Rakuen Tsuiho: Expelled from Paradise

I wrote this as a slight counterpoint to ANN's glowing review: The movie is now rated with a "good" and my big problem is how scenario crazy it is. There is way to much world building and explanations for a film of 100 min. runtime. It felt more like a extended pilot or something. I like the characters(well all 3 of them) and it didn't have the expected 3rd act trouble as i feared. The music/Va's were further good and the Cg is a B- for me. It looked nice when a lot happened but the calmer are looked off. That said it is a bad idea in general to try and make low budgeted(or otherwise)CG characters look sexually appealing as it will backfire as seen here. I also wonder where the 16 year old body came from but let's just assume that it is a clever compromise to look appealing to a wider crowd who would be frightened if their leading lady was an obachan in her 20s. And now in ANN magic points. Overall(sub):B- / Story:B- / Animation:B- / Art:B / Music:B+. A good one time popcorn flick and that is all. Giovanni's Island is 2014's best anime film, the Lego Movie the best overall but this is also twice the movie the similar 009 Re:Cyborg tried to be.

Honestly it was great fun. The setup was good, the plot was clear and the three main characters were all very likable.

Plot: When a hacker called "Frontier Setter" hacks into an ideal virtual world where most of remaining humanity resides, the Officials of the system dispatch "Angela Balzac" to Earth where she'll not only have to cope with the harsh conditions of wasteland Earth but with her guide "Dingo" and her new body. The unlikely duo track down "Frontier Setter" and discovers a shocking truth that will lead to an unexpected battle against time.

Of course there's philosophical talk. "What makes a person... human? Can robot have consciousness of its own?" It's a familiar theme, almost a standard in big budget Japanese theatrical anime. But it wasn't over-done and the message was straight-forward. Of course the female lead is impossibly hot (even in her "under-developed" "16 year old" body). It's textbook stuff, mate. There will be flashes of her naked body. She will wear clothes that show off her amazing physique and nobody in the film will bat an eye. And of course there will be big showdown involving missiles, lasers, machine-guns, robots, booby-traps, sniper rifles and giant swords.

It is also predictably amazing in its visual aesthetics. Every frame is filled with detail and the sheer clarity of it all makes current CGI animation doodles on photo-shop. Lively camera work also adds to the action taking place while never losing focus on its characters. But you know all of this when you're even searching on IMDb for this film.

This is not a game changer for mainstream anime. Nor is it a must-watch for newbies to get a taste of what an anime genre can offer. What it is that it's a pure entertainment that combines what's best in the industry and jam-packed into 100 minutes of rollicking ride. Your eyes shall water, your mind shall think and it will leave you satisfied. Nothing more, nothing less.

My only wish for improvement is with plot in DEVA. It's a fantastic premise (although yes, it does sound like Matrix) and well deserves its own action sequence within. The possibility of it is endless and yet we are only given teases of it. However it's just a thought that comes way later after losing yourself in the film's world and its attractive characters. Oh and stay in for the credits. You'd be missing out otherwise.

Good watch, will likely watch again, and can recommend for anime fans that don't mind some fan service.

This is a great, Matrix like premise for a story, but let's the get the obvious stuff out of the way: yes, her outfit is ridiculous, and while the idea that they can grow clones and harvest them prematurely, it was a very unnecessary that her body be the equivalent of 16 years of age, I'd even go as far as to argue that it would be detrimental if all the hormones and everything are balanced naturally.

THAT aside, I love the concepts that are used in this: the technological aspects of digitizing humans, having A.I.: the moral philosophical quandries it presents about freedom, society, and fixed resources.

The biggest problem is part of the premise, the entire time the characters are floundering for position in this discussion of dealing with each others' cultures so you never really feel like you're completely on anyone's side. That shifts a little in the 3rd act, but no by much.

But if you like action: robots, gunfire, explosions, and / or cool sci-fi stuff, this anime has it.

I went into this movie thinking it would just be a cool action movie with nice animation, and too be honest, that is what it is. The movie centers around Angela Balzac, as she is sent down to an now apocalyptic Earth to track a hacker, where the remaining humans try to live their lives. This movie provides a good story of 1h 40mins which you will enjoy, but not think about too much after that.

The movie tries to question whether robot could essentially act and be human, however, it never quite succeeds at that, so going into this movie, don't expect it to have deep questions. Instead enjoy the cool action and interesting animation that is displayed. Overall, I thought this movie was fine, nothing too bad, nothing too great, but I wouldn't mind a sequel to it.

First, the animation is undisputed as a masterpiece, it's a combination of hand drawing and 3D modeling, and the music is one of the best of all anime. Gen Urobuchi did a perfect on writing the plot, even though it's completely different from his original style, you will understand if you watched any of his other works. The story is more emotional and more meaningful than any of you had thought. It has multiple themes, and the most protruding one is about freedom. What's the true freedom? Is it the approach of physical freedom release from pain and death? Or is it social freedom, where people get to keep their individuality? In the story, DEVA was illustrated as a utopian, but it's not. There's no privacy, the government gets to know everything that you're doing, and everyone is forced to follow the order and decision from the authority figures. Disobedience could end in ephemeral isolation, where death isn't an option.

Normally, I will give it a 9, but it's rating is too low for me to do so.