Description

Deep within the mysterious Forest of Resurrection, a spectacular battle between good and evil has gone on since the dawn of time.When Prisoner KSC2-303 escapes from a maximum security facility, he enters the forest, believing it will lead him to safe haven.Instead, he finds himself a pawn in an endless struggle played out across multiple temporal planes of existence.His opponent: a mysterious man who seemingly cannot be killed. The battle to be waged: Good versus Evil in the pursuit of a beautiful woman who holds the key to eternal life. What Prisoner KSC2-303 cannot remember is whether or not he is the personification of good or the very essence of darkness ... Read more

Reviews (61)

what if Yuen Wo-Ping did this movie??? hmmmmmm
Prisoner KSC2-303 escapes with a fellow inmate and flees to an anonymous forest to a rendezvous with a group of men who will lead them to a safer place. When the men ultimately arrive with a female hostage in tow and with fueled by more sinister intentions, they kill his partner and KSC2-303 flees with the girl into the woods, which turn out to be the legendary "Forest Of Resurrection", one of 666 portals to "the other side". It's then a non-stop battle against the living dead and cunning assassins to simply stay alive, let alone find freedom.

Although this movie showed about 20 or so minutes of zombie action (if you're expecting this to be a zombie film), it is still a very awsome movie. A very good plot, great effects, tight gore, great fight scenes and, everything you expect from a movie. Better than any Hollywood movie in my fact. Get it on DVD. This movie is a cross between EVIL DEAD and BLADE. BUY IT NOW!

(some zombies)

most entertaining part: THE COMBAT

Pulp Fiction meets Night of the Living Dead with swords
This movie is one part Pulp Fiction, one part Blair Witch Project, one part Jackie Chan styled kung-fu funny movie, one part Night of the Living Dead, one part Dead Alive, one part Seven Samurais, one part anime and one part cheese. What does all this add up to? A totally unique movie.
Versus is all of the above mentioned rolled up into one twisted movie. The action scenes are good. They have an anime feel to them but the actors execute them with a Pulp Fiction sense of cool. Lots of gun play, there had to be over 1000 rounds fired in the first half. The sword fighting is really good. Very fast paced and gory.
At times the acting is a little cheesy. The director is really fond of long dramatic pauses. A little too long for me. He must have gone to the William Shatner School of Film.
The plot is weird and kind of hard to explain. Guy busts out of prison. Meets up with the Yakuza who have kidnapped some random girl. While waiting for "The Boss" to show up, the guy gets angry with the Yakuza, kills one of them. Guy grabs girl and the chase is on. And once "The Boss" (a 500 hundred year old mystic that kicks serious butt) shows up, the action really gets going.
This movie is worth buying. But buy the Director's cut. The Special Edition doesn't really offer enough to warrant the extra $10 dollars.

Don't turn it off when you really want to...
I basically bought this movie 'cause I thought the front cover was pretty cool (I even have a T-shirt with that logo on it). I read the reviews here, and figured I'd give it a shot.

First thing "Versus" started up, I was already groaning. The film quality was retro "my neighbor's camcorder", the acting was REALLY bad and it wasn't really living up to anything special. The music was okay, but I have a history of liking some strange music... also, sometimes the music is loud enough to where it's kind of hard to hear what is being said clearly.

About twenty minutes in (do try to last that long), the mood changes and it becomes more bearable, and then the story kind of comes together. It starts becoming interesting (which until then, I felt I had just wasted thirty bucks to see this movie).

The main character emerges (first twenty minutes will leave you going "uhh... who am I suppose to be rooting for here?") and they begin to develop what personality he has.

I really feel that this movie would have been better left in Japanese with subtitles. The voice-overs, where-as they match up okay were fairly annoying in general (the bad guy and the good guy were done pretty well, but everyone else sounds like the old Hong Kong flicks from the 70s with the whiny voices)

What I had envisioned was kind of a dark-souled samurai fighting the undead... What it ended up being was more of good/evil battle with the zombies being more of an excuse to fire off a bunch of bullets and to explain later events. Also, don't hold your breath for the sword-fighting, it comes kind of late in the film.

The ending was fairly thought provoking, and aside from the fact blood is applied with a fire-hose, and none of the zombies are really "zombie-ish" (they're live people with a lot of blood on 'em and it shows) Versus really wasn't that bad.

I'd probably suggest renting it, if you can find it at your local video store. This film is more for your die-hard martial arts/horror B-movie fan...

Not very good
The story is good but the way they filmed it sucked. Starts off in the past and is very cool with costuming and plot then...well basically after that it's slap stick humor and a bunch of fighting in the woods which is not very good, especially after you see the same fight over and over again with 3 different charachters...booorrring...

Embarrassingly awful.
I rented this, based on the quote on the front cover from Moriarty of Ain't it Cool News. This "film" is unbelievably bad. There's no plot, and it looks like the efforts of a couple of teenagers with a video camera trying to shoot a "cool, violent" movie. The characters posture pathetically, and it's about as stylistically interesting as...a bunch of teenagers shooting a home movie. The dubbing is atrocious (and like everything else, sounds like the efforts of...a bunch of teenagers shooting a home movie), but subtitles wouldn't have saved it.

After watching it I thought there was no way Moriarty could have liked it, so I searched Ain't it Cool News for that quote. It turns out the quote was from someone writing in to the site. Moriarty prefaced the comment by basically saying he couldn't stand the movie. It might be great as a Mystery Science Theater 3000 film, were that still around, but aside from that, stay away. ... Read more

Amazon.com

The search for the mysterious cyber-villain the Laughing Man falls by the wayside in this collection. Mamoru Oshii's original feature focused on Major Motoko Kusanagi; in the broadcast series, Batou emerges as a more complex and compelling character: Episode 16 hints at the complicated past that forged the human-cyborg fusion he ultimately became. In "Machines Desirantes," the Tachikomas, crab-like robots used by Public Security Section 9, appear to be developing individual personalities and a sense of their existence. Not surprisingly, they fear Kusanagi, but like Batou. The Tachikomas also seem to recognize some of the implications of their growing consciousness, and look to Flowers for Algernon and I, Robot for inspiration. However, their cute, childish voices--modeled after the performance of Japanese actress Akiko Tamagawa--sound odd discussing deep philosophical questions. (Rated 13 and older: considerable violence, grotesque imagery, alcohol and tobacco use) --Charles Solomon ... Read more

Reviews (6)

Who Is Smarter?
This set of episodes represent a bit of a change of pace from some of the previous story arcs.Taken individually they are disconnected stories about everything from modern anti-technology terrorists to cyborg philosophy and it is only in retrospect that the connecting thread stands out.

Not Equal starts when a woman kidnapped by terrorists many years ago is spotted n a surveillance film.The story puts Kusanagi and her team on a village which has sprung up on an abandoned oil drilling platform traders on top and Human Liberation Front folks underneath.That action includes what is the best battle scenario of the series so far and some surprising twists at the end.

The Y$S heads in the other direction, when a sting operation in a run down bar reveals a plan to take down a reclusive billionaire with a yen for hoarding gold.An assassin who is fond of killing people with coins is the lead horse in the race to get to the target but, as usual, nobody finds what they expect and the aspect of artificial intelligence haunts the fringes of the story.

In Machines Desirantes the tachikomas try to link to a malfunctioning sniping device and become enmeshed in a philosophical discussion of their own mortality, the nature of humanity, and the possibilities of revolution.The surprise here is Major Kusanagi's reaction to what is essentially a comic situation.

In Lost, Batou finds himself pitted against a boxer that he once greatly admired.This is a spy vs. spy story, but it is oddly disturbing, with a very bitter ending.And I think this is where the story beneath the story finally opens up.While Batou played a supporting role in the original movie, Innocence (the sequel) revealed that his personality had surprising depths.In retrospect, he is the cyborg with the 'ghost' that retains most of its humanity.

Kusanagi, the main character, is actually the colder of the pair, someone who we know eventually was only able to form a relationship with an entirely artificial intelligence that roamed the net.For all her physical attractiveness her nature is that of an effective machine that has human attributes.

