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Ah Redline, what words can I use to describe this epic adrenaline rush? To be honest words are not enough, this is one of those films that you have to see to fully comprehend its greatness. However I am going to attempt to pass on my thoughts of this film in this review of what feel is one of the best anime films I have ever seen. Period.

Now in when it comes of the plot of Redline it is short, sweet and straight to the point. The film follows our main character JP, a driver who wants to race in a tournament called Redline which is held every five years. However he fails to qualify for it and just when he believes his dream is over, by chance two people drop out of the tournament which gives him a qualifying place.

It has been mentioned by critics and viewers, that Redline lacks a plot or that the story comes across as lackluster and while I can understand that point of the argument I can also argue against it. The film has enough of a plot to work in cohesiveness with the rest of the film and while it's not overly complex or thought-provoking it doesn’t have to be. I would like to think of it this way: Would your rather watch film with an overly drawn out plot and character development which could be potentially tedious and slow down the fast-paced nature of the film? Or would you want to watch a film with a condensed plot that has enough story and personality to make you care about what you are watching? Personally I prefer the latter.

When it comes to the visual presentation of Redline, words fail me. I mean seriously, no words can truly say how beautiful this film really is. Japanese animation studio Madhouse have crafted one of the most visually stunning animated films in existence, you really have to see it in action to comprehend its awesomeness. Firstly there's the character design, from the human-based characters to all of the other alien races and cybernetic beings that reside within Redline's world, the designs are diverse, unique and interesting. Secondly you have the vehicles which are also fabulous, coming in many different shapes and sizes, from simple to completely crazy designs, with individual quirks and weapon arsenals to be admired. And lastly there's the locations of the film that vary from the rocky crayons where races are done to spaceships floating above planets, all of which have an incredible amount of detail that draws your eyes in especially on a large cinema screen.

But I feel that the main aspect that makes Redline so great is the fluidity of the animation. The quality of the animation in this film is actually insane, with several sequences of high-octane action crafted with some beautiful choreography, nicely placed camera angles and great use of speed. Everything moves in such a smooth manner, with no moments of slowdown or inconsistencies whatsoever. The film delivers an experience like no other in the animation department and really conveys on the concept of speed, pushing you to edge of your seat and beyond.

But what is a film without a good soundtrack? Luckily Redline happens to have a brilliant soundtrack crafted by James Shimoji, which compliments the visuals wonderfully. The soundtrack is mainly composed of techno-based music, but it works well with the action on-screen, its explosive, fast-paced and it sounds so good! Also personally I felt that Redline's soundtrack really reminded me of the video-games F-Zero GX and Tatsunoko Vs. Capcom, both of which have great soundtracks with explosive music that sounds great on the highest volume level. I also have to note that the sound editing in this film is tackled perfectly as well.

In terms of the enjoyment of Redline, I say be prepared to fall in love with this film. After watching the trailers for this film you get a rough idea as to what you will be watching, however those trailers cannot prepare you for the whole film. As a lot of people know this genre of film has been done before, after all Redline is a film about guys, girls and cars. But what Redline as film does well is give us a familiar format to work with, but it's covered in such an innovative, stylised and charismatic fashion that you will be left in awe after you see it. Also throughout all of the chaos and mind-blowing visuals, Redline never feels like it's heading into unnatural territory, in fact a lot of aspects about Redline feel realistic and believable.

Overall Redline is an experience that I feel everyone should enjoy. It's a like a rush of energy that's exhilarating, fast-paced and unforgettable. Takeshi Koike, Redline's director should feel very happy about the film that he has crafted and considering his previous work before coming onto this project I'm not surprised that this film turned out to be a success. Again I feel the need to mention Madhouse's insane skills as an animation studio as they have created a film full of action, charisma and style unlike any other film. There are so many individual things about the film that's weird and wonderful and completely unexpected, but overall I say watch this film and experience the epicness that is Redline! read more

Now I’m not an avid Street Fighter fan, but I have played through about 60% of the games and know the characters and the compelling back stories. So before I watched this I had high hopes, just thinking about what a Hadōken would look like in an anime format was a fabulous thought. Unfortunately this isn't the awesome SF film i expected. It feels like it made was for fans so it misses the mark in terms of capitalizing on the game material they have to work with, but overall the film is a good watch if not a very interesting one.

The story is pretty straightforward and easy to understand, Ryu is trying to overcome the evil force inside of him that consumed Akuma (the brother of his sensei) and this force is known as the "Dark Hadou". While Ryu tries to deal with these problems that are affecting his life, another unexpected aspect comes into play in the shape of a boy called Shun who claims to be Ryu’s brother. Ken happens to catch up with Ryu joins him on his journey to help overcome is powers, Chun-Li happens to be sorting through a police investigation that happens to tie into a fighting competition and Sakura after chasing after Ryu after seeing him fight for the first time comes into play and all of them happened to become interlocked by the fighting tournament with their own reasons for entering.

It is a story that holds up well enough for it to be considered true Street Fighter canon material with most of the characters involved feeling right, Ryu is still a lone warrior with great fighting skill, Ken is Ryu’s friend and training partner who fights in numerous tournaments, Chun-Li is also fighter, working with the police with a smart and calm attitude and Sakura is an energetic young fighter with unpolished skills who idolizes Ryu. Enemies like Gouki (Akuma), Dan, Zangief and Vega do what they do with creditable performances, however the main antagonist really didn’t do it for me, he just seemed like a power-hungry fool who got his fifteen minutes of fame and then was dispatched with. I feel they should have gotten a more interesting villain as this guy didn’t have the proper personality to properly be an antagonist worthy of the SF series. Also the fact that Ryu had a brother is just nonsense to me and it breaks the image of Ryu as a lone wolf searching for answers to his powers which he may never know of.

