Saishû heiki kanojo (2005) User Reviews

Live-Action Saikano: The Ultimate Weapon to destroy a franchise

[nekotakuto · 4/10 · 31 August 2006]

My first impresson of the Saikano: Live Action movie trailer (viewable on YouTube), was "Wow, this could be perhaps one of the few better live-action anime adaptations."

This time I was just wrong! Simply put, the live-action Saikano movie was a puzzle missing a number of pieces; put together just enough to get the vague image of it all.

*STORY*

The movies story vaguely follows the anime and manga, but the movies story is just the frame of a car, rather than a complete automobile. It seems that many parts of the story originally in the anime were left out, altered, or completely changed. In fact the ending is completely different from the manga or anime endings.

Characters especially; many left out or had a different feel. The connection between Fuyumi and Shuji is reduced to that of Shuji knowing her because she's the video store lady. Chise's character felt too strong already and only uttered the infamous I'm sorry a few times in the movie. Same can be said with Shuji. We lost the shy uptight yet tall male lead, the song he hums, and his frequent action of calling Chise silly. Other characters like Tetsu and Akemi had a different, toned down feel to them. Perhaps the dropping and toning down of other characters was to focus a lot more on Chise and Shuji, which it did. Way too much. Expecting a lot of sweet action scenes like those in the trailer? Well don't! Those in the trailer plus a few minutes, is the only amount of action you will get. So much of the movie is talking that while I was browsing thru the movie before watching it all, I thought I had gotten a regular Asian romance drama.

Pacing was way too fast. In the film, we see the famous scene of Chise armed with small wings and a chain gun arm, in just a little less than nine minutes of beginning it. There is very little time to get to know the characters and connect with them. What they should have done was split it into two movies, or even a trilogy. If it had been not as many things would have to be changed or dropped.

But again the movie behaves like a frame. The anime was more of a complete automobile because even if all those little details and such are minor they can really add up.

*PRODUCTION*

-Visuals- Visuals were disappointing. So much of the special effects turned out looking quite cheesy especially the CGI. Sadly, they were like those found on Sci-Fi channel movies. They are bearable and this movie isn't for the effects.

-Music- Music was average. Much of it was orchestral background music except there were really no themes. The film has dropped the addicting song that Shuji in the anime was always humming. A noticeable piece of music though is the ending song, heard in the trailer. Not a bad and somewhat beautiful song. Its a shame that it was not integrated into the movie as itself or an orchestrated version of the song.

-Casting- Saikano's casting was also so-so. The main star was Chises actor Aki Maeda, who is most famous for her role in the Battle Royale films. The actor that played Shuji was pretty good but they took away the glasses from the original character. Oh yeah and Tetsuo looks like Lupin the 3rd.

Unlike what I've heard from a few others, the acting in the live-action Saikano was not that bad. I rather feel at fault is the way the story was laid out and cramming the series into just a two-hour film.

*What can be learned from the live action Saikano:*

-CGI- I really wish the CGI in Saikano hadn't been that bad. But even with just that, we could have gotten a few more fight scenes! Probably the most anticipated live-action anime adaptation Neon Genesis Evangelion most likely wont suffer since they currently have WETA Studios assigned to do the effects.

-Modernism- Fuyumi owned a video shop. Chise used a audio cassette player to listen to music and gave Shuji a mix tape for his birthday. Why? This movie is made in 2006! Not only that in the movies reality they can create such a thing as Chise so it cannot take place in the 90s! The future is an age of CDs, DVDs, and MP3 players. Hopefully in Evangelion, Shinji will have a Sony Walkman MP3 player. NOT one that plays cassette tapes.

-Story & Pacing- As mentioned earlier, the Saikano movie moved too fast and forced the story to drop out many details. It was a smart move upon ADV Films and whoever else, to make Evangelion into a solid trilogy thus allowing more time to retell the story as true to the original as possible.

-Characters- Leave most of the character designs alone and let those classic quotes be said! What if the live action Evangelion didn't have Asuka's "What are you, stupid?!" or Shinji's "I mustn't run away!" Sometimes as small as they seem, those frequent quotes add and are who the characters are.

*CONCLUSION:*

All in all, the live action Saikano movie had potential. It really did. Those you who aren't fans and see this movie: you will be reluctant to start the anime or manga (so don't watch the movie first!) People who saw and liked the anime/manga, don't get your hopes up on this one. Studies show you most likely will be disappointed. It was still fun to see the anime come to life in the live action adaptation but it could have been so much more.

Reluctantly, I give the live-action Saishu Heiki Kanojo (Saikano) a 2 out of 5.

As Chise says, "I'm sorry"

~NekoTakuto

Disappointing - could have been so much better.

