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Kaubôi bibappu: Tengoku no tobira (2001) More at IMDbPro »

Japanese western, 27 October 2008
Author: ruiresende84 (ruiresende84@gmail.com) from Porto, Portugal

This is yet another Japanese animation rooted on western cinematic conventions, and Japanese visual construction. It's one of the three threads Japanese animation is following for the last ten or more years.

This one is specially well crafted. Notice that every recognizable narrative element, and the majority of the visual ones, are attached to western cultures. The city might be Japanese, Tokyo, but all the rest is not (including the music). We have an ordinary plot about a terrorist with intentions of global extermination. Bounty hunters, mainly one, tries first to get the prize, and later he makes it a personal matter, also because he falls in love.

Being handicapped by not having seen the TV series, i recognized very interesting aspects here: I was able to follow the whole thing, and follow the characters, their own dynamic bows of evolution throughout the narrative without having seen them before. They made a film which, i guess, can be inserted in the series, for whom has seen it, but at the same time is an independent piece, worth on its own.

The production is good, the Japanese ability to use colours in a sober way, creating images where the balance of the perception of the image in our eye is a priority in front of playing with perspective deepness (perspective has always been a more western concern).

This is not intelligent and en richening as some Japanese contemporary animations - like the outstanding Paprika - but it's worth peaking and living a little bit with it. I'll try to find the series.

My opinion: 3/5

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