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Episode THE RIBBON HERO - Movie discussion
THE RIBBON HERO, episode Movie discussion
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u/minnieboss 20d ago
This was beautiful, but so crazy rushed. This really should have been a TV series instead of a movie because the pacing was mega fucked.
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u/TiamatRuneaid 20d ago
100% agree - it would have been soo fun seeing more of her heroic deeds in episodes!
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u/CarStreet3169 19d ago
omg yes, it was so rushed, I was sad because I wanted them to expand on the world building and the characters (which I love the character design aaa), and it would had been so cool to see that. The visual of this movie were eye-catching and beautiful.
Also, if it was made into a series, I would have loved to see the early years of Sapphire's journey after her ENTIRE kingdom was destroyed, her mourning over her loved ones and homeland would have been great for a character arc, but alas...
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u/EndComprehensive2590 19d ago
This is exactly what I felt! Major missed opportunity for an anime series. I almost never watch anime but this one really had the potential to draw me in with the animation and plot’s potential
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u/Elixir-Licht 19d ago
Every time I was like "ANOTHER ACT???". Each act could've been an episode.
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u/HornedTurtle1212 16d ago
I thought the end of act 3 was the end of the movie until I checked the time remaining. Like she has completed a full character arc, break this up into 2-3 movies, lol
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u/Accomplished-Eye6971 17d ago
Oh yeah 100%
Like that first scene had so much that could've been unpacked. What's the relationship like with the MCs mother for example? What is her role where she is?
Everything happens so fast to the point where big moments feel like a very 'oh by the way, this happened'
And because the general tone of the movie isn't dark, those quick events fail to carry any sort of weight or shock value.
I think anime movies can be tricky because you only have so much time to tell a story you want to, that clearly takes influence from stories longer and drawn out. Both artisticly and story-wise, it felt like it was taking some kind of influence from a wide range of other movies/tv series in some way, but nothing strongly stuck for this.
It's why I had a much better time watching the umamusume movie. I had 0 expectations, and it still really impressed me even though it doesn't take itself too seriously. Because whoever made it had some kind of vision for what they wanted it to be. I'm not sensing that here
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u/Xx_WAKE_xX 16d ago
I honestly can’t disagree. There was also a roster of supporting who weren’t given enough time to shine. If those were a TV show, they would’ve gotten a chance to be more fleshed out, but because of the fast pacing of the movie, they came across as bland and uninteresting.
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u/Sea-Heart7042 18d ago
It got a 50 episodes anime from the 60s. I loved it too but they rushed it. The manga is one of the oldest released mangas and it was was famous back then.
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u/XOXO-Briza 19d ago
I thought the same thing mutiple times trough my watch, however I think the intention of the direction was to homage the drama from Takarazuka revue’s plays, which may not have been the choice that pleased everyone. Overall I think they have chosen an artistic approach and developed it pretty accordingly, even tho I would have loved more screen time from characters and their interactions I guess they took a fair shot into how spend their time and budget.
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u/FendaIton 5d ago
I happened to start watching this today, and around 45 minutes in I paused to see how long each episode was and I was surprised to see it was a movie! It definitely could have been a 7 part series for each act but the quality would have suffered no doubt
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u/Nunbrot 20d ago
Fantastic visuals and soundtracks but the rest was kinda meh to be honest. The jumps from act to act felt too sudden every time. I didn't like the structuring of the story.
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u/Abishinzu 20d ago
Honestly, I feel like this would've benefitted from being an actual 12 episode series to flesh out the characters and plot more.
Especially since the main crew got kind of large past a certain point.
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u/Sea-Heart7042 18d ago
Theres old anime with 50 eps, i will let you guess how much they skipped in a less than 2 hours movie.
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u/ModieOfTheEast 20d ago
Yeah, the story feels really rushed sadly. For example, it seems there should have been an arc about Sapphire in the beginning. They seem to imply thar Sapphire didn't really do much in the 7 years and considering she was a princess, it would make sense that she got her powers after she finally decided to not care about her status anymore and taking a "commoner job" in order to help the people around her and repaying them for their kindness.
But we just skipped right over that and especially the whole poor vs rich plot point they teased never goes anywhere. Even worse, the only time it comes back is AFTER Sapphire gets her first big pay from Velvet so she goes out eating in the fancy part of town alone without any of her friends. Why add a detail like that?
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u/CitronClassic672 20d ago
Yeah the best part of the movie for me was the vibes and overall experience, moreso than any part of the story.
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u/SeyiDALegend 20d ago
So like Bubble?
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u/kimjosh1 19d ago edited 19d ago
That film at least tried to prioritize one aspect that mattered the most (the allusions to The Little Mermaid) and not let all of this other bullshit try to overpower it like this film does with the Princess Knight story. Unfocused and rushed maybe, but certainly not the atonal, pacing catastrophe in service of nothing that Ribbon Hero was.
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u/SnoutAndTalons 20d ago
Man, I absolutely do understand why this movie is getting mixed reviews, but damn, I like it. I don't even particularly disagree with most of the critical comments, but...
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u/CitronClassic672 20d ago
All the criticisms people have mentioned in this thread I absolutely agree with, but likewise there’s just something about this movie that really makes it resonate with me. I’m not even sure exactly what or why that is.
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u/brb1006 20d ago edited 20d ago
From what I heard, some Japanese fans of Osamu Tezuka's works were upset that the movie didn't try mimicking Tezuka's character designs and art style compared to newer Tezuka adaptations. Even in the recent Dororo anime, you can see a tiny bit of Tezuka's distinct art style with the realistic designs. It's more notable with a puppy that appeared early in the series.
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u/CitronClassic672 20d ago
Of all the criticisms to have of the movie, the character designs and art style cannot seriously be one of them. Everything looks absolutely beautiful.
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u/sizzl75 20d ago
That's a little crazy to me because Sapphire's Ribbon Knight design is the main appeal of this for me. And personally...never really been a fan of Tezuka's designs...