Batou, for all his more apparent mechanization houses the more human and emotional spirit, and the last two episodes reveal his unique ability to see the remarkable in both the imitation and the reality of life.This is made more poignant because we know from the feature films what the future of this story is.

On the whole this is a quieter DVD, but it leaves a strong impression.If the story develops from this point I thing we are due for some very interesting moments.

Much better than the average 3.5 star rating
I am shocked by the average ratings this volume is getting in the review section.Personally, I found this 4th volume the most absorbing and the best development of plot of the earlier 3.

That being said - for fans of non stop action, take a back seat and allow the storyline to thicken a little bit.Make no mistake about it:"Stand Alone Complex" is heavy on character development and intelligent scripts.Not just action and graphics.

I will admit - the second episode on this disk, "Yes" seems a bit sluggish, and demands your full attention...but after a second viewing, I seemed to have understood what it was trying to convey.Having not seen the entire series, I can't help but think there are some very key moments in this episode regarding "The Laughing Man".Watch it *again*.

**SLIGHT SPOILER - so skip to the lower paragraph**
I can't help but get a little down about the "Machines Desiranes" episode.If what they lead you to believe about the Tachikomas is *true*, I'm really going to miss those little buggers.I was never annoyed by their childlike actions, but really enjoyed the comedic moments they brought to the series, which is rather dark and brooding at times.I hope they come back - but if not, I respect the realistic decision brought on by the production.

In summary - this very well could be the most important volume in the series, even if you think it shys away from its action element a little bit.Its a brilliant series for the intelligent viewer and the action fans alike.Not to be missed !

Do not feel disappointed
For those of you who are looking for the t-shirt look no further than the 3rd volume in the series. By far the best collection of the first session, the DVD looks great and the sound compared to the import version is phenomenal. A lot of people say that ghost in the shell the TV series is not like the original movie! To this I say look at the comic book! The TV series takes it's time and slowly gives you character incite and unfolds in a slower more methodical way then the hard edged movie. You will find that the series does not treat you like and idiot, like your typical Sci-fi program. Here we get placed into a possible future and we get treated some great cyber punk story telling. All in all I can say with out a doubt that this show truly brings the old comic book world to life of the original Ghost in the Shell. Buy this set and do not feel disappointed. My only gripe is that we did not get any cool team up item like the last three volumes.

Volume 1st we got a cool CD of the soundtrack
Volume 2nd we got a REALLY cool CD of the Soundtrack
Volume 3rd we got the collectors box and a killer T-shirt

Here is hoping that we get a cool collectors figure of making of DVD in the next installment.

Not As Advertised ...
i purchased this item via "Pre-Order" to continue my collection when it was still being advertised as "With T-Shirt."that's what was on my order confirmation, and that's what was on the shipping confirmation.what arrived instead was a version of the product with the cheesy "collector card" other reviewers have mentioned.

i note that the product is currently correctly identified, but if you're expecting a T-Shirt based on the article description from, say, a link saved in your wish list, you will be disappointed.

i note that the price was -not- adjusted along with the table of contents...

GITS: Stand Alone Complex Vol. 4: Tachikoma-centric
This set contains episodes thirteen through sixteen of the first series/season from Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex. The fourth volume sets aside the Laughing Man plot for now and instead shifts to the Tachikomas. It's a nice variety of episodes and those wanting action, following a more talkative third volume should be mostly satisfied.

Here is an episode summary (in order, with some spoilers if you hadn't seen the previous episode):

NOT EQUAL: A teenage girl, one of the first to have a cyberbrain and kidnapped some twenty years before by the Human Liberation Front, suddenly reappears in the sights of Section 9 - who looks exactly the same as before. Even worse, she's apparently the new focal leader of the HLF. Section 9 is detailed to "rescue" her using any means necessary. All of Section 9 and the Tachikomas get involved, and they get embroiled in a huge firefight. There's probably more action in this episode then the first twelve episodes altogether, which is not necessarily a bad thing.

YES: A reclusive wealthy magnate becomes the target of an assassination plot by a foreign agent. This episode doesn't really expound on the evils of stock and money market manipulation, and really just shows that the Tachikomas are becoming more unstable - at least in the eyes of the Major. The way the episode resolves is disappointing as well.

MACHINES DESIRANTES: The Tachikomas engage in various philosophical debates about robots, appearances, children, and mostly, death. One Tachikoma, who appears to collect books, uses Flowers for Algernon (yet another literary reference) as a reference point. If you don't like how the Tachikomas sound you'll probably get really annoyed by this episode. After the Tachikomas openly lie to the Major (though not with malice) and even begin spying on the Major and Batou (which they notice). Their conclusion is saddening, while simultaneously the Tachikomas are cheering the idea that they were saving themselves. The very last scene is very telling and multi-layered, and one of the reasons why I really like this episode.

AG2O: Batou is saddened as the Tachikomas are led to the labs where each assumingly will experience death, though they seem pretty happy about it the whole thing. Meanwhile he gets assigned an undercover job at the Navy yard involving an an ex-Olympic boxer who is apparently selling secure information. Batou immediately feels a connection as he gets close to the boxer and his wife (the boxer was an idol of sorts), but of course in the end he does his duty, and like the Tachikomas seemingly loses more friends.

While ultimately this set of individual episodes doesn't seem to further any overall plot, the complexity of the Tachikomas and how they work is actually pretty interesting. They play a very important role in the series so don't put aside their episodes so quickly. Overall a fairly decent volume.

The deluxe version comes with the original release, a second DVD with a DTS 5.1 sound version of the show, and a rather cheesey "collectible ID card" with the volume art on it. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Director Kazuhiro Furuhashi has recut the four-episode Samurai XOVA into a seamless feature that serves as a prequel to both Samurai X: TheMovieand the light-hearted TV series. The action unfolds in 1864, at thebeginning of the revolution against the Tokugawa Shogunate that culiminatedin the Meiji Restoration. The orphan Shinta is transformed by master swordsmanHiko into Kenshin,an assassin who believes he is using his sword to bringabout a better world. When he and the mysterious Tomoe hide from the intriguesof Kyoto in a remote mountain village, Kenshin finds peace, raising crops andsavoring the passage of the seasons, but this tranquility cannot endure.Furuhashi choreographs the characters' inner conflicts as skillfully as the epicsword fights, infusing them with an elegant sensuality. In either format,Samurai X OVAs capture the violence and poetry of samurai culture in a storyof exceptional emotional depth. (Rated 17 and older: violence, alcohol use,mature themes) --Charles Solomon ... Read more

Reviews (69)

A beautiful story though very violent
I only started watching the Rurouni Kenshin series this year but I was hooked immediately! I love the RK series and when I found out there were RK movies I was really excited. I only have Trust/Betrayal right now and I loved it. It was very violent (at times) but an awesome movie. The movie isn't all blood and swordfighting though, it also has love in it. But the swordfights are awesome!

The quality of animation is spectacular but there is superimposing done that is terrible for the movie. There is superimposed water, fire, and a shot of an actual tree in actual snow. But don't let that bother you if you are considering buying this DVD.

It took me a while to realize that this is both Samurai X: Trust and Samurai X: Betrayal in one DVD. It is an awesome deal if you want both (like I did). It is suggested for 17 and up for extreme violence, usage of alcohol, and some mature themes. But it is an awesome movie! Oh and beware of the first seen, it is pretty intense with violence.

Watch an epic love tragedy unfolds before your very eyes!
Being a huge fan of the original manga and TV series, it was a great joy to hear of the prequel OVA (original video animation).

From the moment Himura Shinta witnessed the killings of his companions to Himura Kenshin's longing gaze as he left the Chosu clan, there was not a single moment during this OVA that did not move me with awe, sadness, sympathy, fear, anger, hate, and any other emotion you might've felt.

In the true tradition of Japanese Kabuki tragedy, Rurouni Kenshin - Tsuiokuhen embodies everything that a romantic tale from the Meiji Era should have. From the extremely subtle yet meaningful love story of Kenshin and Tomoe, to the brief yet bloody sword battles of the Shinsen Gumi and Chosu factions, this OVA is filled with breathtaking attention to detail.

