Unfortunately, Hammerboy falls short visually and in its storytelling.

Then there is the story. Oh man, where do I begin with the story? I think the creators took all of the animes they have ever seen or liked and tried to combine them into one movie. The result is a story that has no focus and lacks any flow whatsoever. There is the rescue-the-princess story, but then there is a great echo thing with the rivalry between Mangchi's grandfather and Moonk, but then there is the adventure/love story. At no point does the story make up its mind about where it is going. More often than not I found myself asking, "Wait, what just happened?" Honestly, it felt like plot elements were just being stuffed into the story without any thought to the plot unfolding in a coherent manner. There are even multiple montages to tell the story. So many montages that even '80s filmmakers would consider it cheesy. Plot elements will randomly appear out of nowhere without any reason. And at no point can the plot twists be derived from what happened previously in the story. It is like watching an hour-long Scooby-Doo mystery explanation. The voice-acting in Korean or English matches the story, and that is all I have to say about that.

On the bright side, the DVD is produced nicely with cover art on both sides of the slipcover to take advantage of the clear DVD case. There are also some nice special features, with English and Korean trailers and a gallery section that has lots of concept work. And the subtitles are in black-outlined yellow, so not only are they well done, but they are easy on the eyes. The sub-$10 retail price I think says a lot about this one, but it still has a value for film students. Good film students watch not only the good stuff, but the bad as well, so that they know what not to do.

Karas: The Revelation is a film of such epic scale and presence that, just like Akira, it will impact creative people all over the world.

Karas: The Revelation
2006, movie. Director: Keiichi Sato. 90 minutes. DVD, bilingual, $19.97. Distributor: Manga Video.

Back in 1988, a film called Akira was released in Japan. The following year it was brought to the States by the now-defunct Orion Pictures studio. I remember very clearly the day I saw this movie on laserdisc (that is not a typo, I did in fact say laserdisc) at a friend's house. It was a warm late-summer evening when my phone rang. On the other end was my rather excited friend telling me that I had to come over right now and see this incredible animated movie. Feeling that I had nothing better to do and that cartoons were always fun to see, I headed over. Arriving at his house, I sat down on his couch and made myself comfortable. In went the laserdisc and out went any and all preconceived notions I had about what an animated movie was supposed to be. Before my eyes, during the movie's 124 minutes, I saw the grandest, most epic and mind-blowing film I have ever seen to date. That film made a huge indelible mark on my life and raised the bar of animated films so high that the bar could no longer be seen. Akira's influence can still be seen in both animated and live-action film. Heck, my first motorcycle was even red because I loved this movie so much. Fast forward to today, or rather a few days ago, and in my in box I find this movie called Karas. I had seen the trailers and heard some of the hype, but I am one to hold my opinions until I actually see the movie. Honestly, watching this movie took me back 20 years to when I first saw Akira. Again, here is a film of such epic scale and presence that it will impact creative people all over the world, just like Akira.

Karas: The Revelation picks up immediately where the outstanding first film ended and ties up many loose ends. All Karas images © 2005/TATSUNOKO Pro/KARAS Committee. All Right Reserved.

Well, from my research it appears that Karas was originally released as a six-part OAV series. But I must say that there is conflicting information regarding this. Either way, Manga Video has decided to release Karas as two separate movies. The first one is called Karas: The Prophecy and covers OAV episodes 1-3. The second movie is called Karas: The Revelation, which covers the remaining three episodes. Interestingly enough, if in fact Karas was supposed to be a six-part OAV series, these episodes cut together beautifully, almost as if it was the original intent of Tatsunoko Productions to really create two films. Either way, there are two great films here. Karas: The Revelation picks up immediately where the first film ended. While outstanding in its own right, the first movie ended with many loose ends and a humdinger of a cliffhanger. The city is in shambles from the battle between Eko and Otoha, and the struggle for control of the city's destiny is nowhere near decided. Karas: The Revelation thankfully ties everything up and finally settles, once and for all, who really is the city's chosen protector.