Stunning

Rating: 8/10 (22 May 2008)

I read the comic book series a handful of years ago... I had read some other Manga prior to that, but this was the first that *really* grabbed me, and I made sure I read every single one of the chapters. I found out about this not terribly long after, and was excited to find out about both if Ôtomo was as skillful a director as a graphic novelist, and how the heck he was going to make a two-hour film out of 20 100-something(please feel free to correct me if my memory is off on this) page intense Animé releases. He did a darn good job. Some story elements are altered, and others, as well as characters, entirely eliminated, but without doing so, this would have been considerably longer. The fast pace is retained, and as far as I can tell, the meat of the source material comes through. The plot is engaging and well-told. The score is... interesting. The acting is great, with a few exceptions. I watched this with English voices, I don't know about the Japanese ones. The animation is a visual extravaganza(in the nicest possible meaning), breathtaking, the lighting, the effects, all of it. The artists have an awful lot to be proud of here. The action is awesome, and the designs incredible. A solid chunk of what was really, really cool in the original work is here, and it is *astounding*. There are some rather bizarre, as well as many quite disturbing and grotesque sights and sounds in this, and those unsettled by such should almost definitely steer clear. There isn't a lot of language, but it tends to be strong. There is graphic violence and gore throughout the entire feature. There is a little nudity. It's all written out in the Parents Guide for those who want specifics. I recommend this to fans of Katsuhiro and the novel of the same title, as well as the overall style(which this has in spades). 8/10