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In a Nutshell
After being orphaned at a young age, her parents victims of a brutal double murder, Sawa was taken in by the detective assigned to her case. Not content to just watch as the imperfect justice system let more and more criminals go loose every day, he's decided to train her to be his instrument of justice. After all, who'd suspect a pretty student of being a deadly vigilante?
The Review
Kite's
premise is extremely simple and easy to get into. The story revolves
around Sawa, a young girl who is a Assassin employed by a police detective
who uses her as a tool to eliminate criminals and other contracts that his
partner receives. Oburi, another assassin is also employed by Akai in
order to pay off debts that he incurred. Both are tools to what Akai
wishes them to do, either in executioners or in Sawa's case, a sexual
object. Yet when the paths of Sawa and Oburi cross, they find out how much
they have in common and even when they're orders conflict, they begin to
value the other's life more than their own. Sawa's past goes back to when
she was a teenager and her parents were brutally murdered. Akai adopts her
and trains her to be a professional assassin, killing without remorse. Her
history is extremely important to the story line as things slowly get
uncovered. What are Sawa's reasons for continuing her life as an assassin?
Who was behind the murder of her parents?
The action sequences are well thought out and stunningly executed. Not a
single one of them holds back, from grenades to blades and exploding
firearms, the action sequences are intense, beautiful and enjoyable. One
in particular, is a fight between Sawa and a trio of bodyguards that
simply will not die. Of course, the fight ends in a matter that leaves you
asking...and Sawa can walk after this? But it doesn't really bother you,
because it was too cool to avoid. The animation in these sequences is shot
for shot excellent and absolutely gorgeous.
What
really sticks in my mind, other than the action sequences are the designs
in the characters. I particularly like the design for Sawa. Oburi's is
pretty good as well. While the rest of the cast is fairly blas� (Akai's
is decent), Sawa's design more than makes up for it. Sometimes she seems
like a very dry character, but then when she opens herself up to Oburi,
both characters seem to shine and something unexpected in an intense
action anime comes up. Sawa's emotions are extremely well done from her
intense screams of terror to her soft smile when brining Oburi some tea.
The sound effects in Kite are pretty good, from the explosions to the gory
sounds of blood coursing everywhere. But the soundtrack is something that
drags this score down a bit. Its boring and uninspired, making you wish
you could turn off the BGM at times.
All in all, I loved this movie. The incredible action sequences and
character designs make up for a predictable story line. Besides, being a
professional assassin hasn't looked this good since The Professional.
Slacker's Final Thoughts
A bit light on story, but a great set of action
sequences. I fell in love with this movie and I do recommend it to
anybody.
Story: 7/10
Design: 10/10
Animation: 10/10
Sound & Music: 8/10
Overall: 9/10
Awards:
