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| THIS IS AN ANIME ONLY DISCUSSION POST. DO NOT DISCUSS THE MANGA BEYOND THIS EPISODE. ---------------------------------------- Yasuhiko Yoshikazu should have sticked to doing Gundam chara-designs, his two movies Arion and Venus Wars are really awful. The direction is utterly bad, the script is almost non-existant and characters are more than forgettable. I'm still wondering why Justin Sevakis put this total failure on his "Buried Treasures"... It's most probably buried, but it shouldn't be watched by anyone honestly... |
 In every age, in every place, the deeds of men remain the same. |
| I don't think it is a total failure. But the story and characters would obviously need a deep supervision. The animation was very good. |
| I quite liked this movie, I was rather impressed by the quality in art and sound it offered and it had some really nice and interesting characters together with a well build story. Knowing in what year this was made I'm still very impressed by the quality and all in all it was pretty good so a solid 7/10 for me! |
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| I am confused how anyone can call this movie a failure? Its literally one of the best animated films during its time period, great story, great detail, good character. The only way I see someoen saying this movie is a FAILURE is if they are younger people who are kind of mainstream Anime fans. |
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| I think the story is pretty scatter-shot, switching gears left and right without any really throughline until we get to the end. Some of the character's motivations are also a bit odd to me... such as why the whole group decided to go and blow up a tank out of nowhere... or how a reporter decided she would assassinate a general. However, that being said, I did like the majority of the characters, even if the main one... Hiro, was your typical bratty bad-boy and probably the least likable character in the film. I think it's a real tease that they opened the film by introducing Susan Summers as the main character, and then immediately pushed her to the side as soon as Hiro got introduced. Especially since I feel like Susan is such a well-written character. Anyway, all-in-all, I think it was good, but not great. Definitely not a failure like some have said. It's a fun movie that is technically impressive and has shades of a good story hidden within it. It's a film I think could have been much more if all of the parts had come together in a different way, but as it is, I feel like it's something that is entertaining but could have been so much more. After I finished it, I was debating between rating it a 7 and a 8. I think it probably would have been a 7/10 if the animation didn't look as nice as it does, so I ended up giving it an 8. Wow, this post has gotten longer than I expected it to, perhaps I should write a review or something, haha. XD |
::End of Transmission:: What have I been watching? Click here and find out on my viewing blog, "Vigorous Viewing" |
| Just watched it, and really liked the genuine classic vibe. Though everything was pretty much forgetable, it was well executed, and the characters were consistent, which for me is far more important than them being memorable. 7/10 |
| "I'm a middle schooler bartender!" - Mishima Hitomi |
| Pretty good movie. It had great mecha design and action (including the crane scene), the tanks were impressive, and the monobikes are quite the interesting vehicule, their mobility and speed are well conveyed. Backgrounds especially the urban ones were superb. Really liked the overall gritty feel, that's how I imagine war. Recent anime depicting wars are a joke in comparison (Valvrave, Cross Ange). Jacut said: I have honestly no idea what you mean. Direction is to give a unity of vision, and transmit feelings/ideas through image. Which the movie did very well, I had no problem imagining myself on Venus here. If there's one thing connected to directing I have a problem with, it is the sometime inappropriate use of music, but that often happens in 80s anime, so not a flaw someone objective would call "utterly bad". The direction is utterly bad, the script is almost non-existant. Same for the so called "non-existent" script. A band of teenagers are slowly getting dragged into a conflict. To give a landmark, the first guerilla attack on the tank is half way through the movie. Before that you see the band's everyday life, and how this life gets disrupted by the conflict (first enemy attack, the curfew...). And after that, they decide to take action, but they still each have their individual path: Will is a born hero, Hiro dislikes authority, Susan goes for revenge, and the rest of the band realise the conflict is too big for them. Now sure some plot points didn't have enough impact (Gary's death most notably), and felt a bit rushed, but come on, it's a movie, and it's an adaptation. Yes some things about the story-telling could have been better, but that would have required more time, and with its current duration I thought the film did definitely well. |
EratiKMay 15, 2015 5:18 PM
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| The stylistic choice of using real-world footage for the camera mount scene in the middle as well as that return to Io scene near the end were rather jarring. Overall, I thought this movie was quite decent throughout, though lacking any memorable qualities other than the great animation for its time. |
