Later, when they stumbled upon director's cuts of the film, many of the same fans would recoil in disgust. In the late 1990s, the film would be idolised by teenagers for its elaborate, violent action sequences. The film revolves around a schoolgirl named Sara who is orphaned in her early teens, whose parents are the victims of a gory double murder and who unwittingly finds herself becoming an assassin. Released in 1998, "Kite" is a violent anime by director Yasuomi Umetsu. Zantara's score (edited version): 9 out of 10. It sure beats the TV show stuff you could end up with. Nevertheless, don't pass this one by when nosing around in the animation section, looking for an exciting anime. Otherwise, I probably would have rated this film a perfect 10. The reason this time is gone is because the company that released the film in the United States hacked out a substantial amount of the film, which was a terrible thing to do. I wish the movie was twenty or thirty minutes longer, enough time to strengthen the relationships between the characters, especially between Sawa and Oburi and between Sawa and Akai. The dubbed dialogue is very good, as compared to most dubbed dialogue cartoons in which you can just tell something got lost in the translation (although with criminal editing, something is indeed lost). There is a very violent scene in a men's bathroom that is one of the most exhilarating and exciting scenes I have ever had the pleasure of watching. The exploding bullets create a huge mess, but that seems to make everything all the more real. The movie is not for the weak-of-stomach. When they meet, they begin to consider getting away from their masters, but they find out that leaving is easier said than done, as Akai and Kanie aren't about to let their lucrative business go down the drain. Sawa does her job emotionlessly until she meets another young assassin that works for Kanie: a boy named Oburi. Akai and Kanie murdered Sawa's parents years earlier, and over time have forced her to kill who they want her to kill, which she does excellently with a special gun that shoots exploding bullets. We soon find out that the girl is named Sawa, and she is under the care of a slimy police detective named Akai, who, along with an even slimier associate named Kanie, give Sawa information on people she is to kill they tell her the victims are all child molesters, but you begin to wonder if they are really being honest with Sawa (which they aren't). But this is a good thing, and it really sends your pulse flying later on. You expect something like it is going to happen, but the movie is more graphic than you will expect. Boy, did I get a good deal out of the movie when it was over! The movie begins with a jaw-dropping scene of violence: a child molester getting killed by a young girl. I was a little nervous about renting "Kite" (pronounced 'key-tae') because it clocks at a mere forty-five minutes, which is usually a sign of TV excerpts. While they still may be good, they rarely leave you with a sense of closure that makes you feel like you got a good deal out of the movie when it is over. I really like good anime, but I am usually hesitant to rent it because I often pick out a tape that is really a collection of TV episodes. NOTE: This review is going to have some crucial spoilers in the second paragraph, so watch the movie before you read this. KITE is juvenile in spots, slow in others, but it's a good animated co-feature if you're thinking of screening Luc Besson's THE PROFESSIONAL for your comrades. The 2004 Kitty Media DVD (the only one to get) is totally uncut, as is a German disc released a couple of year's ago (sans English subs). The erotic sequences, cut or softened in some versions, are as explicit as you can possibly get and gorgeously drawn. Umetsu has a passion for the domino effect of violence as one grisly atrocity begets another until the Tokyo streets and subways resemble a hellish inferno. The shoot-outs are beautifully realized and the sound effects are sharp and effective. That the assassin looks twelve (despite her concessionary breasts) is why KITE is questionable material in more conservative circles. An assassin forced to kill and driven into occasional sexual servitude by perverted bosses is the basic set-up of this excuse for subversion (nothing wrong with that). Director and storyboarder Yasuomi Umetsu's high octane visuals hang from KITE's basic, unoriginal storyline, but don't let that put you off this pleasing document.
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