This new adaptation of the classic Chinese fantasy is
rendered almost unmatchable by the use of Dragonball
Z style characters and fights to appeal to a younger
audience. When an evil demon named Dakki seduces her
way into the control of the kingdom of Yin, a young
sage named Tai Kou Bou is dispatched to deal with her. The story is fairly true to the original: highly
dramatic, and heavy on warfare and tragedy. Many of
the concepts involved are very complex, dealing with
the relationships of several different kingdoms and
players, plus the role of the realm of the immortals
on top of that. The tone here is fairly serious as
well, and even dark at times, but some new additions
are clearly meant to counteract the more depressing
material. These include a sidekick for Tai Kou Bou
who resembles a flying hippo, henchgirls for Dakki who
act like spoiled teenaged ditzes, and lots of
slapstick humor. Unfortunately, the random comedy and
trumped-up battles clash incredibly with a plot where
most of the secondary cast is systematically killed
off, and none of the characters feel like anything
more than the sum of their ridiculous powers.
The graphics are too exaggerated, with plasticine
characters whose clunky costumes and oversized weapons
regularly defy the laws of physics. If there were
ever an anime where everyone looked designed for a
line of action figures, this is it. The style never
mixes quite right with the somber narrative. The characterization is also weak, though that's mostly
the fault of an awkward plot and a huge cast. This might be a good way to learn your ancient Chinese
literature if you have a miniscule attention span and can't watch anything where a fight doesn't break out
every five minutes, but it's not something anyone could call entertaining. One hopes the creators never
get the bright idea to tackle Journey to the West.
(2.5)
