Wolff rating: GOOD
Plot summary: Clash of mystically-powered martial artists in a post-apocalypic world.
Biased, pithy comments: Ahh, 1986. I can still smell the testosterone of the Cold War. Japan as a society is painfully aware of what a nuclear blast can do to a city. So this story about superpowers on the road to mutually assured destruction in a world barren of life seems to be more a political statement about peace than a rock-em-sock-em action flick, although there are some good action moments and quite a bit of gore (heads explode on a fairly regular basis---it got pretty stomach-churning at times). And although some of the main characters seem like ``Street Fighter II'' video game characters (including their special moves), this movie is still absorbing and interesting even as it's...well, weird. The animation is typical of medium-budget anime films---lots of static, repeating frames, slow camera dollies to make it seem different, and some really nifty moments punctuated by animation that looks as stiff and artificial as ``Superfriends.'' The opening shot over the credits showing millions of souls rising from a city destroyed in a nuclear blast is quite chilling.
Other Notes: 1986 re-released in the US with an indifferent voice cast by Streamline. Watch out for the live-action version made in the U.S. in 1995.
How many times I have seen it: x1
Starring: Many animated characters
Directed by: Toyoo Ashida