Jul 11, 2015
I thought I might as well write my very first review on this, since I was able to watch it on opening day.
Story: 7
I'll start off with the negatives to better highlight why I felt the story was a bit lacking. The conflict. The main conflicts you're introduced with at the beginning of the movie within the Bakemono realm was by not by all means bad, if anything it was able to grab my attention by minute one so I'd say that was a positive. Unfortunately, the conflicts that later arose regarding the humans seemed a bit forced. It was apparent that this side of
...
the story was necessary for Kyuuta's growth, so credit to the movie for that, but it did seem a bit forced and glossed over. The final conflict also seemed bit out of nowhere as well.
*Slight Spoiler*
It was foreshadowed near the beginning of the movie that "The darkness residing within humans will bring disaster". If it had a metaphorical meaning, it would have fit the story just fine. But when the "darkness" becomes a physical problem, the story just feels lazy in presenting the conflict between the two realms.
*Spoiler End*
Putting those aside, just as I had mentioned before, the main setting and conflict within the Bakemono realm grabbed my attention at minute one. It even seems as if he writers enjoyed writing this section of the story more than the human side. This unique yet somewhat cliche setting was able to give the movie points to its fun factor and I feel this is most likely the section of the story that most viewers would enjoy the most.
Art: 6
There wasn't anything really outstanding with the art or anything bad. The basics seemed well done and the movie flowed smoothly. So the general quality of the artwork was of relatively higher quality. I would've given this section a higher rating if the CGI portions of the movie didn't seem so weak. One may argue that being an anime, the CGI doesn't need to be detailed or realistic. Even then, the CGI seemed really out of place within the anime and I felt that I needed to knock down a couple points for that.
Sound: 9
I'm not really good at judging sound, but from a novice's point of view, I felt the sound effects were done really well and the music would play just at the right moment. The background music itself was really able to pull out the "Bakemono" aspect of the Bakemono realm and I appreciate the movie for being able to do so.
Character: 10
I felt this was the single best aspect of this movie. Although the movie did suffer from a couple two-dimensional characters who basically only had the purpose of presenting conflicts into the story, most characters are well done and brings life to the setting whilst also developing Kyuuta as a character.
Meanwhile, the chemistry between Kumatetsu and Kyuuta, on the other hand, is probably one of the best out of all the anime I've seen. Their relationship is something more than a basic master and disciple relationship you'd see in any other works. The movie emphasizes that they are just two halves of a whole, and it does indeed get that point across. Being used to feeling alone, both Kumatetsu and Kyuuta could not get along with each other. But as they start to learn more of each others' weaknesses, they were able to augment each others' strength. While retaining the conflicting relationship they had initially, you can tell that they grew inseparable. Their growth is heartwarming despite their rash attitude and their conclusion may bring tears to the sensitive.
Overall: 8
What really brought this movie up in points was just the amazing portrayal of character development done by Kumatetsu and Kyuuta. Let alone the interesting setting that the story presents us with the Bakemono realm. This is even to the point where I feel that this could have been a masterpiece if the humans of the story was done a bit better. Otherwise I feel that anyone can enjoy this piece of work and would highly recommend it for anyone looking for a heartwarming character development.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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