Well I finally got around to watching this movie and let me just say I couldn't be happier with it. This movie exceeded all my expectations and was a breath of fresh air after some of the other movies in this five part legends OVA series. Yuria Den and Toki Den were a bit lackluster in my opinion but Kenshiro Den is 5/5 perfect score. I want to say hat if your not a fan of this series you wont get why I rated this movie so highly. In that case maybe before reading this and deciding to watch this or not you should watch the other parts of the series. A real novel idea I know but that kind of simple reasoning and dare I say logic doesn't seem to be too abundant around here. Maybe it's all the moe super happy fun time?
For starters the opening " wedding " scene of Kenshiro and Yuria was truly beautiful and bittersweet and even made me cry. it is so tragic that Yuria such a beautiful soul inside and out had such a short life. I loved how Juza , Raoh , Souther , Ryuken , Toki Raoh , Ryga and my boy Rei's spirits were at the wedding. Though I was a little sad not to see Shin attend. I wonder just how things would have been if there was no nuclear Apocalypse and it had just been peaceful times. A gag series like DD Hokuto No ken just doesn't cut it for me as I am not really into gag series. The closest I'll go is One Piece. Anyway in this continuity Yuria had become pregnant with Kenshiro's child , so it seems Kenshiro is a father here! That really made me tear up. I also really like that they confirmed that RYuken chose Kenshiro as the successor not because Toki was sick or some other bullshit but because of what he saw in Kenshiro's heart and how he had a heart like no one else.
Anyway this film tells the tale of what transpired after Shin took Yuria away from Kenshiro and left him in the desert to die. I really liked some of the characters here. I was shocked to finally see the character Fugen , Shin's master and Shin's fellow student Jugai. The villian Siska was a very good and evil villain. I enjoy villains who cant actually fight in these type of series. very evil and loathsome unsympathetic character who anyone can hate from the bottom of their heart. I especially liked Kenshiro's relationship with Danne. Her crush on him was sweet and reminiscent of Rin/Lynn's relationship with him.
Speaking of Rin , the seiyuu's Keiichi Nanba , Miina Tominaga and Takeshi Aono the voices of her Batto/ Bat in their adult forms and Rihaku have roles in this movie. This was a very pleasant surprise for me. As a huge fan of the first two anime series I was shocked too hear their voices here. I also want to mention that Hiroshi Abe has done a fantastic job as Kenshiro in these movies. The scene here after Danne and the others die and Kenshiro vows to keep them in his hearts as his shield and screams to the heavens in despair was some of the best voice acting I've actually heard. You can really feel the utter despair and regret in that scene and it shows just how talented the man really is as a voice actor which is saying a lot for his talent as when this was made he had mostly done live action work.
Soundtrack , animation and art style: There was actually quite a bit of this movie that was silent and I think that added to it. It's not often you get to have quite like that in these stories and it can add a sense of realism in some scenes which I think an overbearing soundtrack can sometimes take away from. Anyway the only things that really stuck out to me as far as the soundtrack in this movie goes was the new version of the classic HNK song You Wa Shock! Hearing this as Kenshiro slaughtered the evil bastards who kill innocent civilians was like old times sake haha. The other peace that really stuck with me was the ending theme which played when they show Kenshiro meeting Batto and Rin for the first time. That leads me to my next point. Keep in mind I'm not someone who knows a lot about animation and as I've said in other reviews I don't care to either. The animation style is really nice looking and I like the lighting in these pieces from North Star pictures and TMS Entertainment. It has a certain flare to it that not even the original 2 series had. Very fluid and the use of 3D at times is an interesting technique which gives it an even more realistic feel. There's something about the way this is animated I don't know it just really has a lot of life to it I think it might be the colors.
The imagery was very good here. As I said before the animation was fluid and it really gives the series a unique look. Danne was very beautiful and a perfect example of how this art style really makes the women and girls in this series attractive in my eyes. Amo was adorable too of course lol. The villain Siska is one of the ugliest characters inside and out in the series it really shows here. I really liked the way the scenes of Kenshiro meeting Batto and Rin were done. Having the still manga likes panels was interesting and the art was top notch. It really added to the feel of the scene and I think the final scene of the movie where Kenshiro says his trademark catchphrase " omae wa mou shindeiru " is one of the most memorable parts of the film.
All in all I would give this a perfect ten out of ten. It really is a great addition to the series and it's a nice prequel of sorts. I really enjoyed seeing what happened between the after Shin took Yuria and the time the original anime and manga starts. Kenshiro keeping the departed in his heart as strength seems to be one of the defining aspects of his character. A character who continues to sacrifice for others until the day he dies.
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