Ranked #2116

Asura

What makes a monster? Are some men born monstrous or are they simply a product of their time? This film forces the viewer to struggle with these kinds of questions. What would we be willing to do in order to survive? Can we even fathom what people had to do so long ago and how can we possibly judge them? Asura has shocked and touched me in a way an anime film has not since Grave of the Fireflies. The title character is designed to look very much like an oni of folklore, but the viewer is reminded very quickly first and foremost he is just a child. This makes witnessing his gruesome and primal attempts at survival all the more disturbing.

Perhaps what struck me most about this film was a clever sequence in which Asura struggles to crawl out from a pit of corpses. His clawed gnarled hands reach up to the light in the cracks of the rock and the animation breaks to see Wakasa in the river shortly before she discovers the wounded Asura. This scene clearly paralleled a certain journey for Asura. He crawled from the depths of Hell to catch a glimpse of Heaven and that's when he truly learns about human kindness from Wakasa. This scene was so poetic that it made the rest of the film all the more tragic.

This film was beautifully done. At times it is difficult to watch, but that is the point. I will not soon forget this film and I do not think anyone else who sees it will either.
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Asura starts off with a very graphic backstory as to how the main character came to be, showing his gruesome birth and exactly what he had to go through pretty much immediately after being born. Lets just say Asura didn't have a great start in life, and because of that he basically became a wild animal who can't speak. The movie is fairly short so I'm going to do my best not to spoil anything, that is why I'm not going to go into too much detail about specific events.

Story(6): While this is probably the movies saving grace, it doesn't exactly "save" it. The story is about a boy who is left for dead by his mother in medieval Japan where starvation is the norm, and people often have to resort to cannibalism to survive. Having to survive on his own, he basically becomes a wild beast. Who will kill and eat anything, including humans. Early on he meets a monk, who for the first time in his life shows him compassion. The rest of the movie is basically him trying to survive in a small village where everyone sees him as a monster, while he's tries to become more human. Overall there where some distracting plot holes, like how did he survive as a newborn left for dead, but it was a fairly well told story with an ending that I think saved the film from being completely mediocre.

Art(6): The art is similar to the new Berzerk movies, in that it's a mix of digital 3D animation and hand drawn. Much like the new Berzerk I didn't even notice it was done in this style when seeing the trailers. It can look really nice during certain scenes, but scenes with subtle movement can tend to look awkward in my opinion. Maybe some people like this style, but I personally am not a fan. The movie might have actually benefited from being in a more traditional hand drawn style, cause I actually found it distracting at times.

Sound(6): Everything about the sound was just ok, the voice acting was ok, the score was ok, just ok. Nothing memorable. If anything the voice actor for the main character I thought over did it with the whole "wild beast" thing. I don't think that was his fault though, I'm sure he was directed to do it that way. I just think they could have been more subtle/realistic, about that.

Character(6): This was one of the things about the movie that was a bit disappointing. It is a character driven story, but the characters are just not that likeable. The monk was probably my favorite character, and he didn't get much screen time. The story relies very much on your feelings for the characters, and I just wasn't attached to them.

Enjoyment(6): I really can't say I enjoyed the movie that much, but it kept me entertained enough that I kept watching. There are some pretty climatic moments that keep you interested, so you never feel bored. At least I didn't

Overall(6): Overall, the film is watchable. I don't feel like my time was wasted watching it or anything, so if you are interested in it I say give it a shot. The ending really helped make it a 6 and not a 5 though, I just thought it had a good message however somewhat cheesy. I'd like to mention that I have never rated anything on MAL a 10, so my 6 is pretty much most peoples 7. read more