About
Trinity Blood ( トリニティ・ブラッド Toriniti Buraddo ) is a series of Japanese light novels written by Sunao Yoshida with illustrations by Thores Shibamoto and originally serialized in The Sneaker, freely inspired by a historical personality, Caterina Sforza. Set 900 years after an apocalyptic war between humans and vampires, the series focuses on the on-going cold war between the Vatican, the human government, and the Empire, the government of the Methuselah. Fighting on the Vatican's side is Abel Nightroad, a Crusnik–a vampire that feeds on vampires. A blend of sci-fi, fantasy, and political intrigue, as some in the Vatican and the Empire strive for peace, the Rosen Kreuz Order will do anything to stop it.
Trinity Blood has been adapted into both manga and anime series, with continuity differences between the three versions. After Yoshida's death on July 15, 2004, Kentaro Yasui, his friend and the author of Ragnarok novels, stepped in to complete the remaining novels. Yasui also aided in completing the manga, with illustrations by Kiyo Kujō. The anime series, spanning 24 episodes, was produced by Gonzo and originally aired on WOWOW network.
Plot
When Earth's population drastically increased, humanity, led by the United Nations, attempted to colonize Mars. During the colonization, they discovered two alien technologies: the Bacillus and the Crusnik nanomachines. The colonists installed the Bacillus in their bodies which transformed them into Methuselahs. They installed the Crusnik in the bodies of four test tube babies: Seth, Cain, Abel and Lilith whose enhanced bodies were the only ones able to survive the procedure.
Continuing wars on Earth eventually led to "Armageddon," the apocalyptic event that happened 900 years before the start of the story, and the colonists returned to Earth to help with rebuilding. However, when the colonists returned to Earth, a war broke out between the Methuselahs and the humans who had remained on earth. Abel, Cain, and Seth took the Methuselah's side—while Lilith supported the Vatican, which guarded humanity. During the war, Cain went insane and killed Lilith. In grief, Abel took her body to the Vatican where she was buried. Abel remained at her side, weeping for her, for 900 years.
At the start of the story, the vampiric Methuselahs, still a major political and military force, continue to wage war on the "Terrans," as they call regular humans. The Roman Catholic Church is a major military power determined to protect humans from the Methuselahs, with its seat of power based in the Vatican. The Methuselahs have their capital in Byzantium, which is surrounded by a field of particles to filter out UV radiation, protecting the Methuselah population.
Both groups use "lost technologies", such as airships, missiles, and computers, to engage in a cold war with one another. A third great power, Albion also plays a role in the war with its superior arsenal of lost technology and weapons and higher level of manufacturing ability versus the Vatican. The independent monarchy of Albion is a primarily human country, however the secret of their expertise in lost technology is found in the Ghetto, an underground city of enslaved Methuselah. It is these Methuselah who operate and manufacture the lost technology, but with the death of the Albion Queen, some of the enslaved vampires begin a rebellion for the freedom of all of the Ghetto residents.
Characters
Humans
The humans once attempted to colonize Mars after a massive population explosion. While on Mars, they discovered the Bacillus and Crusnik nanomachines. When the Bacillus nanomachines were embedded in humans, they were infected with a virus that changed them into vampires who had to feed on blood to survive. While this was happening on Mars, on Earth, continuing wars resulted in Armageddon, the apocalyptic war that nearly destroyed humanity. The vampires—who now call themselves Methuselahs—and the humans ended up in a war against each other when the Methuselah returned to Earth. 900 years later the surviving humans are still trying to recover from the war's devastating effects while trying to find ways to co-exist with the Methuselah despite the distrust and hatred still evident on both sides. The Vatican serves as the primary leader for the people in the on-going struggle for peace with the Methuselah, and in dealing with rogue factions from both sides that would like the war to continue. The Methuselah refer to humans as "Terrans", the Short-Lived Race.
Methuselah
The Methuselah, or "Long-Lived Race," are vampire-like creatures that feed on human blood and have supernatural strength. Their name is likely derived from the biblical figure Methuselah, who was reported to have lived 969 years. Methuselah have a prolonged lifespan, superior strength, and enhanced speed. They also have healing and regeneration abilities.
In addition to their athleticism and stamina, Methuselah also possess varying individual powers. Most frequently, this power manifests itself in the form of a blade that comes out of the arms, claws, or even as sharp, prehensile hair. Some Methuselah have displayed an ability to control some elemental powers such as fire and ice. All Methuselah are capable of going into "haste mode" in which they can achieve incredible levels of speed for short durations by stimulating their nervous systems. If used too long, they can become severely fatigued. In the anime adaptation, some Methuselah are shown to have the ability to fly.
Methuselah are created in two ways: from being born from Methuselah parents or from a human being infected with the Bacillus virus that causes the vampire-like conditions. Unlike vampires of myth, Trinity Blood's Methuselah can have children and they can eat and enjoy normal food. However, they must avoid sunlight, as it will cause the Bacillus to rapidly devour the Methuselah's body instead of just their red blood cells. Also, silver can cause them serious injury and death.
Crusniks
Crusniks are vampires who feed on the blood of other vampires. They possess immense power and destructive potential and are nearly invincible. Whereas the Methuselahs are either born or infected, the Crusniks are unique beings created as a result of an experiment during the Mars Colonization Project. The four Crusniks, Cain, Seth, Abel, and Lilith, were test tube babies created for the Mars Colonization Project by the UNASF with genetically enhanced bodies. They were infused with the Crusnik nanomachines that were found on Mars as their enhanced bodies were the only ones capable of surviving the procedure. The exact circumstances behind the infusions of Seth, Abel, and Lilith are unknown, while Cain's infusion was done by Seth to save his life after a fatal accident.
Crusniks possess unique attributes that separate them from Methuselahs. For instance, both Abel and Cain sport angelic wings and can fly quite easily. Crusniks can transmute their blood into weapons and often possess psychokinetic powers. Abel can generate powerful bio-electric fields while Cain can use psychokinetic waves to pulverize objects and enemies and to generate barriers. Seth can reduce people and objects to dust using sound waves.
In order to activate his Crusnik powers, Abel usually issues a verbal or mental command to the nanomachines in his body. The exact wording and method of activation varies amongst the novels, the manga, and anime, and between the original Japanese and the English translations. For example, in the anime he says "Nanomachines: Crusnik 02 - __% Activate" while in the manga he silently activates Crusnik mode and receives a confirmation from the nanomachines of "Crusnik 02 Loading. Limitation at __%... Acknowledged". In the anime, neither Cain nor Seth demonstrated a need to do this in order to activate their powers, and there are several times when Abel activates his powers without saying his usual command.
AX Members
AX, short for Arcanum Cella Ex Dono Dei (Latin for Papal State Affairs Special Operations Section), serves as the special division of the Ministry of Holy Affairs. The agents are all elite priests and nuns, trained in different arts of combat, many of whom have special abilities granted to them by lost technologies. The members of the AX unit serve under Cardinal Caterina Sforza, and are often referred to as deputy enforcers. They are often sent to investigate issues relating to or involving vampires. The AX agents consist of Abel Nightroad, Esther Blanchett, Tres Iqus, Kate Scott, Hugue de Watteau, Vaclav Havel, William Walter Wordsworth, Leon Garcia de Asturias, Noélle Bor, Monica Argento, and Kaya Syokka.
[ -- I will probably edit this more later on. ]
