Search - Genma Wars: Eve of Mythology, Vol. 4 - Skull City on DVD

This was not at all that bad.

Hallie Carroll | Frankfort, KY | 03/01/2000

(3 out of 5 stars)

"I'm talking about the subtitled version here. Of course, I may be a little biased (seeing it was one of my first experiences with anime, I was 10 when I saw it, and Katsuhiro Otomo did the character design), but Harmegedon wasn't nearly as bad as everyone claims it is. The animation was excellent for the time period and is effective at creating a moody atmosphere. We're talking about the early eighties here, and it still looks better than many productions today. The plot, if somewhat familiar ("Troubled, introverted teen gains telekinetic powers"), is fair if a little silly at parts, and is not so far removed from other Japanese productions. Taro Rin, one of the best directors in anime, does his job well. So what's wrong? Well, the character development (except for Jo) was a bit wanting. The ending was somewhat predictable and wrapped up in a bow. The other espers were mostly stereotypes (the wise old yogi, the tall, dark, silent Native American, the 10-year-old black American crimelord) and weren't at all developed, excepting, perhaps, for a small degree, Sonny Lynx (how come so many American gangsters are named Lynx in anime?). Other than that, there's not much to complain about. These people who say it's the worst anime they've ever seen probably haven't seen much. Harmegedon could've been a LOT worse."

It is brilliant in Japanese language though!!

BiolanteX | 04/09/2001

(4 out of 5 stars)

"It's a shame really that many people find this anime very bad. It must be to do with the dubbing. I watched it when I was 10 in Japan. I am 26 now but this anime was so impressive that I have been saying that this anime was definitely one of the best animes I've ever seen! It felt very good to see chidren regardless the race are actually bind together to fight to protect our earth!(Don't forget that this was made well before "Independence Day"!) Well, as a Japanese, I am proud of this anime..."

A land mark for anime.

BiolanteX | Valparaiso, Indiana United States | 07/25/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I enjoyed this film emensely. Its a great science fiction story from Kazumu Hirai's very long and fabled series of Genma Wars novels. The direction from Rintaro in this film is excelent and visionary. Katsuhiro Otomo's character designs also give this film a nice touch. Hamragedon is the americanized name though. Its real name is The Battle With Genma (or perhaps simply Genma Wars). This film was highly influential in Japan, especially for its realism, and it is considered a landmark among many otaku and those in the industry. The anime tv series Genma Wars is also based on the same novels (and manga by Shotaro Ishinomori), which I also liked dispite extremely low budgeted animation. If only that series had the animation and direction of this film. This special edition DVD is also a very nice package, with a good, remastered transfer, aswell as a very interesting commentary by Rintaro. Highly reccomended."

Genma Taisen is a timeless story.

BiolanteX | Valparaiso, Indiana United States | 07/25/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Yup I gave this 5 stars, deal with it. Yes, this show has horrible animation. Very bad, I agree completely, especially considering when it was produced. However, the I felt was one of the most wonderfully complex and multi-layered stories I have come across in an anime. I've never put too much emphasis animation, although I do enjoy great animation direction, but I can overlook it in some cases including this one. I wish more anime fans could do that instead of being obsessed with how technically advanced the animation is. Obviously this isn't for your run of the mill, immature anime fan who just wants an instant pay-off with flashy animation, instantly relatable characters, and spoon-fed plots. This anime I felt is good because its based on very good source material, and that is why I give it 5 stars. These 5 stars I give less for the producers of the anime and more for Shotaro Ishinomori and Kazumu Hirai who were two of the most brilliant and creative minds that crafted some of the most wonderful stories in fiction. Ishinomori, in particular I consider one of the 3 most important manga-ka in history. This anime is based on Ishinomori's interpretation of Kazum Hirai's Genma Taisen novels. I'm not sure which ones though, since no information is available on them in English. The Genma Taisen series of novels is reportedly incredibly long, having started in the 60's and still ongoing today. The story is said to be one of the most complex and multi-layered sagas ever put to word. This anime relates one of the chapters it this story that follows the lives of the twins, Loof and Jin. I won't go into spoiling the story for you, but subtitle of Eve of Mythology is a good one, because I do believe this is a grand story of mythic proportions. Obviously though, this wasn't the best execution of this story possible with the very badly executed animation, but I still appreciate it much. Perhaps, they had very little budget for animation, but I am grateful I got to witness this story because the Genma Taisan novels and manga probably have a very small chance of making it over the US any time soon. You could defiantly argue it wasn't great, but giving it one star and completely writing it off is just immature and disrespectful. I also feel complaining about the style of the character designs is utterly idiotic. These are the original style of the character designs from Ishinomori's manga. Ishinomori was an apprentice under Osamu Tezuka and his character designs are very similar to Tezuka's. This is the style that all other character designs, including your favorite shows, evolved from. Despite the flawed animation, I enjoyed this show a lot. I suggest picking up the cheap 4 disc collection, which at some places can be found for as low as $23. Also check out Harmageddon which was based on the same series of novels and manga that Genma Wars is based on. However, Harmageddon may be more to the liking of most otaku due to the brilliant animation direction of Rintaro."