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!
Ogres are creatures as far beyond humans as humans are from chickens...and they see humans as such. But worse, they see them as breeding stock, inserting their vile seed into young woman and waiting...waiting...waiting until the time is right for the new ogres to emerge into the world to take their turn feeding upon and breeding with humans. They thrive on blood and death, and kill and rend without remorse. Ordinary humans cannot stop them, not even those armed with spiritual power and faith. But there is one being who can kill the ogres, one being capable of inspiring fear and nightmares in even the most vile of fiends, and for the simplest of reasons: he is one of their own. But though he wears a human body he has no human name, instead letting others know him by the name of the sword he wields: Onikirimaru. Ogre-Slayer.
In The Chapter of Tiny Horn, the young high school student, Moiko, is having recurring nightmares of a time she'd pushed into the recesses of her memory and convinced herself was only a figment of her imagination...a time when she'd run, terrified, from a huge, ugly monster that had overtaken her before she could escape. Perhaps she might have died that night--or perhaps not--but the thing chasing her, and ogre, had died. It had died at the hands of one of its own, who had then warned her to beware of any changes that occurred within her. She'd forgotten that time and the second ogre's warning...only to have the memories thrust forcibly upon her in the most horrifying way: something dark and evil stirs within her, something that has changed her outlook on life, exchanging goodness and innocence for vengeance and hatred. Now, with her soul hanging in the balance, only the Ogre-Slayer can set her free from the evil that threatens to consume her.
In The Chapter of Otakemaru, someone has been vandalizing the temples of Kannon, destroying the statues of the goddess. If they had been ordinary temples, then everything would have been fine...but they weren't. Instead, the temples rested atop the burial sites of the corpse of an ancient ogre, slain ages past and its severed body separated to prevent its evil from ever resurrecting itself. Now, with the barrier seriously weakened, the ogre's spirit moves forth, feeding upon the minds of the humans unfortunate enough to encounter it. A reporter from Tokyo, investigating the temple vandalisms and the victims of the ogre attacks, discovers the secret about the temples and their connection to the ogre. The question, however, is this: why would anyone want to resurrect Otakemaru, the ogre slain by mortals and buried beneath the temples of Kannon? Simple, really: to truly kill the ogre, because no mortal hand or weapon can kill an ogre. But can Onikirimaru, the Ogre-Slayer, and its wielder--the ogre in a human body--kill the ogre and save the survivors of the ogre spirit's attacks?
Ogre Slayer is a 60-minute, two episode anime feature. It's a different sort of anime from Poltergeist Report or Blood Reign: Curse of the Yoma or even Dark Cat, though it's a little difficult to say why. It has the elements of good and evil in constant conflict and flux, as the others do. It has various unnatural and supernatural phenomena throughout the anime, as the others do. And yet, there's something about the way it's handled that is just...different!
The main reason I purchased this anime--in addition to the eye-catching title and the intriguing cover picture--is the basic background story. Here we have someone who looks human but isn't, has some of the abilities of an ogre but isn't, wields something that looks like a sword but--according to him, at any rate--isn't, and who seems to be addressed as "Ogre Slayer" but isn't. These conundrums are rather intriguing and, when taken with the quest he's set himself, very compelling. Imagine, being born to fulfill the destiny of killing your own kind and knowing that it is your destiny simply by the nature of your birth. It can't be an easy fate to contemplate or live with under any circumstances.
Another thing that caught my eye is the simple fact that, while the Ogre Slayer can kill ogres, the ogres can reproduce quickly, seemingly just by touching a human woman. At least, that' the impression I got during the first chapter. That means, naturally, that it might be virtually impossible to kill all the ogres in the world when just one can replenish the species. So if that's the case, when will the human-born ogre ever complete his quest? And there's another point to consider: what happens when he does finally kill the last ogre? That means he'll be dead himself, right? Because after he's killed all the other ogres, he's still left, and--as he believes the only way to become human is to condemn his entire race to extinction--the only way to kill the last ogre is to kill himself, right? It's a complicated situation, but one that should be considered.
The artwork was quite good, very stunning in places...but I'd be careful of recommending this video to just anyone. There are, I believe, three points in the two chapters that involve the incidental displaying of female breasts. In the first and third cases it is simply because the attacking ogre tore away the women's clothes. The second, however, involved a slightly more delicate scene, where there is an attempted-rape scene. You don't see anything other than the breasts, but those scenes are there, so viewer discretion and maturity is advised. Also, this is an anime that rivals Dark Cat for blood and gore. There are two occasions when ogres go on a rampage and kill, kill, kill with body parts flying all over. So again, I advise viewer discretion and maturity in deciding whether or not to purchase, rent, or view this anime.
Viz Video is the company releasing this anime in America. When I purchased this video I only saw an English dubbed version, and could find no evidence of an English subtitled version being available at all. I may be wrong, but I leave it to you to decide whether to query Viz Video about it or not. But regardless of whether you choose a dubbed or subbed version, I'm sure you'll enjoy this anime!
You can likely purchase Ogre Slayer on videotape at any video store that sells Japanese anime. You can also find out how to order it through the Viz Video website.
Interested in buying this video? Maybe you can! Just follow the link for information on ordering the English dubbed VHS version. You can also visit the Stellar Video Store for other titles.
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