Animation is perhaps the least perfect element of this OVA. The reason for this is the use of live footage for the few water sequences. Somehow the image of real water set crashing against an animated beach doesn't go down well for me, Fortunately, this is very very few in numbers and doesn't affect the overall rating of the OVA. From the animation of the sword battles to the character designs of Tomoe and Kenshin, every single line and movements were drawn to draw out various emotions from the audience. That said, the use of muted colour perfectly convey the atmosphere most appropriate for this melancholic drama.

This OVA simply has one of the best soundtracks ever! Not just for anime, but in the film world in general. Taku Iwasaki's use of string and flute absolutely spot on for the mood needed to reinforce the images on screen. The quality is so good that i was often confused as to whether is was synth or orchestrated. In my opinion, this rates just as highly, if not better, with anime soundtracks of Macross Plus, Cowboy Bebop, Saishuu-Heiki Kanojo, and Rahxephon.

Perhaps the strongest, but also potentialy weakest, element of the OVA is the story. They managed to start and conclude, beautifully i might add, the love story of Kenshin and Tomoe, which, in hindsight, was perhaps the main theme of the OVA. There was never any danger of the story left unfinished. The background to which the love story is set, was the Meiji restoration of the mid-19th century. The producers also combined seamlessly the historical epic story with the love story, and still manage to include real life characters such as Katsura Kogoro, his teacher Kido Koin, and Shinsen Gumi members such as Okita without any awkwardness. In fact it only added to the epic feel that we are experiencing history in its making.

Some people confuse the story as simply that of how Kenshin got his scar, an element which was also well done. The scar was not simply character design nor a cosmetic convenience. A point well worth reminding to watchers of the TV series. Never could one imagine how to make such simple injuries to something more. Yet the makers of this OVA managed to make it into Kenshin's destiny, a reminder of his tragic past.

As i said before, the story have one potential weakness, that the background story of Meiji Restoration requires a somewhat significant understanding of 19th century Japanese history. Otherwise newcomers to the Kenshin saga might be lost as to the relationships of the various clans and characters and what their allegiances are to both the Tokugawa Shogun and Emperor Meiji. Nevertheless, this OVA is a prequel, and therefore the producers are assuming that you've seen the TV series. Taking this into account the only conclusion must be that the story element is, yet again, flawless.

The characters are the most important element to an anime, along with story, in my opinion. Unless, of course, it is intended to be short stories, as in the case of Full Metal Panic Fumoffu.

The character of Kenshin may not be the most sophisticated nor original character ever written, however, his character development is perfect when you combine it with that of Tomoe's. The way the characters interact with each other is simply understated, yet perfect. People may not like how Saito Hajime and Okita, as well as Hiko Seijuro are not as developed as can be. However, their characters are already given much more room to develop within the TV series.

With so many potential points that may have affected the review of this OVA, we must never forget one fact that this is a prequel. One must watch the TV series if they are to enjoy it to the maximum. Points such as lack of character development for the side characters and the confusing background story will only be felt by those that have never watched the TV series.

The value of this OVA lies in not only its collectable value, but also in the opportunity of watching a classic epic love tragedy. This is an anime truly worth the tag of a tragic love story. And it is eminently watchable. Anyway, you can always impress those anime-sceptics with this breathtaking OVA.

To me, the word flawless is a very hard word to give out easily, seeing as it encompasses a plane of existence that is inhabited by the very few. Rurouni Kenshin - Tsuiokuhen is as flawless as an anime can ever hope or aspire to be.

A True meaning of life
I got this dvd 2 days ago and let me tell you it is the best! The action is quite spectacular and the visuals are stunning.Any anime fan should get or at least see it, even though i'm just an ordinary anime kind of guy! It is suggested 17+ but hey, im 13 and I enjoyed this as much as any person would, Its got blood and alcohol, Damn! They really should stop talking about saki, theyre obsessed with it!^_^

It is about a boy named Kenshin to some of us whose caretakers get killed. He gets saved by a master of the art of sword known as hiten-mitsurugi.

Its whole visual style is superb. And as everyone says "they mix real life into it that makes it kind of silly" well, they do but it doesnt ruin the movie. This tells you everything you should know before the rurouni kenshin tv series.It has got hell alot of kick ass action. Of course youd think its all action its not, there is a HUGE chunk thats all romanc.It sucks that Tomoe died.But It is still a good dvd.

From someone who knows better
The 3 stars are in no way a reflection of the story, animation, or anything pertinent to the story. It is for this director's cut dvd of the original OVA's trust and betrayal.

This directors cut merges the ova's trust and betrayal. As mentioned by someone else, very little is added, but the reflection's ova directors cut should have more added when it's released in the US.

Reflections is the one that i thought really needed a director's cut. This is coming from someone who is a Rurouni Kenshin fan.

As far as this director's cut for betrayal and trust goes, I was hoping for more. This just felt like they took the breaks out of the original OVA's. When I hear the word's director's cut, I immediately think of restored scenes that the director was forced to cut for one reason or another. This felt like there were no restored scenes, except for the one that someone mentioned in another review above.

Another reason for it only getting three stars, is there are no extra's whatsoever on this disc. The only things they have are language selection, scene selection (Which has moving animation featured for each scene you can select. I always like this!) and lastly some trailers for other anime. There are no extra's!

Buy it? Or don't buy it? hmmm . . . If you're a die hard fan of Rurouni Kenshin, you will buy it without any need for me to coax you into doing so. If you're not a die hard fan, but already own all of the OVA's and are too lazy to use your remote from a sitting or laying down position to press a button to skip past the credits of one act to go into the next act then this is perfect for you!

It may seem like I'm exaggerating a bit, but I assure you I am not. The only thing this dvd offers is a breakless version of the original OVA's Trust and betrayal, and one noticable scene restoration. That's it!

I guess since I own the original and the director's cut, the one i would watch would depend on what mood I am in. If I wanted to show a friend who has some time to sit and watch a whole movie, I would show him the directors cut, and if I wanted to watch the OVA's and don't have time to watch it all in one sitting, I'd watch the original OVA's of trust and betrayal, which are broken up into four episodes.

Hope this answere everyone's questions.

A different Ruouni Kenshin.
Samurai X is just a different name that ADV films just made up,well anyway it doesn't matter.This movie is the greatest it actually shows Kenshin's first love "Tomoe". And it also shows how Kenshin turned in to the Hitokiri Battosai in the first place. If you are used to the series then this is nothing like it for three resons.
1.Animation is different.
2.Way more blody.
3.A lot more darker.
But,don't let that stop you from getting it.I will guarantee you 100% satisfaction that you will love this anime more then I do. ... Read more

Reviews (49)

Transformers still rocks after all these years!
"Starscream!" exclaimed Octane. "Why, Octane, I'm touched that you remembered me!" replied Starscream. ( voice actor Chris Latta ). Hi all fellow Transformers fans! Transformers season 3 is cool! ( Although my favourites were season 1 and 2 ) Season 3 is ok. My favourite episodes were a lot, like 'Dark Awakening', 'Starscream's Ghost', 'Ghost in the machine' and so on. My favourite character in Transformers is Starscream, the Decepticon jet who seeks to overthrown Megatron as leadership. I am most excited in season 3 because Starscream is back! ( After he was blasted into pieces by Galvatron in the Movie ) Season 3 is where the Autobots were led by Rodimus Prime while Galvatron leading the Decepticons. ( I still prefer Optimus Prime and Megatron ... ) I am very impressed with the show and I urged all to buy it from Amazon.com! by the way, I like most season 3 episode's background music. Transformers background music score was done by Robert W Walsh. I wish he can release CDs of the Transformers cartoon background music because I find the music the best! ( I still hum those good old tunes till now! ) One of my favourite background music is the battle theme, the one when Kup finally battles the monster Chaos. The music is really cool! If I were to rate the shows of Transformers... I give 10 stars out of 5! Long live Transformers!

