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I've been meaning to watch this film for the longest time, and at last I have. I normally would not review an older anime, but I really feel the need to write this one.

Angel's Egg is a 1980s anime with a DVD which is exceptionally hard to track down (I'm even surprised I did. Libraries never cease to amaze.) The story takes place in a rapidly decaying world where a young girl lives her life, always carrying a large egg by her side. As she is gathering water and such, a young swordsman crosses paths with her and they continue to walk through the world ... speaking to one another. Much of their conversations involve their views of the present world.
I found the story itself to be quite good, personally. I've always been somewhat of a sucker for post-apocalyptic atmospheres if done without too much heavy depression. This movie definitely held that depressed feel, but a more haunting and dark element mainly composed the movie. There was also some religious mention weaved into the tale, which interests me sometimes in things I don't expect. By the end, the representation of a story with the film's characters shown was impeccable. The only downfall I found to to it was its pacing: this film had so many long pauses that I actually felt like I was going to fall asleep. I had to rest my eyes a few times because of it. However for a rating, I'll give Story a 9/10.

Artwork and animation is sort of expected to not be entirely top-notch when the anime is an old one. Heck, even older than me! That being said, I actually liked the artwork a lot. You can tell that a lot of work went into the animation as well, especially with the little girl's hair: animating every strand of that must have been a nightmare. But nonetheless, they really did a spectacular job with its art. 9/10.

The soundtrack had a lot of opera as well as haunting sort of pieces. I found that since the movie was silent for a good portion of it, a lot of the music was out of place. The volume they put it at did not help any either. Despite that, the music itself wasn't entirely terrible. I'd give it a 7/10, but it would not be nearly good enough for me to buy.

As I said before, a lot of this movie was silent; meaning very little dialogue for a long time. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but when you are introduced to a little girl who always has an egg on her person, you're wondering who she is and why she has that item. The girl does not speak for a VERY long time, and I found this difficult to adjust to. As the audience, I wanted to know her character. What I was given was a small (and rather capable) girl running around a dying land for 15 minutes merely gathering water in bottles and hugging the egg close to her. When she met the swordsman, I became a bit more hopeful: maybe another character can get her to talk. With two people, you'd expect dialogue. When they first meet, neither of them say a word. Not one. She merely just runs away and hides from him, only to find him another 15 minutes later. It is THEN that they both decide to take a gander at some dialogue. With this, I didn't like knowing so little about either of them. They also lacked a great deal of emotion for a long time (which was understandable enough because of their situation, but the outlier was the care this little girl was showing for that egg!) Character recieves a poor 5/10 from me.

Overall, I would say that I didn't exactly waste around an hour watching this film, but I didn't love everything during that hour. The pacing of the movie was unbelievably slow. I have not been inclined to quite literally fall asleep due to uninteresting pacing ever since The Sky Crawlers. The story had potential, and it was able to flaunt its potential well at around the midpoint. Still, there were several long pauses and still shots that were just too long. If the structure had not been so snail-like, this movie would have gotten a better rating from me overall. After all, the story combined two of my favorite things in anime: post-apocalyptic setting without a hugely heavy dose of depression, and religious/mythical mention. So if I had to give it a rating for Enjoyment, it would be a 5/10. However my overall rating for this movie is a 6/10. The story is what drove me to put it one point higher than I normally would.

I would recommend this film if you like more... lets say 'abstract' kind of anime. This movie is definitely different from anything I've seen. Also, if you're interested in piecing together an animated story and a mythical/religious story to try and figure out what character represents who and all that fun stuff, you would probably like this a lot.

Alright, a review of Blessing of the Campanella! *rubs hands together eagerly*
I'm actually a little surprised in myself for actually making this review, but I just recently finished it and I thought it at least deserved a mention of some kind. This was not a groundbreaking anime, nor was it an absolutely horrid one.

