"What were they thinking when they made this?" - That's the first thing that comes to mind when looking at Prince of Darkness. This isn't Nadesico, this isn't the GEKIGAN FLARE-yelling, hotblooded- yet lighthearted- and satiric view of the real robot genre that made Nadesico unique, interesting and a brilliant watch. No, this is a dark, murderous, hideous shadow of Nadesico. It's what you get if you lock Nadesico into a dark room for a couple years, continuously poke it with a cattle prod and feed it nothing but raw meat. It's just not the same. But it tries to be.
====WARNING: THIS CONTAINS SPOILERS===
Story:
Ok, well for starters, the story is ABYSMAL. Basically the movie comes in parts. Part 1- introducing the viewer to what happened in the time skip between the movie and the end of Nadesico. Part 2- gather all the crew together. Part 3- none of the crew does anything, other than Ruri, and the whole movie ends in virtually the exact same way as the series. WITH THE EXCEPTION OF AKITO. Yes you heard me, Akito does not revert to his lovable anime self, no he leaves this movie as a cold-hearted killer who shoots first and asks questions later. After all the series' development to get him involved with Yurika, he just up and leaves her at the end of the movie. This alone makes the plot of PoD horrible. It just takes away all the good things from the series and throws them in the bin. There is NO Gekiganer in the movie, aside from one line where it is briefly mentioned in passing. This is despite the Jovian's entire race was centred on the thing for centuries. I'm sorry but I just don't *get* that.
Now, don't get me wrong, there are a few funny lines, but I could count them on one hand, and they simply do not justify the complete and utter abandonment of everything Nadesico had represented.
Art:
The artwork is amazing. The Black Selena is an incredible-looking mech, and as with the series, the quality of animation is very high. I have no complaints at all about the animation. However, this does not justify the plot.
Sound:
Again, no complaints, the sound is at least good enough for me to not have anything bad to say about it, and thus I give it the thumbs up.
Character:
Ok, here's a big thumbs down. Yurika has all of what, three lines in this show? Akito is NOTHING like his previous self.Minor characters, such as prospector or Megumi are delegated to single-sentence appearances, and serve no real role whatsoever. Ruri has almost all of the screentime, with the only other character of notable significance being Ryoko (oh, and the Jovian- the Joe Umisubame (gekiganger) lookalike, I can't remember his name, he gets a little development). Sure, this isn't bad if you're a Ruri fan, but the colour and depth of the cast is one of the pivotal things that made Nadesico great. This movie chucks that into a paper shredder and lights it on fire. You simply get no charater development whatsoever, and the development you do get is largely negative, as in Akito, who is the complete opposite of his three-years-prior self.
Enjoyment:
None. As a matter of fact I felt sick after whatching this. The animation was good. There were a couple of funny lines. But what was once a bright and funny show is now a dark and pessimistic gloom-fest. Sorry but I actually REGRET watching this, rather than enjoy it.
Overall:
This series departs from the Anime in such as colossal way that it is simply a complete and utter punch in the face to someone who came here looking for more Nadesico goodness. Watch the Gekiganger OVA, that thing's far more deserving as Nadesico's sequel. Don't watch this.
