Psychic Wars (Animated) (Dubbed) (DVD)

...this in mind I bought Psychic Wars, first released in Japan back in 1991, converted to English in 1998 and remastered for DVD earlier this year. It is part of the Manga budget ' Collection' series of films, £7.99 each, and most of which are available from play.com.

Set (naturally) in Japan, Psychic Wars follows the actions of an expert surgeon called Ukyo, who we first see removing a large, strange lump of cancerous tissue from an ...
...naff, unexplained ending, the simpler Psychic Wars fits much of what it needs to show the viewer neatly into the time given, and so it isn't effected in too negative a fashion.

The characters and voice-acting are the the only real let-downs. Even the main characters seem to play a secondary role to storyline and action, and you don't actually get to learn an awful lot about them. Sudden and often-unexplained appearances of huge monsters ... more

From my past experience of anime's I have concluded that it must be difficult to make a truly bad one. If the Japanese-to-English translation is a bit ropey, then the story usually makes up for it, and if all else fails, they are worth watching just for the animation and effects. I suppose creaters would see quite early on if they were on to a flop production - it takes a lot of time and effort to make these kind of films and so they probably wouldn't persevere.

With this in mind I bought Psychic Wars, first released in Japan back in 1991, converted to English in 1998 and remastered for DVD earlier this year. It is part of the Manga budget ' Collection' series of films, £7.99 each, and most of which are available from play.com.

Set (naturally) in Japan, Psychic Wars follows the actions of an expert surgeon called Ukyo, who we first see removing a large, strange lump of cancerous tissue from an odd old woman. Of course, it wouldn't make for very interesting viewing if the cancer didn't turn out to be some sort of ancient demon hell-bent on plunging the world into chaos, and luckily for us, that is exactly what it turns out to be...

As Ukyo prays in a secluded Cabin, the earth shakes and he grabs on to a golden idol that was just in front of where he was sitting. Unwittingly, he is gifted super-human strength and (wait for it...) told that he must go back in time, destroy a race of evil beasties and ultimately save the human race. And no pressure, Ukyo.

On his travels, Ukyo is accompanied by Nurse Fuyuko, whom he worked with at the Osaka Hospital. They build a strong relationship and together attempt to uncover the mystery of the beast race and the 'Princess of Darkness' who seems to be leading them all.

The animations and landscapes aren't as pretty as those seen in Princess Mononoke or even fellow-Manga release Blood: The Last Vampire, though they still prove highly stylish and after all, you are only paying for what is essentially a budget title.

Like Blood: The Last Vampire, this Manga film is very short - just 48 minutes in all. But whilst this caused Blood: TLV problems relating to under-developed characters and a slightly naff, unexplained ending, the simpler Psychic Wars fits much of what it needs to show the viewer neatly into the time given, and so it isn't effected in too negative a fashion.

The characters and voice-acting are the the only real let-downs. Even the main characters seem to play a secondary role to storyline and action, and you don't actually get to learn an awful lot about them. Sudden and often-unexplained appearances of huge monsters may baffle some as well. The English dialogue is poor - important and/or relevant scenes are delivered in near-deadpan fashion, whilst normal conversations are occasionally emphasised with huge doses of enthusiasm. Generally, the voices range from roughly average to plain ridiculous (the monsters 'roars' will make you laugh!).

Thankfully, the soundtrack is rather more professionally dealt with than the dialogue. Naturally, as the film is now twelve years old, musical tastes have changed a fair bit, but I thought that on the whole this aspect of Psychic Wars was great.

It's a fifteen certificate, though for the most part it's a suitable film for the over-tens. Indeed, if it was wasn't for the brief nudity and ripping out of a monsters heart, everyone could watch it (Ahem).

So despite a slightly low-budget feel to it, Psychic Wars proves a fairly gripping and enjoyable effort, that delivers plenty of action and storyline in it's 48 minutes - just don't expect anything too amazing; it's not in the same league as Princess Mononoke.

*DVD Extras*
As it's part of the 'Manga Collection' it's understandable that Psychic Wars is a little bare about the bones, though it does have a couple of small features that are of note. There are two eight minute preview trailers that allow the viewer a glimpse at the newest additions to Manga's considerable portfolio, as well as any new 'Manga Collection' releases for the cheapskates like myself! Other than this, there is the usual animated title screen and chapter select options.
 

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