Fairy Tail the Movie: The Phoenix Priestess

Advertisements

Fairy Tail the Movie: The Phoenix Priestess is an anime film adaptation of Fairy Tail. It was directed by Masaya Fujimori, with screenplay written by anime staff writer Masashi Sogo. Hiro Mashima, creator of the original manga series, was also involved as the film's story planner and designer for guest characters appearing in the film. The film was produced by Fairy Tail Guild Movie Production Committee and A-1 Pictures.

Plot Summary: Natsu and his gang run into trouble in town. Happy and Carla flee with Wendy into the alley where Wendy uses her Roar of the Dragon on the enemies. Though, Happy gets caught in the attack. Happy lands on the roof when Natsu accidentally burn the enemies along with Happy with his flame breath. Meanwhile, Erza requips her Heaven Wheel Armor and slices through the mob. Jumping from roof to roof, Natsu replenishes his strength and unleashes his flames on the mob. Elsewhere, Gray freeze some men, and when one man gets caught between Natsu and Gray's attacks, Erza stops them from torturing the man. Natsu slips on the ice and falls down. In town, Lucy summons Loki to take care of the men when she called back Taurus. The Fairy Tail gang spot Geese due to his name tattooed on his back. Lucy pursues him only to hit a dead end when Geese flattens himself as paper and slips through the crack of the wall.

Later, Lucy apologizes to her guild when the man of the town told them that he will not pay them since Lucy's gang wreck half of the town. In the desert, Eclair looks at her Phoenix Stone, and Momon arrives to sit on her lap. In the Magic Council meeting, the council talks about a power that may be related to Zeref. Makarov informs Gajeel and Pantherlily to investigate. In Magnolia, Lucy leaves her group to take a shower, but Carla thinks otherwise. Arriving to Fairy Tail guild, Natsu and the gang chat with some old friends. By the river, Lucy finds Eclair who collapses on the ground. In the royal palace of Veronica Kingdom, Prince Kriem requests Dyst and his guild to find the other half of the Phoenix Stone since it's the 400th anniversary that Veronica kingdom has been found. In a cafe, Coordinator and Cannon talk fondly about the money while Chase goes out on Dyst's orders. Meanwhile, Gajeel and Pantherlily eavesdrop on them.

Over at the Fairy Tail guild, Momon introduces Eclair to the guild. Then, Carla gets premonition about the forest being dangerous. Eclair remembers that there is something in the Boundary Forest. Lucy goes after Eclair who remarks how magic will only cause sorrow. She and her guild asks Eclair to let them accompany her to the forest. On the train, Eclair explains that she has partial amnesia. Later that night, Lucy and the gang enjoy themselves in the city. Natsu and Happy are eating, Wendy and Carla are playing games, Gray is standing almost nude in the park, Erza is buying a wedding gown, and Lucy is accompanying Eclair and Momon. In the hotel, Lucy finishes taking a bath and asks Eclair if she wants a separate room since Lucy thinks Eclair doesn't like her. Then, a mysterious man (Chase) from the Carbuncle guild attack Lucy, Eclair, and Momon. Jumping out of the balcony, Lucy runs with Eclair where the two girls fall down. Chase dives upon Lucy only to stop when Natsu and Gray blasts him. Both Natsu and Gray pursue Chase, and Chase leads them to the roof where he disappears into the ground. When Gray and Natsu come back to Lucy, Happy points to Lucy whose towel drop right in front of her friends.

Over at the hotel, Eclair states that she has no memories of her childhood and remember someone named Kalard. Deep in the forest, Eclair and the group find a rundown stone home where Eclair finds a photo of a her when she was young. Eclair accidentally activates a hologram message, and Kalard explains that he had completed the dispelling spell. He apologizes to Eclair and wishes for her to find good friends. That night, Natsu's gang cannot find any trace of Kalard's magic, and as Eclair dance in the moonlight, she remembers the happy days of her family. Lucy sympathizes with Eclair since they both have lost their families. After Eclair and Natsu's group come back home, they ask Macao about half of the Phoenix Stone. Suddenly, Dyst and his Carbuncle guild attack Fairy Tail guild. Dyst and his group overwhelm Fairy Tail guild members, and Chase kidnaps Eclair. Afterwards, Makarov, Pantherlily, and Gajeel arrive to debrief them about the situation. Prince Kreem of Veronica country is going to unite the two Phoenix Stone halves together to achieve immortality by summoning the Phoenix.