Story: One thing I liked about the story was its setting. Sometimes I'm a sucker for fantasy, which I did not know would be involved in this. So seeing the 'Shouseki Monsters' appear, and the group stepping up to the plate to kick some Crystallized demon butt was actually pretty cool. It ... starts off with the re-awakening of a young automaton girl named Minette. The concept of an automatan is basically that of a robotic human which is related to the 'Eru' that flows in the city. That being said, they really did not elaborate on the purposes of automatan. Minette seemed to act like a normal young girl, so she didn't perform anything particularly special (even up until the very end.) There also was only maybe 2 or 3 automatans in the entire series: I mean you'd think these things would be important, but I guess not. *shrugs* Alongside this, the real problem did not present itself until the 7th episode, which annoyed me as its about halfway. The last 4 episodes were the most enjoyable of the series for me, so it wasn't entirely fast-paced either. 5 overall.

Art: I'll admit, it was the art that first drew me into watching this show. I looked at the promotional picture and thought, "This looks like a really cute and enjoyable anime." I didn't think it looked like anything amazing, but something to just kick back and relax to. This vibe was executed well with the art, and though the designs weren't the most original of things, I enjoyed it. They also made a good decision when they put in different animations for the ending in the last 4 - 5 episodes. 7!

Sound: The songs used in this grow on you very quickly. For a majority of the episodes they stick with using one opening (which is fairly catchy.) In one episode they switch openings, and I liked the new one a lot! Weirdly enough it was only for one episode, so that was disappointing. I might want to have these songs on my iPod to listen to occassionally, but its nothing that could get stuck in your head for months on end. In total, I rank it 7!

Character: Campanella certainly presents forth a lot of interesting characters for the audience to meet. You have a small cheerful automatan girl, a male love interest with almost no flaws, a young sorceress, a shy swordswoman who has no sense of direction, twin sisters (named after salsa and chips), very energetic adults and two people with a goal that proves to be the problem by episode 7. While I didn't love all of these characters, I did enjoy a great number of them. Chelsea's bits about getting lost were entertaining, Ritos and Salsa were decent comic relief at times (and their Golem was an all-around great machine), Minette was too adorable and even Carina was a cool character to see on screen, what with her awesome magical abilities and complete jerk of a magical broomstick (er... broom paddle?) That being said, though they were each unique in their own way, they didn't leave a huge impression on me. Lets just say that of I had to choose a favorite character, it would be Golem. Yes, Golem; a walking wall of a machine with little dialogue over all of those other characters. (But he was still awesome in his own way.) Thus, I give this another 7.

Enjoyment: I was originally watching this series as each episode aired weekly, but I kept it on hold after awhile and got back to other shows. In short, its pace was very slow. I was mentally snoozing by my desk at 2 pm when I hit episode 5. However, all things considered, I did enjoy this anime. It ended up how I thought it was going to be: short and sweet. Something to watch and relax, you know? The ending also had a big impact on me; even for me to up my final score of the anime by one point. For Enjoyment, 6!

Overall: Overall, I'd say this is a 6. Decent: not amazing nor absolutely horrid. Its got good music, interesting enough characters and nice (while not completely original) artwork. Watching this reminded me of watching Chobits back in the day, as the plots and atmospheres are slightly similar. I'd say I liked Chobits more than Campanella for the better-executed story, but they're very similar.
If you're looking for something that has all of the previous things mentioned above along with a bit of fanservice (its not horded onto you, thank goodness) and won't make your brain melt from being confused, I recommend this. =]

Ah, X. It's definitely one of those 90's anime classics that deserves more credit now than it deserves. This series was another complete impulse buy by me. I had heard that it was rather enjoyable, and after reading the description of the plot on the back of the Box Set that I saw, I was at least mildly interested. It seemed to focus heavily on the fantasy genre, which I greatly enjoy if the show is paced well enough.

Anyways, let's venture on over to my take on the story. In the beginning, much is not explained. The viewers ... are introduced to Kamui Shiro, a young high school teenager who has supposedly 'returned' to Tokyo after six years in order to take a legendary sword from a shrine, and disappear from Tokyo. His reasons are unclear, but apparently two siblings who were his good friends when he was younger and lived in Tokyo take an interest in him (as they haven't seen him in a long time.) Kamui tries to push them away from his life, believing that they should not get involved with him. Angsty selfless main character? Check! Anyways, basically a larger plot involving the end of the world with the 'Dragons of Heaven' pitted against the 'Dragons of Earth' is revealed, and the plot thickens moreso. I found the story to be refreshing, and CLAMP's vision of a ruined world was believeable and well-put. The ending left a few side problems unsolved, so I will give the story a 9/10.