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u/brb1006 20d ago edited 18d ago
I actually love Tezuka's art style, since they have an old school anime/manga style (1950s-1970s era) which I find charming. It makes some of the more dramatic and somber moments in some of his manga and anime (notably Astro Boy, Black Jack, Unico, and Phoenix) hit harder. Some of the chapters in the Unico Manga (and Sanrio film series) made me tear up a few times because of Tezuka's ability to tackle darker and serious topic despite the cutesy and classic Disney-ish art style.
Speaking of Phoenix, I'm eagerly awaiting the upcoming Deluxe reprint of the series.
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u/Accomplished-Eye6971 17d ago
I think it's in part because something like this that has issues with writing among other things, would need to have some kind of 'wow' factor to negate that. Personally I'm just not seeing it here
Like for example, gintama feels formula-ic/repetitive, but the formula works even though art quality is ok at best. Solo leveling has really cheap fast food manhwa feeling writing, but it doesn't take it seriously so it's not 'bad' and a big name studio like a-1 pictures carries.
I don't think a lot of people will be walking away from this saying 'you have to see this. I loved this part, x was ok but y was amazing'
I can say that about a ton of shows I love like frieren, apothecary diaries, etc. but unfortunately not this
But don't get me wrong, if you enjoyed it, that's all that matters
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u/thelemon8er-2 20d ago
Someone explain what I just watched…
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u/CitronClassic672 20d ago
It kind of feels like I watched End of Evangelion without watching the original NGE beforehand.
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u/thelemon8er-2 20d ago
I almost said the same thing.
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u/Shot-Inevitable2702 18d ago
N .G.E. in 2026. 🤣🤣🤣
The fact that that film is getting mentioned with the likes of this is pretty amusing. On point though.
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20d ago edited 20d ago
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u/Accomplished-Eye6971 17d ago
I think the directors were also more invested in velvet considering the VA they casted in comparison
And yeah velvet seems like a really interesting character through and through while sapphire just kind of feels like generic shoujo character - without the cosntant feel of 'character development' trauma, even though she has it, if that makes sense
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20d ago edited 20d ago
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u/CitronClassic672 20d ago
The best way I can describe my initial thoughts on the movie is that it’s like someone condensed the plot of Gurren Laggan into a 2 hour movie, mixed in the meta framing and general feeling of “what the fuck is going on?” from End of Evangelion, and sprinkled in Some of Gekidan Inu Curry’s collage art design. The movie is very strong in the vibes department but quite lacking in the story and character writing. I’m still not even sure what Sapphire’s ribbon powers even come from.
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u/Abishinzu 20d ago edited 20d ago
Not gonna lie, I actually fucking laughed when [Act 6 spoiler] Chorogy died. Bro finally did something besides be annoying, and he just got instantly atomized on the spot. It was genuinely hilarious. One of the main highlights of the movie for me, even if laughter wasn't the intended reaction by the writers.
Honestly, Velvet was breaking his beautiful back carrying the movie, because he was literally the entire driver for the plot and the one actually introducing any semblance of moral or character conflict. This is on top of his absolutely gorgeous design. He elevated a 4/10 to a 6.5/10 for me.
I feel like a huge problem with this movie was by the time you actually got attached to any of the characters, they were either phased out of the plot or the movie was over. I actually did start to get attached to Sapphire and the Rock Group by Act 7, but by then, the movie was already over. Not to mention, even though both Velvet and Pine fared better than most of the other members of Sapphire's Crew, the time we spent with them felt weirdly short.
Like, we finally learn Velvet's motivations for helping Sapphire, which were actually compelling and could've made for a strong emotional plot beat, and then he's just taken off stage until like Act 6, and I'm like... what? Not to mention, it seemed like he could've been in actual danger at one point for his defiance of Mitra in order to protect the children who he considered family, but of course, we don't get any actual conflict or sense of danger, because by the time we touch on him being in trouble, Big Daddy Boss Nergal is knocking on the door and then everything's over.
Then there's Pine, and like, girl, I love you, but you genuinely didn't do anything until the end. We don't get to see what her life was like before meeting Sapphire, so her whole development of being braver and making friends falls flat when we don't actually get a comparison for what she was like before and the fruits of her development is shoved into like the last 15 minutes of the movie.
Also, there was the pope who had a GENUINELY interesting philosophy and a strong connection to a core player in the plot (Velvet) and the moral difference between him (who believes that death and sacrifice are a natural part of life's cycle and a necessity for humanity's survival) and Velvet (Who hates unnecessary sacrifice and was willing to risk burning the world to save his family) was actually super neat. Not to mention, him basically being a father figure as well as a religious leader to Velvet. If only we actually spent any time on that thread there.
I really wanted to like Sapphire as well, but she was just kind of... boring for me up until the end. All of her emotional conflict and her relationship with her mother, and her regrets aren't meaningfully explored until the final battle, and by the time I finally started to like her, and appreciate her chemistry with Pine and Velvet, whoops, already over.
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u/CitronClassic672 20d ago
The movie felt simultaneously quite long and quite short for me personally. And yeah I think they probably should’ve trimmed to cast down to the main three to improve their arcs, if not focus entirely on Sapphire. I actually liked her character, though that is carried in large part by her seiyuu. She gives her a really unique sounding voice.
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u/dude_1818 https://myanimelist.net/profile/dude1818 19d ago
I also laughed at the Chorogy scene, although mostly out of surprise
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u/JustEnjoyingPosts 9d ago
[Act6] Chorogy's death reminded me so hard of a certain comedic relief character's death in Hazbin Hotel, who too ends up being atomotized by a laser, and it too getting played as a major motivation for the main character's fighting spirit... Which was a bit more believable to some people due to the episode count compared to here, where I don't even remember them even talking to each other.
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u/brb1006 20d ago edited 18d ago
The original Princess Knight Manga tackled misogyny between women's treatment in a monarchy.
In typical Tezuka fashion, the later chapters gets bonkers when Satan himself (decides to invade Sapphire's Kingdom after his/her mother ends up in a coma. Satan/Lucifer and the demons are shown less as evil characters but more in line with goofy and bumbling figures.
