The Princes in the birdcage kingdom

Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle is an anime based on the CLAMP manga of the same name. It highlights the journey of young Syaoran as he gathers the “feathers” of his beloved Princess Sakura’s memories. Sakura’s memories have been scattered far and wide through various dimensions. With his companions Kurogane, Fay and Monokone, Syaoran journeys through space and time with the help of the dimension witch, Yuko, in order to help his beloved regain what’s precious to her.

plot summary

Tsubasa, The Princess In the Birdcage Kingdom

Syaoran and his companions fall from the sky into a beautiful kingdom surrounded by a massive glittering birdcage. Within this country is one of Sakura’s memory feathers. Syaoran and Sakura land near a village and are found by one of its young inhabitants. He takes the two to meet the princess of the country, who’s in hiding from her evil uncle. The girl’s uncle reigns as a tyrannical king as she cowers in hiding. The princess wields a mysterious power her uncle needs to plunge the kingdom into everlasting night. This same uncle has also kidnapped the bird companions the people of this country all possess and perverted them to his dark purpose.

Meanwhile Kurogane and Fay are taken captive by the evil king’s royal guard and placed in birdcages. The group must find a way to defeat the nefarious king in order to free this beautiful country from darkness and to gather one of the remaining feathers of Sakura’s memory!

review

The movie didn’t feel at all like a movie, despite the gorgeous animation and abundance of beautiful detailing. It viewed just like a lengthy episode of the series and was a continuation of the anime instead of a side story or conclusion. I don’t know why this extended episode was dubbed a movie, but it’s something fans of the series will nonetheless want to see and possibly own.

I’ve only seen one volume of Tsubasa, but I was still able to follow the story and get some enjoyment from the “movie”, especially as a small portion of the beginning is devoted to a minute bit of explanation. Anyone who hasn’t seen any of the series will likewise get some enjoyment from it.

Character Development

There was no development for this movie as its target audience is established fans. However, there are enough comments about Sakura and her plight to cobble together a rudimentary understanding of the series if not enough to understand who these people are.

Character Design

There’s no background on Syaoran and his friends, yet the movie is pleasant as a travelogue of this so called Birdcage Kingdom. The designs are beautiful, flowing and organic and the backdrops are all fully detailed. This kingdom is positively glowing in its verdant beauty. I wanted to visit this country it was represented so well. The jewel tone pallet of the movie captivated the lushness of the place.

The details made the anime a rich experience. The tiny facets of a jeweled mosaic, the brilliant flash from a bit of sapphire, and the tinkling sound of beads as they gently clink together were icing on an already pretty cake. It seemed as though nothing wasn’t given an extra shine, a bit more sparkle, an added dose of detail.

Animation

Production I.G. did a fantastic job with the movie. The animation was top-notch and action scenes flowed like water.

Music

The OP “aerial“, by Kinya is unremarkable. The soundtrack was light and felt Celtic, a good accompaniment to the organic feel of the anime. The ending theme, “Amrita“, by Yui Makino was as unremarkable as the OP. The music in between the OP and ED was better than either.

Voice Acting

Both the English and Japanese voice casts for Tsubasa are well done. I still watched the movie with the Japanese voice cast, but either is good.

Conclusion

While the Tsubasa movie isn’t much of a movie, it does get credit for making a beautifully enhanced and vibrant thirty five minute episode. As a movie it gets two Hammies, but as an episode it gets three and half Hammies which averages it out to:

Rating

3 outta 4 Hammies!
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A Midsummer’s Night Dream

xxxHolic is also a CLAMP manga turned anime. xxxHolic features the dealings of the dimension witch, Yuko Ichihara, and her reluctant indentured servant, Kimihiro Watanuki. Watanuki was plagued by swarms of ghosts and spirits who are irrestibly attracted to him. One day he makes a deal with Yuko to be her servant if she’ll get rid of the spirits. Now he must work off the debt, and only then will Yuko banish the spirits.

plot summary

xxxHolic: A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Yuko receives a young visitor one day who claims she can no longer enter into her own house. She begs Yuko to help her and Yuko agrees, for a price. Watanuki is less than thrilled at Yuko’s acceptance of the job as it means he has to go with her. As they draw near the house Watanuki senses spirits but is safe from their harassment thanks to Dōmeki (a young man able to banish spirits with his mere presence) who was also invited to come.

