Ranked #625

Kill Bill Chapter 3: The Origin of O-Ren

If you haven't seen Kill Bill Vol. 1, I suggest you do if you want to get all you can out of The Origin of O-Ren.

This animated short was incorporated in Quentin Tarantino's epic tale of revenge Kill Bill. The actual movies depicted a character known as the Bride seeking out those who had wronged her gravely in the past. One of those people was O-Ren Ishii, codename: Copperhead. Kill Bill Chapter 3: The Origin of O-Ren is an anime that gives us O-Ren's story.

Narrated by the vengeful Bride, O-Ren's past was given to the audience. She was born to military parents, half-Chinese, half-Japanese, tasting the sourness of tragedy at a very young age. Both her parents were murdered brutally by a yakuza boss. O-Ren barely managed to escape. Her purpose for living? To kill the one who destroyed her life. The Origin of O-Ren is a revenge story within a revenge story.

Art was excellent. There was a lot of detail, especially in the animation. It used a sketchy style and darker tones. Which provided a lot of contrast for the prominent and purposeful uses of red (the only truly vibrant colour in the short); blood and O-Ren's clothes were two noticeable uses of the colour. This anime is extremely violent and graphic as well. There's a lot of gore and well-animated violence. The direction and camera angles were very visionary. We get different viewpoints. We see through O-Ren's eyes as she hides under a bed shooting someone's hand clean off their body, we see a bullet tearing through the air the head of its victim. There were a lot of close-ups to the characters' faces and facial expressions as well. O-Ren's eyes gave us her feelings numerous times throughout the anime.

The sound was also quite amazing. Melancholy harmonica, deflated sombre trumpets, a haunting score that evoked the mood of the anime. This was not a happy story. It wasn't even sad. It was tragic, cruel, and cold, and the music reflected that.

Character development won't truly be seen if you haven't watched the movie and learned of O-Ren. However, the anime chronicles her life from age nine to twenty-five. In this time, she saw many things that might drive a person insane. Or turn them into a heartless lethal killer. Or both. O-Ren started off as a victim, frightened, terrified, and grows to be a girl who feels nothing but bloodlust while seeking her revenge. Throughout the anime, we see her change from a young scared child to a ruthless assassin. She was one of Kill Bill's most developed characters in Volume 1, and the reason for that is seen in this anime.

Kill Bill Chapter 3: The Origin of O-Ren isn't for the weak-stomached. There's a lot of explicit scenes, implications of paedophilia and rape, and brutal murder. It has great technical aspects, and it does tell the story of the enemy of the Bride (who is one of the best assassins in American movie history).

Definitely a must-watch, but this anime may have more of an impact if you watch Kill Bill Vol. 1. read more