series appears on Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim ever few months.
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