Review by Dennis D. McDonald

MacGuffin MacGuffin Who’s Got the MacGuffin?

I was really looking forward to this after seeing Kyohei Ishiguro’s Words Bubble Up Like Soda Pop. That film was funny, touching, and gorgeous.

This film, on the other had, is a bit too formulaic, so much so that I found myself rolling my eyes at several plot “twists” and character “reveals.”

In theory, a magical but violent world inhabited by humans, orcs, goblins, elves, and centaurs should be interesting. Unfortunately, this gorgeously animated tale places these mythical characters in a beautifully rendered 17th century Japan but with a road trip story built on undeveloped characters, a disjointed plot, chasing down a magical macguffin, and well choreographed but all-too-familiar blood spattering swordplay.

Having a strong-but-silent ronin samurai as a main character should help. Unfortunately our Izo is a brooding reluctant hero who is just plain boring. Sure, he wields a mean sword but he doesn’t project any real personality. (For a more interesting wandering-samurai-with-a-past instead see Manji in Blade of the Immortal or Jubei in Ninja Scroll.)

Still, this film is worth watching for the animation and artwork alone. The nature scenes, cityscapes, and interiors are gorgeous and colorful. Just don’t expect to be overwhelmed by the stereotyped characters or by the story.

Review copyright (c) 2022 by Dennis D. McDonald

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