The artwork was based on CLAMP's designs, as they made the original (and for some reason unfinished) manga. Now CLAMP always does nice jobs on their art, but I found this anime to have somewhat bland-looking characters. There was very little color involved and a lot of characters (especially the men) looked similar. Now despite this, I believe that the animation itself was very well done for its time. Thus, art gets a 7/10 from me.

Onto the sound from the anime! Personally I decided to randomly watch this in its English dub, and found the dub to be fitting and very well done. I did check out a bit of the sub and I will admit that I found Suzumura's Kamui to be a bit more emotional than Steve Cannon's Kamui (which would be a good thing. I think Cannon needed to really grasp the character's situation more at Kamui's most emotional times.) So overall the voice acting was superb.
The music was composed by Naoki Sato, and with that beign said I originally had high expectations for its soundtrack (as I am a fan of Sato's work.) Luckily for me, the soundtrack did not disappoint in the slightest! In fact, I would label it as one of the greatest anime soundtracks in existence. My only gripe would be how often its theme ('Destiny') played in the most unfitting of times. It is a piece designed for an epic sequence, and though many epic sequences were utilised with it, they also used it for smaller and less important scenes. This threw me off a little bit. Regardless, sound gets a 10/10 from me.

The characters in X are nearly all loveable: even the villain(s). Many characters grow on you as you watch, as well. There were some I didn't love, but when they're CLAMP-esque pasts were revealed, it was hard to dislike any of them. Character gets a 10/10 from me.

Overall, I enjoyed this anime thoroughly. I liked it so much that I decided to start reading the manga (for comparison and out of sheer intrigue.) X had really great pacing and had my attention nearly the entire time (give or take about three episodes in the middle.) Enjoyment recieves a 9/10 from me, and overall a 9/10.

If you enjoy fantasy, undecided futures, epic music and the option of the end of the world, I suggest you look into this!

Ah, Fullmetal Alchemist: one of the most highly regarded anime and manga in the world. Many years ago, I had always come across watching an episode or two of the first anime on TV: it had never peaked my interest too much since many of the episodes had been reduced to filler. It was then that 2009 hit: BONES had announced that they would be making a remake of the show, Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood, making it closer to the manga. My first thoughts were, "Manga? Hm.. I wonder if I could find it online." After much persuasion from my friend, I gave the manga a ... read.
By the time I had hit Chapter 91, I was hooked and I wanted to read more. The sad reality was that I then had to wait for monthly scanlated chapters: whoo. x| With that being said, the final chapter recently became available this week, and now that I've read the manga completely, I feel a need to write a review about this wonderful series.

Story: The story is one of the most original tales I've heard in a very long time. Despite the fact that alchemy is a commonly-used factor to stories, I found Fullmetal's grasp of the concept to be the most intriguing in comparison to what I've read. The storyline easily receives a 10 from me.

Art: The art reflects the story well: its comedic when needed, and serious as all hell when the serious tone sets in. The art strays away from the usual big-eyed anime people, yet its anime style still remains apparent. There were parts in the action scenes where there was a little too much going on, so it was hard to tell what exactly was happening. For that, I give the art a 9.

Character: You simply CAN'T hate ANY characters in this series (maaaaybe except for Homunculus. But I even liked him! xD) The two main characters, Ed and Al Elric are very strong characters. The brotherhood they reflect is equally as powerful, and you just can't go wrong with Ed and short jokes sometimes. I can honestly say that Hoenheim and Ling were two of my all time favorite characters: Hoenheim was a bit of a tragic character; unfortunately always running away in order to protect the ones he loved. It was only by final few chapters that he realized that running wasn't always the answer. Ling originally traveled outside of Xing in search of the Philosopher's Stone. What he found when he got there was more than that: a friend whose heart had changed. His purpose gradually began to fluctuate, and is character development was wonderful to see.
Alongside this, all I can say is: Armstrong. ... You can't hate the guy. It’s impossible. xD Character gets a 10 from me!