TF Season 3 "THE SPACEAGE"
As a child and as an adult, I remember seeing both season 1 and season 2. To be perfectly honest, I, as well as many other transformers fans was alienated from the season 3 series, due to the killings and replacements of many autobots and decepticons, don't get me wrong, this whole new spaceage era in cybertron, despite how boring that may sound, wasn't bad at all, it was good, since if there's no change in a series, it will eventually get boring anyway. I missed starscream and his naive plots against megatron, ironhide, optimus, etc, but the birth of many new robots wasn't bad at all either. The season three series, unlike the former episodes, doesn't take place on earth, it's primarily based on the planet cybertron about 25 or so years in the future. At first, i thought that they ruined the series, but if you actually see them all, you'll love it like i did in the end. The animation did not have the good quality that season 1 and 2 had though. Another thing that really annoyed me was that galvatron(which was a morphed megatron) seemed strong and powerfull in the movie, just like his former self (megatron) was, but in the series, galvatron was like a spoiled, tempered, immature little brat that simply liked to shoot at his fellow decepticons. The excuse that was used in the series was that his brain was dammaged due to the battle suffered in the movie (completely ridiculous reason to give him an uncharismatic character). Also, Rodimus Prime, the replacement for Optimus prime was immature and is an obvious reason why fans wanted an episode in this season which consisted of optimus prime being revived. Well, beside this criticism, i recommend people to buy this as a good completion for the transformers collection, it's well worth it. Till all are one!

Good for completists only
I bought this just because, back when they originally aired, the cartoon was moved to a time I couldn't watch it -- so I wanted to see them.

They're not good. Good from a nostalgia standpoint, but pretty bad otherwise. I'm somewhat ok with the Quintessons as a manipulative third party, but it's tough to swallow that they didn't attack, say, right after Megatron and Optimus and everyone else left because the planet was dry of energy.

Carnage in C Minor? Yegods -- Cop Rock. . . in a cartoon. . . with robots. . .

The animation is almost laughably bad and stilted in parts, and they clearly cut corners with stuff like cutting episodes to 20 minutes and adding recycled "primer" shorts. Lots of goofs, too -- combiners alongside their components, incorrect coloring, etc. It makes the animation in the second season look like Disney masterpieces.

The plotlines are gimmicky. Galvatron is one-note. One saving grace is Cyclonus, who has a great voice and carries himself as the dignified warrior. The idea that Rodimus is still learning the ropes is a decent enough premise, but they wrote him with zero charisma or natural leadership qualities.

Great for a single viewing for a hardcore Transfan, but I'll be selling mine used, I doubt I'll rewatch them.

Not what I remembered...
Maybe my brain as a child was playing tricks on me at that time, The Transformers seemed so well produced: the animation, the drawings, the details... Granted, I am now (27 years old) and more interested in the visual aspect of animation movies, but still, I got surprised as I watched with horror the butchered characters of Galvatron, Rodimus, or any characters in the series for that matter. The Transformers Movie obviously misled me, since I saw it before re-viewing the series just now. Oh well, I will definetly trade the box sets for THE movie. Now, this is a review of the two last box sets, season 3 and 4. Can anyone tell me if the first box sets are anything near the last ones, animation wise, of course? Thanks.

Rhino finally got it right
I won't say this has no errors in the remastering, Rhino did screw up with some of the openings to "Five Faces of Darkness" the original broadcast masters all had the alternative opening and not mixed the way it is on the DVD. But overall can't complain, they finally gave us the option of listening to the original audio instead of the terrible remixed versions with so-called enhanced sound.
From a retro point of view watching the newly remastered video and being able to hear the sound the way it was I can't complain...too bad they waited so long to do this as Season 1 & 2 were pretty messed up audio wise.

I recommend this over Season 1 & 2 as it contains less errors and features the original braodcast audio soundtrack w/o those awful added in sound effects, bad mixing etc. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Although it boasts plenty of sword fights, martial arts combat, and odd, orange blood, Samurai X offers deeper and more sensitive characterizations than typical anime samurai epics. Based on the manga by Noboru Watsuki, the film centers on questions about the nature of Japanese society during the years following the Meiji Restoration in the late 19th century. Kenshin Himura and his friends Kaoru, Sanosuke, and Yahiko seem like an ordinary, slightly goofy quartet. But red-haired Kenshin is an expert swordsman; tall, lanky Sanosuke, a martial arts master; adolescent Yahiko, a samurai-in-training. Kaoru fills the role of outspoken anime heroine. An ugly encounter with some drunken British sailors introduces Kenshin and his friends to the noble Takimi Shigure and lovely Toki Takatsuki. Shigure leads a group opposed to the Meiji government, which they believe is corrupting Japanese culture, and his ill-conceived attempt at rebellion brings him into conflict with Kenshin. A key fighter in the Restoration, Kenshin received scars on his soul that mark him more decisively than the X on his cheek; he weeps for the needless bloodshed he helped to unleash. Director Hatsuki Tsuji builds subtle visual patterns of downward motions--falling tears, fluttering bamboo leaves, the deadly stroke of a sword, Kenshin's spectacular leaps--to create a film with an unusually satisfying resolution. Not rated; suitable for ages 14 and up for violence. --Charles Solomon ... Read more

Reviews (62)

Misleading Packaging AND Reviewers
To get it out of the way first, I thoroughly enjoyed this movie--I am huge fan of the Rurouni Kenshin series, and the movie, while not quite as good as the series' best parts, succeeded in giving me more of the same stuff I love so much (as long as you don't watch the horrific English dub--even compared to the series' English dub it's horrible).

Now on to the important part--the confusion that has been steeped upon this release. Here's what everyone should know, but seems to ignore (at least in reviews): "Samurai X" is the American title used to replace the Japanese title, "Rurouni Kenshin," when this movie and the OVA's were released by ADV. The original series (it came first, only after the comic) is being released under its original title by Anime Works. The Kenshin OVA's (under the American titles "Samurai X: Trust" and "Samurai X: Betrayal") were made later as a prequel to the series, chronicling the early days of Battousai the Manslayer/Hitokiri. By the time the series begins, 10 years later, the main character Kenshin has given up his past role of Battousai in order to somehow make up for his evils, so he lives as a wandering swordsman (note: not a samurai by any means, ever!) who refuses to kill. The Rurouni Kenshin movie takes place around the time of the series--as in, the same supporting cast appears, and Kenshin is currently a wanderer. Not only does the movie's story occur within the context of the series, but stylistically it fits as well.

Comparing the RK movie to the OVA series, in terms of story or style, is useless. They are two completely different works based on the same series, one made to portray the dark and violent aspects of Kenshin's early life, and the other meant to act as a direct companion to the material in the series. One reviewer relates the series and OVA's as being two seperate universes, and the movie an amalgamation of the two. Well, that is just flat-out wrong. All three works have been created along a timeline in terms of story, and in the case of style, have been created to reflect the period of Kenshin's that is being chronicled. The only reason the name "Samurai X" was given to the OVA's and movie was to make them look "cooler" for an American audience by Sony & ADV after they acquired the rights. The American name says nothing about the contents.

Don't get confused!
Samurai X is more of the anime series instead of the ova and the title was just created by A.D.Vision so don't get confused with the title. Samurai X (Rurouni Kenshin) The Motion Picture is about Kenshin Himura Dealing with his own past back during the revolution. When Kenshin and his go to Yokohama for a little vacation they run into a swordsman that was alaso in the revolution that wants to have revenge against the man that killed his best friend in the revolution. This movie was alright but the story was kinda boring and I had to see the same scene about 6 times during the movie. Get this if you want to if you are a real RUROUNI KENSHIN fan because this may not satisfy you.

excellent addendum to the series
This DVD was actually my introduction to Kenshin, which might have been a mistake as I was not able to appreciate it as fully then as I can now. The animation is as beautiful and the colors are as vibrant as the series. As for the story- it says that it occurs in the 12th year of the Meiji so I'm assuming that it takes place after the adventures in the original televised series. It's a wonderful continuation of Kenshin's life as someone who chooses to fight when necessary, but not to kill. Kenshin is, as always, goofy, sweet, and the most unassuming former manslayer you'd ever meet. I enjoyed this movie a lot more than the Reflections OVA as this one was right in line with what I feel Kensin is all about. I'd recommend viewing this after seeing the Kyoto arc of the original series.

