|
Available on DVD! To buy, click on link(s) below and help keep this site afloat (commissions earned) |
Always make sure of DVD-compatibility!!!
|
|
|
|
|
Japan 1707: Mount Fuji has just erupted, but it has spewed out more
than just lava, it has also flooded the country with demons. Lord Sakaki
(Hiroshi Fujioka), who wields a magic sword, is Japan's chief demon
slayer, but he is killed in a fight with a Kappa, a river demon. His
daughter Sakuya (Nozomi Ando) however is quick to pick up dad's sword -
and the responsibility that comes with it - and kills the Kappa. Then she
finds a newborn Kappa though and decides not to kill him but raise him as
her own son/younger brother/heir to her responsibility. 6 months later:
Sakuya's Kappa, now called Taro (Shuichi Yamauchi), has already grown into
a 10-year old human-like boy when Sakuya decides to head for Mount Fuji
and kill the Queen of Ground Spider (Keiko Matsuzaka), the leader of the
demons. Accompanied by Taro and two ninjas, Sakuya faces many dangers -
like a wizard (Shinya Tsukamoto) who makes girls into living dolls -, but
also meets a bunch of playful, goofy and harmless demons (including the
ever popular umbrella-yokai) and has to kill a bunch of humans, which
greatly upsets her because that would make her no better than the demons,
but perversely it also gives her lifeforce. Finally, Sakuya faces the
Spider Queen, who tries to destroy her by making Taro stab her by accident
... but Taro, despite being a demon, has grown so loyal to Sakuya that he
after the accident immediately picks up her magic sword and tries to kill
the Spider Queen, who has now grown to giant size. His attack might be
futile by itself, but it gives Sakuya just enough time to restrengthen and
in a death-defying attack deliver the final blow ... and against all odds,
Sakuya and Taro make it through the battle alive ...
Above all
else, Sakuya is a nice fantasy feature, nothing to write home about
maybe, and definitely a film you will soon have forgotten, but while it's
on, it's entertaining enough to make you feel afterwards that you have not
just wasted 90 minutes of your life you won't get back. Sure, the story is
a bit episodic, several subplots would have deserved more attention
(especially the wizard who makes dolls out of girls), Taro the 10-year old
is a little annoying (as kids in movies often tend to be), and the special
effects could have needed some more polish (especially in the finale), but
nothing of this makes Sakuya less enjoyable - on a slightly
pointless level - than it is.
|