When it come to the art and animation we see that the film is very stylized for better or for worse depending on your preferences, some characters and signature attacks look good while others look like they could have been better. The art style for the characters looks good works well, but a fair amount of the characters look too musclar and bulky and the art also makes certain people look beefier and heavier in movement then they are in the actual games. There is also the point of the energy-based attacks that didn’t look as impressive as they could have with most of them being ball-shaped with no defining features and being one main colour which really disappointed me. But then maybe that’s just me being picky.

Now I know that in an adaptation of anything nothing is going to fully be spot on, but with an anime film you have the chance to show off things that games can’t do, you have to wow the viewer. The film felt like it was almost there but could of had more style, there are some pretty good fight scenes and some painful blows dealt to characters that shows that there was care put into the film, but at other points the film forgets choreography and battle sequences, the game material and gives you something that could have looked a lot better. When it comes to audio it’s pretty good, the soundtrack is nice and the having watched it in subbed and dubbed formats I’d say they both work.

I conclusion this is a film that was created truly for Street Fighter fans, it’s based off of the games and for what it’s worth it does what it can fairly well, but unfortunately it comes up short in not delivering the full anime experience it deserves. Style and art design play a big part in carrying the film along and it is worth a watch whether you’re a fan of the Street Fighter series or if you are person who likes action, fighting and story that works and is rather enjoyable. 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

No words can begin to describe how ridiculously epic this anime is, this is just a film on another level. The film is just in-your-face action on the top end of the awesome scale. Dead Leaves is an anime that will have you stuck to your seat the entire time, the sheer amount of action in the film is like an adrenaline rush that takes you there so fast it’s like being on a rollercoaster ride. Sure there are moments where the film gives you moments to breathe to explore the story and characters, but once that point is over you are on the move in a flash.

In terms of art design the film has a highly stylized look that is fabulous to look at, it’s very sharp full of bright block colours that help the animation stand out greatly and when the animation moves hold on to your seat because this film just moves like a crazy carnival ride. The animation is completely consistent and never lets up and there are points when so many things are happening at once while the screen moves from place to place you may up incapacitated.

The sound in the film is very nice, the choice of music is very upbeat and helps amplify the chaotic action and while it’s not really memorable in any kind of way it works for the film itself. The characters in this film are cool, Retro is just a madman who knows how take care of things in a crazy fashion and the fact that he's voiced by Kappei Yamaguchi just adds to the character too. Panda is hot chick who is packing heat when the action starts, she seems to be calm in every situation she's in and is almost the opposite of Retro outside of the battlefield. The villain of the film isn't half bad and the supporting characters are really funny bunch of people.

To be honest I totally loved Dead Leaves, I thought it was great, while the story wasn't ever going to be really engaging it had a unique concept behind it and was good for what it was. I recommend this highly for anyone looking for a little epicness in their lives. And lastly if there are any people who have watched Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann should give this a go for sure. read more

One Piece: Chopper Kingdom of Strange Animal Island is like watching an extended episode of the One Piece and that's why it's a worth the watch. In truth fans of One Piece will get a bigger kick out of watching this then people who aren't familiar with the anime, it's more or less made for them. The story in the film is typical One Piece affair with one thing unexpected happening, resulting in the crew trying to resolve the situation while something else happens that will interlock with the main plot and then the situation is sorted through the power of courage and friendship.

Watching this was just like watching the series except with a higher degree of animation and it is the quality of animation that makes the film shine. One Piece episodes around the time of 2002 looked okay but the movie quality allows for some really smooth character animation and richer colours for backgrounds which really adds to the overall experience. The characters in the film are just as good as they are in the series and in terms of sound and music they happen to be in good supply too. Overall I really liked the film just because it was One Piece in a higher quality animation; it's definitely worth the watch if you can't get enough of the One Piece adventures. read more

When i first saw Afro Samurai back in 2008 I was amazed, to be honest I didn't think a concept like this would work out in the way it did. I mean here you have a black samurai, in an anime, with hip-hop music, unless we're talking Samurai Champloo this shouldn't work. But I really liked Afro Samurai, I thought it was sick and it only increased my respect for Samuel L. Jackson, so when I found out that there was going to be a sequel to the series I was over the moon... However little did I know that this sequel would end up like this.

Afro Samurai: Resurrection takes place after the events of the original series with Afro finding peace in the mountains after killing countless people because of his number 1 headband. It seems that after being on this road for so long, Afro seems to be losing his way and it is at this point when Afro is attacked by his old friend/nemesis Jinno and a mysterious female warrior named Sio, who wishes to have the head of the famous number one warrior because of the death of the people he has killed. And that my friends are basic elements of this story for this film and to be honest it sucks. The best thing about Afro Samurai was its originality and I know it's hard to follow up good material with sequels, but it seems like Resurrection really lost its 'cool' factor here, the story is basic at best and the new characters involved are just ridiculous and for some reason you want to kill Ninja Ninja in this anime. I'm happy to report that the animation and art style is still sick and beautiful and while the music hasn't got the flair of the original it's still pretty nice.

Overall Afro Samurai: Resurrection really wasn't the sequel that people wanted, the story is unoriginal and the main female antagonist feels far too simple along with all other new characters. The animation and music however are still pretty good and while it's still watchable one can't help but feel sad for the way this turned out and hope that the third installment rectifies this anime's mistake. read more