Synopsis
The Sanzo party-after rescuing a girl from a demon-are invited to stay at her master’s shrine, the House of Dougan. However the invitation turns out to be less friendly than anticipated and they find themselves desperate to escape from a trap!
Review
Saiyuki: Requiem is a very well animated story filled with action, suspence and horror. For those familiar with the characters from the series, this movie will feel like another-albeit extended-episode. For those unfamiliar with the series, the characters will mean little and the story will suffer because of it. Sadly, without the series, this movie is nothing more than a random series of events with no particular meaning. With the expection of the bad guy whose past is described in detail through the use of flashbacks, the characters are almost entirely undeveloped as almost all of the dialogue assumes that the viewer is already completely aware of the characters lives, relationships and personalities. There is little reason to care about what happens to this group of people. Honestly even to those who have seen the series, the story is just too confusing and random to be taken seriously.
What saves this movie from the bargain bin is its well animated and exciting action scenes which spice things up frequently throughout. The fights are easy to follow and fun, and action fans will enjoy them.
The Breakdown
As a standalone product it leaves a lot to be desired, but if looked at as another episode of the series I have no doubt that it can be enjoyed.
» The Pros
The animation is above average and adds a lot to make the fight scenes enjoyable. I particularly enjoyed the fight at the end of the movie, and the action throughout was a lot of fun to watch. In addition, the backgrounds are absolutely beautiful. The forests and rivers completely come to life, and the shrine is detailed and mysterious.
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» The Cons
Character development seems to have been an afterthought in the making of this movie and that weakened the story greatly overall. A little backstory at the start could have really made the entire movie better but instead the viewer is just thrown right into the action.
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» Animation
9 |
Overall the animation is very good. There are a couple of stylistic decisions I was not particularly fond of though, particularly with background freezeframes. |
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» Sound
7 |
The music and voice acting was acceptable, but nothing exemplary. |
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» Story
4 |
Overall the story was so confusing and unpredictable that it became a boring series of events that had no real reason for occuring. The flashbacks attempted to bring it all together but did not succeed. |
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» Recommend
6 |
I would highly recommend watching at least some of Saiyuki the series before watching this movie. Fans of the series should certainly have this in their collection. Casual anime fans should at least rent it as it would appeal to Action/Horror buffs as well. |
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» Other Information
Language: English and Japanese with English Subtitles
Extras: Interviews, Character Profiles, Art Gallery, Commentary, Original Japanese Promos and TV Spots.
Package: Includes a double-sided poster. |
Tuesday, August 11, 2026
