Sakuya: yôkaiden

Featuring a sexy teenage demon slayer and more shonky papier-maché and rubber creatures than you can shake a stick at, Sakuya-The Slayer of Demons is brilliant fun and anyone who enjoys Japanese monster flicks should find this a blast.

In the year 1707, Mount Fuji erupts, releasing the demons within, and it is up to sword-wielding cutie Sakuya (Nozomi Andô) to destroy the evil that has taken over the country. With the help of two ninjas, and a young Kappa demon raised as her brother, Sakuya uses her magical blade to battle the creatures of darkness.

Director Tomoo Haraguchi delivers plenty of inventive action and the results are, for the most part, impressive; the effects range from brilliant (there is some great use of CGI) to the downright awful (a scene with dancing monsters is hilarious), but even the poorest of effects have a certain irresistible charm that actually adds to one's enjoyment of the film.

Nozomi Andô is excellent as the girl who must follow her destiny and become the vanquisher of evil. She certainly is a sight for sore eyes in her above-the knee socks and short skirt (revealing a tempting glimpse of thigh); fans of movies featuring sexy Japanese swords-women (Princess Blade, Azumi etc.) should certainly find this movie to their taste.

The film is heavy on the action, but light on the gore which means that it is ideal for genre fans of all ages. Featuring such delights as a huge cat-demon, a puppeteer who makes marionettes from real girls, and a humongous spider-woman, Sakuya-The Slayer of Demons is highly recommended monster fun and solid entertainment from start to finish.

This marvellous gem shows how computer graphic FX can be used to make convincing shots that are exciting and artistic too! The opening shots of Mount Fuji erupting are totally spectacular and lead us into the story by way of an entrance to hell being opened. Demons are emerging from the pit and only Sakuya, teenage Slayer of Demons can stop them with her magic sword! It is set in the distant past when all you can fight monsters with is swords and gunpowder. Each of the demons that Sakuya fights takes a different form! As usual the character is based on a popular manga title. It's more exciting than creepy, but the plot certainly keeps up the surprises and demons keep on getting bigger and bigger! The film looks like a Hong Kong action movie but was shot in Japan, which may explain why the wirework in the fight scenes isn't very sophisticated. The FX team for this film have also worked on the fantastic nineties trilogy of GAMERA films (the third of which has to be seen to be believed).

Credible action flick even if it's obviously a kid's movie. Great special effects are the primary attraction here. The cast treats the material with deadly seriousness, but they're fun to watch anyway. And the fight scenes are above average. But some parts looked like a bad rehash of "H.R. Puffenstuff."

Much, much better than it sounds. This is not a great, ground-breaking movie, but it is highly enjoyable.

I bought this as an inexpensive VCD format movie, not expecting a great deal. But I was surprised to find it a kind of mangaesque fairytale come to life, in some style. I suppose this must have been made for a young audience, and I am an adult, but I enjoyed the story, visuals, and music.

Something else I also enjoyed--the absence of a smart-mouthed bratty kid, the kind that shows up in Hollywood movies, and is portrayed as a wonderful thing. Asian movies seem not to do that! HUZZAH! Like a lot of other Asian movies, this also emphasizes loyalty and family, something Hollywood seems to have largely forgotten during the last 40 years.

OK, that was rather vague, but this movie really has the feeling of the "floating world" of ukiyoe paintings. It was the most unusual and striking thing about Sakuya, Slayer of Demons - that a simple fairy tale story would be portrayed in such a beautiful, classy, stylized atmosphere.

Despite being a story fit for children, the movie is easily watchable by all ages - the effects are cool, the monsters are very interesting (being from a non-western mythological tradition), and the heroine is tough, stoic, fair and honorable.