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Twilight of the Dark Master

Twilight of the Dark Master

List Price: $24.95
Your Price: $22.46
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Unexpectedly good . . .
Review: I had been wanting to watch this anime for some time but didn't want to rashly buy it. Finally I found it at a video store and rented it. Surprisingly enough, I liked it. There wasn't any heavy romance, which I usually look for, and the whole thing was all about violence. Tsumani was a great (and cute) character, probably the best one. His sidekick (whose name I don't know) was a hilarious guy. I wish the story could have been developed more, but all in all it was really good.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: One of the worst animes ever made
Review: I have to say, when I saw the trailer for this movie I was impressed, so the next week I went to go buy it, this movie is only 41 minute long, its not 50 its 41 minutes! Its not worth your money. The drawing is good that given but the rest blows! Even the story is stupid! The "hero" in this anime is just way too strong he was no match for the monster , its not a good movie, the action scenes are very weak. But before you give me a bad vote just go out and watch the film and you will be as dissapointed as I was. The trailer was better than the film itself, literally!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: this was the anime that got me back into being a fan
Review: i remember seeing this film for the first time (1998 i think) at the video store and renting it... then falling in love with anime all over again. this film didn't confuse or bore me at all. i must say, though, the japanese version is much better than the english version (which isn't without it's charms). i often wonder when people dislike an anime just what format they're watching it in.

the comment from mr. solomon's review about the 'fight being over before it even starts' sounds somewhat odd to me. does an anime (or any movie for that matter) need a huge battle to be deemed good? throughout the anime we are given bits of the history between takamiya and tsunami, they have obviously fought before, so i fail to see why there must be a big fight at the end to be satisfying (or whatever mr. solomon felt was missing).

this movie is short, but again i don't see that as a detraction. a film also doesn't have to be long to be good (i can just imagine if this film had been two hours or so that many people would have complained: "it was so long, they could have done the same story in such a short time!").

i liked this anime mostly because it was non-standard. the plot isn't cleanly spelled out for you every step of the way, the end isn't neatly tied up, the characters aren't all good or all bad, they all fall in the middle (even takamiya). there is the feeling that you have stepped into an already progressing story and you pick up the bits and pieces as the film progresses. so, in the end, it allows you to wonder about the history between tsunami and takamiya...

all in all, if you can take the mature themes of this anime (rape, incest, drug-use, murder) and are looking for something other than the usual ilk of "super-hero good-guy bashes the tar out of the pathetic villain" then i'd say give this a watch.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: What do you do with a movie you like and an ending you hate?
Review: I've got to warn you--I thought this movie was great up until the end, which fell apart. I can't go into more detail than that without spoiling much. Nonetheless, be warned that the ending is so severely bad that it may bring you to question why you watched an otherwise enjoyable hour of anime.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Don't waste your money
Review: If you see this in a store and think it looks good, whatever you do, resist the urge to buy. It was probably the beautiful cover art that seduced me into buying this, and it turns out that the cover art is probably the best thing about it. I really wish I'd spent my money on something more worthwhile, and now I'll try to warn others from making the same mistake.
To start with, the characterization is awful, or non-existent to be more accurate. The characters had so little personality that I honestly couldn't have cared less whether they lived or died. Add to that a thoroughly dull and uninspiring plot involving a person turning into a monster, and you've got one of the worst animes out there. As if all that weren't bad enough, it's crammed into a mere fifty minutes which prevents any sort of meaningful ending.
The DVD has pretty good picture quality, and the extra features are pretty decent, but take my word for it: none of it is worth submitting yourself to this garbage. So whoever you are, stay away. I like most anime, but this is just ugly.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Falls way short of its potential. I want my money back.
Review: In addition to a friend recommending this to me, I also saw the trailor to this movie on the Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust dvd (Which was extremely good, by the way), which made me very excited about picking up this title. But upon viewing, my excitement turned into confusion, and from confusion to disappointment, and from disappointment to sheer anger.

