Rockman.EXE Movie: Hikari to Yami no Program

It's not a great movie by any stretch, but I was actually really surprised by how much I enjoyed it. To be honest, I only checked it out because the director of Flip Flappers worked on it, and it kind of shows! There's lots of really awful cg plaguing most of the movie, but the 2D animation is consistently good, and the entire movie shifts to it for the last ten minutes for a really fun climax, and even before that there are some really cool scenes! As for everything else, uh... It's Rockman.exe. You don't exactly look to it for interesting stories with complicated characters. Basically, the most interesting character you can expect is Higsby. Basically, watch this movie if you like Mega Man Battle Network and you don't mind a bit of weird inconsistency in quality, because the lows of the movie are inoffensive and the highs of the movie are hilarious fun.

This review is going to be shorter than most of my reviews so buckle up. Rockman.Exe: Hikari to Yami no Program is a very fun movie I recommend to absolutely none of you. Not because it's a bad movie though. It's actually very good and fun. But well get to why in a minute. First off, some background information. This movie takes place somewhere in between episodes 22-29 of Stream (I personally recommend watching after episode 25), and is about Nebula Gray and the return of Dr. Regal, two events that will be really important to the second half of Stream, the Space-Time war arc. Now how's the movie itself?: Pros: -One thing I must say about this movie is that the animation is stellar. The best the series has ever been. Animation took a massive step down in Stream, but it's a massive step up here due to more time and a higher budget. Every shot and movement looks incredible. 10/10 animation. -The fight choreography is also fun. Not every ability is used but that's to be expected. Really liked how the Vulcan gun looks in this movie and the new Bass Cross form, while only exclusive to this movie, was awesome when on screen. And the fight with Nebula Gray was incredible. -Bass was actually kinda cool in this movie. When I review Stream, i'll talk about how mid his character is compared to the games and manga, but here he's at least fun. Had a good fight with Mega Man that while short, was cool, and he's responsible for the incredible final battle of the movie. -Bass Cross was cool and his fight with Nebula Gray was the highlight of the movie. Also sidenote but because it's Rockman of course this movie has a banger soundtrack. -The plot was great when I could understand it... okay now time to explain why I couldn't understand it Cons: -Finding a translation of this thing is impossible. Like no literally. I was watching it in raw Japanese. I watch all my translations through Internet Archive since there's no way to watch the series legally, even in Japan, so I can't support the original creators :( That being said, you can imagine how frustrating of an experience that is. -This movie is mostly just visuals and story and doesn't really have a lesson. Most of the previous seasons of Rockman Exe had many important and relatable themes. Absolute power corrupts absolutely, power of friendship, how tough choices can harm those we care about, etc. This movie though, not really. Closest thing to a theme is never give up but even then I don't know. It feels like the movie is more of a promotion for the upcoming Space-Time war arc (which i'll get into that absolute mess when I do) as well as Battle Network 5. Overall, a fun movie, but you can skip and look up the rest of the plot on the Mega Man Wiki if you don't want to force yourself.