Enjoyment: I was always looking forward to a new chapter: always anticipating a new plot twist, and the result of an epic battle. For Enjoyment, it receives a 9 from me.

Overall: Such a fantastic manga. Some things were a bit fast-paced, but other than that it was hugely enjoyable. The last chapter almost brought a tear to my eye, and no manga other than the powerful Fruits Basket has done that to me. I salute you, Hiromu Arakawa!

If you enjoy strong bonds of friendship, great action sequences, and delving into a little bit of black magic known as alchemy, I highly recommend this series.

I've been itching to write a review for this anime. I finished it just a few hours ago, and it left a (pretty darn) big impression on me.

Story: The story revolves around a young man named Hayato, who decides to revisit his old hometown and look into the mysteries revolving around the masked murderer, "The Skull Man." It is only later on that he finds himself and his female partner, Kiriko, deeply involved in the dealings of The Skull Man, and something must be done to stop these events from happening.

The story holds HEAVY religious mention I would want to say that it was an ... undertone, but oh gosh would I be wrong. The entire story revolved around two religions, and their views. Now, I found this topic very interesting: its rare that you see it in anime, nowadays. The plotline easily intrigued me from the very beginning, and new twists and turns seemed unexpected which I loved. Obvious anime are never fun. And so, I would give the story a 9. The pacing was very fast as times, given the amount of episodes it had, so its one of those anime that you really couldn't let your mind wander away from. First they're talking about The White Bell Association, and the next thing you know they've delved into the past of something relating to the Association who's name you missed (one of my experiences, actually. xD; ) So the story was unbelievably unique and compelling, but I would have to give it a 9 due to its execution.

Art: If you're a BONES fan, you will get a g-r-e-a-t vibe of Wolf's Rain mixed with Darker Than BLACK from the characters. The designs were simple, yet colorful, and the design for the Skull Man himself was neat. I would not say that this art is groundbreaking, but it certainly mixed well with the storyline. A bit of eyecandy here and there for the fights, but otherwise, nothing hugely special. It recieves an 8 from me.

Sound: The soundtrack was a neat combination of classic jazz and orchestral speedy pieces. Overall, the music sounded nice together, but it didn't make me stop and think, "This music fits PERFECTLY with this scene." The Opening theme was certainly one of the catchier songs I have heard in awhile, but the Ending theme was slow: real slow. Is it only me who can't stand slow ending songs? I mean I know its the end of the episode, boo-hoo, but if you're going to make an ending that makes the fans lose interest, why bother? Thus, it recives only a 7 from me.

Character: I LOVED the characters to death in this series. Hayato and Kiriko are easily two of the coolest anime characters out there, and the Skull Man's intent, though slightly evil, was mesmorizingly great. It added an air of mystery to the guy, which was a nice touch. Also, there is an old man in this anime who basically makes an appearance in every episode (with good reason, after who he is revealed as by the final episode) and he is just a riot. Not only is he cunning, but he also has a sense of humor, and, by the final episode, a classic intent for revenge. I think I liked his character the most, even if he was a supporting role. Character gets a 10 from me!

Enjoyment: Looking at the anime overall, I really, truly enjoyed it from the depths of my soul. It was an anime that was so unique, it was simply gripping and thrilling. I loved practically every minute of it right up until the final episode. Well, if you're a BONES fan, you'd know what a BONES ending is usually like: rushed, left open, and leaving the audience thinking, "What the HECK just happened here?!" Really. I honestly believe it to be BONES' most confusing ending ever created by them.
Now, that's not to say that it doesn't make total sense. One of my pet peeves is when people say, "This made NO SENSE WHATSOEVER!" Well of course it made sense, just not in a context which you can think of. And its apparent that you're too lazy to Google some discussion on its ending.
I always looks forward to an ending by Studio BONES, because I love deciphering them if I don't understand it. If I can't figure it out at all, I look to Google and lurk through forums discussing said ending. I've been doing it ever since I've started watching BONES stuff: some of their endings can be rather thought-provoking, you know.
Anyways, I can honestly say that I sat in my chair for five minutes after the final episode ended, completely dumbfounded and lacking any sort of answer to its ending. So, I went to Google. I shall not spoil anything, but I will say this: be familiar in Ishinorii Shotaro's works if you plan on watching this. Apparently, the ending is some sort of prologue to another of his works, and some of his original characters make an appearance in the anime. Who doesn't love pointing out those? =D

