Reevothemusefan
Vampire Ninja
<img src="http://www.animeuknews.net/img/uploaded/2013-08-0146509.jpg">
<b>topic_title by Reevothemusefan</b>
Kick-Heart is widely known to be one of the first anime Kickstarter projects and was successfully funded last year. The idea came from Masaaki Yuasa who directed Tatami Galaxy, which had a UK release two years ago. With Production I.G and an interesting staff behind it, was this twelve minute short worth the wait? Well for me, it certainly was.<br>\r\nThe plot is simple. Kick-Heart is about wrestling and is centred around two wrestlers: Maskman M and Lady S. Both take part against each other in a tag team charity match but they don\'t manage to fight each other due to unfortunate circumstances, although we see Maskman M wants to fight her because he\'s a masochist and wants to get hit by her.<br>\r\nAfter the match, we find out more about him and how he was brought up as a wrestler but it doesn\'t take long until his boss calls him about a no-holds barred match between him and Lady S. This is when the true contest really begins.<br>\r\nWhy Kick-heart succeeds in such a short time is down to the slick pacing. It knows what to show and introduces characters and various developments without it feeling like a nuisance. It never goes overboard with its dialogue, in fact, you don\'t notice it for the most part, which means that the plot is revealed through the visuals and this is where its big strengths come in.<br>\r\nThe show is visually unique compared to other anime series, in fact, it feels like something different altogether and makes the show feel incredibly fresh, much like Yuasa\'s previous attempt with Tatami Galaxy. The character designer (Michio Mihara), Background Artist (Kevin Aymeric) and music composer (Oorutaichi) all bring a sense of weirdness and energy to this anime and it all comes together in an entertaining package.<br>\r\nSure, the short was never going to make these characters deep but they are given enough personality in the early stages to give Kick-Heart, well, ...a lot of heart, plus it can be really funny at times, which pretty much won me over.<br>\r\nThe only issue obviously is that Kick-Heart is a mere twelve minutes long but it\'s a unique, fun twelve minutes. If you missed the Kickstarter and your opportunity to watch it, I would imagine it will be shown in future film festivals around the UK.<br>\r\nIn Summary<br>\r\nFunny, unique, short but oh so sweet. If you ever get a chance to see Kick-Heart, then don\'t miss out on this fun little short.<br>
<b>Final score: 7 out of 10</b>
<b>Additional screencaps</b>
<img src="http://www.animeuknews.net/img/uploaded/screens/2013-08-01Kickheart3.png">
<b>Additional screencaps</b>
<img src="http://www.animeuknews.net/img/uploaded/screens/2013-08-01Kickheart4.png">
<b>Additional screencaps</b>
<img src="http://www.animeuknews.net/img/uploaded/screens/2013-08-01Kickheart1.png">
<b>topic_title by Reevothemusefan</b>
Kick-Heart is widely known to be one of the first anime Kickstarter projects and was successfully funded last year. The idea came from Masaaki Yuasa who directed Tatami Galaxy, which had a UK release two years ago. With Production I.G and an interesting staff behind it, was this twelve minute short worth the wait? Well for me, it certainly was.<br>\r\nThe plot is simple. Kick-Heart is about wrestling and is centred around two wrestlers: Maskman M and Lady S. Both take part against each other in a tag team charity match but they don\'t manage to fight each other due to unfortunate circumstances, although we see Maskman M wants to fight her because he\'s a masochist and wants to get hit by her.<br>\r\nAfter the match, we find out more about him and how he was brought up as a wrestler but it doesn\'t take long until his boss calls him about a no-holds barred match between him and Lady S. This is when the true contest really begins.<br>\r\nWhy Kick-heart succeeds in such a short time is down to the slick pacing. It knows what to show and introduces characters and various developments without it feeling like a nuisance. It never goes overboard with its dialogue, in fact, you don\'t notice it for the most part, which means that the plot is revealed through the visuals and this is where its big strengths come in.<br>\r\nThe show is visually unique compared to other anime series, in fact, it feels like something different altogether and makes the show feel incredibly fresh, much like Yuasa\'s previous attempt with Tatami Galaxy. The character designer (Michio Mihara), Background Artist (Kevin Aymeric) and music composer (Oorutaichi) all bring a sense of weirdness and energy to this anime and it all comes together in an entertaining package.<br>\r\nSure, the short was never going to make these characters deep but they are given enough personality in the early stages to give Kick-Heart, well, ...a lot of heart, plus it can be really funny at times, which pretty much won me over.<br>\r\nThe only issue obviously is that Kick-Heart is a mere twelve minutes long but it\'s a unique, fun twelve minutes. If you missed the Kickstarter and your opportunity to watch it, I would imagine it will be shown in future film festivals around the UK.<br>\r\nIn Summary<br>\r\nFunny, unique, short but oh so sweet. If you ever get a chance to see Kick-Heart, then don\'t miss out on this fun little short.<br>
<b>Final score: 7 out of 10</b>
<b>Additional screencaps</b>
<img src="http://www.animeuknews.net/img/uploaded/screens/2013-08-01Kickheart3.png">
<b>Additional screencaps</b>
<img src="http://www.animeuknews.net/img/uploaded/screens/2013-08-01Kickheart4.png">
<b>Additional screencaps</b>
<img src="http://www.animeuknews.net/img/uploaded/screens/2013-08-01Kickheart1.png">