Oh--My--GOD!

Rating: 9/10 (23 September 2000)

Okay. I'm not a big anime fan. I can't stand the ones that look like Dragon Ball Z. I despise the ones that look like Ghost in the Shell. Pokemon is silly. Sailor Moon turned stupid. And so far, the only show that looks decent is Escaflowne. And Pokemon the Movie was the worst animated movie I've ever seen. I didn't even bother seeing the sequel. I was also slightly disappointed by Grave of the Fireflies. But this. This is something else. This is something magical. It's probably the only anime movie worth watching, although I could be wrong. First the positives. The characters are realistic and well developed. There are no true "good guys" or "bad guys". The story is also great, sometimes sophisticated. Although the premise has been done to death, this is more than just your average environment movie. Finally, there's the animation. It's beautiful and breathtaking, especially with the backgrounds. The Nightwalker sequence is probably the one of the better animated pieces in history. Now the negatives. While the movie is wonderful to look at, the animation technique is still anime, which drives me crazy to no end. Those used to Disney's fluid style of drawing and animating will find the hyperactivity and shortcuts of anime a tad unrealistic and maybe even cartoonish. The movie also tries to do too many things at once, and as a result, certain parts look unfinished, rushed, or unpolished. Some parts even seem unnecessary. Finally there's the ending. Do all animes end in a wimpy, ambiguous note? Because I'm not used to it. These flaws aren't enough to make it a bad movie. On the contrary, this is a fantastic movie. However, this won't receive a perfect 10 from me, just a 9.