This is a great movie, for many reasons. Boasting one of the coolest openings to any anime, this movie kicks ass right away.
Classic 80s cyberpunk that cannot be replicated today, what, with its lovingly drawn frames and the grittiness imposed on it by the technology at the time.
Shinjuku does feel like a long-lost piece of humanity that has since been swallowed by the widening maw of Hell: the demons feel and look great - the spider being especially terrifying.
The only thing that I feel lets this movie down and penalizes its rating - and prevents it from being up there with other classics like Akira, etc... - is because the ending is rushed and unfinished. I feel like they were trying to cram too much into this movie, but ran out of time. The climax between Rebi Ra and our hero only lasts for a few painfully short-lived moments, and was anticlimactic to say the least. If they could have somehow extended the runtime by 20 minutes, it would have polished everything off nicely.
Nonetheless, for what there is of it, this movie is a definite must-see for fans of this genre.
Classic 80s cyberpunk that cannot be replicated today, what, with its lovingly drawn frames and the grittiness imposed on it by the technology at the time.
Shinjuku does feel like a long-lost piece of humanity that has since been swallowed by the widening maw of Hell: the demons feel and look great - the spider being especially terrifying.
The only thing that I feel lets this movie down and penalizes its rating - and prevents it from being up there with other classics like Akira, etc... - is because the ending is rushed and unfinished. I feel like they were trying to cram too much into this movie, but ran out of time. The climax between Rebi Ra and our hero only lasts for a few painfully short-lived moments, and was anticlimactic to say the least. If they could have somehow extended the runtime by 20 minutes, it would have polished everything off nicely.
Nonetheless, for what there is of it, this movie is a definite must-see for fans of this genre.