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It wouldn't be a film night without films, and this year's Anime Allnighter certainly had an interesting selection.  Here's a brief review of the films shown...
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Redline

Arguably the biggest film of the night, despite the presence of Musashi and Fate/Stay Night on the bill.  The story is set in a distant future where racing is one of the galaxy's most popular sports.  The biggest race of all is the Redline, a spectacular event held every five years in which only the best of the best compete, and spectacularly be-quiffed racer JP thinks his luck is in when a withdrawal means he qualifies.  However, planet chosen for the Redline he'll compete in also harbours an interplanetary empire's illegal weapon development facilities, and they do not want billions tuning in and seeing what they've been up to.  Their initial attempts to halt the race taking place fail but they vow to stop it at all costs, even if it takes military force.  If this wasn't enough the race has no rules and JP's own mechanic has been rigging races for a crime syndicate, plus he fancies his main rival Sonoshee so refuses to use weapons.  With all this going on JP will be lucky to finish the race alive, let alone win!  Redline was an action-packed and particularly stylish start to the

night, with a thumping soundtrack blowing away most of the post-midnight tiredness.  The screening was hampered by a sound issues that caused the voice track to be absent for about the first twenty minutes, but even without this issue the film was a real triumph of style over substance.  It looked stunning, with a singular visual style reminiscent of the old Manga release Dead Leaves, and the racing action was suitably kinetic and exciting.  However, the story was pretty standard and the characters colourful but stereotypical, leaving it feeling flashy but pretty shallow overall.  Still, it was a decent way to kick things off, and was probably the best film of the night in terms of visuals, design and action.

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Bleach The Movie 2: The Diamond Dust Rebellion

Now the night is pretty much a Manga showcase a film from one of their biggest franchises is pretty much a given, and with Naruto covered last time it was Bleach's turn!  The story starts with Soul Reaper division 10 on guard duty as a powerful artefact known as the Oein is transferred to a different location within Soul Society.  Inevitably however the transport party is attacked and the Oein stolen, but in the ensuing battle Division 10's captain Toshiro Hitsugaya acts strangely and disappears along with the thief.  Suspecting foul play Soul Society send troops to track him down, but all are defeated and the injuries are all caused by Hitsugaya's sword Hyorinmaru.  The whole of 10th Division, including Assistant Captain Rangiku Matsumoto, are confined to barracks whilst efforts to track him down and recover the Oein are stepped up, but what caused the change in Hitsugaya?  The mysterious thief seems to have something to do with it, but what is the link?  And can Ichigo get to the bottom of it before the Oein is used?  Despite the obviously


high production values Bleach The Movie: Diamond Dust Rebellion is obviously a film that is strictly for fans, and there's no real concessions made for new viewers.  The story expects you to know who all the characters are and understand the Bleach world in full and if you don't you'll have no clue what's going on.  The film is pure fan service, focusing on the popular Captain Hitsugaya and allowing pretty much every Soul Reaper to turn up and show off their most powerful moves.  However, to do so it attempts to paper over some huge plot holes and crowbars in main character Ichigo when to be honest the film didn't really need him.  The action is good, but sometimes confusing and there are some moments of pure cheese too.  On the plus side it was very entertaining, just not always for the right reasons.

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Musashi: The Dream of the Last Samurai

Now this was going to be more like it!  A samurai actioner from Ghost in the Shell director Mamoru Oshii!  Well we thought so anyway.  Firstly, he didn't direct it (he planned the film, but left direction to someone else), and secondly it was more of a historical documentary than action epic.  The story is about the near legendary samurai Miyamoto Musashi, a real-life 17th century swordsman who's achievements have been embellished over time to the point where it's incredibly difficult to separate man from myth.  This film seeks to redress this by focusing solely on Miyamoto's own record of his life and hopefully covering only the facts.  The film therefore focuses on his early career as a foot soldier and subsequent advanced martial arts training and duels with members of the Yoshioka School and his famous bout with Sasaki Kojiro.  The film mainly focuses on his duels and wartime service and ponders on his skills, aims and strategies.  All well and good, but the problem is the execution.  Instead of a biopic the film runs like one of those

dramatised documentaries you get on TV, with recreations of his famous battles and defining moments interspersed with history lessons given by a CG professor and his assistant.  Although interesting and informative it doesn't make for the best cinematic experience, and certainly fell flat at 4am in front of a room full of knackered anime fans who were expecting more action.  On the plus side the action scenes that were there were brilliantly executed and stylishly delivered, but the film left you with the feeling that Musashi was a bit of a knob who generally defeated his opponents by cheating.  Historians may call him a brilliant strategist but we feel that hiding up a tree and jumping out to slaughter an old man and a terrified twelve year old is a bit cheap.  Although the film was intriguingly delivered and did show its class on occasion it really was one that would be best viewed on DVD, not in a cinema at 4am.

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Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood Episode 1

A supposed surprise on the bill (somewhat given away by the fact that it was on the promotional image outside the screen) was the first episode of the hotly anticipated Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood series.  The episode throws you straight into the action with the alchemist central command thrown into turmoil by the appearance of the rogue Ice Alchemist Isaac McDougal.  Isaac bears a massive grudge against the military and alchemist commander Fuhrer King Bradley in particular, and has hatched an ambitious plan that would see Central destroyed.  All he has to do is complete his preparations, but the Elric brothers and fellow alchemists Roy Mustang and Major Armstrong have got other ideas and try to hunt down their elusive foe before he can put his plan into action.  In a continuation of a theme Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood doesn't make a huge amount of concessions to new viewers at first, expecting a level of knowledge you would only have if you'd read the manga or seen the original anime series.  However, as it progresses it reintroduces a lot


more back story and by the end of the episode you have a decent grip of who the Elrics are and what they are trying to do.  The action flowed thick and fast and an interesting plot left a lot of unanswered questions that teed everyone up nicely for the forthcoming DVD/Blu-Ray release!  On the night it made a good wake-up call after Musashi and transferred well to the big screen, even if the version shown looked suspiciously like a fansub. 

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Fate/Stay Night: Unlimited Blade Works

For many this was the big name title of the night, and it was also (as far as we can tell) a Western premiere!  Fate/Stay Night Unlimited Blade Works is an alternative take on the original Fate/Stay Night story which sees events take a dramatically different path.  As in the original Shiro, a survivor of a horrific disaster when he was young, is saved from certain death when he unwittingly summons the servant Saber to protect him.  As the master of Saber Shiro is recognised as a Magi and must use his servant to fight against other Magi for the Holy Grail, a legendary artefact with the power to grant wishes.  The Grail only appears when one servant is left standing, and the battle has already begun.  Faced with overwhelming odds Shiro forms an alliance with fellow Magi Rin Tosaka, much to the annoyance of her servant Archer, but even together there are terrible dangers ahead of them.  Events are being manipulated from behind the scenes and Shiro is going to have to conquer his own failings if he is to survive. To be honest this film is pretty

hard to sum up without giving plot spoilers but it is another one where you have to be familiar with the source material to really get a grip on what's going on.  The animation is good and the film does have a suitably cinematic feel, but if you are new to the franchise it is even more impenetrable than the Bleach film was.  The story is convoluted and confusing with people cheerfully switching sides when they feel like it, and it also suffered from a particularly nasty scene in which one character has their heart ripped out - something which really didn't fit the tone of the film at all.  As a film it had its good moments though and the action scenes were exciting and well delivered, but unless you were a fan it was a bit too confusing to be anything more than average.

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