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9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Great animation, but..., March 10, 2002
I fell for the oldest meanest trick in the book when i ran into this title at the video store - the DVD cover is beautiful, and the movie summary makes the movie sounds reasonably interesting. But unfortunately, the cover seems to be the best thing about the movie. While the animation and the soundtrack were great, and plot had a lot of potential, it seems that the creators of this movie didn't really bother to develop the story into the great movie that it could have been. The story is somewhat scrambled, the characters are developed badly (if at all), with the bulk of information about the main character being provided somewhere in the final battle. That is - somewhere in the last 7 minutes of this (short) movie. In short - if you feel a burning urge to watch anime, and this is the last title on the shelf at the video store, I'd still recommend that you think twice before renting this. And if you do rent it, do yourself a favor and watch the Japanese dub, at least this way you'll get to experience the cool soundtrack in its full glory.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good if you give it time, February 27, 2003
This is really an anime that grows on you. The first time most people watch it they have no idea what's going on. I have shown it to at least 20 friends, and I have had to explain the story too every one of them. None of them even had a clue. Many people say that this is because there is almost no storytelling to speak of, and that nothing is explained. This is not true. There is in fact an extremely involved and layered storyline that works on multiple levels if you just take the time to understand them. It just takes a few viewings. The film is a very stylistic piece, with heavy influence on music, sound effects, and off-the-wall angles and colors. Though this makes the film extremely confusing at first, once you understand the storyline it is it's greatest asset. The music and artwork flesh out this sci-fi horror freak show. The story is extremely layered as well. There's references to the creation of mankind; speculation on the future of pharmacutical companies, the sex industry, technology, and metropolization; the documentation of the evolution of demons, guardians, and humans and their interactions throughout time; and even love stories. Some people would say that the extreme gore and explicit sex are disgusting, but in fact these are crucial to making the film realistc and the establishment of this as a theoretical real future. The characters are original and interesting, and this anime contains my favorite monologue EVER! That's right, including any movie and play I've ever seen. I'm refering to the supreme demon's monologue at final scene. The contrast of the horrific physical form and the intellegent words is absolute genius. My only reasons for not giving it a perfect score are that it is rather brief for a feature (clocking in at just under 45 min), it's a little lacking in character developement, and the DVD itself it totally lame. There are virtually no extra features of any value whatsoever. But don't let that deter you from purchasing it, because overall this is a great anime that is hard to appreciate, but once it has been it is quite an achievement and definitely worth picking up.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Abrupt, Compact, and Dark, November 9, 2001
Like a splash of water waking one from a nightmare, this is an abrupt, compact, and dark anime. A heroine with prosthetic body parts, having been eaten/deformed by her fiance turned demon, seeks out the assistance of a cool, effete, but dangerous guardian to put her beloved down. Unaware of the larger plot involving the recreation of an age old über-monster, the two are distracted from their task by a pair of wind manipulating, incestuous siblings. Weighing in at only about an hour, this film moves along very quickly but never seems too forced or hurried. The characters remain mysteries throughout, with the Elric-albino-like hero barely registering on the personality meter. Emotive sadness is at least hinted at by the interaction between the fiance trapped in the demon body and his long suffering woman. The effects are appropriate for such a dark and dismal futuristic world, rain and terror abounds, especially as the demon is `fed' by the proprietor of a high class sex club. The end sees the inevitable confrontation, and amusingly the über-monster rattles off the major parts of the play up to that point before attempting to deflect its fate. In an instant, perhaps too quickly, the deed is done and the credits roll. Recommended.
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