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| Great animation, soundtrack and action sequences but the rest was pretty mediocre, hell even bad. |
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| Pretty below average for me (3/10). Boring characters and the action wasn't very exciting. |
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| This was a gorgeous film but there wasn't a script to match the visuals. There's really nothing of facepalm about (well maybe the last duel) but the scrip is "wonky" and the characters aren't likeable (especially the reporter) |
KuruwinJun 4, 2016 11:39 PM
| I enjoyed the music and some of the characters (reporter girl and the enemy general - with the same voice actor as Oberstein from LotGH - for example). Setting and visuals (char design) were nice - for an old anime. And interesting to see how they thought of the future back then. (People back then never imagined us having flat screens like TFT/LED and always showing the CRT screens. And the phones of course ...) Plot wasn't that interesting. But okay for a movie. (I usually prefer series that leave more room for plot development and have a different/better pacing in a lot of cases.) 7/10 for me. |
Luthandorius said: People back then never imagined us having flat screens like TFT/LED and always showing the CRT screens. Are you sure? :D @busterbeam Are you refering to some kind of internet journalistic page on this show? Mind giving me an URL? At least one where you saw him harassing Tomino (not a devoted blind fan of this creator/director but for what I saw, I like what he's able to think about or visually render) "for the time" ? Does it mean we have to judge this by keeping its production period in mind? It's insane... even by pure techncal values, it's at par or above a lot of today's theatrical productions. As for the designs sense, the futuristic aesthetic is doomed to change throughout the periods (I can use the Rollerball movie I mentioned above as example). Ysad_Ziwezhan said: characterization is abysmal. Nice to see someone mentioning "characterization" rather than crying over char.development ! @SIOPAOBUN "The film also feels like a more realized version of the manga " The fact Yasuhiko first envisioned it as a film probably helped. Great to read someone recognize the visual beauty Venus Wars is (along a few other 80s big movies). (In case you haven't watched it yet, "Arion" is pretty well made too, albeit with slightly less detailed drawings, and isn't "a bad/shorter version of its manga" either.) |
Rei_IIIOct 23, 2020 2:45 PM
| I though this was a pretty entertaining war movie. The direction was engaging and well-focused and the designs and animation were great. At first, I thought the battle laid over the live-action footage was a way to save money, but it might actually been the opposite, but what do I know. It still looked cool. The characters themselves were nothing special, but obviously that wasn't the focus. |
syncrogazerFeb 9, 2018 8:47 AM
| Liked this movie, the animation was superb and I enjoyed the story. Felt bad when Will died and the MC could have been better tho |
| I loved the art and the setting but characterization is abysmal. |
| Not gonna lie. the first half didnt put effort on making the characters interesting enough, and the story looked sort of generic 80s stuff, but it was decent. the second half was alwful and boring towards the end. it sucks because the visuals were stunning, the designs charismatic and the music was super fun. Good thing Yasuhiko eventually turned into a better director and storyteller with Gundam the origin, but this was dissapointing. |
| :v |
| I fall in the camp of great looking anime but the story was very good. The art style, background art and mech designs kept me engaged, just wished the characters were interesting to care about them. |
| Great movie, reminded me of Megazone with all those cool bikes and stuff, and that the characters were forcefully put in a situation where they had to choose a side to fight for. my fav quote: it's not commanders who kill people, not even soldiers, it's war that kills people. Overall 9/10 I'm a sucker for these stories and characters, Miranda was badass |
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| I'm glad Yasuhiko stuck to Gundam after this. [UPDATE]: After giving a rewatch, I actually really dig it now. |
MaoujiRenkinApr 28, 2021 7:20 PM
| "I will not die until I achieve something. Even though the ideal is high, I never give in. Therefore, I never die with regrets." |
| Might be one of the few but I loved Venus Wars. The animation was already worth the price of admission, Yasuhiko's directing was impeccable, and the swelling score courtesy of Hisaishi really helped annunciate moments. If you told me this movie came out this year, I'd probably be tempted to believe you, saved only by the fact that most works now can't touch it. As a whole, it feels like a classic Hollywood movie the likes of Die Hard or Independence Day. The characters are nothing to write home about but the spectacles sweeping the landscapes are the main draw. Other aspects of the film were also incredibly well done that it baffles me to read people labeling it as a flop. Really appreciated the film not being afraid to settle done once in a while. Breaking up the set pieces help. The film also feels like a more realized version of the manga which I loved. Really wish we got Part 2 animated. A sucker punch of an ending would've been a nice contrast and B side to this. Would've given it a 7 but it's technical merits alone warrant an 8/10 |
