Customer Reviews

Tokyo Revelation [VHS]

5 star:		(0)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Firstly, do not be dissuaded from buying Tokyo Revelation by the cover US manga chose to use!! It's a very good movie, despite that hideous picture.

Now that I got that off of my chest...

Tokyo Revelation does have 'satanic' content and gore, but it also has a relatively low death count and an unexpected (and highly unpubliczed) love story being played out. The animation is sharp, detailed and visually stimulating; the action and suspense live up to its title genre of occult horror/mystery.

A computer program, on a plane bound for Tokyo, triggers the release of a swarm of invisible demons. There are no survivors of its fiery crash, save a handsome young man (Akito Kobayashi) who is the creator of program, and an 'ally' to hell.

Akito once had a very close friend, a boy named Kojiro Sohma. After years of separation, Akito enrolls in the same school that Kojiro attends; Akito has changed from a shy, lonely boy into a charismatic and mysterious teenager. Kojiro notices the changes, and through some exciting events he sees what Akito has become: a tool that the dark forces will use to absorb the living essence of every human soul.

But Akito's allegiance is being swayed, despite his best efforts to stay focused. There is someone very special in this world he deeply loves, and that provides plenty of angst along with the general demonic blood and guts gore.

All of this is sounding a bit formulaic, eh?

That's because /this/ is what US Manga would like you to know, so as not to scare prospective (male) consumers away.

The real appeal of TR isn't in the action (which is gruesome) or the animation (which is stellar), but in the noticeably shoujo character interaction. I will only say that Akito's feelings for Kojiro are not as friendly as the US distributers wrote it off as (for God's sake, get the subtitled version and catch all the not-to-subtle subtext they edited out). There is a very misunderstood and underepresented love/attraction present, and if you keep an open mind you will really enjoy it.

I highly reccomend it ^_^

The majority of anime fans tend to be the most uncritical consumers i've ever encountered. "Tokyo Revelation" is horrible: its characters have no depth, its plot is mediocre and predictable, and its animation is horrendous. If this was adapted into a live-action movie even Hollywood wouldn't release it... If it was written into a novel it would probably never see print... and if it did no literary critic worth her salt would consider the story to be worth any literary acclaim.
the dialogue is written by either a team of overworked monkeys or semi-literate manga fans who think a good storyline involves some lesbian erotica, demons, and scantily clad female characters who speak in one-liners.
why, for the love of god, do many anime and manga fans like this kind of garbage? have they never read a decent story in their lives? have they never watched a good film?

I remained entetained throughout the entire movie. The characters were well developed. It was one of those movies that you want to keep going. Unfortunately, they cut this one entirely too short. The end comes at what seems to be the climax. I hope there is a sequel that ends the story more completely :-).

Two stars for the odd humor contained in this movie, and zero stars for the plot that tries to be overly impressive, but ends up being confusing and not that interesting to me at all...everybody has something they dislike...this one right here. =(