Kibakichi (2004)

Surprisingly incoherent and boring

If you like to be scared, if you like to laugh, and if you like to learn a thing or two at the movies, this absolutely cannot be missed.

Story: It's very simple but honestly that is fine.

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

Kibakichi is a werewolf/samurai who has left his destroyed village and ventured into a dangerous village filled creatures, danger and secrets... "A long time ago human and monsters named yokai lived in perfect harmony... but as time went by humans forgot their fears.. and in the fourth year...the government assembled a team to exterminate the yokai.. the weakened yokai escaped, deep into the mountains to escape contact with the human world.. some disguised themselves as women and men to hide.." From the very beginning of this movie you will get a sense of its low budget, and mediocre acting. But for the anime fan, you will almost immediately feel like this is a movie that would be incredible as an anime.. in the first scene you encounter a pretty cheesy fight scene...but the shot of the grass fields and the blood dripping from Kibakichi's sword screamed an anime shot to me! There are plenty more moments in this movie where you will find yourself wanting to giggle at the cheesy shots... But as the movie goes along, I couldn't help but find myself strangely attracted to it. There are some beautiful shots in this film, and an entertaining plot. I found the storyline very unique, and the characters intriguing. It was a fun ride from beginning to end for anyone with a taste for indy-anime-Japanese film lovers.

A Samurai is invited to stay in a gambling house run by monsters in disguise. Despite eating the occasional welcher, the monsters really aren't so bad. But wait a minute: Traveling cowboy... finds a home... things are gonna go wrong, right? Oh yeah. In a big way.The middle of this movie is pretty slow paced, but all that is made up for in the film's ending and beginning, which action fans have got to see to believe. The werewolf costumes are great and the swordplay is spot on.Don't believe the haters. This movie is great fun. And the dubbing isn't all that bad either (except for the one princess girl, who, I kid you not, *might* have been a man.) P.S. Kibakichi has one of the greatest theme songs I've ever heard. It's catchy, heroic and just plain awesome. If I were a samurai-ronin, you can bet I'd rip off Kibakichi's themesong for my own!

You read the summary? Yes? Then there is no need to say anything else about this movie.You got to see it yourself to believe how bad it is.The story is a idiotic piece of sh*t with an absolutely silly message. The acting is wooden as hell. The creatures are as frightening as the Muppet's and the action is lame. The make-up department doesn't even reach work seen in Star Trek: Next Genration. The Crew doesn't seem to be very skilled at all. Uwe Boll is a directing genius in comparison to Tomoo Haraguchi. But I have to admit that the editing work is acceptable.This picture isn't even worth to be called trash. It's just a big waste of time.

If you are going to see this film I highly recommend seeing this movie in the original Japanese with subtitles if at all possible. The movie is an enjoyable experience, almost ruined by one of the most inept dubbing jobs I have ever experienced. Its just that the voices chosen were almost an insult to the original actors. The plot line is intriguing, although I have seen similar before. There is a cheap/campy quality to the special effects, but I rather enjoyed them despite this. The monsters were very creepy but somehow human at the same time, which was one of the more likable qualities of the film. It seems like the crew had a lot of heart and soul invested in the movie but very little budget. Fortunately, the heart and soul won out. I was especially impressed by the lead character's appearance; it's now one of my favorite werewolves(Dog Soldiers being my favorite). The fight scenes were also very over the top, reminiscent of the Lone Wolf and Cub series, but then again I love those films. The entire point of the film is that humans can be more monstrous than the monsters, and it drives the point home well, but a little heavy handed.