SYNOPSIS:
A.D. 972, the Heian Era.
Japan teeters on the brink of collapse as war and famine ravage
the country. The only hope of salvation lies in retrieval of
the magical Magatama and master archer Minamoto Raikou is sent
by the Emperor on a quest to find the elusive item. But when
he himself became stricken by illness, his sister Hikaru decides
to pose as him and find the Magatama herself, thus beginning
an epic journey filled with danger, intrigues and friendship.
MOVIE
REVIEW :
“Otogi
Zoshi” starts with 2 people on a quest to find magical
stones, the Magatamas but to their realization, they slowly
uncover a plot that can/is to cause great destruction. Or
is the wrong-doing of one person meant for a right intention
in the beginning? The first half of the series ends in the
ancient era and the capital in ruins.
Moving
timely to the second half of the show, the characters are
reunited in the present time in their attempt to solve the
mysteries of supernatural incidents in the modern day Tokyo.
This is exhilarating to the viewers, who are interested in
fables and urban myths as the storyplot develops to weave
together the past and present. Simultaneously, it also intertwines
the causes and effects so well that a sure-enchanting story
is the fruit of it.
For people
who are familiar with anime, “Otogi Zoshi” is
more of the style of another popular anime “Spirited
Away”, in comparison with “Inuyasha” - currently
broadcasted on our local Arts Central channel. Nevertheless,
its various characters and settings are drawn beautifully.
Also, the sceneries are exceptionally captivating. The standard
is consistent, having it maintained throughout the whole series.
There is none of the cartoonist elements (to the individual’s
preferences) but it is evidently increases the visual maturity
level to the show in the terms of graphic expression and presentation.
However,
the underlying meaning of the story runs deep, drawing on
the connections of the 5 elements of water, fire, earth, wood,
and metal. While the first part of the series tracks down
the journey to retrieve the magical Magatamas, and illustrates
how these stones have affected the different places based
on the element that they belong to, the second half tries
to relate the contemporary incidents with the past events
in the olden days when the destruction was created. It is
certainly intriguing on the discovery of the latter.
While
it may draw your curiosity about the connection between the
past and present, the modern day stories can’t help
but have a shade of supernaturalism to it. Sure- entertaining
but not that believable to a certain extent, but it makes
for a good story-telling session. Nevertheless, as you watch
the show, it does make you wonder how everything seemingly
comes about in a vicious cycle.
SPECIAL
FEATURES :
NIL
AUDIO/VISUAL:
Razor-sharp
visual and sound effects.
MOVIE
RATING:
 
DVD
RATING:
Review
by Lilian Aw
|
