Highlander: The Search for Vengeance

Im no Highlander fan, Im just a geek... I've never been interested in Highlander as a franchise,...let's just get it on.

The story was pretty fair, there were no breath taking action sequences but even tho, it was enjoyful. It moves from the future to the past and back... simply to bring a little bit of complication in to it. Its all about revenge and hate , and anger, and how you cant win if those feelings are leading your way kinda thing. Im sure you know what I mean since weve seen it before...

The Animation is really great, everyone will enjoy the animations and ... effects that this movie has. There are few really good gory scenes in which are used effects that are just marvellous, so there is something to look at.

The music (rock or metal, sorry that I can't tell) is fitting but after a while you will concentrate on the fights and scenes so much that you wont even know that there was some background music, thats not a bad thing but I just feel like its a waste of efford in that matter. Sound effects are well done, everything sounds as it should, the metal chinging, bullet shots, explosions... all sounds just right.
Higlander is originaly in english, the voice acting was fine, what was really great idea was that the accent of the characters was changing, in the past they were talking with a scottish accent and in the future it was american, nice touch there.

Characters arent anything special, there was just nothing new what would make those characters unique. However it was a fair job nothing to be sad about.
So dont fix whats not broken...

I really enjoyed it from start till the end, I really think that this is gonna be enjoyful for Highlander fans (from what I hear) nothing to be crazy about, but if you want some serious sword action it will take you in but not as well as other titles (Vampire Hunter D: Blood Lust). For those that are searching for a good lone hero adventure, you might have found your Jackpot but for most people its a One Timer at worst.

Highlander: The Search for Vengeance is another take on the long running Highlander franchise. I have to admit this was my very first exposure to the franchise, and up to this day I still haven't seen any of the films or TV series. I knew absolutely nothing about the story at all until I saw this anime feature, with that said, I really have no idea on what a fan of the series would be looking for; but I do have an idea on what an action oriented anime fan would be looking for, and I don't believe many of them will be too disappointed. ... Now for fans of the director, I recommend setting your standards a bit low here.

The film moves at a good pace and delivers some decent action scenes mainly involving sword play. Since this film was directed by Yoshiaki Kawajiri, those whom are familiar with his work should already know to expect some stylish and blood soaked battles. The man has proven to be a master of his trade. However, when compared to his earlier works such as Wicked City, Ninja Scroll, and Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust. He has clearly missed a few steps. The action scenes are clearly dumbed down and aren't very imaginative but they're still entertaining.

For the most part this is your typical revenge themed movie, fortunately the story and plot isn't too paper thin. The world has been ravaged by man's constant destructive nature, plus there's an airborne virus killing off the remaining population in New York City. The people whom refuse to serve Marcus have retreated underground in vain with hopes of avoiding the sickness. Now with Colin's help, they attempt to invade Marcus' fortress to find a cure.

Unlike some of Kawajiri's works, Ninja Scroll & Wicked City in particular, the lead villain especially has some depth. There's a bit of background on some of the more important characters. The film also adds an interesting form of commentary. This is delivered through the personalities of Colin and Marcus, and it raises the question on who could be the worst of two evils. Could it be the mad demi-god, yet civilized Marcus vying for the perfect utopia? Or the near savage Colin, whom thirsts for revenge and can care less for anyone whom tries to befriend him? In any case, their centuries long feud provides a good amount of action and at times some laughs. The secondary characters serve small purposes, and surprisingly aren't present only for a lengthy body count. The main character, two secondary's, plus lead villain, also resemble characters from Kawajiri's past works. So, there's quite a bit of rehashing going on here.

The production values are rather high. The animation is pretty fluid from sword clashes to burning buildings. The detailed artwork consisting of dilapidated buildings, ruined bridges, and ran down streets, tells the story that the world is hell. My only gripe concerning the visuals is mainly with some of the character designs. Marcus and Colin especially, resemble Gemma from Ninja Scroll a bit too much. They almost appear to be brothers from other mothers. The soundtrack is also fitting and has an epic feel to it. The voice acting is pretty solid packed with some profanity.

