Rating: ****
Review Date: 10/3/01
This film follows the trail of a demon slayer named Saya, as she tracks down a trio of nasty critters that have infiltrated an American military base in Japan. Once the preliminaries are out of the way, it's non-stop action from there on. Sadly, the film's biggest disappointment is the short forty-five minute running time, perhaps due to scheduling or budget contraints. The high tech digital animation is exquisite and beautiful to watch, and the soundtrack is excellent. The story is simple, but handled in a very intelligent and mature manner. Additionally, the intense graphic violence may not be appropriate for young or sensitive viewers. The character design is very good, except that everyone has really small feet and has big puffy lips a la Pamela Anderson. They're unslightly at best. Saya is a female action fan's delight. She is cute in a dark and moody way, and is a total bad-ass. She doesn't take crap from ANYONE, and handles a sword with extreme proficiency. Do NOT piss this girl off. Her mysterious lineage is also very interesting... This film is definitely worth checking out.