If one word could describe this, it would be "rushed." Weighing at only 50 minutes long, the director (or writer, producer, or whoever else was involved) tried to cram too much into such a short film, and in turn told a sloppy and yawn-inspiring story. While I have no problem at all with gore and nudity, it seems at certain points that they were added in just to say there was gore and nudity (like the scene when the woman was re-united with her fiance and stabs him in the neck, which subsequently had no effect on him). Scenes are extremely short, begin with no set-up, and end very abruptly. It's almost as if 15 different concepts were thrown into a hat, and animated, and strung together in the last scene of the film.

The list of positives are very short. The artwork was above average, some of the action was cool. The dialog in the last scene was exceptional. Thats about it.

Twilight of the Dark Master had the potential to be an excellent film, only if it had been at LEAST 30 minutes longer. That extra time would've given more time to explain certain things in the film and give the characters more development, which is desparately needed. If you still have the urge to get this, I would advise you to rent it first, or you'll most likely end up looking for your reciept, like I am.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Kind of short
Review: It was awfully short and only really developed the main character(s) in the last few minutes.
The character types found within and the background have a good potential for a high quality anime if there was a good story to go with it.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Abrupt, Compact, and Dark
Review: Like a splash of water waking one from a nightmare, this is an abrupt, compact, and dark anime. A heroine with prosthetic body parts, having been eaten/deformed by her fiance turned demon, seeks out the assistance of a cool, effete, but dangerous guardian to put her beloved down. Unaware of the larger plot involving the recreation of an age old über-monster, the two are distracted from their task by a pair of wind manipulating, incestuous siblings. Weighing in at only about an hour, this film moves along very quickly but never seems too forced or hurried. The characters remain mysteries throughout, with the Elric-albino-like hero barely registering on the personality meter. Emotive sadness is at least hinted at by the interaction between the fiance trapped in the demon body and his long suffering woman. The effects are appropriate for such a dark and dismal futuristic world, rain and terror abounds, especially as the demon is 'fed' by the proprietor of a high class sex club. The end sees the inevitable confrontation, and amusingly the über-monster rattles off the major parts of the play up to that point before attempting to deflect its fate. In an instant, perhaps too quickly, the deed is done and the credits roll. Recommended.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A freaky anime on par with horror anime
Review: Mix together Vampire Hunter D, Wicked City and Biohenuter for 50 minutes and the result should be Twilight of the Dark Master. Based on the graphic novel, Twilight tells the story of a world in which demons excist. It revolves around Egi, his lover and Tsunami, a man who wants to kill all even though he is one himself (sounds like Vampire Hunter D). So whats wrong with Egi? Egi has transformed into a demon that has gone mad and somehow plays an intricate part in the film (sounds like Biohunter). His lover was first attacked by him and now she wishes to kill him so he'll be happy. Another thing the film boasts from is a somewhat hentai content (sounds like Wicked City). The fight scenes are enough to make Dragonball Z jealous. Animation is very dark, but pretty well drawn. And the dubbing isn't that bad with many familiar voices from other titles. Fans of Vampire Hunter D will quickly take a liking to Tsunami, with his white make up and black lips. Overall, a very nicely done anime that is recommended to all.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A Must See For the Regular Anime Fan
Review: Ok here is a great anime film for any anime fans out there. Great artistry, this is a beautifully drawn film, with action, but not too much to bore you, or make it the typical "guy" film, both males and females can enjoy this film. It has some sexual content so it's not a film recommended for children. Of course, the movie is short and you're left aniticipating more, and wanting more information. I was left wanting more and in a way was left angered that it was only 50 mins. but that's the beauty of it, You're left wanting more (therefore making it a great film, and the creator an intelligent person). Also, if you are a great fan of only action based films such as Battle Arena Toshinden where characters are mainly fighting and little plot is exposed (don't get me wrong, I liked the film/series), this is not the film for you, although it has some gruesome and bloody action, it is not solely based on that.


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