Lady Death The Motion Picture - AnimeDaze
- AnimeDaze
- Sean Phillips
- 10/11/04
- click here
If you don?t know who Lady Death is, then shortly after inserting this title into your DVD player you may find yourself saying ?Hey wait a minute?this isn?t Anime!? Well that?s right. Lady Death is animation American style produced by ADV Films, the production force behind some of today?s top Anime titles.
This time around they present us with Lady Death, the story of Hope, a young girl born into an unfortunate life of lies and deceit courtesy of her warrior father Matthias better known as Lucifer (yes THE Lucifer); the Lord of Lies and Ruler of Hell. Following an incident in the town, Lucifer abandons his earthly guise of Matthias and flees to the depths of Hell leaving Hope behind to face the consequences of his actions. Left to the mercy of the village Priest, Hope is sentenced to be burned at the stake.
While jailed and awaiting her sentence, Hops is visited by Pagan ? Court Jester to the Prince of Darkness ? who offers her an eternal life and the cost of joining her father in Hell and serving at his right-hand side. Disgusted at the offer, Hope rejects it and accepts her fate. While at the stake and burning, blistering and flesh utterly consumed Hope is visited by what seems to be a vision of her lost love Niccolo who had been taken by her father to serve his army. Unable to think clearly and with the hope of being with her Niccolo once again she speaks her father?s prayer to spare her life but condemn her soul to Hell.
Upon arrival in Hell with no Niccolo or anything promised her, Hope faces the realization that she has once again been betrayed by her father. With a title such as The Lord of Lies, you would think she would be a little more cautious. Nevertheless, this was the last straw. Cast out from Lucifer?s dwelling and into the depths of Hell, Hope is filled with the desire to destroy her father once and for all.
An encounter with Cremator ? a barbarian-like fellow who claims to have once been the weapons master for Hell?s armies ? marks the beginning of Hope?s quest to bring Lucifer down. Cremator agrees to train Hope to be a warrior and to assist her in her quest. Over the years of training and filled with the burning desire of revenge Hope has gradually changed, her eyes blank and lifeless, her hair and flesh turned pale and cold. Her declaration that ?Hope is dead? marks the end of her training and the beginning of her life of revenge, reborn as Lady Death.
Accompanying her well-honed skills as a warrior, Lady Death possesses a great internal power that she has learned to use by not yet managed to focus and fully control. Limited to focusing her power only through a sword, her first objective is to seek out a sword unlike any other capable of withstanding the surge of her power. A sword named Darkness, forged by Cremator and now in the possession of Asmodeus ? one of Lucifer?s archdukes presiding over the seventh level of Hell ? becomes Lady Death?s target and offers her the first opportunity to send a message to The Lord of Lies that she is no longer the scared little girl that was his daughter and that she is coming for him.
The animation in Lady Death is at times lacking smoothness and the characters are of a lower detail and seem to be gliding along through the scene. It?s a characteristic that I?m used to seeing in older animation and while watching this title I felt as if I was watching an animation from my childhood rather than something brand new. The picture itself is very sharp and clear with colors that jump out at you with a small touch of CG. The backgrounds are what get the most attention to detail, muted colors yet beautifully complex designs straight out of ? well ? straight out of Hell! Watching this title you feel like you?re watching a heavy metal album cover come to life.
Throughout this film, the music takes a welcomed backseat with a subtle, purely ambient score with the occasional expected orchestral chanting. Keeping in mind that Hell is the environment, there is the ever-present din of agony and torment throughout the kingdom that will not let you forget just where you are.
The voice acting in Lady Death is its main drawback. I never through I?d be saying this, but a British accent thrown onto some of these characters would have done wonders for the majority of them, especially Lady Death herself. But that aside, the characters? failed to come across as convincing and made it very hard to believe that they really felt the things they were saying or experiencing.
I cannot say how fans of the Lady Death comic will take her birth on the animated screen as I have not read the comic myself. However, this title has managed to at least spark an interest the story of Lady Death and I may just go out and pick up a copy to see what I have been missing. Perhaps I?ve been spoiled by Anime but I cannot overlook the lack of solid character development in Lady Death and the linear course of the story. Not that Anime is always perfect of course, but Lady Death is lacking the surprises and plot twists that make often make other titles exciting to watch.
Posted on Monday, October 11, 2004 (Archive on Thursday, November 11, 2004)