Rei_III said: Luthandorius said: People back then never imagined us having flat screens like TFT/LED and always showing the CRT screens. Are you sure? :D @busterbeam Are you refering to some kind of internet journalistic page on this show? Mind giving me an URL? At least one where you saw him harassing Tomino (not a devoted blind fan of this creator/director but for what I saw, I like what he's able to think about or visually render) "for the time" ? Does it mean we have to judge this by keeping its production period in mind? It's insane... even by pure techncal values, it's at par or above a lot of today's theatrical productions. As for the designs sense, the futuristic aesthetic is doomed to change throughout the periods (I can use the Rollerball movie I mentioned above as example). Ysad_Ziwezhan said: characterization is abysmal. Nice to see someone mentioning "characterization" rather than crying over char.development ! @SIOPAOBUN "The film also feels like a more realized version of the manga " The fact Yasuhiko first envisioned it as a film probably helped. Great to read someone recognize the visual beauty Venus Wars is (along a few other 80s big movies). (In case you haven't watched it yet, "Arion" is pretty well made too, albeit with slightly less detailed drawings, and isn't "a bad/shorter version of its manga" either.) Yeah I'm actually a big fanof Yasuhiko's work. I'll definitely give Arion a show too. Probably will read the manga first before watching the film though. |
| Decently serviceable sci-fi war movie. Great animation and design cover for the mediocre characters and slipshod plot developments. Just a fun, superficial movie. |
| The movie wasn't particularly memorable, but I found it well directed enough (I liked how the officer's rhetoric was regurgitated @1:07:25, in the English dub that is on Amazon prime), and the art and animation is leagues above the crap coming out today. The MC's characterization seems to flip flop. At first, he seems to be keeping his head down and trying to live his life without catching the attention of the occupational forces. Then, he gets caught up in the impulsiveness of his biker gang and decides that ignoring the advice of a war vet to try to blow up a tank is a good idea. And then after he gets conscripted by the loyalist military remnants, he's back to wanting out of the conflict? It's also clear that the other country that was backing the loyalist military remnants was just using them as expendable cannon fodder, but nothing seems to ever come of that. Feels like the movie couldn't decide whether or not it was pro guerilla warfare "fight to the last man!" or was sticking to a "all sides are bad, the only winning move is not to play" philosophy. When the kids try to destroy their first tank at the stadium, it clearly has multiple open intakes. When the arms dealer crashed his trailer full of oil into the tank and it exploded, the people inside the tank should have died. Even if the crew somehow managed to close the intakes at the last second, they still should have cooked inside. Cars heat up in the desert very quickly, and this is a gasoline fire that should be thousands of degrees Fahrenheit. The survival of the tank is total bullocks. vigorousjammer said: Some of the character's motivations are also a bit odd to me... such as why the whole group decided to go and blow up a tank out of nowhere... or how a reporter decided she would assassinate a general. ... Especially since I feel like Susan is such a well-written character. My guess is that the writers intended for the selfish, immoral reporter to have become a true sympathizer of the people. But she just comes off as a selfish bitch who has endangered reporters everywhere by abusing her supposed neutrality when she tried to use the interview for an assassination attempt. |
| Damn, I love everything about this, the characters and vehicles design, the setting, the animation is great (soundtrack lame though), but somehow I found this movie just okayish... I can't even say if it's the characters, pace, sequence or the script I found uninteresting... perhaps a bit of each... well, I guess not everybody is a Otomo or Oshii |
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| Ehh, can't really say I liked the movie. Animation was good, and the scene with the crane vs the tank was fun, but everything else was super generic. The pacing was very "lots of stuff is happening but at the same time nothing is happening." I honestly couldn't tell you why the Ishtarian leader wanted to kill Hiro in the end, unless I totally glazed over something, which I very well might have. I was checking the time left every few minutes, that's how uninterested I was lol. Oh well, not my kind of movie, but I could see it being more engaging if I was into this kind of war story. |
| This was such a treat to watch, The animation was fluid and the art so detailed. I dont know how I stumbled upon this movie but I sure am glad I did watch it. It reminded me of Akira due to the bikers stuff. Was an enjoyable movie for sure! |
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| This movie blew me away. The animation was phenomenal, Akira-tier quality. There is so much attention to detail in every frame. I also found the movie more compelling and thematically rich than Akira too. The narrative is lacking in some aspects, a tiny rewrite would have made it perfect. Overall it's a great depiction of war intruding on the lives of rebellious youth forcing them to grow up, very Gundam-esque. |
"I'm starting to think mal is run by Xinil generating electricity on a bicycle." - idklol |
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