Welcome to Astral Animations, where we'll examine the imports of Japanese animation currently available in the United States.
This review does not represent the opinions of the general public. It reflects my personal thoughts and opinions on the movie.
That said, on to the review!
There is a seed of evil in all humans, and there are those dark forces that would foster that seed, and raise it and feed it until it developed into a terrible evil monstrosity loathsome in appearance and irredeemable by the forces of good. And there are other opposing forces that stand against that evil, doing all they can to keep the human world free of such evil. Some of these are the Dark Cats. And two of these are the brothers, Hyoi and Ryoi Kagezaki.
Hyoi and Ryoi have taken up residence near a public high school, with Hyoi enrolling in it as a human while Ryoi remains in cat form and dwells with one of the school's female students. Their presence isn't entirely coincidental. An evil has been brewing within the school, resulting in the disappearances of several young girls. Hyoi isn't sure, but he feels certain it has something to do with Aimi, the girl who took care of Ryoi when he was wounded (as a cat). Yet he has no proof, because Aimi herself is a likeable young woman with a good, loving heart. Her only fault seems to be the strong, one-sided affection she feels to Hiroki, a young man and classmate she's known for many years. Nothing evil there, right? Ryoi believes this, but Hyoi is keeping an eye on her.
An evil spirit makes its presence known then, striking from an unexpected angle: through one of the teachers at the school. It nearly kills Ryoi with its kiss--his first one, Ryoi jokes--but Hyoi steps in, saving his brother and driving the spirit away. The two pursue it, only to watch as an old enemy, Jukokubo, devours it. Jukokubo is much stronger than the evil spirit, and when Hyoi confronts him, he takes more wounds than he gives. It finally gets to the point that Ryoi, though knowing himself to be weaker than his brother, loses control and tries to help, only to be repelled almost effortlessly by Jukokubo. In fact, it is only Hyoi's sacrifice that keeps Jukokubo from killing Ryoi outright. The confrontation leaves Hyoi very badly wounded, forcing him to call upon the spirits of the earth and the ocean to heal him. This leaves Ryoi alone to track down and confront the evil spirit that still haunts the school. But the seed of evil exists in all humans, taking root where it is least expected. Can he track down the true evil spirit that Jukokubo has been nurturing before it's too late...and can he bear the truth when he finally discovers it?
Dark Cat is a 60-minute anime feature, entirely self-contained within itself. The action sequences throughout are visually compelling and filled with stupendous details. The evil spirits being released by Jukokubo's influence are especially well-drawn, considering that they all look like human entrails swollen out of proportion and caused to run amok. The scenes that stand out most are the ones where the human hosts seem to be mostly normal except for strange tendrils and tentacles emerging from the ears, nostrils, mouths, skin, etc. Of course, there is also the careful attention to the Dark Cat sword which Hyoi, and later Ryoi, wield against the evil spirits: some artists might ignore the fact that it's a sword with an aura around it and just turn it into some sort of sword of light, but you can almost always see the blade within the aura. Then there's the scene of Ryoi jumping out of the bushes and transforming from cat to human form. You can see the human features attached to his mostly feline body, then the feline features on his mostly human body until the transformation is complete.
It's hard to say who's the main character here, Hyoi, Ryoi, Aimi, or Hiroki. They all have major roles to play and all go through some sort of telling situation that suggests that they are the ones to watch. Hyoi, naturally, seems to be the key fighter in all this, what with him facing off against Jukokubo all the time. Then there's Ryoi, who has to struggle with the (temporary) loss of his brother, who was the stronger of the two and therefore the leader. Aimi gets a lot of stage time, much of it focusing on her infatuation with Hiroki. Hiroki seems to be the center of all the events, yet there's something so minor about him that it doesn't seem possible he could be the centermost character. I suppose we might even consider Jukokubo as the main character, but that wouldn't be consistent: he gets less stage time than anyone else except the supporting cast!
Media Blasters has released this anime in America and, presumably, Canada under its "Kitty" label. This label implies that there is strong adult content and that the "viewer's discretion is strongly advised." The warning on the box says for violent scenes, but really, some of the anime released by Media Blasters under its "AnimeWorks" label seemed much more violent--relatively speaking--than this one. Still, I suppose Media Blasters has its reason for labelling Dark Cat this way. As far as I know, this anime is only available in an English subtitled version. Which is fine with me: the synopsis on the back of the box was so interesting that I just had to buy it, regardless of the sub vs. dub dilemma!
You can likely purchase Dark Cat on videotape at any video store that sells Japanese anime. You can also order it at the Media-Blasters website.
Interested in buying this video? You can! Just follow the link to order the English subtitled VHS version. You can also visit the Stellar Video Store for other titles.
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