A long chapter of the series
This movie might fit between almost any of the series chapters. Its just like a long one of them. It was the first Kenshin thing I watched in full -having tried to see the preludes once, I got stuck with all the violence of the first scenes- so this worked out fine for me in my path to becoming a Kenshin fan. There are a couple of scenes that they abuse in showing them over and over again, but it's ok. As it was for me, it would be useful to give someone who has never seen the series or OVAs a taste of what this is all about.

It's alright.
Samurai x the motion picture is alright,the only reason I bought it was because I am a big rurouni kenshin fan and because I needed some to waste my money.The story starts out with a backround of kenshins life during the revolution(CAUTION:this scene comes out a few times so you might get tired of seeing it).Then later Kenshin and his friend's meet up with a guy named Shigure that was also in the revlution 10 years ago.My favorite scene was when Kenshin fighting shigure in the last battle in the whole movie. This feature is preety much about revenge and making a name for them selves, it's actually very stupid.Like I said in my review the story is alright the fighting was alright the movie is alright I just did not like the dubbing it was just horrible I just had to ger used to it.Only get this if yu are a true rurouni kenshin fan like I am. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Hayao Miyazaki (Princess Mononoke, My Neighbor Totoro) achieved his first international hit with this delightful 1979 adventure yarn. Quick-paced, high-spirited, and loaded with wit, Cagliostro is a dandy throwback to the caper pictures of the '60s. International man of mysteryLupin III stumbles back into the picturesque European duchy of Cagliostro with his faithful and gruff sidekick, Jigen. They will encounter, in no particular order, a runaway bride, a magical ring, an evil count with a dastardly plan, an inspector bent on catching Lupin, perilous rooftop chases, hooded guards with superhuman powers, a well-used dungeon, a counterfeiting scheme, and an ancient mystery promising grand treasure. Lupin deploys an array of Bond-type gadgets, razor-sharp wit, and a surprise up both his sleeves. Despite the hail of bullets, this caper is great fun, never taking itself seriously. Miyazaki's career illustrates how limiting the term anime can be for these films; there are hardly more than10 live-action films of this genre as entertaining. Far less mean thanHollywood fare, it nevertheless is for ages 9 and up with language and gunplay. The Lupin character has been featured in other anime films, but never as successfully or with as much fun as in Miyazaki's film. The new English-language dubbing is excellent to boot. --Doug Thomas ... Read more

Reviews (81)

Fun!
Castle of Cagliostro has everything a retro 70's
action/adventure film should have: a fearless hero
with faithful sidekicks and slick gadgets, an evil
villain, a damsel in distress, a castle, plenty of
humor, daring escapes and chases and of course,
music from the 70's. This is probably because it was
made during the 70's ;-).

Seriously speaking, Lupin is a successful merger
between James Bond and Indiana Jones, with a
personality and sense of timing which surpass
both. The movie is a lot of fun to watch. Jigens
(his partner in crime) is also a great character.
This movie is a lot of fun. Everything is stereotyped
(Lupin is the typical charming rogue which gets away
with all his thefts). I don't think you'd regret
watching it and even buying it (if you collect anime).

On the technical side, the animation shows its
age (both in detail, frame rate and quality of
picture). The soundtrack is good; however, in my
copy the Japanese track is simply _horrible_

(technically speaking; the voicing is wonderful).
I don't know if it's because of my system (an old
amplifier) or because that's the way they recorded
it, but compared to the English track it sounds
like it was passed through a telephone speaker!

The best Lupin movie; one of Miyazaki's best movies
This film is great! A great mix of genres(suspense, action, romance, humor), a feel-good tone throughout the film, and a great, light-hearted story make this a must-see film for anime fans and even non-anime ones. Fujiko goes from being brunette to blonde in this one, although it's not really important. A bit of Lupin's past is revealed when he and Jigen trail a counterfeiter to Castle Cagliostro. What can I say? It's just good. The English dubbing(on the DVD, as I've never heard the original English dub) is excellent, far beyond the horrid dubbing used for the TV series. Unlike Tony Oliver, David Hayter(Metal Gear Solid) does a perfect job of capturing the same tone of the late Yasuo Yamada. Sadly, this was the first and last Lupin show/movie he did(as of now). The dubbing people of the Lupin TV series should watch this film and pay attention on how to make a good dub! But enough said, the movie's EXCELLENT!

Great caper film which happens to be anime.
Monday, May 03, 2004 / 4 of 5 / Great caper film which happens to be anime. This was my first full length film exposure to the Lupin mythos. Long ago I had played the laser disc game 'Cliffhanger' in the arcades when it first came out, it incorporated most of its plot and scenes from this movie. It was great to finally see the whole thing as I only ever made it about half way through the game, heh. Lupin and sidekick rob a casino and during the ensuing pursuit happen upon a princess chased by thugs. Ultimately leading back to a castle, a count, and a small country holding secrets to counterfeiting and beyond this was an excellent early anime with a great plot. It's interesting to see the character and stylistic cues later anime, particularly Cowboy Bebop, took from the Lupin saga. The plot was what surprised me the most, very sophisticated and entertaining for an anime, it was almost like an animated Bond film, or similar spy caper/mystery. Recommended.

Now we're cooking with gas!!
This is the cream of Lupin films and was created by a celibrated master storyteller and director. It's got everything a good adventure aught to have. The dashing roguesh hero. His faithful assosiates of great skill and daring. A beutiful damisal in distress. And evil and dastertly villan. Lost tresure. Harrowing escapes and great car chases. All of which are crammed into this rip-roaring ride that is Castle of Cagliostro. Throw in international esponage and intrege. Add a dash of comic relief.While stirring in the boys from Interpol and you get the general idea. This film simply ROCKS!!

DVD Review
Castle of Cagliostro is Miyazaki's first feature and stars the characters of the Lupin series. Miyazaki worked on much of the first season of Lupin and did two episodes in the second including the finale. I haven't been able to determine if these episodes are avaible on any in-print English release. While the animation is considerably cruder then Miyazaki's later works, the film is filled with thrilling adventure and fun humor. The breakneck pace and knock out action set pieces make up for the cruder animation style. Even without any prior knowledge of the Lupin characters, the story is simple to follow. Only the appearances of the female spy and the samurai seemed odd to an unititated viewer.
Film: 4 stars out of 5.

It is not Miyazaki's best, but it is easy to see his style emerging. The character designs for the count and the bride would soon appear in Nausicaa as Kurotawa and Nausicaa. Castle of Cagliostro is a great adventure film, but lacks the emotional realism and epic narratives that make up his later films. It may be Miyazaki's best on a pure entertainment factor. Think of it as a James Bond film by way of Pink Panther with Jackie Chan.

Manga's dvd is less then stellar. Picture quality is dicey. Most of the time the picture is fine with good color, but there are problems that pop up. Black spots appear on the film from time to time and several times heavy black blobs show up on the frame. The print also suffers for instances when the images shudders and appears to shake a bit when there isn't movement in the frame. These problems do detract, but generally they didn't distract from my viewing.

The video is presented in letterboxed format with subs that are half on the frame, half on black. I avoided the dub because the Japanese audio was just fine. Purists might be annoyed to find that the end credits are typed in English over a black screen without music, I don't know what the orginial Japanese print had. There aren't any extras other then several lame Manga Video ads.

Castle of Cagliostro is not part of the Disney/Ghibli deal so don't plan on them for releasing a new dvd. I would still recommend this dvd, although hopefully someone in the future will release it without the minor picture problems. Pioneer and Funimation both have recently put out other Lupin dvds, but I don't know of plans to pick up this title.
DVD: 3 out of 5 stars. ... Read more

Reviews (182)

Cowboy Bebop fans are the only winners here.
Cowboy Bebop is my favorite anime series. When I finally saw this movie, I was pretty satisfied, but there are many weaknesses seen here.

The basic plot: Faye, one of the bounty hunters of the CB crew, sees a mysterious man blow up a truck in a freeway, killing hundreds. Soon afterwards, the same man has a bounty on his head for hundreds of millions of woolongs, the CB world's currency. The crew, of course, gives chase.