[john-truscott · 5/10 · 9 December 2012]

I don't know if the version of this DVD that I am reviewing is different from that of other reviewers. It is entitled "She, The Ultimate Weapon" hails from Bonzai Media Corp & has a running time of 90 minutes rather than 2 hours mentioned by others. It certainly stars Aki Maeda, easily recognisable as the insufferable goody two-shoes of Battle Royale 1 & 2. The film is very disappointing. I watched the anime some time ago (& was surprisingly impressed) so I know what is SUPPOSED to be going on, but it is put across very crudely & simplistically here. The script is poor with Chise spending most of her time bleating "Shu-chan" & Shuji bleating "Chise" in return, or there's some boffin character unconvincingly explaining what's supposed to be going on. Clearly nothing much was spent on special effects which varied from poor to rubbish. Continuity is bad & editing so badly ill-judged that with nearly every scene-change I kept thinking "What the hell happened there?" or "What did I just miss?". Perhaps the 30 minutes apparently missing from my DVD's running time accounts for this butchering (I wouldn't dignify it with the term "editing"). But above ALL other faults was the English sub-titling. It was atrocious - absolutely flipping ATROCIOUS. This is (or should have been) a moving story - of how war de-humanises & how love can overcome all adversities in a time of war. Decent sub-titling could have overcome the film's many shortcomings (which other reviewers have already detailed)to convey this message to the viewer - but it failed miserably to the point of derision. Whoever did the sub-titling deserves to be sacked, as does the person responsible for letting it be released like this. The anime of this was contained in 13 episodes of around 25 minutes each, or about 5 hours running time. I appreciate the problems the studio had of condensing this into 2 hours (or 90 minutes in the case of my DVD) but they should have thought of that before they started & commissioned sufficient expertise & resources to do justice to the source material. Some people have put the question of who was this war with. Well it's never spelt out but the aircraft bombing the hell out of Hokkaido are Soviet Union/Russian Tupolev Tu 160 long range strategic bombers - so make your own mind up.

You know...this was terrible...

[gohmifune · 3/10 · 31 July 2006]

Where do I start? The plot of the movie, which is about a love between two high school students during wartime, while one is a living weapon, and their struggle to maintain that love is a very good plot. It is based on a manga by Shin Takahashi which was also turned into an anime in 2002, both of which I have yet to read or see.

This review is about this live action adaptation however. Sadly, this honest to goodness was a terrible movie. It isn't as if one could site certain aspects, and say, for instance, the budget is at fault, or the acting is to blame. It is, sadly, a series of underwhelming and ineffectual elements that bring this film down.

The acting is poor. Not to say Aki Maeda and Shunsuke Kubozuka are bad actors, but they didn't have much to work with, and seemed miscast. Neither seemed to have the physical range to draw the viewer in the story as well as being too old for their parts to a distracting degree.

The script was weak, the leads act unrealistically, and behave irrationally. The film also plays for the heartstrings, but ends up being predictable, all the while not being compelling, and under-developing the characters. There are also pacing issues.

Visually, it is unremarkable. The film uses green screen heavily and unnecessarily in too many scenes. The other special effects also have a cheap look to them, especially where minimalistic practical special effects could have been used. There is also no visual flair, as if there were no cinematographer or art designer to make the scenes look consistent and stimulating.

The music and sound effects were fine, but unremarkable.

Overall, the movie isn't devoid of enjoyment, and fans of the series shouldn't be discouraged to see it at least once just for the sake of completion. People unfamiliar with Saikano, this probably isn't the place to jump in as it isn't a very good movie or melodrama. It isn't the movie or the cast and crews fault, it just isn't inspired, and that is what kills it.

not as good as anime or manga

[mollyrb_80 · 24 January 2007]

I have to agree that this movie wasn't that good, especially if you saw the anime or read the manga. I was looking forward to this movie, I think they should of stayed more true to the anime/manga. The personalities of the characters were altered, Chise who is supposed to be clumsy wasn't really portrayed that way, Shuji who is honest and upfront even if it means being harsh was portrayed differently, Akemi who is supposed to be a loud mouthed tomboy was different in this movie and they didn't really develop the relationships of the characters like they should have. I agree that if you are a fan of the series or manga watch the movie just for the sake of completing the series but this isn't a good place to start if you haven't seen or read saikano yet, as it may alter your take of a very good anime/manga.

I hope the Anime is better.

[troika19 · 5/10 · 27 August 2006]

I have been tempted to check out the Anime for a while now but I seriously hope it is better then the movie and I suspect that it is.

Aki Maeda pulls off a good performance but has little to work with and had zero chemistry with her co-star which leads to a number of awkward scenes especially when ever they are meant to be intimate.

Another major flaw is that nothing is explained, we have no idea how Chise was chosen to become a Weapon (and where does she hide all those parts?) nor do we even have any idea who Japan are at War with or even why for that matter.

Painfully average and a great premise that sadly just doesn't pay off.

Great Movie...

[dmosheye · 10/10 · 26 January 2008]

Please don't read the others comments for they have no clue to LIVE ACTION MOVIES. This movie was touching and a piece of art. I enjoyed this movie in its entirety. You may need to watch the ANIME first before watching this to have a complete understanding as to where the directors were going with the CGI and Special effects. It couldn't have been pulled off any better. I applaud them for their work and look forward to their next movie which should make progress in leaps and bounds.

I cannot disclose to much information but this drama/ sci-fi is about a girl who was given the ability to protect their country from invaders. The implants she was given started out needing the aide of the scientists who gave her these abilities but later they started adapting and modifying themselves according to her emotions and need to win. SHE: Became the Ultimate Weapon. It evolved without anyone's help. It is a sad yet love story that you should learn to appreciate.