Martian Successor Nadesico - The Motion Picture: Prince of Darkness
by Nobuyoshi Habara, Tatsuo Sato
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: John Swasey, Mark Laskowski, Phil Ross, Rob Mungle, Spike SpencerDirector: Nobuyoshi Habara, Tatsuo Sato
Editor: David Grundy
Producer: John Ledford
Producer: Mark Williams
Writer: Michitaka Kikuchi
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Subtitled); Japanese (Original Language)
Format: Animated, Color, Dolby, DVD-Video, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.85:1
Running Time: 90 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2003-11-11
Audience Rating: Unrated
Studio: Adv Films
Movie Reviews of Martian Successor Nadesico - The Motion Picture: Prince of Darkness
Movie Review: I wish things had been different...
Summary: 2 Stars
There's just so much wrong with this movie that I don't know where to begin, except to say that if you watched and enjoyed the original series, you should seriously consider avoiding this movie completely, because I can more or less guarantee that you're going to be disappointed.
For one thing, "Prince of Darkness" was written as a direct sequel to a video game that never saw release outside of Japan, "Nadesico: The Blank of Three Years." As a result, anybody who never played the game--meaning bloody near everyone in the US, I'd wager--will end up watching "Prince of Darkness" having missed the entire middle of the story. Why on Earth did the studio release the movie in the US, knowing full well that the vast majority of US viewers wouldn't have a prayer of following it? I haven't the slightest idea, and since the original series stands up just fine on its own, I wish they hadn't.
I could forgive that, though, if it weren't for the fact that virtually everything that made the series great has been either truncated or removed completely in the movie. Gekigangar III, for instance, the "meta-anime" series, is almost completely ignored, aside from a brief shot of a Gekiganger III keychain and a line or two of dialogue. Almost all of the series' humor has been removed, except for one or two scenes (particularly the ones involving Mizumi and Hikaru--I have to admit, I did laugh pretty hard at those). Worst of all, though, is the characters themselves, all of whom seemed to have undergone a personality transplant. Tenkawa Akito, the original series' protagonist and comic relief, is granted a cameo appearance in the movie, appearing as a brooding, unlikeable emo kid with a weird penchant for Green Hornet eyewear; and Hoshino Ruri, child prodigy and fan favorite from the series, is instead hideously misused in her new role as captain of the Nadesico-B and subject of a particularly insulting--both to the character and to the viewer--fanservice shot. Misamaru Yurika's role is almost nonexistent; she spends most of the movie in a fossilized state, and if it weren't for the fact that she was such a vital part of the series, her role in the movie wouldn't be worth mentioning.
To be fair, the movie's not a complete loss; there are a few honest laughs to be had, and some genuine drama, and occasionally the movie seems just on the verge of recapturing the spirit that made "Martian Successor Nadesico" so great in the first place. These moments are so few and far between, though, that the movie can't help but leave a bad taste in your mouth, like a cup of your favorite coffee with a healthy dash of vinegar mixed in. I can't in all honestly recommend this movie unless you're the kind of completist who has to have EVERYTHING, and even then, I'd highly recommend you buy a used copy. Or just stick with the series.
Summary of Martian Successor Nadesico - The Motion Picture: Prince of Darkness
Although it was initially criticized for spoofing mecha sci-fi adventures and fan culture, Martian Successor Nadesico (1996) became an international hit. Unfortunately, the theatrical film offers little of the original's irreverent humor. Two years after the broadcast series, Yurika and Akito are missing and presumed dead; Ruri now commands the Nadesico B. Ruri was always the beleaguered voice of common sense, noting, "I guess we'll be fumbling about, making noise 'til the end. However, when you think about it, that's rather appropriate for us." The new Ruri asks dumb questions: "Are you a good guy or a bad guy?" Fry cook turned mecha pilot Akito appears as a masked, Keanu Reeves-esque figure. ("That was then. This is now.") Fragmented and difficult to follow, Prince of Darkness is a dreary coda to a wonderfully funny series. Where's Gekiganger 3 when we need him? (Rated 15 and older: profanity, brief nudity) --Charles SolomonAnimation DVD Video
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