The plot is no thinner or thicker than your average Hollywood action movie, except this time it's animated- beautifully. The action scenes are absolutely terrific, the highlight being the fight between Spike (Our main character) and Elecktra, a woman he meets on the way. This is the definition of a modern anime title, and it looks great.

CB is known for it's classic soundtrack, and in this movie it is no expection.

So why only 3 stars? Cowboy Bebop: The Movie, even for me, can get downright boring.

Much of the movie is concentrated on Spike getting information from a single character, no matter who it is. The rest of the crew is seemingly put off to the side, and you'll see that they play very small roles compared to Spike. The conversations can go on and on, and once you think he'll get into action, Spike goes and talk to someone else. The dialogue will have viewers squirmming in their seats.

And this is a two hour film.

If you are a fan of CB however, go out and see it. Fans will love it because the crew is thrusted into it's own motion picture, and fans will love seeing their favorite characters on screen.

I loved the action scenes, but I can only give it 3 stars, even for a huge fan like myself. If you haven't seen the series, go out and buy it immediately. You'll see why this is one of the most popular animes of all time, and the movie is not nearly as good as the series.

Get ready for the world of Bebop!
It's really hard to understand why Japanese anime hasn't crossed over to a wider audience in the United States. Many anime films are consistently better in terms of quality storytelling than their western live action counterparts. And Cowboy Bebop: The Movie is a prime example of that "quality".

Directed by Shinchiro Wantanabe, Cowboy Bebop: The Movie is based on the anime/manga series about four bounty hunters; Jet, Faye, Ed and Spike. But this time they aren't after a mere hacker or bail jumper. A terrorist has released a bioweapon onto an unsuspecting city. And if he isn't he will unleash a more devastating attack that threatens to destroy the entire human race. While that may seem like standard action film fare, where Cowboy Bebop: The Movie shines is it's ability to weave complex themes into the story. The characters contemplate life, death and the meaning of existance. There's some pretty heavy duty stuff going on here. More than likely you'll need more than one viewing to soak it all in. It's definitley deeper than what most western filmakers are churning out of Hollywood these days. The story is told well. Eventhough Bebop is well known series running about twenty five episodes, this can be considered a "stand alone" movie. You really don't need to know alot about the series to enjoy the film. This film probably would make a good introduction to the anime/manga for those who are unfamiliar with it.

The animation is richer and more detailed than that of the animated series. It has a more film like quality to it. One thing that the Japanese animators have been able to do in recent years is develop styles of animation that, despite not having a alot of photo-realistic elements that a CGI film would contain, have the ability to immerse you into a rich world all it's own. When watching Bebop you really do get the feeling that this is a living, breathing city that the characters are living in. The sound is also crisp and very clean. Space ships race past you, bullets whiz past your ears. I really wish I had viewed this film in a home theater setting to take full advantage of the surround sound elements. The films default setting is the Japanese language track with English subtitles. A bit unusual even for anime. The English track contains all the television series voice characters and sounds just as crisp. This is one of the few series that the English dialogue is probably just as good as the Japanese. And remembering a time when just about ALL dubs were horrible, that's saying alot.

There's not alot in terms of "extra's" on this disc. There's two music videos of both the title and end credits songs. A good "making of" feature which is interesting because we get to see the voice actors who play the characters on screen. And there's an image gallery, character profiles, and some trailers, including the English theatrical trailer for Cowboy Bebop: The Movie.

This is a film that should have reached a much wider audience. Hopefully it can now that it's on DVD. If you're new to Japanese anime then this will make a good introduction to the genre. This film is definitly worth checking out.

Wow
Im usually not a fan of animated shows like this, considering that in all honesty the majority of these Japanese shows and films consist of corny childrens shows or even more corny shows of cliched personas going around shooting people alongside of slutty girls with cat ears and/or gigantic breasts. Im not to waste time or money on crap like that. And for everyone who thinks that if something is animated that it must be for kids has appearently never seen any japanese films becuase if they did im sure they wouldnt let their kids near it. But dont let the R rating worry you too much. This isnt one of those pornographic films japan seems to love so much. No, its simply like a regualar american film, just animated. Theres some violence, but its used in good moderation and the nudity isnt too bad. Faye gets her shirt cut off by one of the guys, and there is a scene of her in the shower, but trust me, you dont actualyl see anything innaproprait. I enjoyed the fact that the film was done maturly and stylish, and the animation seems to make it even cooler. To start, the animeation was AMAZING. Some of the best that exsists, im sure. And the visual effects were amazing, making you think that these characters were let loose in the real world and cameras were watching them. The story is one of those classic 'mr crazy bad man wants to destroy the entire world', but its done with such a differnt spin. the 'villan' is Vincent Volaji, a test subject who lost his memory from the experiments done on him. He believes that life is purgatory and his goal is to realease the world from this purgatory and to face judgement. The title 'Knocking on Heavens Door' is so perfect taht it couldnt have been better. the entire movie is based on vincent and as he calls it 'the door between heaven and hell.' Vincent's chracter is incredibly deep and philisophic and makes up for much of the amazing quality of the film. He was prbably my favorite part. The action scenes were increadibly well-cheoriographed, like they had been cut from Kill Bill or a Jackie Chan movie. Even if you dont like this kind of thing im sure you could find something you could like. This isnt a disney movie and this isnt a pokemon movie either, so keep that in mind.

very good movie
Mind u, i havn't finished the series yet, but i couldn't wait to see the movie when i found out there was one! The movie is excelent! I've divided this movie into 3 parts. The first 30 minutes are cool when we first see all the characters, the middle 10 minutes are ok, but theres alot of talking so sit back and relax, then it picks bak up agian for the last 45 minutes with cool action. the soundtrack is an A+! With new songs and staying true to the cowboy bebop theme it's the best! animation is wonderful, much better and clearer than in the series. so join Edward, Jet, Faye, and Spike as they track down a terrorist who plans to wipe out all the humans on Mars! If you've ever seen at least 3 episodes of the series, u will love this movie! so what does that say for the rest of us who love it? ^^ this is a must-have for any anime fan! Now if they'd jus make an InuYasha movie in english, we'd be set! Agian, at the very least rent it! You won't be dissapointed!

Newcomer likes this one
I'm a relative newcomer to the world of Japanese animation. Cowboy Bebop was on my list and I was not dissapointed. I have never seen the series so I cannot judge on the differences or likenesses.

The story is as often ten times better than American animations. This time it's a bounty hunt for a man who wants to destroy the world, which in this case is Mars.

The choise of music is fun, some country/western and other English language pop songs (I always watch the anime movies in Japanese with subtitles and the animations of course perfect. Sometimes it reminded me of The Matrix because of the fighting scenes and camera angles. The young hacker Ed is the funniest character because of her speech and movement.

Worthwile! ... Read more

Description

Includes all episodes in the Fusion saga. ... Read more

Reviews (6)

(curls fingers) Excellent!
What an awesome saga. This is by far one of the best DBZ sagas ever. Super Buu is introduced along with SSJ3 Gotenks and SSJ Vegetto. There is even that one funny scene I like when Vegetto is turned into a little piece of candy and he still beats up on Buu. Then there's the part where they must escape from inside Buu's body; but first they are attacked by parasitic like creatures ready to devour their bodies, then they must fight imposters of Gohan, Gotenks, and Piccolo. Then there's the part when they fight none other than Buu himself. But things go wrong when they realize that Buu can regenerate himself within his own body!!! Will Goku and Vegeta escape Buu's mind in time with the pods containing Gohan, Goten, Trunks and Piccolo? Or will they become lunch for Buu? Buy this saga and find out!