Upon entering the house, the three meet a group of people who have gathered at the mansion. They’re all various collectors and are at the mansion to finish their collections, or so they believe. A sinister force, not yet apparent, is orchestrating something behind the scenes and it’s up to Yuko, Kimihiro and Dōmeki to discover what it is.

review

Unlike Tsubasa, xxxHolic did feel like the movie it claims to be. This anime has a surprising charm to it, one I don’t encounter much in anime. xxxHolic has a light feel and isn’t dreadfully serious, despite its supernatural and dark overtones.

The story for the movie has great pacing and a good plot. Twists, turns, foreshadowing, development, all were seamlessly interwoven. I didn’t have any inkling what might happen next, a rarity in many anime. What I thought were obvious ploys, morphed into more mysteries, keeping my attention engaged the entire time, another rarity.

Character Development

xxxHolic, the series, isn’t even out on DVD here in the States yet, but I could still grasp the story from the skillful background hints dropped throughout. It wasn’t a distraction the way characters were introduced as being related in this manner or that, or having this power or another. The storytelling was impressive in this regard.

There wasn’t character development for the main characters per se, but the antagonists were told with a sympathetic voice, connecting the story even further to audiences. I was drawn deeply into this anime before I knew I had been.

Character Design

Yuko and her companions are drawn with overly exaggerated limbs and look slightly freakish at first, second and third glance. Long arms, slim narrow waists, overly hooded eyes and elongated fingers punctuate the characters. It’s an odd thing to see at first, but the stylistic art of the anime grows on you. Everything which is potentially odd to begin with, is accentuated even further, almost to the grotesque. The art never really crosses the line from bizarre into grotesque, except to draw attention to evilness and wrongdoing.

The buildings, the grass, the carpet, almost everything has some type of texture in the movie. Details abound in xxxHolic and its style is unique and as pleasing as the storytelling, if one is a fan of the unique. Despite the ominous and sometimes threatening style of the anime, the characters are quite lighthearted. It’s a dichotomy of the characters versus their surroundings which results in delicious creepiness. I’m struck by how xxxHolic is strongly reminiscent of a very dark and eerie Alice and Wonderland, and Watanuki is Alice.

Animation

The animation, by Production I.G., was as exceptional as the style, with interesting camera angles and perspectives. Everything about this anime is surreal and would make Renee Magritte green with envy. C’nest pas un anime.

Music

Listening to the soundtrack is like listening to a dark yet simultaneously bright orchestra. The extremes are fascinating and give xxxHolic an added touch of the surreal. At times, the music can truly be called mood music in it’s evocativeness.

Voice Acting

The English cast is just as good as the Japanese voice cast, if not slightly better. I recommend either, and you’d be set with great voice work.

Conclusion

A Midsummer Night’s ending was beautiful and touching. This movie has me determined to watch the xxxHolic series. The storytelling, pace, and style is an extreme and weird departure from overly pretty anime with more style than substance. In thirty five minutes it connected with me better than most series which last nine long hours. xxxHolic could be something I find myself getting addicted to….

Rating

xxxHolic: A Midsummer’s Night Dream gets 4 outta 4 Hammies!

Overall Double Feature Rating

3.5 outta 4 Hammies!

Retail Info

• Publisher: Funimation
• Release Date: February 19, 2008
• Retail Price: $29.98
• Number of discs: 2
• Run Time: 90 minutes
• Rating: TV-PG
• Language: English, Japanese
• Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
• Format: Animated, Color, Dolby, DVD-Video, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen