View Full Version : Licensed Brave Story
On paper it looks very impressive: animation by Gonzo, directed by Koichi Chigira (Last Exile), character design and overall animation directed by Yuriko Chiba (Planetes) with music by Brit techno supremo Juno Reactor. Thankfully all that talent certainly shines in the final product. The result is a particularly enjoyable movie...
...man, I loved the first third of this film, it's like an animated RPG full of genuine fantasy and wonder that sweeps along holding much promise of an epic adventure. I can't praise enough this part of the movie; the animation, character design, the music and audio fx are all great, especially during scenes like the wolf battle, the town of Gasala and Meena's mesmerizing acrobatic display. There's lots of questions raised, characters introduced; the potential is all there.
Unfortunately most of these questions go unanswered (Ashikawa's book and summoned beast, why the door was in the old building etc...) and we settle into a typical quest. The other problem is the fascinating characters it introduces the funny Kee-Keema, cute catgirl Meena (Chiwa Saito!), the sultry Katsu go largely undeveloped and only start to get really interesting at the end. It's really frustrating that these characters are not given a chance to shine, especially Kee-Keema, who seemed like such a cool character. There are other problems; the plot seems to lurch forward at times leaving you wondering what the hell is going on and there is little explaination of the world of Vision as a whole, making it hard to grasp who the players are why you should care if Ashikawa threatens them.
Problems aside though, there are lots of great set pieces - the underwater battle with the lake monster, the exhilirating flight of the dragons and the unleashing of the demons by Ashikawa is especially spectacular and Wataru's Eureka 7 style air battle on swords with his alter ego was nicely done. There plenty of emotion also in Ashikawa's tragic 'death' at his own hands and the ending, with Ashikawa and Aya reunited is genuinely moving (if left unexplained).
I ultimately felt Ashikawa's story was more compelling (not to mention genuinely disturbing) than Wataru's story. For Wataru it seems the break up of his family actually gave his mother a new lease of life holding true to the overall message that you cannot change destiny and have to take the good with the bad. It's a not particularly original message, nor is it subtley told, but it is a realistic sentiment.
Overall I thoroughly enjoyed it. 8 out 10 from me. It's very much Gonzo doing a Ghibli impression, albeit with the addition of a very dark vein. I thought it would make a good series too, Vision seems like a fascinating world and the characters that inhabit it also.
So anyone else seen it?
Here's some screens for the curious:
http://img243.imageshack.us/img243/4653/bravestory01zb6.th.jpg (http://img243.imageshack.us/my.php?image=bravestory01zb6.jpg)
MrProphet
2006-12-04, 14:24
A bit childish, but superbly animated and simply FUN.
Definitely a best Ghibli imitation/homage/inspiration since Last Exile (which was, incidentally, a Koichi Chigira work as well). You gotta give it to the man. He knows, loves and respects his Miyazaki.
ccardoso
2006-12-04, 14:38
I noticed the level of details: they're simply impressive... look at the sky, just for a quick reference... I've never seen such a detailed sky, with so many colors in it. The skies of other anime simply suck: they're light blue flat with some clouds at best. :rolleyes:
I definately recognised that layered depth-effect Koichi Chigira puts into his cloudscapes. The background art in general is spectacularly detailed.
I wonder is any Noein animators worked on this? Some sequences, characters too (Ashikawa especially), reminded me of Noein's look & feel a lot.
Masanori Ota
2006-12-04, 21:03
The story concept, and name, remind me slightly of an ero game called Brave Soul. It was an rpg too, a decent one at that.
XeNoGeaR
2006-12-05, 09:56
Looks really nice i have t seen it :D
Brave Story is good, however, if it's given another extra hour of animation, it'll be even better. I feel that Brave Story in it's present state is too rushed. There isn't enough time to flesh out the story and it's characters.
For those people who want more of Brave Story, check out the manga instead. The tone of the manga is much darker, the characters are much better portrayed and the story is much more complete.
I bought the limited edition $30 DVD w/ english subs, and I thought it was a great movie.
I bought the limited edition $30 DVD w/ english subs, and I thought it was a great movie.
I was tempted by the spiffing 4 disc Collector's Box but in the end I opted for the Special Edition (3980yen) and the OST. I'm also trying to hunt down the original novel by Miyuki Miyabe, can't seem to find that it the UK though...
I was originally going to get the special ed, but then I saw the limited ed. And since I can't really understand japanese and the bonus disks are never subtitled, I figured I'd just get the movie.
Anyone know what the Limited First Press is for the Special edition (30 bucks) one? CD Japan doesnt say.
I made the mistake of ordering another slayers dvd (they take forever gettting those in) with it so itll take a while for me to get mine. D:
does anyone know when Brave Story will be released on region 1 dvd's in the u.s.?
I can't find any details of an R1 release, but 'worldwide distribution' is being handled by Warner Bros so there may be an announcement soon. The R2 dvds all have English subtitles btw.
The movie is really pretty but the story suffers from the running time. It really does need an extra hour or so to really put more emphasis on the story and fix up a number of other issues with it. It's certainly worth a watch though but the book is better for the same telling of the story or go with the Shinsetsu manga (as soraryu points out) for an alternate telling of the story.