Great Saga. Vegeto and Gotenks are seen for the first time.
This saga is great. We get to see Vegeto and gotenks fight for the first time. This saga starts off with Buu splitting into the people, they fight and the evil buu wins. The evil buu absorbs the good buu and he transforms. After that happens buu tracks down gotenks energy and goes to the watch tower. He wants to fight them or else all of the world will be destroyed. Piccolo decideds to have him fight gotenks in the hyperbolic time chamber so that if they lose piccolo can destroy the door and buu will be trapped and the world will be saved. They fight and Buu escapes. Now its up to gohan (who was unlocking his hidden power in the kai world) to save the day. gohan fights bravely but is absorbed. Gotenks is also absorbed. Goku who was also at the kai world is given the fusion earings and with luck he finds vegeta (who made a deal with King Yama). Goku finally talks vegeta into using the earings and they fuse into Vegeto. Vegeto kicks buus butt and buu is furious. After they fight for awhile buu absorbs Vegeto. This is a great saga. The fight scenes with gotenks and buu, and Vegeto and buu are great. This is a definate must have for all DBZ fans.

Dragonball Z: Fusion Saga
Highly recommend this 7 disc set. This saga set contains Episodes 239-260.

Action packed.
This is a great Box set. In this we can see Vegito the saiyan formed when Vegeta and Goku do fusion. You can also see Majin Buu transforms into super buu. But there is just 1 complaint from me. There is just too much action in it but if you like fighting in Dragonball z this is the box set you want. But i suggest if you are buying this set it would be better to buy the Kid buu set as well. I own both of them and the Kid buu set is magnificent.

The Best of Dragon Ball Z Yet!
Ive watched a lot of Dragon Ball Z in my day, and the Buu saga is definetly the high point of the series. Fused in between the Babidi and Kid Buu saga's, Fusion is excellent in many categories. Seeing Gotenks greatest ability (The one that lets him equalize with Buu's power) is a real thrill, and watching Buu's constant transformations is fun as well.

Even so, the Fusion saga has its errors (hence the four stars); I found the parts with Mr. Satan flat-out boring. There were also some stupid moments, such as a scene where Vegetto transforms into a candy. Youll see what I mean.

Overall, the Fusion saga is definetly better than all the previous saga's, in terms of intensity and animation; Akira Toriyama's art style has also greatly improved since the Cell Games. The character's are more vibrant and well defined, and the animation was top notch for its time (Although its pale in comparison to todays anime). All in all, Fusion is merely preperation for the final and also best saga in all of DBZ: The Kid Buu saga. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Based on a series of fantasy novels by Hideyuki Kikuchi, Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust is a bloody anime adventure. Set in the distant future, the story focuses on D (voice by Andrew Philpot), the son of a vampire and a mortal who has dedicated his life to exterminating vampires. D is pursuing Charlotte (Wendee Lee), who has been carried off by vampire Meier Link (John Rafter Lee). The bounty-hunting Markus brothers and tough-talking Leila (Pamela Segall) are also on the trail. A long, violent chase brings them to the Castle of Carmila the Bloody Countess (Julia Fletcher), where the narrative founders in a series of confusing illusions that lead to an inconclusive ending. Bloodlust looks better in still images that evoke Yoshitaka Amano's intricate illustrations than it does in motion. The very limited drawn animation clashes visually with the more fluid computer-generated imagery--D's cape billows dramatically, but his expression rarely changes. Fans of such violent anime features as Sword for Truth and Ninja Resurrection will enjoy the no-holds-barred action sequences, but more squeamish viewers will be put off by the beheadings, impalements, disembowelments, etc. Vampire Hunter D, an earlier, more modest feature based on the same material, is a better adaptation. --Charles Solomon ... Read more

Reviews (331)

Mediocre at Best
Maybe I anticipated the release of Bloodlust too much or maybe I've just watched too many really good animations recently, which detracted from this movie. Most likely, it just wasn't that good. I was a big fan of the first VHD, but for a new movie that has had this much attention and praise I was quite disappointed. I'm not going to just give it a good score simply because of high hopes and respect for its predecessor. D didn't deliver the sword battles that can be found in Samurai X. The artwork wasn't sinister or gothic compared with Blood - The Last Vampire. The characters weren't nearly as well developed as those found in Ninja Scroll. After the dust settles and the hype moves on to a new movie, Bloodlust will be far removed from the status of "an anime classic" reserved for the likes of Akira and Ghost in the Shell. This move could've been much better than what's playing in movie theaters right now, but that's just my opinion.

The Original Classic's Sequel
Bloodlust is a great combination of action and beautiful animation. Those of you who have seen the first film and were not impressed should look no other place than Bloodlust. Unlike the first film this is much more of an action packed violent movie. The voice acting of D is again done very well. Unlike in the first film all of the side characters are done just perfect. The animation in this film is the best you will ever see. The sound and picture quality is also very good. But no anime can be perfect as shown in this film. The D's hand which was awsome in the first film comes of as annoying in this one. The Scene in which the shuttle lifts of may make you gag put it isn't too horrible. Even with these flaws it is still a far superior film than the original. Those of you who have not seen the original should probably see it after you see Bloodlust.

So this is my review of Bloodlust

Story 7/10- The story thats there is good there just isn't that much of it.

Sound 8/10- The voice acting is done well and the quality is good.

Visuals 10/10- Great.

Extras 7/10- Nothing special.

Rating 15 and Up- Its not as violent as people say it is.

Movie 10/10- With a great lead character, tons of acton, decent story, and great animation Bloodlust is a must see.

The End

Um..Studio Madhouse..Kawajiri....Amano.....could there be...
..........a more incredible team to bring the latest Vampire Hunter D story to life?

Our wandering vampire hunting bad*** has been hired very reluctantly by a local aristocatic family to rescue a woman kidnapped by an ancient vampire named Meier Link. But D has some competition in this particular mission. The Markus Brothers, a team of vampire hunters with advanced technology hope to beat D to the prize. But after a brief encounter with Meier Link, D begins to suspect that the realtionship between Link and his abductee might not be what everyone assumes. Very dramatic with an outstanding orchestrated soundtrack, Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust is a worthy follow-up to the 80's classic. And believe me, fans of the original were the most difficult to please.

Some people have complained that this DVD doesn't contain the Japanese track. It should be noted that there is no Japanese track. Since the film takes place in Europe, the film was originally dubbed in English using some of the top American talent. Which is why the dubbing is far superior than most other Englich-dubbed anime.

"I know I'm a parasite, but I've always been a helpful parasite haven't I, D?"......HA

better than it deserves to be
first off i want to stay that i HATE vampire hunter d. the original that is. i saw it once a few years back and thought it was the most worthless piece of trash i'd seen this side of dragonball z. i still do. so going into this i already had some preconcieved notions about how assy this would be.
the opening scenes just floored me. the animation is second only to akira, and its a close second. the characters, even the secondary characters like the marcus brothers, are spectacularly designed and have great personality. the plot, while on the surface may seem very standard fare, is done delicately and with enough pinache to absorb a casual viewer.
the action scenes are top-notch. the music is awesome.
the ONLY downer to the movie is the main character, who through most of the movie just sorta sits there. as boring and mannequin-ish as he is they did a pretty noble job of giving him some personality. if you dont believe me just watch the closing scene.

One of the best 10 movies I have seen. Period.
I cannot say why. It is, after all, animated. There are few animated full-length films on my best-100 list. Nevertheless, Vampire Hunter D is on my of-all-movies, top-10 list.

I am not knowledgeable enough to rate the animation. Maybe the most important thing is it is not evident after the first few viewing minutes; the movie just becomes an engrossing story. Animation only comes to mind afterwards; when something is obviously better done through animation than special effects (somewhat as black and white goes away after a few minutes of Young Frankenstein or Casablanca and comes to mind only when you think back on the film and realize color would not have been an asset).

Bloodlust has fabulous characters and a story complex enough and good enough to draw you in completely. It is much better than the first film. ... Read more

Reviews (6)

Star Blazers - Comet Empire -- better than the original
I bought the entire second Star Blazers series, Star Blazers - Comet Empire, on DVD back in December 2003, and I have lost count of how many times I've seen it.

If there's a classic Japanese animation series that's worthy of collecting on DVD, this is it! The stakes are far higher for the earth and the crew of the Argo this time.

The thing that has always been enjoyable about Star Blazers is its good-versus-evil view of the world. True heroes are identified, as are the true villains, although there is an exception as I will note below.

