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| Overall | Art | Animation | Character Design | Music | Series Story | Episode Story | Reviewer | |
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| Watch | 7 | 5 | 6 | 0 | 8 | 0 | KBanger1 | # |
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I've completed a series without falling asleep in one day. What kept me awake was the interesting plot. In the first episode I thought I was gonna see some bestiality but gratefully I was wrong. The story though is based on eight men who were born (or really reborn) as the Hakkenden or Dog Warriors. This came about during the time of two feuding clans. One clan was asking for help from the other. The other clan took this as a sign of weakness and tried to overthrow them. The plot basically boils down to those warriors. These men were born from a princess and a demon dog. It's kinda weird for me to say that but it's the truth. I can't divulge anything else because it would give away the entire plot. By far, although it was a bit complex, the story in itself was very good. It had love, betrayal, and all that other stuff. What the main idea of the story IMHO is a question. Is destiny what you make of it? Like in the movie, "The Matrix".
What disappointed me was the animation. It looked like I was watching 2-3 different things. At first, it looked like any old school type of animation. Then, after the first few mins it was like watching a toddler with a pencil. After that, it looked like present day japanese animation. It was just confusing on how I should take it. It's either the animators were drunk, the director, or all of them. I choose the latter of the three. The animation wasn't consistent and to me that's what made me not take it as serious as I would a good anime. It's a real disappointment when you have a very good story in your hands and then turn it into a mound of dog crap (pardon the pun). Had it been consistent and the staff were all on the same page, this would have easily been a 'buy'. If you know someone who has it, just watch it. If you're going to rent it, I suggest you have an open mind of inconsistency because there is a lot of that in this series. I like to keep with my 3 rules of reviewing. One of which is the animation. Bad animation + good story = mediocre anime. Last updated Sunday, February 24 2008. Created Sunday, February 24 2008. | ||||||||
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| Rent | 4 | 5 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 10 | poneru | # |
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I basically agree with everything said by the previouse reviewer.crappy animation. good plot. I would reccomend you watch this series, but i had to watch it a few times before i realized just how good the plot was, so you whould probably rent this.
Last updated Thursday, June 05 2003. Created Thursday, June 05 2003. | ||||||||
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| Rent | 5 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | Kaitou Juliet | # | |
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Wow. This is a masterpiece, even flawed as it is. And sadly, it is deeply flawed. First, the bad news: The artwork is wildly inconsistent. My grade of 5 for the artwork reflects an average for the whole series, but there are at least three different art styles. The first, which covers about one-third to one-half the series, is some of the most beautiful stuff I've ever seen. The second, which covers all of episode 4 and some other sequences toward the middle of the series, is a much simpler, cartoony style which takes some getting used to but is not too unpleasant. And then there's the third style, which I found absolutely horrifying: greyish, blobby faces with oversized teeth. I couldn't even recognize the characters except by their clothes and voices. Fortunately, it is only seen for one episode toward the end, and the original style returns for the climax. Now the good news: the plot and characters are riveting. Based on a classic Japanese novel, this is the grandfather of all "assemble x number of warriors to accomplish task y" plots. I watched the last 6 episodes in one sitting because I just couldn't tear myself away. The story has a strong Japanese fairy-tale feel and the visuals include many symbolic, atmospheric images: the bridge, the flower petals, the red pinwheels, etc. The music is also very beautiful and effective. I watched a mix of subtitled and dubbed episodes. The acting on the dub is pretty good, although the characters do sound a bit surfer-ish. Bottom line: A fascinating and powerful experience in spite of the uneven artwork. Last updated Monday, February 04 2002. Created Monday, May 14 2001. | ||||||||
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| Rent | 10 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 10 | 9 | o | # |
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Despite the high grades I give the first three episodes of this 13 ep OAV, "Hakkenden" is crippled by the problem of differing production. What begins as exceptional detail and realism in both art and animation falls to utterly painful levels on the 4th episode because of change in crew. I have yet to watch beyond the 4th, just because I find the change in art too painful. ^_^ However, the less visually sensitive should give this a chance with its epic story.
Last updated Monday, September 13 1999. Created Monday, September 13 1999. | ||||||||
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Other Sites
| Name | URL |
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| Legend of the Eight Dog Warriors | http://members.tripod.com/muromachi1333/main.html |
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