Overall, I really enjoyed this anime. Its issue for me was mainly its pacing, seeing as I believe it could have gotten the same message out in 24 episodes rather than 13. The ending hints a sequel, which I do hope is on the horizon as well. If the pacing had been perfect, I'd have given it a 10. But alas, it recieves a 9 from me.
If you really love detective work, views on religion, supernatural occurences, AND a totally win opening song by TOKIO, then you should really check out this anime. =)

Thanks for reading!

Hm... HeatGuy J. Writing a review on this anime actually has me a bit puzzled in terms of how much I enjoyed it. Originally I became interested in the anime after seeing several advertisements online for the complete series on DVD. The fact that someone who worked on EscaFlowne was a part of it greatly influenced me in watching it as well.

The plot is interesting. Its set in a somewhat futuristic city named, 'Judoh.' Judoh has a very strict law organization which the two main characters, Daisuke Aurora and the, 'Heat Guy' J, are a part of. It's more like a smaller version of Special ... Ops, who specialize in doing a little under cover work in order to find the culprit and capture them. a lot of their missions usually involve illegal aliens.
J is an android of unbeatable strength (in comparison to the other androids) and is Daisuke's partner of justice.

So for the story, I would give it a 7/10, for the fact that the setting was likeable and certainly the last few episodes had me on the edge of my couch cushion! It would have gotten an 8, if not for the snail pace in which the storyline was shown in. It took around seventeen episodes for the main plot to flesh out, which, for me, made it hard to finish the series.

The artwork was rather nice: a lot of it seemed almost like a tribute to the old EscaFlowne animation (character design-wise, and even personality-wise sometimes. Trust me, you'll spot an Allen Schezar and a Dilandau in here. xD) There was a bit of CG in this show at the points where they wanted to show an intense car chase scene, or when they wanted Daisuke to ride his blue motorcycle. The CG did not stand out too much, which I liked.

The sound? (I'm assuming that means the music as well as the acting and all that.) I will say that the soundtrack is 100% unique. Who would've thought that android-battling and bagpipes would go together so well! The soundtrack was a very high point in this series, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. The acting job in both Japanese and English was absolutely fantastic. This anime had one of the better English dubs I've heard in years.

Character: Well, I can automatically say that J was a very cool character. Based on his programming, he would always spout these responsible lines about what a man should do in situations given to him. Particularly, his favorite line involved men never going back on their promises. If only every man was like J, jeez. XD
Daisuke was a fairly interesting character. His calm, laid-back attitude grew to be rather loveable.
Other characters in this series were definitely unique, and I will only say that the only person I did not like was Boma. Some may disagree with me, but his existence almost made it seem like he was just a quick little add-in. His backstory did not contribute to the major plot, and so I found myself annoyed whenever he came on screen.

Overall, I would give this a 7/10. This is not an average anime, but nor is it a masterpiece. The slow plot pacing was what killed most of it for me, but that may be just because I wished for something to happen that would contribute to the main problem and solution in the end. Plus I had high expectations plot-wise because of the fact that someone from EscaFlowne was involved, and EscaFlowne had something contributing to the plot in practically each episode. If you have not seen EscaFlowne and you are planning on watching this, it may be better for you to watch this one without having something to compare to. ^^;; The things in this anime which made me enjoy it were J and his quoteable lines, the appearance of The Celestials (one episode for it? Come on now D:), the soundtrack, and most of all, the fact that romance was not a key factor between two particular characters by the end of it. You could sense something may happen, but for now, it did not. I usually love romantic endings, but only if the two characters are immediately meant to fall in love from the get-go (or if they make continuous hints of romance throughout the series.) HeatGuy J had a few hints of romance, but not many. So the ending decision was a good one.

