The art design is solid while there isn't really anything uniquely astounding. The setting is a metropolis city that will continually become more apparent as piles of rubble, and the surrounding landscape has some coastlines and green hills. The world isn't too imaginative, but "Fate/Stay Night" wasn't either right? The animation and art quality itself is great in many ways. The color-scheme is where things are reminiscent of "Evangelion", the morphing of bodies and destruction also. It's all done very nicely, and the character also look well-proportioned to top it all. This movie is old though, and the line-work seems to be of not too high quality even when looking at sub-HD footage (not to say that it can be found in HD). There barely felt like any gimping of any visual quality to save on budget which also gave it more pleasant feeling. The art direction was also masterful in the ways it could make somewhat generic fantasy visuals become more powerful and intriguing. The visuals as a whole were genuinely impressive.
The sound is also noteworthy. It has a few well-done orchestrations, electronic orchestrations, and some fine piano. It all does work and makes the movie more enjoyable. Some of the background music was actually very catchy and I'll likely look out for the soundtrack. The ending credits song was also great and I listened to it quite a few times. The sound work to the effects was also done properly and the atmosphere was handled well. The sound director has done a number of other notable works, like Baccano!, and I think it's finally time for more attention to be given to him. There was also no issues with the voices and they all turned out fine.
So the superficial aspects to Seirei Tsukai seem to be doing good, but the contents have yet to be covered. To be short, pacing is the issue here. Things rushed by so quickly it took another viewing to understand just what happened within the first dozen minutes. Leagues of characters are introduced, some exposition given, but too much content for such a short time. It seemed like an introduction to a broad, fantasy universe while also acting as the beginning, climax, and finale of the plot. This movie should have either shot for the goal of introducing some fundamentals of the fantasy elements, or to not be a movie and be a series instead. It's similar to how the “Fate/Stay Night: Unlimited Blade Works” movie felt in that it gave enough information to somewhat grasp everything, but felt rushed with rare moments to settle things in. “Unlimited Blade Works” had a television show to work with though (even though it was in an alternate setting) which made it not as necessary to give a solid backing to the characters.
I've read up that this movie is supposed to be an adaptation of the manga "Shouryou Tsukai Elementalors" by, the apparently talented-artist, Takeshi Okazaki. At the moment there's no relations listed, but I've sent in that request so it might be there in the future when this is read. Also, the manga hasn't been translated into english as of the end of 2014. The manga has four volumes and it seems as though this movie could've been made as an advertisement to it. I'd assume that four volumes, while not knowing how lengthy they are, could cover the plot found in this movie at a much more reasonable pace, maybe even adding in more details along the way. The only issue with that possibility though is that the story in this movie ends, so there isn't any ending one would have to continue to the manga for to find.
While there's bad pacing for the amount of content that should be told in the story, the disappointment comes more with the lost potential this setting had. While the rushing was able to make the plot finish within the run-time, the main interest actually came from the setting and the back-story of the character's within it. Even “Fate/Stay Night” was at its best, sometimes, during the slow moments where only development and exposition were being given. While it isn't wrong to say pacing is the issue, the real issue is actually the priorities this movie has. It would've almost been better to not bother trying to tell the whole story and just fill in details and treat the movie almost as a teaser to a potential television series.
There will be light spoilers in this paragraph, so if you want to stay spoiler-free, either stop reading or skip to the next paragraph. To make what's missing more clear, the movie starts in a peaceful metropolis, and within a minute the “elementalors” make their presence and begin to destroy the “weak”. We then quickly move into a plot involving some danger that happened during the last elementalor war that happened long ago, but no back-story is given to those past wars and to the politics of the “clans” involved. All of the elementalors, besides two or three, are given literally no development and are only able to present themselves though situational dialogue. We then have a random human girl make her appearance, in the havoc going on in the city, and she actually summons an elementalor with a ritual circle. That immediately makes the viewer wonder how exactly these elementalors are being brought into the world, as some are appearing on their own while others are being summoned. These are examples used from the beginning to show how intrigue is built up and could potentially make for a more detailed version of “Fate/Stay Night”. However, what is carried out here lacks the depth necessary which makes it more similar to the “Fate” movie than the series.
Again, the characters presented here are interesting and can be potentially good. What's lacking to make these characters good isn't that they are unreasonably nonsensical or annoying, but that they've been skimped of their details and development. They lack a solid purpose to their actions and cause, which goes right along with not delving too much into the explanations of the setting. I don't see the lack of explanations as a lack of being able to though, as it wouldn't be difficult at all to come up with something for this particular setting. What makes more sense is, again, the priorities. Things move too fast which allows for so little time for the setting to bake, which makes everything feel like a chain of events ran by random individuals. This lacking aspect also makes each character feel a bit more cliche as they have to get to the point quicker to make amends with the movie's run-time. In that process, some common anime antics are carried out, but even so I couldn't say these characters are all plain average. The main character could be related to how other weakling characters develop in anime, but somethng still feels like it's done in a way that's a tad more interesting. The main character's opposer also has some interesting outward character that could eb a nice fit with some personality, but he still isn't given enough to make him particularly good (even though he arguably has the most development behind him). Potential is really just spilling all over the floor with Seirei Tsukai. On a side note, Sephiroth is not in this. Again, neither is Sai *cough* I mean Lancer (this came out before “Fate”, by the way).
Seirei Tsukai is a more stylish and destructive take on the original "Fate/Stay Night" (can't relate to “Zero”, or the remake, as I haven't seen them yet). This spiritual war doesn't take place at night, but it isn't too hard to see the relations between the two. Seirei Tsukai feels more chaotic than "Fate/Stay Night" and feels like it could carry more depth than a simple yearly war of survival. There's a manga this is based on, and the story intrigued me enough to be willing to give it a shot once it is translated (likely by way of fansubs). I also noticed some curious similarities to a more recent series called, "Seirei Tsukai no Blade Dance", which even carries the interchangeable title, "Blade Dance of the Elementalers" (Seirei Tsukai also having the title "Elementalors", but with an "O"). It could be that "Blade Dance" is a remake of the same story in a television format, and if that's so it'll be just what I'd like. However, seeing the far different art style immediately makes me know that the style that came with this movie won't be present there. The visuals and sound of this movie are really the better parts of it and brings a somewhat unique atmosphere. The atmosphere feels like a mixture of "End of Evangelion" and of the first moments in the television series "Neon Genesis Evangelion". It's craziness that goes on in broad daylight on a wonderful day. The characters act in a moderately cliche manner, but feel as though more explanations could make them more likable. Seirei Tsukai is a mess of unreached potential, yet good funding to make the superficial elements properly done. The priorities are an issue, but since the movie is rushed it would be hard to say there were too many dull moments because of it. Seirei Tsukai is recommended to those who don't require good characters and story to enjoy something, and those who can also find enjoyment in direction of visuals and sound. Reading the manga, or watching "Blade Dance of the Elementalers", may add to the experience - which I will update in this review after I've completed either one.
