Review of Vexille (2007) by Audrey W — 23 Jan 2008

This Japanese anime was shown last year at The Picturehouse but somehow I missed it. When it is being shown now at Cathay again; I took the chance to catch this superb anime from the same makers of Appelseed (which I've not seen). For newbie into the world of anime; Vexille will be an interesting piece to see. Great CGI and wonderful soundtrack (provided by Paul Oakenfold), made this movie a joy to watch. The heavy metal/ pop music does compliment the mood of certain parts of the movie but it can be annoying when it overplayed and louder than the dialogues.

Don't expect great storyline but the action sequences were great. The animation is not as fine and real as Final Fantasy: The Spirit Within. You can see the facial drawing in Vexille is rather flat compared to Final Fantasy.

Story set in futuristic world of 2067, where robotic engineering had advanced so much that the human race has started to get worried. Due to this fast advancement, the UN has outlawed certain bio-robotic technology. Japan being the only country in the world to have advanced far ahead than any countries in robotics decided to alienate themselves and boycott the UN's decision. After 10 yrs, Japan had built a very advanced system (RACE) which enable them to shield themself from the outer countries. RACE prevents outsider from seeing into Japan. All transmission into and out of Japan is being controlled and monitored by RACE.

SWORD, part of UN forces was tipped off that Japan has proceeded with the robotic engineering despite being outlawed. They have perfected and built androids which begins to be a threat to other nations. SWORD was sent on a mission to penetrate Japan's RACE shield and gather information on this new technology.

I must say, the drawings in this movie are great. All the guys are good looking and the gals are pretty. The best part is the metal churning "worm like" monster called JAG. JAG lives in the outer walls of Tokyo; feeding off any metal parts. As it feeds, its size grew bigger and bigger.