All right, good luck finding this one (perhaps if you get Japanese pay-per-view... ;-) anyplace anytime soon (though what with the series getting aired on Fox Kids, who knows?) ... but darn if it isn't the only movie I've seen this summer...
Anyhow, the movie is basically a re-casting of the TV series; a few of the character designs have been tweaked a bit (Dilandu's still a guy), but I believe the plot is similar. (NB: I've only seen the first half of the series) Anyhow, what with 12-13 hours getting cut down into about two, a few things had to go. Among them were almost all of the plot twists, most of the mecha combat, and (more unfortunately) a goodly bit of screen time for characters who had main roles in the original series (Alen, perhaps the most grievous loss, has his role stripped down to a couple of sword fights, a beheading, and 5-10 minutes of standing around looking cool and giving orders). On a cheerier note, however, the animation is visually stunning (and the gratuitous CG sequence during the opening credits is good enough that it's forgivable), and the movie is well-paced (i.e. the total lack of plot twists is only apparent in retrospect). Oh, yeah, and can't forget the soundtrack by YokoKanno (including one vocal with a surprisingly strong bass line--considering it's supposed to be performed in a medieval-style tavern... :-). Overall, 4.5 out of five.
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