Shadow Skill: Epilogue (1995)
In this OVA, the story of Gau's history with his adopted sister and the secrets that make up the shadow skill unfold. The pair make their annual return to the gravesite of Gau's parents, where his growth and progress as a warrior can be exhibited for them. Gau has come along way in his training as a Sevalle under Elle's mentorship, but there are those who wish to find a way of eliminating them, just waiting for the right opportunity to mount a deadly attack. As the travellers make their journey, their family bonds and skill will be tested. Opponents are many, and battles are fierce, but Gau's training also entails taking on his sister in battle, and fully embracing the skills he must learn to defeat his ultimate opponent.
Watch Trailer
Cast
Similar titles
Reviews
To me, this movie is perfection.
Better Late Then Never
It was OK. I don't see why everyone loves it so much. It wasn't very smart or deep or well-directed.
An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.
Shadow Skill has all that you want from a action anime: fight scenes, blood, gore, competent dialogue, if you think you relate to certain anime characters, this anime is for you. From the king of the moon, to Ella, to her younger brother Gal, you will be surprised as to how well this classic holds up compared to a more produced, or "polished" anime. I first watched it on the action channel, which no longer exists. It is truly one of those anime's you must watch, because it will be brought up some day in your future and you will look stupid for not having seen it!All kidding aside, I recommend this movie to people age 13 and older, because despite the blood and gore, it will instill you with a sense of righteousness you never knew you had. If someone ever tells you that shadow skill is mediocre, they probably don't watch a lot of anime, because it does have its flaws. I believe the frame rate might be a little low or something, its actually been a while since I've seen it, so I just remember how awesome it was.
Shadow skill is a poor excuse for a film, let alone an anime. From the start it throws you into the thick of plot which is complex (but hey, a lot of good animes do have complex plots) ,slightly shoddy and has been used way to many times before. Where as some films throw you in the thick of a plot and let the viewer figure out the plot for themselves to the viewer's satisfactory, Shadow Skill is just a barrage of confusion from start to the very end (if you can last that long). Shadow Skill does have one strong point though; some of the fight scenes are are very good. After all, Shadow Skill is an action/adventure anime but the fights do not save it. The plot is just so darn bad!!! If you want a good action anime, try fist of the north star and don't let Shadow Skill ruin any good anime experiences for the future.
I saw Shadow Skill: The Movie early in my anime fandom, and totally loved it. It's an entertaining, exciting movie, with great action scenes and intriguing characters. Approach it expecting a new Spirited Away or Akira, and you will unfortunately be disappointed, but in honesty, over time I have watched the less weighty but more straightforward Shadow Skill 4 or 5 times, more than I can say for Spirited Away, which I've only watched a handful of times since I bought it. Great film, but doesn't repay repeat viewings the way this does. It's an easy movie to watch just purely because of the enjoyment.Basic story is as such, a teenage boy Gau is attempting to learn and master a fighting style known as the 'Shadow Skill', a skill mastered by his fiery and cocky older sister Ella, who is an arena gladiator. When their house is destroyed by a vengeful rival, Ella and Gau strike out on their own. They then have a set of adventures, eventually accumulating in a battle with a powerful wood spirit. It plays out a lot like a violent, older teens version of something like Willow.Shadow Skill's fun factor will win over the less cynical viewer, but there are some flaws and sticking points to the movie. For instance, Shadow Skill is episodic in nature, and despite being honestly designed as a movie it has the jump-starting narrative of edited-together serial episodes. This makes it a little on the awkward side.On top of this, Shadow Skill is visually polarising. As a big fan I find it's jagged art style, visual super-heroics and walls of blood quite comforting each repeat viewing. Still, it is, in comparison to more restrained anime, and in fact it's own sequel, a little cheesy and so ragged and raw it could be easily misconstrued as a badly drawn exercise in excess. This initial movie certainly veers more toward comic book affairs like FLCL and Voltage Fighter Gowcaiser than high-end stuff like Noir or Ghost in the Shell, and there's a touch of the anything goes designs of Dead Leaves in there too. Put simply, Shadow Skill is visually like Marmite, people seem to love it or hate it.Still, provided these minor flaws don't stick in your craw, Shadow Skill is highly recommended. It's a fast paced, dark fantasy/martial arts blockbuster style story that's worthy of any open-minded anime fan-boy or fan-girl's attention. Give it a chance, and if you enjoy this be sure to check out the excellent sequel (buy the UK DVD and this comes packed with it anyway) which is even better than this first instalment.
Shadow Skill, both the 80 minute prequel and 50 minute sequel (is there such a thing as a "quel"?), are more style than substance.There's some decent animation, but it's marred by too many extended beauty shots and ropey translations (and idiotic scrolling subtitles for some written text). Also, the plot (such as it is) is a series of fragmented and appallingly cliched vignettes (oh look, a bar fight).In fact, Shadow Skill looks like a bunch of Playstation beat-em-up game sequences strung together with some talking head conversations.Hard to see why they bothered, really. If you must watch Shadow Skill, try the 50 minute sequel, not the inferior 80 minute prequel.