Fuse: Teppou Musume no Torimonochou

This movie was a very enjoyable watch, though it comes with a few (but important problems). The world building was spectacular, but the character relationships were lacking.

Story: 7/10
The premise of the story was simple and easy to follow. Though the idea of a misunderstood and feared species is not exactly original. The story is character driven and focuses on romance. The romance was somewhat forced and there were little to no relationship development between the main characters. The ending may seem abrupt (though to me it was okay). The story of about the "fuse" was nice, nothing new, but I liked it.

Art: 10/10
The art was ... easily the best part of the movie. Scenes felt very lively and the backgrounds very beautiful. The colours were vibrant and the style matched the atmosphere and music. The animation was also smooth and beautiful. The world building was also great. Honestly, my words could not do the movie justice.

Sound: 9/10
The music was memorable and fit the atmosphere of the loud and lively Sengoku period. The voices fit the characters very well. (I watched the Sub)

Character: 8/10
There were many great characters. The main characters were great. The female lead as very cute but could fight. The male lead's character was very realistic. His moral dilemma felt real and emotional.
The other characters had their own charm. The fuses also had good backstories, though some needed more development. I just wish that the romance between the leads was developed more.

Overall: 7.8/10
I wish I could give this movie a higher rating. The movie had great world building the story holds promise, but It was greatly lacking in character development that made me feel for the two main characters. I was somewhat invested in the romance, but it didn't quite hit the mark

If lack of character development bothers you, then this movie isn't for you. But If you want some eye candy and want to watch a beautiful movie, this movie is perfect. It's an enjoyable watch and I would recommend it for the art and atmosphere alone.

This standalone movie takes some ideas from Wolf Children, some ideas from The Boy and the Beast, and puts them together into a coming-of-age love story type deal. The result is nowhere near as good as either, but it's also not too shabby. It's a pretty mundane story about prejudice and love's power to transcend societal barriers. It wasn't the worst hour and a half of my life, but certainly not the best, either. You might want to give this a try. Then again, you might not.

It was produced by TMS Entertainment, the same studio behind Megalo Box, D.Gray-man, Baki, Dr. Stone, ReLIFE, Rent-a-Girlfriend, and ... many others. The technical production value, while not awe-inspiring, at the very least leaves little to be desired.

This is kind of a bittersweet review for me. Sweet because I loved the art and wanted to love the story. Bitter because this movie is is dreadful and not worth watching. With a premise similar to the likes of Tokyo Ghoul its unfortunate this lacks all the moral gray area. Newsflash: the Fuse ARE the bad guys, they kill and eat people's souls there's no way around it. There's a tiny mention against this in a single line at the very end but honestly, I'm not even sure I understood it correctly. This is the sort of thing that I feel HAS to have ... been told better in the Manga. While I understand self-defense and all that, it doesn't change that Shino's body count is over 30, and if we count what happens at the end as his fault probably several hundred. I'm not even opposed to having the bad guy be the "hero" of the story but they portray it as if what he is doing isn't wrong. Shino kills a man as he runs away, he was no longer a threat he killed him because he likes to. Anyway, even though this review isn't liable to be read by anyone I needed to say something due to all the people who seem to think mass murder is okay.