So in conclusion, the story could have moved a little faster, the final three episodes were basically amazing, J's image of a man is the most ideal man out there, and people who have seen The Vision of EscaFlowne may like the reminiscent character designs.
A fine job, but it could have been just a little bit better.

Thanks for reading!

I came upon this anime when I was browsing through a local comic store. As I had $50.00 on hand, I really felt that I should buy something almost purely on impulse, and that's when I saw a lovely little box set of, 'Shrine of the Morning Mist' (or, 'Asagiri No Miko.')

So, the story of Shrine of the Morning Mist is not much to get hyped up over. From my perspective, it was quite generic: A young boy (Tadahiro) who appears to be the love interest of a girl (Yuzu) who is a main character, holds a demonic power in his eye that has been ... passed on from generations of his family. As such, he attracts demons because of this. The main girl, who is a Shrine Maiden in training, vows to let no demon touch him, and with the aid of her friends who later compose, 'The Priestess Club', they attain weapons and fight demons who would target Tadahiro.

As episode 1 was nearing its end, I was fairly interested in the series. There was a villain who had a creepy yet cool-looking mask specifically after Tadahiro, and who wouldn't love monster-battling? If that wasn't enough, the comedy was OUTRAGEOUSLY funny!
There was a catch that caught me off guard by the end of episode 1, though: Tadahiro was Yuzu's cousin.
At that moment, I was really thrown off. I mean, its not exactly incest, but they're related nonetheless. Still, they remained as the main couple of the show until the very end (and they're falling in love was actually explained in better terms by the halfway point of the series, which I liked.)

The characters in the series were very likeable, I must admit. Even by the end, you'll be feeling emotionally attached to a few of the villains. Yuzu's friends were absolutely hysterical a lot of the time, as well.

Overall, I think the story could have been a little better (but I guess we would have to blame the manga it was based off of for that) but the characters, music, and comedy were the series' highest points, and if only for those reasons, I would say that you shouldn't pass up watching this anime.

Overall: 7/10

Thank you for reading!

Ok, so I'm guessing and hoping that anyone who wants to watch this anime has watched Season 1 already. If you haven't, finish S1 and don't watch Purezza.

I was a fairly big fan of Season 1: despite it's fanservice, there wasn't a huge amount of it and the story seemed quite cute to me. Plus, there were anime references. ;D So when I heard Season 2 was coming out, I thought, "Awesome! I can't wait for this season! I bet it's going to be great."

I have never been more wrong.

Purezza literally took EVERYTHING Season 1 had that was good, and flushed it down the ... toilet. It went from being a slightly fanservice anime, to an over-the-top fanservice anime. And the story was utter CRAP to me.

Overall, this was a terrible season and I was insanely disappointed. Think of it like this: They took a decent plot and tore it up, they added fanservice that goes BEYOND normal fanservice. Believe me, spare your eyes and keep the first Season close to your heart. Imagine they get together and it ends there.

Thanks so much for reading. =)

Title(s):
Eve No Jikan
Time of EVE

I don't quite remember where or how I heard of this anime, and I'm really sad I don't because Eve No Jikan is something you simply cannot miss!

Plot: In the future, humanoid androids are being produced every day and set in homes and the workplace for everyday situations. There is a great debate about android discrimination: about whether humans should treat their androids as robotics objects who don't covet feelings, or to treat them as humans beings. There's fear of an android uprising if one side is chosen, as well. During this time, a young high school boy by the name ... of Rikuo begins to notice some strange things about his family's household android, Sammy. Sammy seems to be going somewhere every day after Rikuo comes home from school. Out of curiosity, Rikuo and his friend, Masaki, decide to secretly follow Sammy to see where she is going every day, and this is how they discover the hidden, "Time of EVE" Cafe. The rules are simple at this cafe: No android discrimination. From then on, the story revolves around their trips to the Cafe, and the quirky people they meet there. But because of the rule, who's to say if these people are humans, or androids?

