[DreamSword]

Lament of the Dark Dragon

This movie is so nice to look at!

Amemiya really went all out with directing this one. Its overall visual style really pushes green screening and sound stages to the max.

I'm not exaggerating when I say that either. The CG work in this film is way more visually appealing than a ton of other films even now, over a decade later. Which is only further complimented by how creative the setting is.

I've said in other threads(most recently Die's' Kamen Rider W one) that I tend to like the stories that talk about the importance of objects and what they represent. And this movie was all about that. While nearly every character is an avatar of a basic thing, they still bring their own life to the role. It's good character work!

Combine all of that with a wonderfully played atmosphere and you've got a movie that I very much enjoyed from start to finish. I'd personally rank it just slightly under Red Requiem in terms of GARO movies. RR winning out thanks to its better action scenes, strong standalone nature, and just how well played Rekka's' arc was.

If I had to voice a nitpick about anything though, it'd be that the exact nature of the ending, specifically Gajari's' nature, kinda confused me. Maybe that was the point, maybe it was the way TV-N subbed the dialogue, I dunno. All I do know is that Gajari is Gajari, and that thing still terrifies me even if the movie tries to imply it's actually on the side of humans.

Overall, I felt this served as a much better finale to Makai Senki than its final episode did, even if we still have one movie left to go.