Julien Neaves, Editor
When I was but a lad I discovered the book Men and Gods, an anthology about Greek mythology. And it was the I fell in love with these wondrous tales of heroes, gods and monsters. So when I saw Netflix had a new animated series set in this fantastical world I did not need much convincing to watch it. Here’s my review with some mild spoilers:
Blood of Zeus tells the story of Heron, a young man who discovers he is the son of lightning god Zeus and has to battle an army of demons and monsters. Now the show creators could have chosen to adapt the tale of an actual Greek hero like Hercules or Perseus but they decided to create an original hero (in the story it is explained as an “untold tale.”) And this choice has the advantage of not rehashing a well-known story.
On the positive side the animation is well done and the anime inspiration is easy to see, just like fellow Netflix adult animated series Castlevania. And this series, like Castlevania, is chock full of blood and gore, something which I do enjoy seeing. What? Don’t judge me. The action sequences are well done as well, mixing sword play with divine powers, and shot with a quickness of movement you often see in anime fare.
In terms of characters I thought noble Zeus (voiced by genre actor Jason O’Mara), sexy and scheming goddess Hera (voiced by Claudia Christian of Babylon 5 fame) and demon lord Seraphim (voiced by Greek Canadian actor Elias Toufexis) were the highlights.
On the negative side Heron (voiced by Derek Phillips of Friday Night Lights) is such a bland protagonist. He’s like a mayonnaise sandwich on white bread bland. Even when he gets mad I just don’t buy it. Amazonian warrior Alexia (voiced by the gorgeous Jessica Henwick of Game of Thrones and Iron Fist) is a much better character, but unfortunately she does not get that much to do.
In terms of story it is very predictable and play by numbers. It’s not bad, but it doesn’t break any anime/fantasy mould. So all in all I liked Blood of Zeus but I didn’t love it like I did Castlevania. The anime-inspired Greek mythological adventure was renewed for a second season, so we’ll see if the overall quality improves in its sophomore outing.
Julien’s Score: 6.5 out of 10
For an actual anime series you can check out my review of Demon Slayer: Kimetsu No Yaiba Season 1 here.
Julien “Jules” Neaves is a TARDIS-flying, Force-using Trekkie whose bedroom stories were by Freddy Krueger, learned to be a superhero from Marvel, but dreams of being Batman. I love promoting Caribbean film (Cariwood), creating board games and I am an aspiring author. I say things like “12 flavours of awesome sauce”.
I can also be found posting on Instagram as redmanwriter and talking about TV and movie stuff on Facebook at Movieville.