In the year 1999 protagonist Kamui Shirou is sent back to Tokyo to fulfil his destiny. It is potentially the end of the world as two groups; The Dragons of Heaven and Dragons of Earth do battle; the former fighting to protect humanity, the latter fighting to cleanse the planet of humanity. Kamui must decide which side he is to fight for. It won't be easy and many of those he cares about will be killed along the way
and to make matters even harder whichever side he chooses to fight for his friend Fuma is destined to fight on the other side.
This anime film quickly throws us into the action and that action barely stops until the end and while the action looks great not enough time is given to introducing the characters. We are told that certain structures in Tokyo somehow protect the Earth and that a battle to protect them is destined to take place but we are hardly told why. The 'Dragons' are people with supernatural powers and their battles lead to widespread destruction which is pretty impressive. The character designs are a little dated in style but that doesn't detract from the film; they are distinctive enough and suit the style of the story. I've neither read the manga nor watched the later series so can't say how this compares but overall I'd say it is okay if you want plenty of action just don't expect 'cartoon violence' this is pretty bloody and certainly not one for younger viewers.
These comments are based on watching the film in Japanese with English subtitles.
This anime film quickly throws us into the action and that action barely stops until the end and while the action looks great not enough time is given to introducing the characters. We are told that certain structures in Tokyo somehow protect the Earth and that a battle to protect them is destined to take place but we are hardly told why. The 'Dragons' are people with supernatural powers and their battles lead to widespread destruction which is pretty impressive. The character designs are a little dated in style but that doesn't detract from the film; they are distinctive enough and suit the style of the story. I've neither read the manga nor watched the later series so can't say how this compares but overall I'd say it is okay if you want plenty of action just don't expect 'cartoon violence' this is pretty bloody and certainly not one for younger viewers.
These comments are based on watching the film in Japanese with English subtitles.