Reviews

Granted, I don't speak French, so I won't be able to comment on the plot, but I got a fair idea of what it's about. The visuals range from fairly impressive to mundane - some of the film is obviously rendered (hand drawn over the rendering) but overall, "it looks good." It has its own style, very reminiscent of the comic book, which is pretty cool. The French voice acting is well done, as is the cinematography - the movie is very moody, but never dull. The various scenes have a lot of atmosphere, especially sequences with infrequent or no dialogue - just very well done and spooky sound effects. I'll have to see it again with English subs to decide how worthwhile it is, but for the visuals alone, I'd suggest seeing it.

Kodomo no omocha (Child's Toy) might be one of the best Anime TV series I've seen. As far as I know, there are no official subs of the episodes, but fansubs exist, and they're done extremely well. The animation quality, character development and story elements are top notch, but what really sells the series is the animation style. Nearly the ENTIRE series is completely serious - that is, the premise is serious... there are no spaceships, lasers, monsters, or anything unrealistic. The presentation, however, is nearly drug-induced, but for good reason. It's presented through the eyes of a twelve year old - the way a story might be retold, with super-dramatic moment, excessive exaggeration, and a constant onslaught of information with short pauses for breath.