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TZ Reviews "Kai Doh Maru": Stunning Beauty Can't Save Weak Story
By Ben Applegate
07-28-2003, 2:53 AM |
Kai Doh Maru is a film best described by one of its villains. As she looks down on a poisoned river filled with floating bodies, her companion asks her how she likes the view. “It’s quite atmospheric,” she responds. I.G. Plus produced Kai Doh Maru, and like their last project, Blood: The Last Vampire, Kai Doh Maru is stunningly atmospheric.
 If the Japanese scroll painters of old had computers, Kai Doh Maru is what they might have come up with. Realistic character designs and incredible, majestic backgrounds blend seamlessly, making every frame seem a work of art in and of itself. The backgrounds are dynamic as well, with weather effects, seasonal changes, and more attention to detail than one usually sees even in an anime. Colors are so light that one could say they are suggested rather than inked on, adding to the scroll feel. Though the CGI can be initially distracting, and there are scenes where it especially clashes with the decidedly two-dimensional aspects, eventually it is fully integrated into the visual direction as well.
The plot is, unfortunately, nowhere near as skillfully executed. Set in late ninth century Japan, Kai Doh Maru is the story of a girl named Kintoki, who was rescued from death at the hands of her vindictive uncle by a knight, Lord Raiko. Raiko raised her as a soldier, and eventually she becomes a knight as well. However, all is not well in the city of Kyo, as a princess from Kintoki’s past invades the city, using everything from fire and pestilence to outright slaughter and demonic possession to get her hands on Kintoki, who she has mistaken for a boy and who she is in love with. You see, Kintoki was raised as a boy in order to lead her family, the Sakatas. Her vindictive uncle forced her into exile in the mountains at an early age, where she fought for her survival and grew to be feared by the local villagers, who called her the Kaidomaru. Problem is, you would not get all this from the film. In fact, I took almost all of the last two sentences out of Kintoki’s character description in the special features.
Here lies one of the most frustrating aspects of the film. At 45 minutes, Kai Doh Maru is extremely short, and unfortunately its pacing is better suited to a film two or three times as long. The plot is as subtly told as the color tones are painted, and, although there is much more plot here than there was in Blood, this film uses the time in between action sequences either meditatively or to focus on moving the main plot line forward. The viewer is expected to make up for the absent exposition by paying rapt attention to every piece of dialogue in the first half of the film, and often it zoomed by much too fast for me to assimilate it completely. Though most of the scenes are wonderfully written and directed when considered on their own, in the context of the film the viewer hasn’t been given enough time or information to really develop an emotional attachment to the main characters. This attachment is vital to the film’s climax, and the beautiful final scene, which should be a tragic catharsis, is instead reduced to just another quiet moment. The other casualty of the film’s brevity is the theme, which only really comes out in the poem at the end, and seems forced as a result.
The dub is a waste of space. Acting is mediocre at best, and laughable at worst. One of its more bizarre problems involves name pronunciation. In his first encounter with Kintoki, Raiko refers to her as “Kaidumaro,” and later one of the defense ministry samurai pronounces “Seimei” as “Seemay.” I don’t want to waste any more time on it here and I suggest you don’t either.
Manga Entertainment’s extras are adequate: a round table discussion with the film’s director, animation director and character designer, character descriptions that help fill in some of what you might’ve missed while watching the film, and the usual character design sheets.
Kai Doh Maru is ultimately another film killed by a time limit. If it had spread its visual and narrative poetry out over two hours it would have been an incredible piece of work. As it is now, it seems unfinished, like a pilot for a longer film. Even if it is unfinished, though, Kai Doh Maru does use a one-of-a-kind style to build an incredible visual atmosphere the likes of which has never been seen before in anime. If that seems like enough to satisfy you, pick it up, but be warned, at the end you’ll pop out the disc still thirsty.
Recommended for: Anyone looking for a totally new animated visual style who can ignore a fatally brief running time.
Three stars out of five.
Discuss the review here at Toon Zone's Anime Forum.
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