Kimera

     When three space pods containing an alien vampire race come crashing down to Earth, Asamu, the main character, comes face to face with a creature that he finds absolutely remarkable. A creature- that brings both love and hate. The birth of a new race and the death of another- the human race. Shortly after the encounter with Kimera, (the female vampire found in the space pod) Asuma meets a series of other vampires, sent to either protect Kimera or kill her. Kimera is the salvation of a dying race of vampires, but her success would mean the end of mankind. She has the ability to reproduce a new generation by means of a human host. Soon after Asamu rescues Kimera, he alone must decide the fate of two civilizations…

     Released in 1998, Kimera is of good quality. Overall the anime isn't too bad, but I don't think it's worth buying. Kimera is sorely lacking in plot and character definition. The most positive attribute in this anime is probably the animation itself. I was satisfied with the quality, and for the most part, it was the only thing that made me watch the movie. I'm happy to say that this movie was a hell of a lot better than Vampire Hunter "D" was. However, I think this will probably be the last vampire flick I ever rent/buy again. While the movements aren't perfected in this movie, the fighting scenes are pretty smooth. There was an overall good use of colors (sometimes animes stick to a bland color scheme(s) that gives everything a dark overhanging feeling) and there weren't too many disproportioned events (characters don't match background).

     As for the plot…'yuck'! Like I said earlier, the vampire stuff is really played out. Unless some one comes up with a new concept of "vampire" the idea is just too used. A good plot should keep the viewer interested, but when the characters always fit a certain schema, it is hard to make them interesting. Another negative aspect of this anime is how graphic it turned out to be. There was a particularly long scene that the movie probably could have done with out. Granted, Kimera was created for breeding, but sometimes I wonder how movies like this pass for "R" when it could probably pass for some sort of "toned down" hentai.

     The length of the film was short, but of course it was average compared to most animes (only 60 minutes). Because of the "time frame" that the anime was given, I think that it severely hindered the plot. However, the movie didn't seem terribly rushed or have parts left out! What could have been better is if the producers actually put more of a plot in the movie and added a few more fighting scenes. Perhaps if the movie were written in a time span of 90-120 minutes the plot would have been drastically improved.

     The musical score was abrogating and vexatious; it didn't flow with the scenes and overall it was quite useless. Animes of this genre tend to do better with heavy metal themes (think of the matrix) or even a techno beat. The music in Kimera kind of mixed a lot of bland music that no one really wants to listen to. Fortunately, most of this is drowned out after the first five minutes. I don't have too much to say about the music because it didn't sound too great.

     The dub was average. I didn't expect the translation or the English to be on par. The voices were believable, but I think they could have been better. If you've seen Armitage III, I would say that the translation is about equal in quality to that.

      In conclusion, I would suggest that "Kimera" only be rented. If it weren't for a few explicit scenes I would say that this anime might be targeted for preteens (just because of the insipid plot). However, clearly, the producers were targeting this movie for older ages…I'm afraid they've missed the mark…

(Created by: Kazuma Kodoka produced under US Manga)