Perfectly adorable

Overrated and overhyped

Fantastic!

Clever and entertaining enough to recommend even to members of the 1%

If one were to be introduced to anime via this film they would either love it or never watch another. If the viewer is into gore, violence, and a storyline that while ultimately resolved and explained is confusing throughout and way outside the box of "weird", this movie fits the bill.However, if the viewer dislikes decapitations, an English dub that is full of profanity (whereas almost none exists in the original Japanese), or anti-God sentiment, this will be most objectionable.The storyline is somewhat interesting but is so over the top and jump the shark it becomes ludicrous. The body count in this is "Jurassic Park" on overdrive. While it does have a final plot twist (somewhat predictable) that almost redeems the movie, the resolution of that plot twist and the ultimate resolution of two main characters is more than most audiences can swallow. Only the most hard-core anime fan will be able to stomach this, and even then we note this doesn't get a high rating.I'll admit I'm a little more demanding in my anime than some, as I am in all movies I choose to watch. This is basic horror schlock done poorly and repetitiously. The inexcusable English dub which turns the Japanese drama into foul-mouthed slop makes one wish they'd have used Google Translate on this one.The final scenes are just unbelievable (I won't include any spoilers, but it's way outside the realm of "I'll buy that could happen"). Had I come here and read the reviews and Advisory before watching this I'd have given it a pass.

For an Anime, then "King of Thorn" ("Ibara no O") was actually quite alright.The storyline was interesting and captivating, well at least it was for three-fourths of the movie, right up to the point where the enormous winged Godzilla-like thorn monster rose from the castle, from then on it just went fast downhill."King of Thorn" is about a strange virus, named Medusa, that is fast spreading and causing those infected to become ill and eventually die from petrification. A selected few, 160 people, have been chosen to be put into sleeping chambers until a cure can be found. However, those people are abruptly awakened from their slumber to find the facility overgrown with thorny vines and strange monsters are lurking in the hallways.I enjoyed the story, right up to the last quarter of the feature, then it just fell to the floor and became ridiculous.The animation was good and fluid, lots of really nice scenes and lots of action as well. There is a very dynamic feel to the animation in "King of Thorn", which really works out quite well. Lots of adrenaline and a constant good flow throughout the story.However, some things did puzzle me with the Anime though. For starters, just how long were the group of people asleep in this sleeping facility? And what was up with the monsters, where did they come from? Don't get me wrong, they were really interesting in design and great to look at, impressive and awesome, but just where did they come from? And finally, for a technical and medical facility to hold sleeping recipients, the design of the compound was rather strange. Sure, I can understand the incorporation of the castle, but come on, certain parts were just a bit too much.One of the stronger sides to "King of Thorn" was the characters. They were really nicely drawn and were full of characteristics and personalities, which was really great, where as it might as well have been the opposite; generic characters that had no personalities. There is something unique and admirable about all of the individual characters.But again, to put a finger on a crucial point, why were everyone speaking Japanese? Even the Scottish, British and American. It was just a tad too stupid. At least have the common sense to have people speak with the proper native language given their nationality. It was just a minor thing, but still a nuisance factor.In overall, then "King of Thorn" is actually a fair experience, and worth the time to sit down to watch (aside from the last quarter, in my opinion). The Anime had a great concept idea, good execution from idea to screen, great characters and interesting monsters. So all in all, well worth a watch if you enjoy Anime in general.

This anime feature started well, with a story about a mystery virus that turns people to stone starts sweeping the planet. A select few are chosen to be put into a cryogenic sleep until a cure can be found. When they wake up suddenly it seems that years have passed and something terrible has gone wrong.The early scenes were quite good but once they awoke the film steered into a new area, which didn't work as well. Ideas of dreams and alternate realities abounded and became very confusing as the few survivors try to escape monsters and find their way out of the castle among a sea of massive thorns. This blend of fiction and fantasy just didn't work for me, using so many ideas and notions left me bored and confused, not entirely sure what was happening or really caring. I was also annoyed by scenes at the start where none Japanese characters spoke Japanese, with no hint to their native language, it might be a Japanese film, but that seemed a pointless choice.There are some nice animation sequences and some slight humour through the character of the young boy who compares everything that happens to computer games. However this is one anime film that is not worth the effort.

King of Thorn is a new anime movie based on a short manga series about a new plague called Medusa that infects most of the planet. It's 100% fatal once you're infected and it turns people to a somewhat fragile stone-like state in its last stage. In this cataclysmic scenario, a company proposes to put in cryogenic sleep a few hundred people at a Scotland castle facility until a cure is found. After some preparations and farewells, the chosen (I'm still not sure how they were selected) start hibernating. One girl wakes up after who knows how long, in the dark with no one else awake and with giant thorn vines everywhere. I'm not revealing anything that isn't in the trailer, in fact, I say less. A big part of the appeal of this movie is the gripping suspenseful story about a bunch of people trying to survive in an unknown and hostile closed-in environment (the castle) while trying to discover what happened not only to them but outside. It might seem like just a chase for a while (albeit a good one) but it turns out to be more complex and metaphysical. The grand mystery is even more fun because the nature of their reality is uncertain. The survivors were well characterized and I enjoyed them. I was afraid 2 characters looked too much the same at the start but it turns out they were identical twins (not a spoiler : I just didn't catch that early enough)."King of Thorn" combines traditional animation for characters and 3d computer graphics for vehicles, most moving objects and certain creatures. They mix very well and seem to add depth to the proceedings. I think what helps is that the 3d objects seem to be drawn over or cell shaded most of the time so it's really not too jarring (far from Final Fantasy quality though). The characters are nicely drawn (yet traditional in style) and the action sequences are particularly exciting and dynamic with amazing direction. The decors are picturesque and/or sinister with of course lots of thorn vines everywhere. There's also a nice contrast between medieval castle (almost fantasy) look and sci-fi trappings. I would like to point out one of the last creatures seen (a gigantic green one) that was quite grandiose yet weirdly beautiful (perhaps more so because I did see this in a theater). This film has a nightmarish Sleeping Beauty castle aesthetic and that fairy tale is important story-wise. It also has a strong video-game influence in terms of structure and creatures as the young boy accompanying the group keeps reminding us. His enthusiasm is also responsible for the few smiles in an otherwise dark adventure. I haven't watched a ton of animes (especially the recent ones) but considering my elated reaction, it might deserve to become a new classic. Rating : 8.5 out of 10