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Negative Happy Chainsaw Edge, a very odd name for a brilliant manga. This is an action/romance story with some occasional comic relief. You may notice it is only 8 chapters, but don't let that turn you off - it ends just right.

Story - 10
This was a very quick ride at only 8 chapters but it played out perfectly. The story is, at heart, a teen romance with a sudden girl appearance (oh boy original! - I know). The twist on this one though, is that the girl fights some chainsaw-wielding maniac every night. The hero meets the heroine fighting the ... evil chainsaw man one night and is mystified by the experience and decides to follow her. The story's premise starts out pretty... 'not-so-unique' I guess?, but it quickly develops into an engrossing tale before everything comes full circle in the end.

Characters - 9
Theres 3 main characters and a couple side characters that are mostly limited to the hero's friends.
-Yousuke Yamamoto ~ your typical depressed teen who runs into the main heroine by chance. His depression stems from a recent death of someone close to him and so now he is searching for a reason to live. He initially follows Eri around on the pretense that "the situation is really cool and I have nothing better to do", but he quickly grows attached to Eri.
-Eri Yukisaki ~ the main heroine who fights the evil chainsaw man every night for the sake of justice! As she reveals more about herself, the story really gets interesting, but I cant really explain much without spoilers! (sorry, its only 8 chapters - most of it is revealing the characters)
-Evil Chainsaw Man ~ appears to be some chainsaw-wielding maniac at first, but as the story develops, even he holds a secret.

Art - 8
Well the art is nothing particularly outstanding, but it is well drawn. I'm not rating it a 10 simply because ive seen more attractive manga art.

Enjoyment - 10
The manga starts out as rather... "typical" as i said before, but it quickly ramps up as Eri and Yousuke grow closer to each other and you learn more about them and their darker pasts. Theres some fantastic comedic moments thrown in the middle as well to break up the drama once in a while. The only thing I didn't particularly like was why Yousuke initially follows around Eri, but the rest makes up for it.

Overall - 10
Highly recommend if you enjoy romance/action. An outstanding gem in my book. One of the highlights here is that its only 8 chapters, so even if it didnt end up suiting your tastes, the time investment is very low. Check it out! =)

**Side-note, I think this deserves an OVA release and honestly I'm surprised it hasn't gotten one considering the popularity of Welcome to the NHK! (same author).

First off, I have seen the TV series... and this is no, this is not an extension, nor related in any way to the TV series except for the name and characters.

Some quick background information for those who havent seen the TV series: This is a Man vs. Alien with mecha and romance. Produced by BONES (incredible artwork). The aliens are called "image" and look like giant space fish that are able to literally cut away space.

Story:
Basically, Renton is a special child able to speak with faries (what Nirvash is in this film) and grows up with Eureka, but she is taken captive ... by the military so Renton goes on a mission to save her with Nirvash. Meanwhile humankind is debating the use of the "hammer of god" (an ultimate weapon) which can exterminate the "image" existance entirely but is also likely to make Earth uninhabitable.

The story is completely different from the TV series and basically like a parallel universe. I personally didnt like the new story as much as the old story mainly because it didnt have the heavy contrasts of brutality (ESPECIALLY on Eureka's part). It was still enjoyable but it was nothing extraordinary.

Art:
Phenomenal. Expect nothing less from BONES. The fight scenes are incredibly fluid and are absolutely stunning to watch. Even outside the fights, everything is extremely well drawn.

Sound:
No big complaints and the ED is a great track as a bonus. I think a karaoke in the middle during the climax fight scene would have been appropriate is all... which is why i didnt give it a 10; but it still works great without it.

Characters:
As ive already alluded to in the story section... theres not much character growth, but somewhat understandable given the length a film has to work with vs a 50 episode TV series. I REALLY was dissapointed with the lack of Eureka and Anemone's darker sides. If you saw the TV series... mostly all of the characters have the same attitude/demeanor in the film as they do at the end of the TV series and dont really deviate much from that ~ IE renton being very protective, eureka being very calm, holland showing off his soft side... etc.

Also, i felt that at times, kameo appearances from characters that appeared in the TV series were very unnecessary and wasted time as they really didnt do anything except say "oh thats beautiful" or something stupid.

Overall:
This is still a very enjoyable watch if not just for the amazing artwork BONES has put together. I wish the characters would have shown more growth, but i cant complain too much since the available time in a movie is much shorter than the 50 episode TV series im comparing it to.

I recommend watching the TV series if you liked this movie ~ you will probably enjoy the TV series even more as it shows off a lot of different moods and sides for the characters.