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Beautiful and meaningful; just like I wanted!

HIGHLIGHTS:
- Every single aspect of this film is overwhelmingly beautiful (the visual presentation, the soft accompanying score, the meaningful story and characters)
- Very mature and sweet story that packs a nice emotional punch, while remaining hopeful and sweet
- The side characters are even given time to shine and develop further

CRITICISMS:
- Most will not have an easy time enduring the slow pacing and lack of action [this movie is about life: people and relationships]
- Some details on the characters might be missed to those who haven't seen the anime series
...
FINAL THOUGHTS - Initially, I wasn't sure if this film was going to be on the same level as the meaningful and inspiring series. By [very] end, I decided it was!

Words are a very important aspect in the series. They leave a potent impression on the movie as well. There is a lot of meaning that can be reflected upon from this film's themes.

This is my favorite type of drama.

9/10

All of the good stuff is missing.

HIGHLIGHTS:
- The story at least tries to continue the anime show
- Some of the visual concepts and creature designs are imaginative and beautiful
- There are a couple of fun fight scenes with cool strategies implemented to face impossible odds

CRITICISMS:
- The plot and antagonist's story is an overall mess that is not presented well
- Far too many "flashback" scenes attempt to reveal insights, but they last too long and occur too frequently, which destroys any chance of a cohesive narrative
- The excessive use of mutilation and gore occurs in poor tastes and it just seems edgy and pointless to the ... story
- Quite uninteresting and unremarkable story that feels unimportant to the main objective of the series

FINAL THOUGHTS - Where is the adventure and wonder that made the show cool to watch?

There are too many flaws to recommend this movie, even if you watched the show and liked it. This movie simply isn't good.

4.5/10

An emotionally heavy journey with real-life reflections that hit equally as hard

Highlights:
- A sweet story that is imaginative, fantastical, and emotionally moving
- The animation is amazing and vivid, which bring the cool fantasy settings to life
- Beautiful musical compositions compliment the outstanding visuals perfectly

Criticisms:
- While the story and meaningful essence is very well written and deliberate, the characters are loosely constructed at times with questionable rationales and shallow perspectives
- The ending is simply too much (they try too hard to hit the emotions and it comes off as cruel [to the viewer])
...
Final thoughts - Do you like sad-themes that can you can ponder and learn from? Do you love your mom? Yeah? WATCH THIS.

[a-hem] there's something in my eye.

9/10

Simply put, this is horror.

Highlights:
- The hopeless, wicked tone coupled with the surreal, abstract presentation make the film succeed in telling a horrific tale
- The animation style is ugly, dirty, and rough; somehow this ends up complimenting the film in a positive way
- The cast of freakish and irredeemable characters increase the tension and unsettling nature of the film
- The story is so sad and messed up; it makes you empathetic for Midori, which increases the weight of all of the awful things that happen to her
- The film also succeeds in presenting a visual representation of wavering sanity

Criticisms:
- This movie is seriously dark ... and upsetting
- A few of the violent scenes go WAY TOO FAR with showing gore; it gives off "an edgy teenager's" notebook vibe at times
- While the story is good at telling a terrifying, horrific, morose, and hopeless tale, it seems there was no message conveyed other than "that happened"
- The animation is crude, sometimes resembling a story book aesthetic (it is only distracting at first)

Final thoughts - I've never seen anything exactly like this. I likely won't ever watch this again, either.

There are a few similarities to the outstanding classic horror movie, Freaks, from the 1930s. However, that movie was much more classy and appealing. This is just awful at times.

I wanted to cry, throw up, and turn it off several times. I'd probably not recommend this to most people. It goes too far (without having much substance to its horror)

6.5/10

They literally took a 1980s American action hero and placed him in an anime... AND I LIKE IT.

Highlights:
- Geist is a super cool main character! Each moment he's on screen is the best part of the movie
- The wailing and shredding guitar score fits the "over the top" action and awesomeness the character
- None of this movie is boring [which is good, because its so short]

Criticisms:
- Weird, nearly incoherent storyline with questionable side characters
- Very poor sound design made this feel unfinished [place-holder-sounding effects and multiple instances of missing sounds]
- The animation quality is also poor, the other characters besides Geist have inconstancies and proportional ... issues [not to mention the rushed feel of the static animation]
- The ending is a little ambiguous and open-ended

Final thoughts - I can definitely see myself throwing this movie on for friends and getting even more enjoyment out if M.D. Geist.

