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Disclaimer: I have only ever played the very beginning of Persona 3, and have never played any Megami Tensei/Shin Megami Tensei other than that and a brief outing in the original Super Famicom SMT game. This means that this review is from the perspective of a complete outsider, and does not factor in everything that would contribute to the enjoyment of someone who is already a fan.

To put it bluntly, I went into this film with very high expectations. The Persona sub-series seems to be almost universally beloved in my online friend-circle, and frankly, after years of waiting (I own no Sony consoles besides my ... (now broken) PSP), I wanted to see what all the fuss was about. What I found here was technically a disappointment, but only because of my artificially raised expectations.

The story of this film is fairly good, but has hints of developing into something extraordinary in the next films. Being an adaptation of what is only the first part of a larger tale, it has very little in the way of plot, focusing instead on (somewhat clunky) exposition and the introductions of the main characters. While I am pleased with what I have seen of the cast so far (particularly Makoto and Junpei) I cannot help but feel that the nature of the film as an adaptation artificially constrained how far we could dive into them in this outing. Mitsuru in particular strikes me as having her development held back because that is how the story unfolds in the game, rather than following how it should naturally go in this medium.

Bolstering the weaknesses of an adaptation is the gorgeous but understated animation. The characters are on-model at practically all times, and the designs of the shadows and personas are breathtaking to see in action.

Overall, this is a solid film for those who are unfamiliar with Persona 3, but my intuition tells me that first-timers like me would likely be better served by biting the bullet and playing the actual game before viewing this. That said, I was sufficiently intrigued by the film to be motivated to get off my ass and buy a used PSP so I can play it, so the film definitely did its job in that respect.

Arcadia of My Youth is an example of everything I believe a good adventure film should be. Taut yet deliberately paced, easy to understand yet never falling into clunky exposition, and full to the brim with raw, melodramatic emotion, this movie is a perfect introduction to the illustrious Leiji Matsumoto Universe. Speaking from my own experience as someone who was introduced to Matsumoto's works from this film, I can tell you that I cannot wait to learn more about these endearing, over-the-top romantic characters and their strange, anachronistic world.

This film is a rare example of an adventure film that is not also paired with action ... as the focus. While there are a considerable amount of thrilling sequences, the focus here is instead on the plot, which tasks the newly returned from war Phantom F. Harlock II with the fight for his people's dignity against the occupying forces of the Illumidus Empire.

While the setting is in the far, far future, it seems to be much more inspired by the creators' experience of world war II and the western genre of live-action film. The antagonistic Illumidus empire seems to parallel the real-life american occupation of japan rather than a more ethereal evil empire typical of space operas such as this. These ties to more earthy, believable milieus serve to very effectively ground the film, allowing it to push the limits of believablility in other ways (a futuristic machine capable of viewing past lives, with the previous incarnations having the same appearance and names as their future counterparts is the most glaring example).

The animation is spotty in places, but on the whole the grand, epic space battles (which are obviously modeled after world war II naval battles) more than make up for some spotty character animation early in the film. The character designs, tho perhaps odd to modern sensibilities, are on the whole very distinctive and evocative of the film's fantastic mood. One notable criticism of them, however, is Matsumoto's unfortunate tendency toward same-face syndrome, particularly on his female characters. That said, this does not noticeably detract from the film's quality, and as flaws go, is highly
forgivable in the context of such a great cinematic experience.

Overall, Arcadia of My Youth is a shining example of what japanese animation was and is capable of in terms of storytelling. A wonderful introduction to classic anime for newer fans, I wholeheartedly recommend this movie to virtually everyone who has a taste for adventure and hope in their heart. You will surely be better for viewing it.

Re: Cyborg 009 is, in a word, disappointing. As a fan of the 2001 series since childhood and a great admirer of the studio which worked on this (Production I.G., who are responsible for such wonderful series as Ghost In The Shell: Stand Alone Complex) I expected great things from this darker, more realistic take on the classic franchise. Sadly, despite a promising start and beautiful animation, the film falls flat on its' face, resulting in something which may be worth watching once, but which cannot stand up to even the most cursory analysis.

It would ... be terribly easy to blame this film's failings as yet another example of why remaking children's series as "dark" and "gritty" doesn't work, but to do that would be to disrespect the source material. Why Ishinomori's manga and the preceding anime series were definitely goofy, there has always been an undercurrent of mystery and intrigue to them that is very compatible with darker tones. Sadly, the writer of this film seems to have confused "dark" with "unnecessarily confusing" and "intelligent" with "random statements about God with no connecting thread".

The plot is, for one thing, completely impenetrable to new viewers. If one is not already familiar with the franchise, this film offers only a few badly-executed lines of exposition to explain to you who exactly these
characters are, and does even less to show why you should care about them. This would not be so much of a problem if the premise of the film
and it's status as a stand-alone universe within the Cyborg 009 canon did
not seem to set it up as a jumping-on point for new viewers. The main
character begins the film with amnesia for god's sake, and yet he regains
his memories incredibly unceremoniously, without even the briefest of
flashbacks to hint at his origins. Instead, this is infodumped to you almost
halfway through the film, at which point it might have been better not to mention it at all.

For all the story's numerous failings and it's failure to highlight what
makes these characters interesting, the film at least looks good. Surprisingly, even someone like me who is normally squeamish about CGI mixing with 2D animation, the action sequences are not only dynamic but fluid in a way that
evokes the best of action cinema, making full use of the cyborgs' fantastic powers. Of particular note is the film's rendition of Jet Link, who visually puts
all previous incarnations of the character to shame. A pity the same can't be said for his personality.

Overall, I would recommend this movie most to people who have not interest whatsoever in the source material, but who appreciate good fight
choreography and beautiful animation. If you care about the series at all and/or are unable to turn your brain completely off in order to soak in disjointed action scenes, then you should probably watch the 2001 TV series instead to get your cyborg fix.