Trinity Blood: Volume 1

By Leroy Douresseaux
December 9, 2006 - 16:14

Trinity Blood began its life as a series of science fiction novels by author Sunao Yoshida (who died at the age of 34 before he finished the series). From character designs by Thores Shibamoto, Kiyo Kyujo created Trinity Blood the Manga (and GONZO adapted the Manga into the 24-episode Trinity Blood Anime series). However, all three versions take the same concept and characters and use them with variations on the central theme of a war between the Vatican and vampires.

As in its other iterations, Trinity Blood begins after Armageddon during the Second Moon, which watches over a perpetual war between vampires and humans. The human power is the Vatican, and it sends Father Abel Nightroad, a priest with a monstrous secret, to the city of Istavan. On the surface, Nightroad is to serve at the church, St Mathias, but his real job is to battle Istavan's local vampire power, Lord Gyula Kadar.

After Lord Gyula destroys St. Mathias, Nightroad comes to the aid of Esther, a young nun from the church. Together, Nightroad and Esther enter the den of this vampire lion only to discover that Gyula has an even more horrifying secret terror to unleash in revenge upon humanity.

I enjoyed the story of Trinity Blood better as Anime than I did as Manga. The sci-fi, gothic action series with a streak of horror running through it works so well in motion. That said: the Manga is gothic-action and horror as beautiful comix. Manga-ka Kiyo Kyujo's drawing hands seems to be possessed by Jackson Pollock, Bill Sienkiewicz, and Chris Bachalo. The subtle shadings and rich darks are a sweet marriage of ink wash and water colors, and there's a surprise on every page.

The narrative moves quickly on a current of pretty art, but the drawings aren't so pretty that Kyujo cannot convey character. Villains are evil and coldly calculating, and heroes are noble. Still, the subtleties and contradictions of the lead characters come through.

7/10

Last Updated: August 31, 2023 - 08:12

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