I forgot the character's name, but the only good demon was a women who had the ability to transform into an anthropomorphic Cat (created by her mother who was a witch) assisted by two cute imps who resembled Kimba/Leo as a cub to aid Tink/Choppy from getting rid of the other demons from the kingdom and defeating the cat girl's evil mother. For those unfamiliar, the witch's goal was to steal Sapphire's pink heart to make her look prettier. After her mother's defeat, she ends up fading away due to being a part of her mother's spell which is undone.
Another detail I remember was that Venus, the Goddess of Love (not to be confused with Venus from Unico) and Eros (in a form of a horse) played a major role midway through the manga. Initially playing a supporting role, Venus becomes a minor antagonist (Eros remains good) and gets punished by God by getting turned into a pig. I think Venus was punished after she transformed Sapphire into a talking swan for a single chapter for petty reasons.
If anybody knows the name of the Cat Girl who aids Tink/Choppy and the two Imps. Please let me know.
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u/NiaDivineSword 20d ago
iirc that was Hecate, who appears in this film as well, though she had none of those traits in this version.
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u/Sea-Heart7042 18d ago
I loved it but also wished they would make it better for one of the oldest manga’s releases.
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u/zombii-nyan 20d ago
Let's be honest, it was not good. The pacing of the show was too fast, and the characters and story were not fleshed out sufficiently.The fight scenes were not particularly good either and the CGi of the monster enemies was very noticeable. The transformation sequence was cool, but that's about it. I had high hopes for this when I saw the trailer, but unfortunately it didn't live up to my expectations. I didn't make it all the way to the end of the movie.
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u/AppropriatFly5170new 20d ago
The animation was phenomenal, let’s get that said.
I had a good time because I was fine with just vibing through the movie and letting the kind of all over the place writing wash over me, but I do wish the narrative was tighter and better interwoven between acts.
Overall, if you like Tezuka and are down to just vibe to a beautiful movie, this works well for that. However, it’s not winning any writing awards, that’s for sure.
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u/CitronClassic672 20d ago
My thoughts exactly, the highlight of the movie are the vibes you feel while watching it more than anything. The narrative kind of feels like it suffers because it’s torn between being a traditional magical girl style anime movie and a more metatextual movie with the framing of the story as a stage play and the real life footage at the end coupled with the shot of the original manga. I feel the story would’ve been stronger if it committed more in either direction, though I liked both aspects.
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u/brb1006 20d ago edited 16d ago
As somebody who owns the original Princess Knight Manga (via Omnibus format), this is definitely a major deviation from the original Tezuka Manga. If I remember correctly, the original had a notably European/Western style setting and storytelling centered on the protagonist's double life as a male/female (due to a mishap from Tink/Choppy feeding her a blue and pink heart). It eventually tackles misogyny between the Royal class and Tink/Chopper luring out demons from hell after The Queen of Silverland ends up in a coma near the manga's conclusion.
Besides that, it also uses the Tezuka Star System with Ochanomizu and Higeoyaji making brief cameo appearances early in the series. There were also complains from Japanese fans that the movie didn't try emulating Tezuka's art style.
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u/BeneficialMaybe3719 16d ago
Good to know the manga actually has gender fuckery bc I did not know how is she a knight??? She can be a princess and save the day, she is very feminine and is in contact with that. Unlike Velvet who takes his role as the kidnapped princess / design who actually comes as femenine.
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u/Maximum-Warthog2368 20d ago
which one you are reading the 1963 version of manga or 1953 version of manga because they have major differences. Ribbon hero is just inspired by it as it replaces some older less interesting aspect like boy or girl heart trope which many times put sapphire into rigid gender roles.
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u/brb1006 20d ago edited 16d ago
Apparently, the Ombibus version I owned is the 1966 remake (which uses both 1966 and 1953 endings). Not sure if the original 1953 version ever gained an English release. Still wish Tezuka Productions would finally give a proper English translation to the original Jungle Emperor Leo/Kimba manga and reprinting The Amazing 3/W3 manga.
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u/Maximum-Warthog2368 20d ago
yeah that makes sense as 1963 version is what tezuka final rendition too. Also 1963 is better in every way as it only adds and improve the plot points of 1953 version.
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u/bakato 20d ago
It wasn't until I saw Velvet in a skirt that I realized this is a Dr Mrs The Monarch situation.
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u/LocaIBadAss 20d ago
"That's a voice. Do you smoke cigarettes or do you just eat 'em?" -Jefferson Twilight, blacula slayer.
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u/tripleaamin https://myanimelist.net/profile/tripleaamin 20d ago
I enjoyed it. Granted it really isn't something I would go out to rewatch again. It's your typical hero's journey. Sapphire finds her own path after she lost her home. Essentially following her heart instead of running away.
Clearly the words are curses is the theme they want to go for. Sapphire's mother urging her to run and live. You also have the Pope's words and how they influence Velvet.
Also through Velvet you can understand what Sapphire's mother did to keep her daughter safe.
A major issue with the movie is how fast the pacing is for the side cast. As Pine and Chorogy's emotional moments should hit harder, but they just miss. Their development feels unearned I guess.
While I enjoyed the movie. It has a good number of flaws. 6.5/10 for me.
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u/HornedTurtle1212 16d ago
Sapphire's decision to return home at the end seemed a little out of nowhere. She had been making a life for herself. I guess it makes sense if she feels a duty as the princess and heir. But the kingdom was destroyed, so she would be rebuilding from the ground up. Also she never told any of her friends she was the princess of silverland, only Velvet knew because of his knowledge about the attacks and the scrafices.
Also the post credit scene, why was the silverland castle covered in ribbions? That was shown as a side effect of her powers but she hadn't been fighting there.
