I'm not a Kogami fanboy, despite the fact that he is probably the most/the 2nd most representative character of the whole PP. Having this in mind, what raised my curiosity and interest for this movie was the great enjoyment I had watching the first 2 movies from the Crime and Punishment series and how the last movie might relate to S3.
I consider this one the worst out of the 3, but it still remains an interesting movie, worth of recommending. As a PP movie, I think it deserves something close to 8. Why?
[spoiler]
I will start off with the consistent fact that all 3 movies have
...
shared: music/soundtrack. I'm not quite sure why, but this movie felt a bit more silent than the first 2 movies (my guess is that dialogues were not as much complemented by music as in the first 2).
Most viewers could probably agree that a decent part of this movie's music is relatable. This is because it's a modified mix of S1 and S2 soundtracks (ex: main theme is at a slower tempo in the last fight). Some of it also remained untouched (ex: Makashima's theme). All in all, they're supposed to link the present to the past and show the periodicity of events, in which case it does a great job. There are also a few new additions (ex: villain's theme, or the the music background of the council 42:33) that end up completing the picture of the war theater setup in SE Asia at that time.
All in all, the soundtrack is amazing, but not as compelling as in the first movie, as some tracks failed to synchronize with the pace of the corresponding scene (ex: final fight).
The animation is decent when CGI is not applied (sounds obvious isn't it?). I don't know the reason why, but this movie's CGI is the worst one in the Crime and Punishment series. Not only does it sometimes feel out of place (ex: 40:30->the military transport vehicles in the background and Tenjin's run), but it is also more noticeably worse (ex: 16:42->shooting scenes). It's not the worse I've seen and thankfully it's not even applied to the facial expressions of the characters, which is a plus considering the type of movie here.
The rest of the animation is on par with the rest of PP series (except the choreography of the final fight which wasn't as significant as other fights in PP), and the artstyle is just probably more commendable here than it was in the first 2 movies. The palette of colors is more vivid with every scene (ex: the execution scene's red color of rage and hatred) and the contrast between them is also calibrated with the scene's locations and characters (ex: dialogue in the night between Frederica and Kogami takes place in the darker, but warm color tones of the night which complements the actual dialogue pretty well).
The movie itself offers us a change of scenery from urban Tokyo, the a "modernised" countryside in SE Asia, that doesn't feel out of place thanks to all the small background elements included.
When it comes to the plot, I have a hard time deducing what is it actually about and more importantly why did they want to make this movie in the first place. To introduce Frederica? To convey the reason behind the potential return of Kogami in S3? Maybe someone can help me here.
Nevertheless, the plot takes us through the changes behind Kogami and his resolve against the "system". He finds a new reason in Tenjin to abandon his mercenary lifestyle and think with his own mind what he can do to help her. This is the same "burning desire" to abandon the hunting dog and become a detective (a human thinking and living by his own judgement) that was lit by Akane in S1. This is Kogami's tragedy from the very beginning and hopefully not to the bitter end, as it might seem.
Realm Beyond also continues the endless question of the whole series that Akane itself, along with every character tries to answer: What is the cost of peace? (Can I find an alternative to the system?). Evidently, there is much more that this movie is trying to convey (the philosophy of the mercenary, loyalty to a true master, etc.) and so much more, but it would take too much time to discuss it here.
However, what I'm unsatisfied here is Frederica's unkown reason in the plot (i know they explain in the end why she was there, but it's not satisfying enough; her appearance is probably an introduction in S3).
I can't really say much about returning characters, other than the fact that they live up to their expectations. The only 2 are Kogami and "Makashima" (or rather his irreplaceable soul which is part of Kogami). S1's apparent villain makes his brief return with a very important and compelling moral to both Kogami and all viewers.
She is kind, but also crafty and experienced in combat. Although Frederica's intervention was definitely important to Kogami and the whole movie, the fact that she barely had any screen time up until now makes you wonder if there was actually a more suitable character for this role.
There are 2 more characters I want to discuss about: the non-remarkable villain whose name I have forgotten, and whose only role is to be the vessel for the "stereotypic mercenary who fights for his freedom and beliefs" and Tenjin. Given how disappointed I am in the villain, I'll skip him. The only noteworthy and enjoyable fact for the viewer is the act they kept the custom ,in all 3 movies, to "hide the villain" and present him right from the start.
I'll continue by commending the writers because they've made the resemblance between Tenjin and Akane quite subtile...a resemblance which proves to be instrumental in Kogami's growth and the cycle of the PP's tragedy.
There are a lot of aspects behind this move that didn't catch my eye, but even so, I can still recommend ii with pleasure. n the end, it is often good to remind that "the most dangerous prison is the one you don't see".
P.S.: 32:15
[/spoiler]
Oct 29, 2019
I'm not a Kogami fanboy, despite the fact that he is probably the most/the 2nd most representative character of the whole PP. Having this in mind, what raised my curiosity and interest for this movie was the great enjoyment I had watching the first 2 movies from the Crime and Punishment series and how the last movie might relate to S3.
I consider this one the worst out of the 3, but it still remains an interesting movie, worth of recommending. As a PP movie, I think it deserves something close to 8. Why? [spoiler] I will start off with the consistent fact that all 3 movies have ... Oct 27, 2019
It is very difficult to rate this as a stand-alone movie since what it does is simply to enlarge the PP universe by offering the viewer some insight on some characters (thus developing them) --> The whole package heavily relies on PP background.
The overall mark should be close to a 9. Why? [spoiler] Considering the apparent purpose of the movie (developing characters), I'll start off with them. Most of First Guardian takes place prior to S1, thus we'll have a different suite of figures. The one's that stand out the most are Masaoka, Teppei and Aoyanagi, especially since this movie reveals in detail the tragedy behind their ... Oct 8, 2019
As a stand-alone (what this should be regarded as - theoretically), it gets a 7.5/10.
As a movie within a more complex anime, it gets an 8/10. Why? The animations are on point, pretty much on the same par with anime itself. Although colors shouldn't matter as much as in S2, you can observe a darker tone in most scenes. I can't address the CGI part itself, since I'm not knowledgeable, but it doesn't seem overused, unlike for example: the movie adaptation of the original Berserk anime, or any modern mech-anime. Most characters returning from S2 live up to their expectations. What probably annoys most people, including ... |