Hakuouki Movie 1: Kyoto Ranbu

It is like the anime, just a review or summary. There is some changes, like you get to see Yukimura Chizuru use her demon power, but other than that don't waste your time watching this. I regret buying this, and watching it. It is basically the same to the anime but it is split shorter and have some few new moments that have nothing really to do with the main part. You will get to see her brother more but it is not worth it.

First of all, it's very important that you have already watched the TV serie before you watch this movie. This is NOT a recap movie, it DOES has some elements of the anime, but it's a RETELLING of the first story, with a completely different setting. As a brief summary, our story start when our heroine, Chizuru Yukimura, decide to go out and looking for her father, which had disappeared. As things go, she discover in the worst way that the streets hide more strange things that she have imagined: bloody creatures, ready to take her blood, as well as a group of young, good looking and mysterious men that protect the peace on the streets. She's saved, but what's the cost? Now she knows too much, and it's taken as a "hostage" by the famous Shinsengumi. Here we discover that those men are surrounded by mysteries, and with a long war extending around the country. We have then 3 different stories: the Shinsengumi, fighting for their country (based on the original story of Japan); the furies, the mysterious bloody creatures that have a direct connection with Shinsengumi; and Chizuru, who's going to discover lot of things about her past and who she really is. CHARACTERS The characters are very unique, especially the guys from Shinsengumi. They have very distinct personalities and for me it was impossible to hate any of them, even having my favorite. The villains are also very nice, it just feel they always go away in the most important part of the fights, but they still play their roles; I absolutely love Kazama and I loved how in the movie they showed his demon form not just in the end, it made him seems more interesting as a villain during the story than in the first anime. Chizuru is a thing for me, I don't like heroines from reverse harens because they're weak and stupid, and that's exactly what Chizuru is, she's just useless in all the stuff that happen around Shinsengumi imo, still, there's a very specific part in the movie where I loved her, it's an event that didn't appear in the TV serie and it's amazing, when you see, you'll definitely remember of this part here, 'cause it's where Chizuru shines in this movie. And well, secondary characters are also enjoyable, although they don't have much screen time here, since the movie is way more focused on the Shinsengumi. ANIMATION The animation is simply gorgeous. Studio Deen made an amazing work in this movie, everything seems so well made, a thing that didn't happen in the anime, where the animation is poor, without details and even the characters eyes seems without life; in the movie no, their hair and eyes are always shining, and I love it. Also the sceneries are beautifully done, the cherry blossoms and the moon, even a scene where it's shown a river it's perfectly done. I like to reinforce because Deen isn't one of my favorite studios, especially because they don't have quality in their animation, but they put all their effort to make this movie, it definitely seems something very expensive and well detailed. SOUND The background songs and the music for this movie are ok. I'm not a fan of the sound for the anime but it's really enjoyable, and it fits for the scenes; in the movie, things aren't different, very similar background songs that fit with the fight scenes and all that old Japan atmosphere. Overall, this movie was amazing. Even without following lot of events from the original visual novel, I really liked to see a "new route" being created once more for this story, but also some scenes we didn't have in the previous TV serie. I guarantee this new retelling of the Hakuouki series is amazing! I dare to say is more enjoyable than the TV one, may be because of the new animation, may be because it's more focused on the main guys, or even because the main character got more attention this time, it’s perfect in many ways! So if you enjoyed the anime, you'll probably enjoy the movie too.

i apologise in advance; my reviews are not as detailed as others... essentially this story is about the rise and fall of the shinsengumi. it's a historical action drama (with a supernatural element). i much preferred this film version the the series. as 12 episodes had to be condensed into 95 minutes, the pacing is better, although the drawback is that there is less character development and some of the incidents that lead the characters to act as they do, such as when 2 members of the shinsengumi left, had to be glossed over. some of the wonderful humour of the first few episodes is missing also. however, i feel that these losses are compensated for by some excellent sword fights, and most significantly, the portrayal of Chizuru here, in comparison to the series, is a breath of fresh air. no longer is she an annoying child who's talents extend to fainting and making tea. she is resourceful, smart, passionate, and a fighter. although we sadly don't get to see her fight here, they way she gets her sword out tells you that she means business. the animation, as with the series is of a very good standard, very clear, very bright and fluid. the plot is easy to follow, if a little rushed. i am not sure the storytelling would be a completely satisfying experience if you have not watched the series first. however, i would recommend that any one who is a fan of samurai style anime to give this a try.