In a prison cell, Prince Kriem gives Eclair a petty gift, and when Eclair butts her head against the prince's face, the prince slashes Eclair's shoulder. The prince tells her that she will be sacrificed, and outside of the cell, he orders Dyst to keep an eye out for Eclair's allies. Over at the Magic Council's area, Makarov makes a request and urges them to do it. While the prince makes preparations and Eclair has an epiphany about her destiny, Gray and Natsu storm the gates of the city. Natsu, Happy, and Momon gets attacked by Dyst. Meanwhile on the roofs, Erza engages Coordinator on her own. Lucy, Wendy, Pantherlily, and Carla face the soldiers on the streets. In the sewer, Gajeel gets attacked by Chase from the shadows. Gajeel catches and munches on Chase's kunai. By the river, Gray and Juvia get ambushed by Cannon. Juvia is shocked that Gray has stripped in front of Cannon. Later, Lucy summons Virgo to help her, and at the same time, Natsu's group is getting pummeled by Dyst.

Back to Erza's battle, Erza has difficulty with Coordinator who dispels Erza's armor. At the river, Juvia raises the water for Gray to freeze into a slide. Gray slides down and uses Excalibur to freeze Cannon. In the theatre, Erza wears her bridal gown and defeats Coordinator who remarks how Erza is so desperate. Back in the sewer, Chase crawls on Gajeel and skewers him. Chase circles around Gajeel, and Gajeel runs his iron sword through the walls to defeat Chase. In the ceremony, the prince combines the two halves of the Phoenix Stone, and the soldier lights Eclair on fire. When Natsu, Happy, and Lucy rush to save Eclair, Dyst blows them away. Momon dives into the flames to free Eclair. Then, Dyst knocks out the prince and declares that he will be king. Elsewhere, Makarov informs Erza that he has brought the Arrow of Haja.

After the Phoenix is summoned, the Phoenix wreaks havoc in the city. While the rest of the Fairy Tail guild fight the Phoenix, Natsu engages Dyst in a heated battle where he eventually defeats Dyst. By Eclair's side, Makarov informs Lucy that when they kill the Phoenix with the Arrow of Haja to stop the Phoenix from destroying the world, Eclair and anyone who drank the blood of the Phoenix will die as well. Lucy cries and begs her master to reconsider it. Though, Makarov signals for Erza to fire the arrow. In the sky, Eclair's spirit urges Natsu to finish the Phoenix.

With the battle over, Lucy is in tears over Eclair's death, and when she asks Natsu if magic is good or bad, Natsu replies that Eclair was smiling at the end and that he and the guild are here for her. He hugs Lucy who sobs on his chest.

Hunter × Hunter: Phantom Rouge

Advertisements

Hunter × Hunter: Phantom Rouge is the first movie based on Yoshihiro Togashi's Hunter × Hunter. The movie premiered on January 12, 2013. The premise of the movie is based off a manuscript of the Yorknew City arc written by Togashi that he eventually ended up scrapping.

Kurapika became a Hunter to take vengeance on the Class-A crime group Phantom Troupe who massacred his clan for their unique eyes. The eyes of the Kurta clan turn scarlet in times of anger or emotional agitation and are considered the most beautiful treasures in the world. Kurapika continues to pursue the Phantom Troupe but an unknown party has stolen his "scarlet eyes". With the help of Gon, Killua and Leorio, Kurapika's life was saved. However, the Phantom Troupe shows up before them and blocks their way. The true identity of the one with the No.4 spider tatoo is about to be unveiled.