Prince Zordoff of the Comet Empire and Leader Desslok of the Gamalons are in league to conquer the human race and the crew of the Argo. Theirs is a pact of true evil that the humans must stand up to -- or fall into slavery or destruction. That is, until Desslok sees how misguided he was in his war against the human race and the Star Force. He has a revelation of biblical proportions when he sees Nova cuddling a wounded Wildstar during the battle on his ship.

I especially liked the pipe organ music, because that gives you a sense of despair as the Comet Empire shrieks through the universe.

When evil makes itself felt, rather than giving into darkness and despair, the Forces of Good stand up to it -- no matter the odds or the cost.

I think the other thing that is good and proper about the Star Blazers storyline is that it deals with death -- something that modern animated series like "G.I. Joe" and "Transformers" shied away from.

There are many scenes, such as Sgt. Knox on the planet Brumis, where the casualties of war are remembered and honoured. Then there's Captain Gideon and his fleet battling the Comet Empire and its fleet at Saturn. Many people die on both sides of this conflict, and the battles show the destruction.

It's not necessary or desirable to show mangled bodies -- I agree with this. Nor should war be glorified. But, it's important to show the tragic consequences of war, and the sacrifices that are made, and this story does both very well in that regard.

Perhaps the most enduring character in Star Blazers - Comet Empire is Trelana (SP?) of Telezart. How difficult a decision it would be for any of us to have to live with -- the thought that you or I had destroyed an entire civilization with a great mind energy, even though we didn't mean to do it. Then swearing never to use that power to harm another living being, only to be faced with an almost equal threat in the Comet Empire -- and the knowledge that other civilizations like earth's are faced with enslavement or extinction unless she stands up to the Comet Empire. What could be more ambiguous, and more heart-wrenching, than having to make these kinds of choices?

If there are any criticisms of Star Blazers - Comet Empire, they are minor. For instance, in one episode, the leader of earth is a prime minister. In the next, that person is a president. So, there were some minor flaws in the script writing for the English translation of this series.

There was also a problem with the planet Brumis. The Space Marines had to abandon it when the crew of the Argo rescues them. Then, when they return to pay homage to the dead military personnel there, the planet has been made into a huge Comet Empire base. I find it hard to believe that planet Brumis could have been made into a huge and secret base for the Comet Empire in that short a time.

However, these are minor flaws that I can overlook in an otherwise great storyline.

Overall, Star Blazers - Comet Empire is a great science fiction storyline. In fact, it's better than the original because the threat is much greater, and because of the expansion of the number of characters.

I can only hope that Star Blazers - Bolean Wars is equal to this one.

Star Blazers
I merber Star Blazers on TV back in 70's I watch what going to happen next. Now all the Star Blazers is on DVD. I going to buy the last of Star Blazers series.

"Target: The Comet Empire!!!"
When I was a kid I admit to giving the second series of "Star Blazers" a pass. I watched it once, then waited patiently for "The Quest for Iscandar" episodes to start again. I think I now understand why. While the first series gave me an emitonally nostalgic buzz, it is a fairly simple and straight-forward story filled with great ideas and outstanding concepts that are easier for kids to digest. But with "The Comet Empire" the characters are so well-developed and the plotting so intricate that when I was young it was simply too much information. Today, however, I prefer this series for a multitude of reasons. The most noticable difference is that the animation has improved ten-fold! There are many scenes throughout the series that rival current-day anime. While "The Quest for Iscandar" was loaded with great ideas, the plotting sometimes took a backseat to inspiration. But here the story is more fluid and diverse, with interesting sub-plots, and with even more great ideas. While the first series concentrated on introducing the main characters and developing depth of character, this second series expands on those characteristics while giving more screen-time to the rest of the cast. Sandor and Orion and Eager and Homer all get more attention, as do the newer characters, like the colorful Sgt. Knox and his Space Marines; the charming Leader Desslok makes his return, as well. As an adult, I enjoy "The Comet Empire" more for the simple fact that there is more going on. Aboard the war machine that is "The Comet Empire" there is devious behavior and political maneuvering, with certain individuals vying for the throne. While at Earth Headquarters, the actions of The Star Force are taken as mutiny at first, but later embraced as their last defense. The complexity of emotion and plot kept me interested all the way to the end. This wasn't the nostalgia-rush I got from the first series, but seriously, everything else here is an improvement. Although, I still gave "The Quest for Iscandar" 5 stars. This is easily one of the best animated series of all-time, and I highly recommend both series. "The Quest for Iscandar" for unbridled nostalgia, and "The Comet Empire" for an excellent adventure story.

Not just a "cartoon". Much, much more
Like everyone else who worships this series, I too lived and breathed Star Blazers in my youth. Right after school, at 3:30 on Channel 11 (but occasionally in the morning at 7:00), was my time to get lost in another world. In fact I vividly recall my mother, during the show's morning performances, waking me up for school by turning on my little black and white tv, and I would be roused from my slumber to the theme song: "We're off to outer space..." What a great way to start a day! I tear up just thinking about it. And of course my friends and I would discuss that day's episode at school. Unforgettable, irreplacable memories.
Growing up has not lessened the experience one iota, since Star Blazers contains all the drama and excitement of any adult tv show, without the language and nudity (though apparently some skin existed in the original Japanese version). The character development is staggering (due to the amazing voice actors); the frustration of loss and the elation of victory is palpable.
I prefer the Comet Empire Series only slightly more than the Iscandar series because the artwork is a little better, though neither of them have truly bad artwork. It's not the hi-tech modern anime that we're used to now, but rather the acorn from which it grew. The scene at the beginning of the series where the Star Force is gathered at Captain Avatar's Memorial and the new Andromeda battleship flies toward them covered in lights was quite an advanced piece of work for the time, but that sort of technique wasn't used often in the series.
The dvd extras with the original voice actors is too good to be true, and it's a shame they weren't used on the Bolar Wars series. I will not watch it due to that little detail. It just isn't the same. Wildstar, Venture, Nova, Sandor, Conroy, Orion, et al. are forever to be associated with the voices from the first 2 series.
Even though I realize the Argo should have been destroyed 100 times over with the damage it received (especially from the Comet Empire's "hidden" ship), I will not let that minor technicality sway my opinion of this remarkable, intelligent, moving story. The music is great, the voice actors make you truly feel close to the characters, and the drama and heroism is unmatched by any other "mere cartoon".

Another triumph
Those of you who've read my review of the first series know how I feel about Star Blazers. This series languished in my faded memory for 20 years before I found it on DVD. And then it exploded any expectations I had by being magnificent and beautiful -- one of the best sci-fi series .... heck, one of the best series period to ever hit the small screen.

The second season details the struggle against the awful Comet Empire. The peace and tranquility bought by the Argo's victory over Gamilon is shattered when a mysterious comet wends its way toward the solar system. At the same time, a garbled desperate message reaches Earth and the Star Force reunites to investigate and find out just what the threat to Earth is.

Once again, the talented writers have found the right balance of thinking big and writing small. The story is epic -- monumental. And yet they never lose sight of the human drama. Amidst the stunning battle at Saturn, the Star Force's desperate fight on the surface of Telezart and the final apocalyptic confrontation, we still get those little moments that make Star Blazers so amazing -- Wildstar's developement into a capable commander, the tension between him and Sergeant Knox and a touching tender love story between Trelaina and Mark Venture that brings tears to the eyes of the most cynical viewer.

I wish that someone had spent the time and money restoring the video and audio. The quality of the material is poor. The audio fades in and out, the video has flecks and spots and warps. The problem is the source material. No one imagined anyone would care about this series in 2003 and so no one bothered to preserve it.

But you know what? By episode 10, I didn't even notice. The story had swept me away and I could just ignore the poor quality of the audio/video and embrace the story with the same rapture I did at ten years of age.

The extras on the DVD are even better than last time. They include not only an overview of Earth, the Comet Empire and the weaponry, but interesting interview with the cast members. These people were struggling actors who did what seemed a throwaway job. And they're suprised and moved to find out how much the series meant to the viewers.

But again, this is just a bonus. The real flesh of this collection is the best animated series to hit the small screen. Once again, I advise you to jump in with both feet. You won't be disappointed. ... Read more