[I posted this review only under the second movie at first, until I realized it would be smarter to put it under the first one :) ~ I wrote this shortly after I watched the second movie, it thus refers to both movies together. ~ This is my first review. It also isn't that detailed and mostly contains my personal view.] The Hakuouki series is one of my all-time favourites, so I was looking forward for the movies. But I have to say that I was pretty disappointed at the beginning, because you don't get to know the characters well enough. There were several scenes where I found myself thinking if I would have understood the situation if I haven't watched the whole series before. Some important parts (for me) were just missing. But there weren't only bad things about it, for example, did I love the way they edited the fighting scenes and the way Chizuru transformed. I also was very pleased to see some good Kazama time, although in contrast to the others it was probably too much. I was really sorry for Saitou when he had to see 'it' two times in a row (You'll know what I mean if you watch it). I was really a cry baby during the series, but the movies didn't make me cry at all. This was probably because of the things I mentioned above and the fact that the end is a bit different. In the end, I would say that the movies alone weren't that good and sometimes confusing, but if you watch them as a addition to the series it was well made, to see some new (also very sweet) things.

Let me start off by stating that Hakuouki is one of my favorite animes. Because both the television series and the movie are based off the otome game, there are many similarities between the two, but also many differences. Each one has its own strengths and weaknesses. The movie can be watched by itself, however, watching the series would help you better understand the characters. I really enjoyed both the series and the movie. The tones of each are complete opposites. The movie has a very serious undertone, with almost none of the comedic relief of the series, depending on your taste. The main thing that made me love the movie was that it stuck pretty close to the otome game plot. With out spoiling the endings of either I was more drawn to the movies ending. It wrapped everything up very nicely and did not leave me with the disappointment the series did. The art in the movie is definitely softer then the television series. It is very easy to look at, and really allows you to into the movie with out any eyestrain. Overall, I have give the movie a solid 8 for entertainment. Even though I knew what was going to happen the movie still managed to keep me enthralled. It kept the most memorable parts from the game/television series, but still was able to throw fresh scenes so it did not bore the audience. I would definitely recommend this movie to those who are fans of the franchise.

I haven't seen that anime series so my opinion is limited only for the first movie ART: The art part of the characters is very good. The movements and the design of the characters is really good, something that is not really easy .Almost all the male here are samurai which mean from clothes to movements animation is challenging. CHARACTERS: Well..to be honest the characters are the typical reversed harem charecters. All nice , good looking dudes that likes the useless heroine and will save her from every prosibe threat. As for the heroine she is a cute little crybaby that can't do many things and end ups been protected every time. STORY: Actually the story is pretty nice. It is really interesting and and plot. The demon and samurai thing match well. OVERALL: It's not a masterpiece but it's a nice movie to pass your time if you like light-reversed-harem shoujo anime. Εven if the characters aren't that interesting the plot is very good and promising.Personally I will definitely watch the second movie.

I didn't know what I was getting myself into by watching the movie over the anime so after a quick coin toss, I decided to watch the movie and also because someone said it was more detailed than the anime version. I realized I wasn't a huge fan about halfway through the movie. The movie was okay. I didn't connect with any characters like I usually do so I'm not taking that as a good sign and most of the movie was dull in my opinion. Nothing really eventful happened but I guess that's why there's a second movie - to put everything that should be shocking into the final installment. It also kind of bothered me that Chizuru was only capable of calling out people's names over and over again...almost until the point where she sounded like every other whiny ass female out there. But with all that being said, I'm going to watch the second movie and hopefully I'll like that better than this one.

Read summary. Yeah sums it up. Not Spam: I deleted the actual review because ANIME IS HARAM. You will understand eventually if you are sincere. https://twitter.com/TheAAAAlliance Delete ur Dojins. No matter how much you love #Anime. https://soundcloud.com/beautifulsurah/suat-alrahman Review Tips and Guidelines • Full guidelines available here. • Don't steal anyone elses work, this review should be all in your own writing. • Don't include story summaries, users already have the synopsis written for them. • Be sure to tell us the reasons for WHY you liked or disliked this anime or manga. • Try your very best to not write any spoilers. • Don't comment on other reviews or reviewers, focus only on the anime or manga. • BBCode is disabled. Note: This area is only to be used for posting a review of the series after you have seen it. This is not a discussion area.

What I enjoy about adaptations from otome games is how you can change things slightly and it still turn out true to the story and flows well. There is already an anime version that follows mostly Hijikata's route with story snippets of other characters. The movie is similar and follows the Kyoto Winds game where there is little romance, and purely story development. What makes the movie and anime different is the action scenes they included (I loved the sword fighting scenes especially). I won't deny that at first I was hesitant to watch the movie since I've already seen the anime, but I am glad I did. You even get to see the extent of a demon's power. The timeline is slightly askew since they are only allotted a certain amount of time for a movie, so things may feel slightly rushed. I don't think it had a negative impact on the overall flow of things though. If you are a fan of the game or anime, definitely give the movie a chance as well.