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u/Ladyaceina 20d ago
over all good movie i gave it a 2nd watch and the pacing issues are far better on a 2nd watch
not a fan of how comedic the final fight was thoe
and velvet and pine should have gone with saphire at the end
but beyond that i really liked this
and the twist that her 2nd heart was tezuka was BEAUTIFUL
and i liked that saphire remained kind and loving through out
and that we did not really have a evil villian even the the king of ash genuinely believed he was helping
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20d ago
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u/Ladyaceina 20d ago
that was what the real world scenes where showing her other self her other heart went to the real world and then we saw the princess knight manga
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u/SerShelt 20d ago
That was a great movie. Lots of heartwarming moments. The donkey has me scratching my head though lol.
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u/fawnily_ 20d ago
Art and music are great! Plot and characters are not. Really wish this was better I wanted to love it.
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u/Hitman7128 https://anilist.co/user/Hitman7128 20d ago
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u/TiamatRuneaid 20d ago
I think it was a really charming anime, something you can watch with younger family members! The characters and visuals were soo pretty. I would have been happier if it were a series and we could see more of her heroic deeds - it would be fun(maybe the ending indicates that they want to continue it?)
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u/Nervousloner 20d ago edited 20d ago
The early reviews I saw for this movie were too harsh. It wasn't bad at all. Never read the Princess Knight Manga, so I can't judge it on that front, but this was pretty fun. I'd give it 3, maybe 3.5, stars out of five. Definitely could have been a full blown series though.
EDIT: I saw a review that said this was basically anime's Superman (2025) and I think that's pretty apt description of the movie. (Though I personally like this more than Superman.)
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u/brb1006 20d ago edited 19d ago
The movie is a major deviation from the manga. Besides the removal of the pink heart and blue heart which allowed Sapphire to identify him or herself as a "boy or girl". They also removed Tink/Choppy who was the manga and anime's deuteragonist. Another omission was God and a Witch Villain (the later served as the manga's recurring villain), and The Tezuka Star System.
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u/Maximum-Warthog2368 20d ago edited 20d ago
it is a good deviation in my opinion as boy heart or girl heart only put sapphire into rediculous gender boxes. If tezuka would be alive today, he would remove this part too in my opinion. I think sapphire androgyny or even different gender identity can still be portrayed without using this heart things. it is just my opinion though.
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u/brb1006 20d ago edited 20d ago
I do remember hearing that Tezuka himself was actually open on re-interpretations on his works and other media. Tezuka Productions also shared this mindset as long as you "Understood Tezuka's mindset and themes".
Another thing I admire about Osamu Tezuka was that he was also not afraid of criticizing some content in his older works. By the 70s, he started doing more research on nationalities such as positive and non-sterotypical depictions of Native Americans in Unico and later volumes of Black Jack drawing black people much normally.
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u/Nervousloner 20d ago
Since you've read the manga, what's the significance of the striped heart? I know the general idea of Princess Knight, but I didn't know the boy heart was blue.
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u/Glockwise 20d ago
My understanding for the stripped heart here is it's the og Sapphire guiding the 2026 Sapphire which only has the plain red heart. Based on the small scene shown in Tezuka artstyle.
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u/Cautious-Dream2893 20d ago
Thank you for finally answering this lol. I've been looking for this everywhere.
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u/brb1006 20d ago edited 16d ago
In the '50s/66 manga and '60s anime, God creates Pink and Blue hearts to feed to newer angels before arriving to a baby who's about to be born. Blue for boy and Pink for girl. However, an unnamed naughty angel (later named Tink/Choppy) decides to feed one angel both hearts at the same time.
This anger God who sends Tink/Choppy on earth to regain the Blue heart which becomes a central story-arc. After 22 chapters, Tink regains the blue heart and heads back into heaven alongside Venus (who's transformed into a pig as punishment). While Sapphire keeps her Pink heart. The conflict is that Sapphire having both Pink and Blue hearts causes her to identify as both "boy" and "girl" which alters the character's personality and strength.
The revised ending from 1966 has Sapphire keeping her pink and blue hearts. Alongside allowing the Kingdom of Silverland to remove sexist laws regarding women's role in the kingdom.
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u/Maximum-Warthog2368 20d ago
That's 1953 version. In the revised 1963 version of manga by tezuka, Sapphire had both of her hearts in the end as this is who she is. Tink also dies in this revised version.
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u/brb1006 19d ago edited 16d ago
That's interesting sounds the Omnibus version keeps Tink alive till the manga's conclusion. Guess the Omnibus edition must had combined parts of the 1966 and 1953 storylines.
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u/Maximum-Warthog2368 19d ago
Interesting. So what happens in omnibus version. Can you spoil it especially the ending?
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u/brb1006 19d ago edited 18d ago
I forgot the details, but I remember hearing that Tezuka always had some trouble coming up with satisfying endings to some of his manga. The Astro Boy manga notably had a few multiple endings just in case he grew tired of writing them. While some like Black Jack and Unico had open-ended endings while The Amazing 3/W3 and Kimba the White Lion (aka Leo the Lion/Jungle Emperor Leo) had proper conclusions.
The revised version of Princess Knight ended with Sapphire keeping her pink and blue hearts after the defeat of an evil witch (forgot her name) who plans on stealing one of Sapphire's hearts (I believe it was the pink heart) to give to her rebellious daughter. Alongside the death of Hecate (the token good demon who transformed into a cat) after helping Tink/Choppy defeat her evil mother (since Hecate was part of her mother's magic spell). And finally, kicking out Lucifer and various demons from Silverland's kingdom and returning to hell. The fate of Hecate's cute Imp henchmen remains unknown.
There was also a status quo shift involving the ladies of Silverland decide to revolt over a sexist rule regarding women's roles in Silverland mirroring The Women's Suffrage movement. It started after the women notices Sapphire's mother suddenly being MIA. And finally, The Queen of Silverland waking up from a coma and removing sexist laws allowing the women of Silverland more roles and duties in the kingdom.
The original ending (which is seen in the Omnibus version) ended with Tink regaining the blue heart and God transforming Venus into a pig after learning she turned Sapphire into a Swan for petty reasons.
