So, as my title indicates, I am not a fan of manga or anime. I may get this wrong but I believe manga is the comic strip version and anime is the animated version of these stories. Either way, I just don't care for those formats. My son really enjoys them and I have an affinity for Asian horror and thrillers so when he comes to me and tells me there are live action films, I sit down and we watch them together.
I know, through my son, that there are a lot of live action adaptations that don't get a lot of love from manga and anime fans because it is hard to get the written and drawn aspects to cross over smoothly. The live action stuff just doesn't seem to have the same detail the other formats can offer and that leaves fans thinking they've been short changed. Since I don't follow those formats, I can base my opinions by what I've seen in the live action versions without bias.
I thought this was a good film but it has some flaws. My son stopped the film on more than one occasion to explain a few things because I didn't understand things seeing as how I am not familiar with the other formats. I didn't know what had taken place before what was shown in the film and he felt like some of it should have been explained better. I gotta take off a few points for that.
I loved the costuming and I thought the CGI stuff was done well. It seemed a bit lengthy during some of the last big scenes but I could excuse some of that because it was interesting to watch. We didn't realize that this was only Chapter 1 and my son was a bit frustrated by that. He, having experienced some of the other formats, knew what was coming next and wanted me to see what was supposed to happen next. We can always watch the sequel though!
My take away from this is that while it is a well made film and has a significant amount of detail, it is not easily watched as a stand alone film. You sorta need to know some of the stuff that has lead up to this moment in the series and the film just doesn't explain all of it. However, it was still an entertaining watch and I would presume that if you are a fan of the other formats you will enjoy it.