Phantom Rouge involves the Phantom Troupe and the Kurta Clan. The basic premise involves Kurapika's eyes being "stolen." Based off a promotional image with a #4 Spider reflecting in Kurapika's eye, the main antagonist is speculated to be the Troupe's previous #4 member before Hisoka became its current.

Attack on Titan (2013)

Advertisements

Attack on Titan is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Hajime Isayama, which is set in a world where the remains of the human population live inside cities surrounded by enormous walls due to the sudden appearance of the Titans, gigantic humanoid creatures who devour humans seemingly without reason. The story centers around the life of Eren Jaeger and his adoptive sister Mikasa Ackerman, whose lives are changed forever after the appearance of a colossal titan brings about the destruction of their home and the death of their mother.

Eren Jaeger lives in city surrounded by monolithic walls. Outside dwell human murdering Titans. For decades members of the Scouting Legion have been the only humans who dared to leave the safety of the walls and gather information on the Titans. Every time they return, many of them are dead. Freedom loving Eren has no greater wish than to join them.

Summary: Several hundred years ago, humans were nearly exterminated by giants. Giants are typically several stories tall, seem to have no intelligence, devour human beings and, worst of all, seem to do it for the pleasure rather than as a food source. A small percentage of humanity survived by walling themselves in a city protected by extremely high walls, even taller than the biggest of giants. Flash forward to the present and the city has not seen a giant in over 100 years. Teenage boy Elen and his foster sister Mikasa witness something horrific as the city walls are destroyed by a super giant that appears out of thin air. As the smaller giants flood the city, the two kids watch in horror as their mother is eaten alive. Elen vows that he will murder every single giant and take revenge for all of mankind. Nominated for the 4th Manga Taisho Awards (2011).

One Piece Film: Z

Advertisements

You do not need to be an active follower of Eiichirou Oda’s One Piece manga and anime series to have a blast with One Piece Film Z. Not only does Toei Animation’s latest anime movie introduces amply the franchise’s world and key characters to first-time viewers, but the movie is really about the life story of Zephyr (who calls himself “Z” now, pronounced as “Zed”), a new character who was only recently introduced to the anime series as a lead-in to the self-sufficient film.

Formally a top marine admiral, Z now bears deeply seeded hatred for the Marines. Despite having been a loyalist and trusted comrade in the Marines Corp, for a very sane and logical reason that will be revealed at the 108-minute flick’s halfway point, Z was eventually left disenchanted with the force and chose to leave along with his left and right-hand assistants: Ain and Binz.

Like Zephyr himself, both Ain and Binz are new characters whose powers will be explained shortly after the start of the movie. Ain’s ability (the female character you see in the image below), in particular, poses a peculiar problem to four members of the Straw Hats Pirates crew – Nami, Robin, Chopper, and Brooks – that serves as a running gag throughout the film.

Personally, I’ve felt that that’s never been the case with the One Piece series, in which characters often fight while making terrific use of their environments and rely on good ol’ hand-to-hand combat (or sword-to-sword, gun-to-gun, etc), before bringing out their special attacks only in situations that truly call for it. In that sense, One Piece Film Z doesn’t disappoint as well.

There are also a few touching and awe-inspiring moments in One Piece Film Z as well. For instance, prepare to be awestruck when Luffy and gang receives from an old man the “Ultimate Weapon” to combat Z with.

Although the One Piece series is known for its numerous heartfelt moments, unfortunately this time around there weren’t really any powerful scenes that elicit a tear-jerker response the same way the Ash-Ketchum-turning-into-stone moment in the first Pokemon movie did; everyone I’ve talked to who watched that movie said they teared up as they watched Pikachu cry out desperately to a petrified Ketchum, the imagery akin to that of a young kid not understanding the concept of death and how to deal with the going-away of a loved one. The most emotionally powerful moment in the film comes from a brief moment where an old illustration – of Red-Haired Shanks putting a straw hat on a young, crying Luffy – is flashed on the screen for about three seconds. The illustration’s effect was amplified by the context behind it in the movie, and I was close to tearing up at that point. But did it impress me? No, this is rehashing old material.