I kust watched Brave story, and I simply adore it!
But any news of releasing Brave Story in the states. Read this at animenewsnetwork.com:
English Language R2 Brave Story DVD
posted on 2006-09-21 16:18 EDT
November release of R2 DVDs to include English
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
According to AV Watch, Warner Brothers has announced a 2006-11-12 release for Brave Story on DVD, UMD, HD-DVD and Blu-Ray.
The basic edition DVD release, will include the movie with Japanese audio (Dolby 5.1) English audio (DTS 6.1), Japanese subtitles and English subtitles for 2980 yen. A special edition 2-disc set will be released for 3980 yen, including all of the above and 82 minutes of bonus material, while a 4-disc collectors' edition will include all of the above, 391 minutes of bonus material, and a collectors' box for 9800 yen.
The Blu-Ray, HD-DVD, and UMD versions will not include the English audio or subtitles.
But I prefer buying if from USA... (or prehaps there is a good site which has it?)
And about the ending:
Everything was normal! *happy* It seemed like Wataru was going to hug Mitsuru. But does he recodnize him?
And why ws everything normal? Goddess of Destiny said there would be no chances in the MAterial world... So how come?
Anyway, LOVE the movie (even though it was a little hushed) :D
...
But I prefer buying if from USA... (or prehaps there is a good site which has it?)
I recommend CDJapan (http://www.cdjapan.jp/detailview.html?KEY=DL-86584). They're fast, reliable and secure. I got my dvd in just over a week of ordering it from Japan (I'm in the UK).
And about the ending:
Everything was normal! *happy* It seemed like Wataru was going to hug Mitsuru. But does he recodnize him?
And why ws everything normal? Goddess of Destiny said there would be no chances in the MAterial world... So how come?
Anyway, LOVE the movie (even though it was a little hushed) :D
Yeah, the ending...
...my take on it was because Wataru's real wish was for all his friends to have a future. For Ashikawa there was no future without Aya, hence why she was returned. For Wataru his future needed his mother to be healthy, but not necessarily with the family restored (hence the absent father). Least that was my interpretation.:p
I guess Ashikawa would not recognise Wataru because they only met before because of him seeking a way to restore Aya.
I recommend CDJapan (http://www.cdjapan.jp/detailview.html?KEY=DL-86584). They're fast, reliable and secure. I got my dvd in just over a week of ordering it from Japan (I'm in the UK).
Aah, thanks!
Does it cost much to ship it?
Yeah! The ending seemed logical! It was so sweet. Thank you. :)
They have different shipping options (http://www.cdjapan.co.jp/help/ordering.html#8). I opted for EMS which cost 2190 yen (£10) as it's the quickest and also means you can track its progress online.
Dernhelm
2007-01-01, 14:55
Yeah, the ending...
...my take on it was because Wataru's real wish was for all his friends to have a future. For Ashikawa there was no future without Aya, hence why she was returned. For Wataru his future needed his mother to be healthy, but not necessarily with the family restored (hence the absent father). Least that was my interpretation.:p
I guess Ashikawa would not recognise Wataru because they only met before because of him seeking a way to restore Aya.
i literally just finished watching it. (the animation was jawdropping @_@)
and i really like your take on that! :) the ending had me so puzzled as well, but your interpretation makes a lot of sense! :D
LOL, i wonder what would be on Ashikawa's face when this stranger suddenly glomps him lol.
as for the whole thing, it felt so Miyazaki in a lot of places, which doesn't bother me now after having read a few posts up that the director did it in tribute to Miyazaki (who won't be returning... at least full time? in the anime business). the clouds had me spellbound, i didn't know if it was a photo used or real animation (of course it should be the latter, but it looked too damn real lol. photorealistic animation ftw!)
...
as for the whole thing, it felt so Miyazaki in a lot of places, which doesn't bother me now after having read a few posts up that the director did it in tribute to Miyazaki (who won't be returning... at least full time? in the anime business)...
He often threatens to retire but thankfully Miyazaki is back at work. His next movie, a huge secret at the moment, is in production and due out in 2008. I suspect he's been spurred on by his impetuous son's success with Gedo Senki.
...the clouds had me spellbound, i didn't know if it was a photo used or real animation (of course it should be the latter, but it looked too damn real lol. photorealistic animation ftw!)
Ah yes those clouds. I think they're a mix of photography and paint, the director used the same technique on Last Exile to the same mesmerizing affect. Though, I must confess, I prefer the painterly cloudscapes of Miyazaki, especially those in Laputa. Best clouds ever.:p
Dernhelm
2007-01-02, 06:55
Ah yes those clouds. I think they're a mix of photography and paint, the director used the same technique on Last Exile to the same mesmerizing affect. Though, I must confess, I prefer the painterly cloudscapes of Miyazaki, especially those in Laputa. Best clouds ever.:p
LOL, speaking of clouds, i have a bias towards Makoto Shinkai's skies. XD
that was the first time (or maybe i wasn't paying much attention before, esp to Miyazaki's versions) i was wowed by something that wasn't Makoto's. ;P
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