Jun 2, 2020
Unlike its companion (xxxHolic: Midsummer's Night Dream), this film offers nothing to a household name as Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle. If possible, avoid it at all costs.
Story (3/10): I'm being nice here, since there is no plot. I am no against plotless movies, that is, movies in which its plot is developed through music, surrealism, and style rather than straightforward, understandable actions that lead the storyline. I'm open to avant-garde storytelling. The xxxHolic movie partially falls into this kind of cinema; however, Tsubasa's film pretends to have a traditional kind of plot but it's so filled with plot holes, nonsensical actions, characters that do things just
...
because that makes this film accomplish nothing no matter how you look at it. At this point I can't tell what was the bad guy's goal. I can't tell what the birdcage was. I can't tell you a summary even if I wanted to. If you add the fact that the film contradicts Tsubasa's universe and even the film itself, things get worse: Mokona should act as their means to understand each other, a translator of the sorts, they even point it out early in the film, but no matter how far from other they all are, they can easily interact. The leader of the royal guards (I don't know the name) was easily kicked in the face by Fye but at the same time had no problem avoiding Syaoran's kick, even though the latter is a way more proficient physical combatant than Fye. To make things worse, Syaoran gets to be proficient again later on the film.
Art (5/10): The designs are nice, the animation is smooth which makes the battle scenes rather enjoyable, but the backgrounds look off every now and then. It makes the characters look like they're not there. For a feature film you'd expect more.
Sound (3/10): Nothing memorable. Not one single melody, sound effect or piece is worth mentioning.
Character (1/10): Characters here are here just for the sake of the "plot." The villain is the worst case. At the end you won't understand why he did what he did, and especially , why he did it the way he did it.
Enjoyment (3/10): Only enjoyable is you can just watch fights and give zero importance to what is going on there.
Overall (3/10): It's rather sad this is what they made to be the xxxHolic film's companion. They couldn't be so different in quality. I know the xxxHolic film was written by the Clamp's leader herself, but that's no excuse no make the Tsubasa film a worse than a mediocre job. It's like they tried to develop a complex plot but chopped many scenes out due to time constraints. The movie should have been 30-40 minutes longer at least to accomplish whatever it tried to accomplish. If possible, avoid this film. It's not worth +30 minutes of your time.
Reviewer’s Rating: 3
What did you think of this review?
Nice
0
Love it
0
Funny
0
Confusing
0
Well-written
0
Creative
0Show all