It [mostly] makes up for its flaws with the bad ass style and ridiculousness.

7/10

A great balance of action, fantasy, and grief are present in Ninja Scroll's story telling

Highlights:
- Shockingly mature story, with well-developed characters that have good chemistry and motives
- Fascinating cast of foes that are dangerous and intriguing with their different powers and alliances
- Very well done action scenes that are well animated
- The heavy, dark tone follows the main character throughout and helps avoid cliché by creating situations with less-predictable outcomes

Criticisms:
- Some adult content that is uncomfortable to watch at times [sexual parts and excessive violence]; however, it is used effectively and tastefully to further develop the story/characters
- A lot of the dialogue is fast-paced and ... loaded with information, so it feels easy to become overwhelmed with details
- There is some history between the main character and antagonist, that seems a bit unclear
- The film's tone and the moments of less appealing visual aspects will make it a "one-time-watch" to most

Final thoughts - I really liked Ninja Scroll. It's a very mature and intense film that carries a lot of weight.

I can't see myself re-watching it, but I'm happy I experienced the movie!

8/10

I think the "66" stands for the amount of times I fell asleep.

Highlights:
- Super cool idea for a plot that takes inspiration from American classics like Terminator and Alien
- The main character, Sybel, is quite likeable [and memorable] with her determination and sense of justice
- Cool urban environments that make interesting playgrounds for destruction once the action finally picks up

Criticisms:
- The plot execution is poor due to the overall blandness that is present in every aspect of the film
- The painfully boring parts could have easily been rescued with good uses of a music score/soundtrack
- Poor pacing that drags along makes 1 hour feel like ... 3
- The weaponized robot's character design is awful with its blank, non-intimidating, disinterested. gaze and old lady hair

Final thoughts - If you are in need of a nap, check this out! I seriously had to restart and rewind this about 7 times.

I really like the idea, but I wasn't impressed with this one.

5/10

There is a beauty to the contrast that this movie shows - it's just hard to watch at times.

Highlights:
- The visuals are overall really nice and have a cool, dark city setting that fits the mood well
- The most impressive aspect of the presentation is the sound direction, which adds to the atmosphere and brings the city to life
- Additionally, the funky jazzy score give the movie a distinct identity
- Deep, dark, and heavy story that is told with good pacing and addresses its violent theme perfectly

Criticisms:
- Downright disgusting gore and violence make it seem too edgy
- Even the likeable characters are very shallow and ... don't connect the viewer with much emotion
- Some of the adult situations portrayed in the movie are classless and don't really add anything to the story

Final thoughts - Well, this one is hard to straight up recommend to people. It is nasty and smutty at times and beautiful and intelligent at other times.

The cycle of violence/revenge plot is done well and it has some nice music. Just don't watch this thinking it will be heart-warming or sweet!

Check it out if you don't get easily offended.

6/10

Highlights:
- The overall narrative was mostly cohesive and delivered well
- There are some exciting moments that get you pumped, especially when the cool 80s-style rock starts up!
- The heavy-handed and thick stroke outlines of the main characters give the visual presentation a cool flare

Criticisms:
- One of the characters seemed to be there for a brief moment to progress the story. It would have been nice to see a proper introduction and development
- The story is very simple, but is decent enough
- Some heavier moments seem to lack an emotional punch, likely due to the stoic delivery of some of the voice ... cast

Final thoughts - This isn't the best starting point for newcomers to Fist of the North Star. For that, I'd recommend the 1986 movie. This was actually quite a bit better than I'd imagined!

If you like this series, everything you'll expect and want is present here!

Well, I guess that was better than attempting to binge watch the whole series. Strangely though, I WANT MORE.

Highlights:
- Cool, post apocalyptic setting that is beautifully hand-drawn and full of character
- Exciting action that captures the style of the series well
- Very likable cast of characters; especially the main character, Kenshiro

Criticisms:
- Plot elements do not flow very well at times
- It was apparent that details from the series were cut in order to fit the movie
... - The ending is non-conclusive and leaves the viewer with questions

Final thoughts - Yes, this is worth watching, but I was hoping for a more condensed alternative to the series. I don't think this is supplementary due to the lack of many details. I still enjoyed it quite a bit! This may be a great starting point for people that are interested in the series.