KITE (a J!-ENT anime DVD Review)

BUY THIS DVD

MOVIE COMPANY: GREEN BUNNY / MEDIA-BLASTERS / ANIME WORKS
CAST: N/A
DIRECTED BY: Yasuomi Umetsu
PRODUCED BY: BEAM ENTERTAINMENT
RATING: Ages 16 and up
COMPANY WEBSITE:  http://www.media-blasters.com/
TYPE OF MOVIE: Suspense, Adventure
DURATION: 45 minutes

From the creative mind of Yasuomi Umetsu, the character designer & animation director of such classics as Megazone 23, Robot Carnival, and the New Gatachman!

A beautiful combination of a hard-hitting, violent, action movie, made with the best of today’s animation. You’ve got to see it to believe it!

Destined to be the anime classic of 1999 - an absolute must-have!

One of the most successful anime titles released in 1998.

She may be cute. She may be young. She may seem innocent and naive, but don’t be fooled. She’s a cold-blooded killer, and if you’re on the wrong side of the law, you may be her next target.

After being orphaned ar a young age, her parents the victims of a brutal double murder, Sawa was taken in by the detective assigned to her case. Not content to just watch as the imperfect justice system let more and more criminals go loose every day, he decided to train her to be his instrument of justice. After all who would suspect a pretty college student of being a deadly vigilante!

Now she must decide between her allegiance to her guardian and her loyalty to her one and only friend, a fellow sword of justice. Watch as this brutal story unfolds with stunning animation from the lethal mind of Yasuomi Umetsu, the character designer & animation director of such anime classics as MegaZone 23 Part 2, Robot Carnival (Presence), and the New Gatchaman (G-Force). This anime - a cross between The Professional and La Femme Nikita - is sure to shock and entertain every anime fan! Warning: Kite contains scenes of brief nudity and extreme graphic violence. Viewer discretion is strongly advised.

DVD EXTRAS:

• Region 1 encoding (US and Canada only)
• Color, Animated
• Music Video
• Photo Gallery
• Story Boards

KNOWN DVD SECRET(S): None that I know of

DVD REVIEW:

A very controversial anime release.  As many of you know, about 15 minutes were cut from this release compared to the original Japanese release.  There are rumors why Media Blasters did this.  One is because they wanted to fit the whole tape on video (which many anime fans say is a lot of bull) and second, it’s because of the rating.  If they released the original, this would be Rated NC-17.

Anyway, I didn’t get into this drama like many people have.  Some see it as some awesome storyline which is fine and dandy.  I see a girl whose parents were killed, being raised and having a sexual relationship with her parents killer and when you think the ending would be happy and nice, you get an ending that would make you want to get the DVD and break it to pieces.

KITE is a very violent film.  The storyline is interesting, almost as screwed up as “Kono yo no Hate”.  Very screwed up anime with interesting action but the ending is a shocker.

Btw, I couldn’t stand to see the post bathroom scene.  Certain scenes make you say…”Yeah right! No #$#@in way!”.

That’s how I felt about this anime.  It maybe popular with fans but I’m not into storylines dwelling into the darkside of humanity.  But I do give it a more than average rating.  The storyline is interesting, I guess that’s why the music group “No Doubt” used some sequences in their music video.  They must of enjoyed this anime.

As for the DVD, you will be amazed to find out that compared to other anime DVD’s, this DVD has quite a bit of features.  Many trailers from up-and-coming anime titles, music video, storyboards, animation cels.   The color is pretty good and colorful, the audio was nothing major but nice explosions though.

Otherwise, if you like anime storylines that are dark, this anime is for you.

THE ANIME: C
THE DVD EXTRAS:  B+
THE DVD OVERALL:  B-