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Title:
  Dead Leaves

UK Distributor:  Manga Entertainment (DVD Only)

BBFC Certificate:  15

Suggested Retail Price (SRP):  £19.99

Running Time:  50 mins (approx.)

Audio Options:  English 5.1 & 2.0, Japanese 5.1 & 2.0

Subtitles:  English

Reviewer:  Rich (Webmaster)

 

One of only a couple of new Manga Entertainment releases in a turbulent 2004 for the company, Dead Leaves was a not given the major push its crossover potential deserved.

The story follows Pandy (a woman with panda-style face makeup) and Retro (a man with a TV for a head)  as they wake up in a field with no memory of who they are.  Shortly after this they go on a Bonnie & Clyde style rampage before being caught and incarcerated in the titular penal colony, where their entire existence - from eating to going to the toilet - are automatically controlled by the vicious prison wardens.  They soon learn that the colony is used to imprison mutants and failed genetic experiments, although what kind of experiment would result in giving one inmate a giant rotating drill bit as genitalia is anyone's guess, and after escaping they lead the inmates in a prisoner revolt to take down the colony and attempt to recover their memories.

And all that happens in just 45 minutes.

As you could probably tell there isn't a great deal of time for plot exposition, but that doesn't stop them trying to get a lot in.  The film thunders by at a breakneck speed and is pretty hard to follow, squeezing in nearly non-stop action as Pandy and Retro battle against the police at first and then security droids and cyborgs with an arsenal of (at first) unexplained weaponry, in fact there is so much happening that you completely forget that you have no idea what is going on!  Visually the film is completely different from what you have come to expect from anime, in fact they have more in common with the work of Gorillaz creator Jamie Hewlitt than any anime that springs to mind.  The character design is highly stylised and the visual style is more like watching a moving comic book, it even has onscreen sound effects (like the 1960's Batman series 'Pow!'s and 'Bang!'s, but far cooler).  The music is pretty cool too, and the voice acting in both English and Japanese is excellent, there are also more extras on the disc than you can shake a stick at which is a good thing considering the film's short running time.

Dead Leaves is real style over content, with any philosophy and intelligence in the plot lost amid a hail of bullets and cartoon violence, but despite this - or probably because of this - it's not bad.  Plot complexity and deficiencies in the dialogue slip by unnoticed whilst the colourful visuals flash across the screen, and despite the best efforts of a scientist character, who seems to exist solely to get you up to speed on the plot before the final confrontation, you are pretty much none the wiser when the giant intergalactic caterpillar turns up (this does happen).  The problem though, is that Dead Leaves sounds a lot better than it actually is.  There is no time for anything but action, which makes it hard to really like any of the characters or get what's happening, and in places it's far too crude for sober viewing.

Dead Leaves is solid action with hardly a pause for breath, which is fine if that's what you are looking for.  Although it really has the potential to appeal to a lot more people than most anime titles it's hardly going to win awards in the intelligence stakes, however, it is stylish & fun and there is no anime even remotely like it, which counts for a lot.  It also has some clever ideas in it, and some great scenes too - Retro having a continuous conversation with various inmates as they are whisked away on conveyer belts is a highlight - but if there was ever an anime designed for watching whilst drunk with mates then this is it.

Ratings

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