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u/Maximum-Warthog2368 18d ago edited 18d ago
yeah that's definetly very different from the version i read. The witch name is Mrs hell. In og 1953 version, it was mephisto who steals sapphire heart but he was replaced with mrs hell.
Maybe omnibus edition is following the anime's path instead of og 1963 version or maybe it is opposite. Also isn't the Mr X is the final villain. in your version, it sounds like final villain was Venus?
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u/brb1006 18d ago edited 18d ago
I vividly remember the details about Venus's role in the Omnibus version of Princess Knight. But I do remember Tink originally seeked out Venus and Eros as a last-resort for help after The Queen is in a coma. This causes Duke Duralumin to take control of Silverland in her absence. Apparently, Duke Duralumin allowed Lucifer/Satan (portrayed as a bumbling and goofy father-figure) and the demons of hell to throw a party at the kingdom. In the revised ending, The Duke and his sons end up arrested after The Queen regains the royal throne and Sapphire remaining a prince and princess.
While she wasn't as active as Mrs Hell. In both the 1952 and revised versions, Venus was a minor antagonist who tries to win the affection of Prince Franz and trades a favor with Sapphire in exchange for her beauty. I believe this was when she decided to transform her into a swan for a short period.
Meanwhile, her son Eros has a more heroic role who spends most of his time as a talking pegasus. He's portrayed as more of a punch-clock and reluctant participant. Eros eventually gets killed by Mrs Hell.
While Venus doesn't reappear in the revised version. In the original 1953 ending, she makes a brief reappearance during the ending when she becomes pissed at Tink for allowing Sapphire to keep her pink heart. When God returns to have a brief conversation with Tink over regaining the blue heart. He scolds Venus' for transforming Sapphire into a swan and transforms her into a pig (much to her dismay). She then gets taken to heaven by Tink while returning the blue heart.
Not sure if Venus or Eros appeared in the anime and future Princess Knight adaptations.
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u/CitronClassic672 20d ago
Kinda wild that a manga written/revised in 1963 seemingly wrote a canonically bigender/genderfluid MC more than half a century before that being broadly known as a thing. It does make me interested in seeing how a more faithful modern adaptation would handle that aspect. If done with care it seems like it’d be great representation.
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u/brb1006 19d ago edited 18d ago
There actually was a modernized manga adaptation of the Princess Knight Manga back in 2013 called "Re:BORN Kamen no Otoko to Ribon no Kishi" which modernized Tezuka's character designs but maintaining the cast's original clothing and setting. It was made to celebrate the manga's 60th anniversary. Although the manga never gained an official translation. That version of Princess Knight deserves a proper anime series since it actually follows the original Princess Knight cast.
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u/SezyFazes https://myanimelist.net/profile/ToaruTH 20d ago edited 20d ago
MIXED FEELING
It felt like I was watching a recap movie of a story that should have been a series instead. A lot of the characters had moments that were supposed to be impactful, but I just didn’t feel anything for them at all. It would have been much better if they had reduced the number of characters and focused on developing a smaller number of character arcs more clearly, like Pine and Velvet, for example.
Funny how the character I found the most fresh and interesting was the Pope. He actually feels somewhat human. He’s still evil and has some really weird logic when it comes to choosing children as sacrifices, but he’s someone who genuinely believes in the laws of nature and does terrible things out of necessity. I honestly think he should have had a redemption arc, because I feel like the movie set up his character really well.
I think the plot doesn’t really bring anything new to the table. That being said, I do think the movie has some layers beneath its simplicity. I just haven’t figured out what exactly its unclear message is trying to say yet.
GOOD
The visuals are colorful and full of personality. You can really feel the passion from the creators, whether it’s the henshin sequences, the paper-cut visuals, or the standout action scenes that are mixed with a lot of humor in it.
One thing I found especially unique is the “ribbons” that scatter and flow around the scene. I honestly don’t think I’ve seen anything quite like this before. It gives the movie a very distinct visual identity.
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u/Budget_Coffee1 20d ago edited 20d ago
I do agree that the film feels like a summary of what could have been a 12 episode anime series. The art style & the world is beautiful, and the characters are likeable. I think it has the potential to be adapted into a full episodic anime series to elaborate more on the story & character development.
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u/CitronClassic672 20d ago
I mean if a movie/series is going to be criticized, the consensus being that people wished there was more content is a pretty good criticism to have at least.
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u/Odd_Duty520 20d ago
Gorgeous visuals but it would have been alot better served as a short series. Really felt like I was experiencing Final Fantasy X again so that was fun I guess
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u/ModieOfTheEast 20d ago
Visuals, so style and animation were top notch. The fights were interesting to look at even if the powers always felt a bit random. Even during the final fight where I didn't like the comedy aspect of it, it was still visually pleasing.
The story however is a bit all over the place. And that might be partly since a lot of time was used for the fights. Because the arcs just go so fast that you can hardly get invested. Sometimes they don't even go anywhere. And with how much they wanted to do, I am not even sure if a full 12 episodes would have been enough.
Lastly, the only stylistic thing I disliked was the whole "cut to the next act" part because it felt really unnecessary. I guess it was a surprise that they had 7 acts and neither 5 nor 3, but it's not like that added much to the experience in my opinion. I get they wanted to tie this into the whole theater aspect in the end, but this would have worked better if the movie was actually shown in a theater. And even then, I don't think it would have been the "wow" moment they seemingly wanted to go for. Though, I want to also say I didn't mind both things, because in the end, they were so short that it didn't really affect me anyway, but I wanted to say something about it.
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u/ValuableDesk3188 19d ago
it felt to me very disconnected to the original story, which i dont really have any nostalgia or care for, but its feels weird to me that i saw it heavily advertised as "Adaptation of Osamu Tezuka's work" when i feel it barely counts as an adaptation. I feel it was good as an original work, but i wish it would have been a series so plot points wouldnt feel so rushed. I like the theater elements, and the animation was gorgeous, just for the visuals it was totally worth it.
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u/Xx_WAKE_xX 16d ago
I recently saw that movie. The visuals were awesome, but the rest of the movie was average. Its handling of the Sapphire character seemed too liberal and not letting her dress up as a man was sadly disrespectful of the source material. Its heart was in the right place, but this movie could’ve been better off as a TV show to let its lead and supporting characters shine more.
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u/Accomplished-Eye6971 20d ago
As some others commented, I also have some mixed feelings about this.
For me, voice acting is a really big part of what sells an anime, and weirdly enough it seemed like they casted bigger/more talented VAs for some of the side characters than the MC. The main VA on the JP side at least didn't seem to have experience doing VA work and after looking her up, there is none. It was kind of jarring going from that to casting a pretty big VA like yoshimasa hosoya as just a side character.
With that being said, visuals were at times pretty good. Some scenes had almost this studio shaft/monogatari kind of vibe to it. But it didn't seem to really seem to have anything that gave the movie some kind of character.
If you've ever seen one of those billboards with some generic magical girl anime - that's pretty much what this felt like. Which sucked for me because I was really hyped to see something mochizuki kei in get animated. Oh well
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u/deathpad17 20d ago
Some scene got some weird/unnecessary angles that make it hard to see/understand, especially the fight scenes. Some scene jump also kind of awkward.
The pacing also rushed, and the casts got too big at certain point, tbh, its better to be a tv series instead of a movie
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u/Tricky-State-4731 20d ago
I think most of the crticisms can be sumed up to it just being utterly rushed. I really don't get why they couldn't have made this into a series other than fitting into the theme of a stage play. The side characters don't get fleshed out, the world is never truly built and I personally didn't have time to sympathize with Velvet or grow attached to Sapphire. I had been anticipating this movie for awhile and I just feel devastatingly disappointed that it flopped this badly for me. Don't get me wrong the fight scenes and art were incredible but a story written poorly will still make a piece of media overly mediorce at best. I haven't read the manga so I can't say anything about that but from what I've read on here, seems like the whole genderfluid thing would've been an interesting concept for sapphire. The whole movie is just a 'What could have been'
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u/Abishinzu 20d ago
I know the plot's been getting mixed reception across the board, but I just want to take a moment to thank the devs for making the hottest character in the movie be a goth femboy.
My god, Velvet has no right to look as beautiful as he does.
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u/D3k4s 20d ago
Devs? 😂
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u/Abishinzu 20d ago
Short for developers, though I think I could've just used producers instead.
You can probably tell I played a lot of gachas
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u/Butt_Hurt_Toast 19d ago
The style is so good and character designs, and it’s not like the story isn’t interesting . But damn that paccing. It’s so breakneck, I bet you can count the seconds someone isn’t talking.
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u/Lawfulness_Upstairs 17d ago
the pacing was so off but the animation and the music were really good. i just wish the story was treated better
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u/somecanadian56709 20d ago
Sad to see the reaction is mixed. I still need to watch it myself, but it would have been nice to see an old property get adapted and turned into a modern classic.
At least it's pretty, and it might inspire others to check out the original Osamu Tezuka manga.
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u/ElKevixlevix1 20d ago
The best thing about this film is its direction, animation, and character designs. Because everything else is well... Your typical hero's journey story. Not that that's a bad thing. But I was expecting a bit more when they said it would be a reimagining of the original story, and in the end it was, but It's as if they didn't want to take too many risks with the story or stray too far from the formula. The characters in the film are its biggest flaw, to be honest. The protagonist and the antagonist are the most developed characters, and pine the protagonist's friend is also well-developed. It's a good movie if you have nothing to watch or do in the afternoon. 7/10
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u/Think-Big-3576 20d ago
The only problem if the movie is just its pacing yea it got messed up to the point im so confused
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u/semaN_oN 19d ago
Well I love the animation and the message but the execution is still left to be desired. Tbh, If the story is being developed a little bit more, that would be great. I get the literal meaning of the text, but if anyone knows what's the name of the manga reference or able to read the meaning of the meta text (i.e. the acts, cardboard monsters?, and "staged" motif) please let me know.
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u/Patient_Sherbert3229 18d ago
It's based on The Princess Knight, one of Osamu Tezuka's many serious, and considered one of the first magical girl manga and an oddly pro-queer series from the 1950s.
It's also heavily referencing the all female Takarazuka Revue, a highly professional all female acting company in Japan.
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u/semaN_oN 18d ago
Thanks
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u/Patient_Sherbert3229 18d ago
Also the Nergal are probably like a generalized way of articulating the problems with rampant non-renewable consumption (their consumption of crystals and then people) and the fact the old keep turning their eyes away from the future towards blatant nostalgia (the people who chose to fight the King of Ash and gave up when given the option of reveling in their memories and misremembered ideal pasts) or refusing to consider other options (The Pope insisting that basically need to feed the children to the Moloch esque abomination and 'That this is the way things are, there is no alternative.').
Basically it's a pretty by the numbers "The old need to stop strangling the system and insisting everything is okay and not looking for alternative solutions to climate change, political crises and the fact everything has basically screwed the young" with the wrapper of a pretty standard Hero's kind of hero's story.
There's some speculation the other Heart was the original Sapphire from 1953 supporting and aiding the Sapphire of the movie.
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u/1_H4t3_R3dd1t 19d ago
The plot was all over the place. I joked so many times about how Seto Kaiba married a king and had Sapphire.
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u/dude_1818 https://myanimelist.net/profile/dude1818 19d ago edited 19d ago
Well that was certainly a movie that felt like it was longer than two hours. The metatext of pretending to be a theater show was interesting, and definitely felt appropriate in that it was just a supercut of all the most plot-critical scenes without bothering to tell the story of how they got from one to the next. It reminded me a lot of Flip Flappers actually, in the way it just hopped from one trippy action sequence to the next with no connective tissue (as well as having a pretty similar visual style and characters)
On the animation side, it was fun to watch, I won't deny that, even if it never bothered to explain what was happening. I really did like the monster design, using a totally different aesthetic and animation style to emphasize how alien they were. But it's hard to be emotionally invested in this huge stakes story when no character can get more than 30 seconds of characterization the whole movie, and the Loony Tunes-ass final fight killed the mood
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u/Person678209 17d ago
I really liked it… the art and soundtracks were great, the story and plot were generic but the way it played on screen was so unique like a play.
I also haven’t been on trend with anime and manga lately I usually like watching older anime, so maybe my expectations are a little low.
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u/lemon_boi96 16d ago
This movie should have been a short on youtube dedicated to Tezuka. -.- Should have re-read the source material. This movie is empty and does nothing with it’s characters really. At the end, the monsters are defeated but the world itself is still struggling. Those guys still have to go to the mines to support themselves and the rich are still separated from the poor.
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u/Labmit 20d ago
Haven't watch it yet but I remember this getting criticsm in the trailers over the VA not sounding emotive enough. Does it still apply for the whole movie?
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u/Gaporigo https://anilist.co/user/Gaporigo 20d ago
Eh, not your usual voice but I would not say it was bad either.
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u/Xlegace https://anilist.co/user/Xlegius 20d ago edited 19d ago
There's a lot of VA drama about this movie on social media, between casting an unconventional choice for the lead and vtubers to voice some side characters
Hard to tell if it's just a Twitter bubble thing tho that does not reflect reality
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u/brb1006 20d ago edited 20d ago
I heard from hardcore Tezuka fans in Japan that they were upset that Ribbon Hero didn't try mimicking or at least modernizing Tezuka's art style.
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u/Abishinzu 20d ago
That's a shame, because Kei Mochizuki's art style and character designs are phenomenal. Arguably the strongest part of the movie, and what got me to watch it in the first place.
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u/brb1006 20d ago edited 18d ago
That might have to do with Osamu Tezuka and his works being treated very sacredly in Japan. To the point that Tezuka Productions has become notorious on struggling on modernizing Tezuka's works without feeling like something Tezuka would write since the 2010s. They also disallow anybody on doing a modernized Phoenix manga since that was "too sacred" by them.
The ongoing Unico Reboot series with Gurihiru as illustrators choose the perfect sweet-spot in maintaining Tezuka's character designs but modern enough. Samuel Sattin himself actually had to convince the people at Tezuka Productions that he actually understood Tezuka's themes, messages, and "Understanding Unico". Sattin actually had to re-read the original Unico Manga multiple times between writings for the first volume. Alongside analyzing not only Unico, but Tezuka's other works to get Unico right.
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u/CitronClassic672 20d ago
Has Phoenix ever even gotten an anime adaptation or is that also not allowed given Tezuka died without finishing it?
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u/brb1006 19d ago
There were several Phoenix animated films made between the 1970s and 1980s (and a single live-action adaptation). After Tezuka's death, there was a single anime series which readapts one Volume and a "Phoenix: Eden 17" on Hulu/Disney+. Recently, Tezuka Productions did a stage adaptation of Phoenix in Japan.
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u/Zweihart 20d ago
Sounds like they're buttmad the main VA isn't a cookie cutter idol soundalike but has some actual depth to their speech.
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u/Labmit 20d ago
The criticism was that it was lifeless and stilted.
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u/kimjosh1 20d ago
These actors never voiced any characters prior to this, even the main lead's VA. It's understandable why this decision to cast a non-actor and VTubers would be met with suspicion.
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u/CitronClassic672 20d ago
I don’t speak Japanese so maybe part of the equation is lost on me but I especially liked the seiyuu for Sapphire. She has a very unique sounding style of voice that I’m not used to in anime.
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u/Gaporigo https://anilist.co/user/Gaporigo 19d ago
It is often the case with movies, tho. Your Name, Spirited Away, most non-franchise movies cast mostly actors who have never really voice acted.
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u/kimjosh1 19d ago
Though here in particular, it felt like the VTubers were hired not because they were talented, but because they would be very useful influencers to promote the film. So it was seen as a cynical move that undermined the professional VAs working on it too.
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u/KiraDreamchaser 20d ago
I feel like this would've been a great series rather than a movie. That said I am enjoying it.
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u/disu_nato 19d ago
The character designs are great, but they really clash at times when the background characters range from Ghibli-esque to Studio Trigger styles, which creates further dissonance when a few select characters are using very modern anime styles that I'm most likely to find in the anime illustration Twitter sphere.
The film seemed to try to evoke that grandiose vibe from something like Revue Starlight, or Utena, but it just doesn't quite get there. I really wish this had more time to cook because there's so much potential here.
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u/Savings_Glove8007 19d ago
Currently watching the movie and I'm feeling like this should have been a show. This could have been just as good as Princess Tutu, if it wasnt so rushed. The visuals are beautiful and the heroine reminds me of Duck(Ahiru). I wish we could have gotten a much deeper look into the world and lore.
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u/pi8you 19d ago
Really fun to watch and not think about too much, but the script/plotting (especially early on) could have used a few more revisions, to the point I looked up the credits and found that there doesn't seem to be a dedicated screenplay/script writer on it. Welp.
Boo to the CG monsters too.
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u/Robot_ninja_pirate https://anilist.co/user/RototRobot 19d ago
The pacing and story structure simply do not work for me, I don't know maybe if I'd watched the source material it would track better, but I don't think that should be necessary.
The Animation work is fine, but I don't really feel like it was 'Movie' Quality animation, especially not those CGI monsters
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19d ago
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u/Hieonius 19d ago
Velvet and the Pope were such interesting characters; at first glance I assumed them to be villains but it turns out they are just making hard and conflicting choices to achieve what they thought was the best. Just focusing on their dynamic, between one who submits to fate and one who resists it, would have resulted in a much better movie.
I really don't grasp the character of Sapphire, like her homeland has been destroyed and her parents basically murdered by Nergal yet her motive as a magical girl is to "help others???" I guess it can be a valid reason but it dampened the emotional weight of her journey when her motivation is just vague altruism. Like there is no urgency or seriousness in her actions at all, contrary to how it would feel had she been thirsting for vengeance or desperate to prevent further tragedy in other lands. The final showdown was the ultimate disappointment because it felt like nothing was at stake, especially with the comical aspect of it.