Firstly, I'll say that the visuals in this are absolutely spectacular: a very nice merging between 2D and 3D. It's no wonder each episode took around 2 - 4 months to be finished and subbed! Time of EVE really did not have much of a hard-hitting plot, but it certainly was interesting. Each episode was enjoyable, because you knew that you would meet someone new each time! The downsides to this show were all based on time: each episode was shorter than a normal anime episode, with a usual running time of around 11 minutes, save for the final episode which was 17 minutes. Even more so because of the fact that this anime only has 6 episodes in total! Now, on the website they label this anime as, "Season 1" and I hear of a movie being in the works, so the good news is that we can expect more EVE goodness eventually.
Overall, this anime was a delight to watch. I would recommend it to anyone who loved, "Appleseed" or anyone who is looking for any sort of a futuristic setting in anime.

Thanks for reading this review! "Are you enjoying the Time of EVE?" ;D

Title(s):
Eureka seveN: Pocket Full of Rainbows
Eureka Seven: Good Night Sleep Tight Young Lovers

Rating: 9/10

Review:
Some of you may be reading this review because you'd like to hear an opinion on the recent Eureka seveN film which will thus aid you in your decision of whether or not to see this movie. Some of you may be fans of the TV series, whereas some of you may have neglected to check out the TV series but are interested in this movie anyways. Well, the good thing is that you most certainly do not have to see the original TV series first before watching this, because this ... movie is set in an alternate universe. That being said, most fans weren't so happy when they heard this: even more so when recycled/re-used footage was to be involved. Apparently only over 40% of new footage was to be used, according to various online sources and interviews with the animators. That being said, there wasn't much hope for this movie with its leaked situation.
That is, until the actual movie RELEASED online (and later on in U.S theaters) and stunned fans and newbs alike! I, myself, am a really, REALLY huge Eureka seveN fan. To me, the TV series was one of the greatest and most original anime ever created, and I still stand by that statement. So, as for the movie? Let's just put it this way: Tears of joy were streaming down my eyes within the first 5 minutes, JUST because of the shiny new animation which so many fans had longed for. Ok, so the movie's plot is something along the lines of this: It is a time of war, pitting man against an alien race known as Image/EIZO. Eureka and Renton are small childhood friends and are living carefree lives with their Professor, Dominic. Eureka is a humanoid Image/EIZO, created to covet memories of living with the humans and eventually hand those memories over to Image/EIZO and be discarded. She gets taken away from Renton at a young age by the military for testing, and Renton vows to save her no matter the cost. 8 years later, he is a lieutenant in the 303rd Division of the military, known as The Gekkostate. One of his missions is to retrieve the secret military object which is, of course, Eureka. He rescues her, and the whole plot behind the Gekkostate Crew's true intentions unfold as well as the end of Image/EIZO's reign as the movie progresses.
SO! The plotline for the movie is actually pretty decent. If you're a fan of the TV series, than the Gekkostate's "true intentions" seem a bit hard to swallow at first. It might take another viewing to understand what they are, exactly. Also, the recycled footage is nothing to be scared about. The re-used footage was actually edited a bit (eg. Holland yelling in the pilot seat of the Devilfish at night is turned into Holland yelling in the pilot seat of the Devilfish in broad daylight) so it's not like you see a recycled scene and got bored because you'd seen it already. The NEW animation was absolutely beautiful. I believe Kinema Citrus aided Studio BONES in animating it, so that's probably why it was so shiny and such. xD
The film itself does not seem too short, nor too long (which is great) because it's around 2 hours in total, give or take 3 - 5 minutes. The soundtrack is once again phenomenal (nothing less to be expected from the great Naoki Sato) and I would suggest buying/downloading it when you get the chance.
The ending was... confusing. It actually took me 3 times watching it and a discussion or two about said ending to come up with my own theory, but trust me, once you come up with that theory, EVERYTHING makes sense. When you are watching the movie, I'd advise for you to bring your knowledge of various religions to the table. The TV series had religious subtleties, and thus the movie does as well. If you're absolutely stumped on one part during the ending, go to Wikipedia; there's a giant trivia section which should help loads.
Overall, it was a fantastic movie. Great music, great new animation, a nice plot, and overall a fresh new look at Eureka seveN. The only thing it lacked (that I found) was depth in Anemone and Dominic's roles/storyline. If you watch the movie, you know what I mean.
Thank you for reading this review, and I hope you enjoy the movie!