The thing you need to know about ancient Greek mythology is that it’s very hard to adapt into a live action series, or film. Tarsem Singh’s Immortals from 2011 attempted to tell the Greek myth of Theseus and the Minotaur but was less than well received. And to adapt Greek mythology for TV, you’d need a Game of Thrones style budget and an adult warning. Especially when Zeus is concerned. Because how else are you gonna tell the story of a god whose sexual appetite has him doing the nasty with everyone and everything, regardless of relationship, gender, or even species.
The reason I bring this up is because Blood of Zeus is first and foremost an animated series. Secondly, it isn’t about Zeus, but rather one of his offsprings, Heron. And although it is less rape-y, it is very bloody. And a little gory. And if you enjoyed Tarsem Singh’s Immortals then you’re in luck because Blood of Zeus is written and created by the same writers, Charley and Vlas Parlapanides.
Blood of Zeus tells the story of Heron and his quest to save heaven and earth from demons. You know, like any other ancient Greek myth.
While Blood Of Zeus won’t go down as an anime classic, the eight episode series moves along at a pace – with no preamble, and no set up. The series opens with two demons being chased into a small village where our hero, Heron, gets stuck right in. Zeus then appears and fucks shit up. Then, later in the series, Zeus’ wife, Hera shows up, and fucks shit up even more, because (spoiler alert), Zeus had fucked up with a queen. So Blood Of Zeus really moves.
What the series did do for me was make me go away and look up Greek mythology, a topic I haven’t thought about since the Age of Mythology video game back in the early 2000s. As someone who doesn’t watch anime, Blood of Zeus kept my attention. In the past I’ve found myself annoyed at the anime style of animation, with the exaggerated expressions and over-the-top reactions. Which Blood of Zeus doesn’t do. The horny depictions of sculpted gods and sexual goddesses, however, is probably less about the style and more about the fact that Greek mythology tends to lean very horny anyway.
All in all, Blood of Zeus is an okay watch, but with its slightly more adult themes (Zeus having sexual relations outside his marriage), blood and gore, this is definitely for the older teen. Blood of Zeus is a great conversation starter with kids about history, and mythology, and all those crazy stories of the past. And if you’re looking for more, the Mythology podcast from the Parcast Network of podcasts is a great place to start, but again, as with all Greek mythology, adult content abound.
Blood of Zeus
Netflix, 1 season, 8 episodes
Director: Shaunt Nigoghossian
Writers: Charley Parlapanides and Vlas Parlapanides
Cast: Derek Phillips, Jason O’Mara, Claudia Christian, Elias Toufexis, Chris Diamantopoulos, Jessica Henwick, Melina Kanakarades, Matthew Mercer, Adetokumboh M’Cormack, and Adam Croasdell
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