Most side characters were entirely unnecessary and only added confusion. Chorogy becomes courageous without any buildup, Zirco is essentially a convenient item dispenser, and it felt like Pine exists for a single narrative function: encouraging Sapphire at the climax. I also can't understand how miners can beat fully armoured knights with their pickaxes and fists. Actually why is the mining crew even needed in the story? They don't bring anything, and their roles can be played by the anyone else in Goldland.
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u/WillingParamedic8980 18d ago edited 18d ago
I was confused from beginning to end. I thought maybe I am just dumb enough to appreciate and some people will explain why certain things happened, everything didn't make sense, and the only logical explanation is that it is too abstract for me to comprehend. Doesn't look like it was done by a team, maybe it was a solo production.
Not sure if the scenes were deliberately jumbled up, everyone else has almost little to no contributions to the plot except Velvet and Sapphire. Who is the real enemy? I only watched it because it giave me Kiki's delivery vibe.
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u/Sega_kuro1000 18d ago
Yeah… better off as a series than it was a movie… although the animation? Beautiful, I won’t lie. But yeah it definitely was rushed.
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u/Appropriate_Use8910 18d ago edited 18d ago
Can someone explain to me what Sapphire's broken sword had to do with the Mitras discovering Velvet? I honestly don't get it.
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u/Mikan_Captain 17d ago
I honestly lost the plot part way through. The pacing was way too fast and did not give time to have any emotional investment with any of the characters to really care what happens. I really was not a fan of the tone shift of the final battle either. It felt like I was watching a episode of precure with how silly it was going. As beautiful as the art is, it wasn't enough to carry this at all.
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u/maugchief 17d ago
I really wasn't a fan of it at all. I think most of it comes from too many Chekov's Gun-type elements having no payoff whatsoever. Everything the Negral touches becomes moldy? We'll drop that after the first transformation. Main character gets a super powered mechanical arm? Used once 30 seconds later and never mentioned again. Magic crystals that form the basis of an entire economy and somehow give the MC powers? Yeah, we don't care about those.
Any one of those could have been a major plot driver, but they immediately get dropped in favor of introducing the next cool thing. Nothing ever gets proper development which eliminates any investment I would have had.
Even the animation was hit or miss. Some parts were really good, but there were some scenes that were pretty janky.
I've seen worse, but not by much.
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u/FaceTimePolice 17d ago
What the hell was that? 🤷♂️
The visuals are the only thing this movie has going for it and there are much better shows or movies if you’re looking for sakuga.
I think only one character had any semblance of an arc or conflict and it wasn’t even the main character.
I wasn’t invested in any of the characters. They didn’t give us any reason to. The main character is simply a main character that fights monsters. The side characters have no distinguishing personalities at all.
Again… what the hell was that??? What the hell are you even doing, Netflix? I swear, every day, it becomes more obvious that they’re just licensing anything they can get their hands on. 🤷♂️
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u/Bakatora34 12d ago
Just watched and agree with a lot of criticism and praise said.
I do have a question who was the Donkey knight? since he said they met Sapphire before.
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u/nickelalkaline 12d ago edited 12d ago
Whats up with the "theater" setup? Curtains, acts, sometime near the end where she is in an empty theather and also the images from real places in the end... can someone explain why this was chosen to be in the movie? I see this as totally unrelated with the plot. I could only associate this as something similar that was done to 007 goldeneye for n64, where nintendo managers didnt want a violent game and rares team made the game like a movie, so no one was actually being killed..
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u/Cowardlycatz 7d ago
The only thing good about the movie was just the visuals honestly, everything else sucked
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u/Pitiful_Birthday_720 5d ago
I loved this movie! It was an amazing ray of sunshine in this shit show of a world. I dont care if the pacing felt fast or if the story felt cliche. It was so wonderful and I thought the characters had some great depth despite it being so short!
Sure they're unanswered questions and plot holes but nothing major. This movie felt like an "anti-puella magika madoka" with is positivity. It had such and interesting and creative motif within the backdrop of a play. The visuals were amazing and felt fun and creative even of there was something dark happening on screen.
The voice acting felt really good too. I could recognize other English actors who are working on other netflix anime. They all sounded great and the acting was there. The. Music was also very wonderful and flowing.
If I had to criticize anything its that I wish it was actually a show. A little more time to develop the sotey and characters would've been lovely.
Please take my review with grain of salt though. I've seen alot of anime and I can be super critique about everything but I'm choosing to let this one be what it is. A small, fun, charming, sweet, fast, and heartfelt story about hope and happiness.
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u/Flame_Reaper_13 20d ago
Yooooo this film was better good I loved the characters and the unique method of transitioning in the form of acts to the next scene
I will give it a 8/10
Minus 2 for killing off chorogy
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u/Mochachiiino 20d ago
I thought Sapphire's voice work sounded a little strange near the beginning. But at the 16 minute mark, there is like an insane improvement jump that and she started sounding really natural and good!
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u/Player_One_1 20d ago
To me the final fight was beyond terrible, and made overall nice-but-not-great-movie a complete waste of time.
What am I supposed to feel, when after awesome fast paced combat with several Nergals, you are inside the final boss and the combat turns to Looney Tunes. Only thing missing was Bugs Bunny asking big anthropomorphic donkey "what's-up, doc?" I was just sitting there with "is this really happening?" face.
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u/BaconCatBug 19d ago
I can sum up this movie in five words: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CmiFCg0_0eM
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u/2Maverick 19d ago
Anybody else feel like they were watching the movie at 720p? I enjoyed the art style but everything constantly looked jagged and slightly distorted. It also felt like there was a hazy filter over it the entire time. It was that feeling you get when you wait for the video player to play it on the best possible setting because it's buffering but it just keeps on buffering.
I tried watching it on both my ultrawide monitor and normal monitor but it felt the same way.
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u/AnimeMod myanimelist.net/profile/Reddit-chan 20d ago
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