Blade Of The Phantom Master - DVD Review

The coolness of the theatrical anime feature "Blade Of The Phantom Master" works not just because of its futurism but its mix of both in terms of story, style and integration. Bringing aspects of both traditional Japanese anime, CG 3D material and "Heavy Metal" style thinking into the mix, the movie, despite its basis in certain types of myths, lifts itself above its basic story material with definite flair. It starts out in the desert with a wandering man, a knight of sorts, with his services no longer required after the collapse of a country. It is the basis of any good western. You have a degregation of duty where he has given up on his usefulness and is ready to turn in the towel. It is a great story motif where redemption is necessary. This man is saved by the human spirit of a boy who gives him water. The kid is seeking to become an Amen-Osa which is almost prenatural knight with control of his own Phantom Army. The attack by a vicious bunch of barbarian cannibalistic sand dwelling monsters sets the tone. The difference in the anime is not just in its fluidity but also in its attitude. It has sarcasm and balls without being conventional or trite.The awakening of Chen, who was the boy in the desert's sweetheart, shows her to be an almost otherworldly warrior. She serves the new Amen-Osa as his Sando or servant. Some of the initial intentions like her standing over a grave as her cloak flitters against the dusk are simply iconic. You think of “The Gunslinger” but tinged with anime that offers a different depth. The center of the feature slows down a bit to establish the points using the element of silence to really key it in. Just as you think the film has lost its way, the fire begins to burn. The ending battle between Chen and Mari, a deadly tinged female assassin serving of the dark lord of the island, is great. The angle at the center of the story is that a whole area Amen-Osa and Chen travel to is an isle of the dead that isn't blissfully aware that their souls have been taken. They are living in a dream world where life is what they want it to be. The essence of what needs to be taken down is understood. The motivation of the warlock however seems muddled.One thing that is not muddled is The Phantom Army and the Amen-Osa's use of guns. When both of them come into play, the film kicks into energetic overdrive that is only outdone by the Aeon Flux speed and rage of Chen when she gets going. The translation is pretty dead on across the board so the boys in this Japan/Korean co-production from 04 were on their game as was ADV who originally got the translation going with Funimation doing the completion.The extras also give fans what they want to see. The CG to 3D shows the work being done in the office of the animation company. Things are not all in order and that is good. This is a completely creative enviroment where these people are making this production and it is great to see. They show how, for the Phantom Army, there was an original animation sketch that they built into the CG to show the transformation. There is even one point where it goes from CG animation into regular 2D and, even though I saw a slight change, I thought it beautiful that they did it. There are also examples of how they used the program Flame to create fire, spark, smoke and cinder shots in the background which really give the film a sense of depth, even though it is using raw footage. They soften the details and make it sing.The storyboards to CG show a parallel form of vision that tends to show the translation in the wire frames. The production sketches are also undeniably detailed in terms of full 360 degree views of all the characters. The interviews wiith the cast are fairly by the book and predicates a studio system with the exception of Roni Park who plays the evil Mari. She says what she thinks and goes to work with it. She would tell her character to chill out (because she thinks Mari is too wound up) but also thinks that Mensu is the type of guy she would fall for but admits she would probably always be nagging him.The two theatrical trailers are very good for the original release in Japan in 2004 because it has a true sense of scope. The TV spot hits this too but not as well. In terms of the trailers, the one that stands out is "Samurai 7" definitely with its fusion of old school samurai and futuristic visuals and metaphors. "Afro Samurai: Resurrection" also still has a bad-ass coolness to it that cannot be matched. Because it comes out of nowhere with such a definition of style and scope, "Blade Of The Phantom Master" is a surprise of riches. Out of 5, I give it a 3 ½.