Ranked #1511

Ibara no Ou

Every now and then a highly praised manga is somehow adapted into an adequately mediocre anime, and unfortunately King of Thorn is one of those adaptations.

The manga is a perfect length to adapt into a film, only six volumes. For the most part, the pacing is just right. King of Thorn doesn't start off too fast nor too slow, however nearer the end I do feel the pacing speeds up a little too drastically and you'll have to catch on pretty fast or you'll be left behind. Unfortunately the story seems to degrade as it progresses. The first part of the film was very original and intriguing, but the second part is very typical of the survival horror genre, and I could anticipate what was around the corner. The final part of the film is nothing short of mind-boggling. The ending is understandable, but some scenes are a little confusing and will require your full attention to work out. Fans of the manga will be disappointed to know that here and there parts have been changed. Zeus isn't in the film at all, and Marco's past and present has been altered among other things. The manga could have been adapted to the screen in its original form, so I have no idea why major details have been modified. The story is good, but thats all it is. The beginning showed great promise, but it was let down by what followed.

The animation is both good and bad, and sometimes both at the same time. The traditional animation is very rich and greatly detailed, but Sunrise decided to make the monsters in the movie using computer generated animation. This does not blend well with the traditional animation at all, in fact it sticks out like a sore thumb. The monsters themselves look fairly detailed and realistic, but that is ruined when they don't blend with anything else in the film due to the difference in the animation. However, scenes without the monsters look fantastic. The attention to detail isn't always there, but when it is you notice it. Unfortunately though, much like the story, the good parts are let down by the bad parts and so the animation is only good as a whole, when it could have been so much more.

The sounds and music are probably one of the best aspects of King of Thorn. The music is used appropriately and is all around fantastic, as is the many sounds of the monsters, moving vines, guns, surroundings, et cetera. Everything sounds very realistic and as it should be. Sometimes the use of none or very little sound is also notable, as it builds great tension and really works well with the whole atmosphere of the location, which by the way is an overgrown, thorn infected castle in Scotland.

There are some great characters in King of Thorn, most notably Marco and Ron, and I wouldn't say there are any bad characters, just ones who aren't as good. Each character in the main seven is at least developed a little and has a place in the story, minus the old rich man. Which is good as in survival horrors you often have pointless characters that are there just to increase the kill count. Thankfully this isn't the case in King of Thorn. Going back to a comparison with the manga, as mentioned, Zeus isn't in the film and Marco's past and present have been altered, which works well with the new direction Sunrise decided to take, but unfortunately the direction isn't actually very good. Also, Kasumi (the main character) does tend to get on your nerves a little throughout the film, but she is bearable.

King of Thorn was enjoyable to wach but that is mainly because the story was always moving. There wasn't really a dull point for the viewer to wish the movie got onto something different, until of course it came to the end, which was very hit or miss. A large enjoyable factor in the movie was the fact that it was moderately scary. Quite a few people in the movie theatre jumped and squealed at certains parts, and it was fairly gory. The film does prove that anime can be a good medium for survival horror, but unfortunately other elements did let it down. Fans of the manga may be quite disappointed, but people who are unfamiliar with the manga and so cannot draw comparisons should able to respect the film a little. Go in with an open mind and you may be able to find some merit within the film, as it does have redeeming points. King of Thorn is not a bad movie, but there is a lot of room for improvement. read more

When watching the trailer for this anime film I had big expectations about what I was going to see. Here you have a sci-fi/thriller with killer virus threatening society, survivors trying to stay alive and mysterious monsters inhabiting the area of the last set of people. It sounds good doesn't it? Science fiction happens to be one of my favourite genres of films and on paper his anime adaptation has the potential to be great, however this is one of those films that have a good idea but the way it is executed leaves a lot to be desired.

The first part of the film feels good, the characters are unique and feel likeable and the way everything unfolds again feel just right. But as the film progresses and the true nature of the story comes out one feels starts to think differently about the film and by the end you'll feel like you were robbed. My main issue with the film was the story and the art. As I stated the film starts out fine but becomes tedious because of the speed of the film and focus on unnecessary people and there will be moments where you don't know where the film is going because of the pacing. In terms of the art the characters look good and the painted background look nicely detailed and suits the locations; however there is one fatal mistake that becomes blatantly obvious in certain parts of the film and that lies in the animation. At certain points the film tends to jump into the area of 3D animation with character models that look like they are cel-shaded and the movement looks terrible. The times when it switches are easily noticeable and just look bad.

The music isn't too memorable nor is it a soundtrack worthy of brilliance, it's decent enough as it adjusts to each situation and works on a whole. The characters in the films start of okay but then feel like they just be killed off because their credibility falls over time. The little boy provides humour in some places and while Kasumi feel like a likeable lass because of her shyness and care for her sister Shizuku, but through her memories and the way she acts I found her just to be a worrywart and lost interest after quite some time. In terms of how you'll enjoy the film is entirely down to your preferences really, fans of complex sci-fi films and maybe disappointed with end result purely because the film doesn't fully give you the experience that you felt that would. The feeling of loneliness, claustrophobia, isolation and danger is done well for the most part eventually it just feels tedious then exciting and thought provoking.

Overall the film is something that can be watched but just doesn't feel like it gives out what it planned to. It had all the right ideas and feels good for the first part but progresses questionably and leaves you feeling robbed at the end like you were expecting more. read more