I have several other gripes with the film. It almost appears that a new viewer to the franchise must have an idea on what's going on. It is explained what an immortal is and that they can only be killed permanently through beheading; but what isn't explained is what exactly is the "Quickening". From what I gathered, when an immortal is killed, the killer must have absorbed his powers or essence. The event is quite the spectacle consisting of a well animated light show. Another gripe I have is predictability. The characters actions were too easy to call a lot of the time, and another thing, mullets just aren't cool to me especially when they're on women.

Now is Highlander: The Search for Vengeance a great anime film or a masterpiece? Not at all from where I see it, but it is a fun ride. I enjoyed the concept of it enough to give the rest of the franchise a try one day. I recommend this mainly to action fans, fans of the director, and perhaps to fans of the franchise as well.

Highs: Crisp and clean artwork, nice animation, good battles, character background

Lows: Kawajiri's usual formula but watered down, somewhat predictable, one too many mullets

This is about the most american anime I have ever seen in my entire life. It's so disgustingly terrible. There were a couple reasons I watched this title. The first, and biggest reason, was that I saw this as I was browsing amazon. It got some nice reviews so I thought to myself "hey, I should watch and then buy this." Now I've seen two highlander movies and a good portion of the TV series and I can honestly say that this is the worst Highlander creation I've ever seen.

Story: This is what happens when you get a writer who ... is 1. subpar and 2. Not Japanese. The writer for this has written for Highlander before, alot for highlander. I think that he's written ONLY for Higlander. The formula for this anime is VERY simple and yet incredibly complex. Revenge. I've seen revenge done before, and i've seen it done VERY well. Highlander has a very simple revenge plot, it's so simple that it's insulting. There's also the TERRIBLE sideplots....these were also insulting. I'm not giving any spoilers, but really, even if I did, it wouldn't really spoil anything at all. All the "plot developments" were predictable and boring. And i'm usually too busy paying attention to what's going on to think about what's going to happen. But I was constantly thinking about what "twist" they were going to throw at me next. Oh and the script is absolutely terrible. If you can't finish 50% of the lines before the actors say them...then you're not trying hard enough.

Art: For a terrible anime the art is pretty nice. The art is very smooth, very crisp. There are some really beautiful scenes, and then there are a bunch that aren't that hot. The action scenes lacked flow. They all seemed very static and choppy, very few seemed beautiful. Someone compared this to Afro Samurai and mentioned that the fight scenes lacked intensity, which is exactly what it lacks. This anime is meant to be all about action, and yet the effort put into these scenes seems so lacklustre. The art reminded me alot of Basilisk, and I'm not a huge fan of the style, it really doesn't suit the "feel" of this anime.

Sound: All that was available for me was the english dub....which frightened me. BUT I watched it. They got McLeod with a Scottish accent.......half the time. Which is HILARIOUS when he drops it for a bunch of lines. The english voice actors deliver every line terribly, it doesn't help that the entire script is riddled with terribly cheesy lines and ridiculous one-liners. They had some ridiculous rock music for a bunch of it as well....that didn't help.

Character: Oh man. the characters here are absolutely hilarious. You have the protagonist Colin, who's only dream is vengeance. He wants revenge because some guy "Markus" killed his wife. He's silent, angry, and incredibly powerful. you have Markus, who's such a "bad guy." you even watch his girlfriend kill some gigantic barbarian without breaking a sweat. Then he makes out with her. Oh yeah, he's bad. Then there's the whore with an ulterior motive, who tries to sleep with Mcleod....but he refuses because he's faithful to some wife who died hundreds of years ago. You have the annoying little kid with a dying sister who just HAS to join them because he has to save her from a virus that kills people. *sigh* Just watching them hurts, trying to analyze them hurts even more.

Enjoyment: No one should watch this. For an anime, it didn't even feel like an anime. This is probably the perfect example for anyone who hates how some anime become "americanized." This is an American anime...but it's not fun, it's not creative, it's not original. Only a die-hard Highlander fan could stand watching this.

Please. Don't make the mistake that I made. This anime is horrible, worse than an American B-movie. Even in the first 10 minutes it's really easy to see that it's not going to get any better, and it doesn't...it just gets worse.