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Twilight of the Dark Master Director: Akiyuki Shinbo Number of Items: 1 Format: Color, Animated Audience Rating: Unrated Running Time: 50 minutes Studio: Urban Vision Product Group: DVD Release Date: 2001-06-12 Buy from Amazon

Customer Reviews: Total numer of reviews: 35 Average rating: 3.5 "Very interesting movie, also very good" Even though this movie was brief(around 50 min) it definately had its share of action, gore, and evil beings like demons. I would recommend this movie to ANYONE who likes Biohunter, or Wicked City, or movies of that sort. The ending script was VERY well done, and the ending music(when the credits roll) was really cool. This movie was basically very well done, if you look at everything. The cover is a feast for the eyes as well. The only bad part about the movie was ONE thing, it could of been a LITTLE longer. Enjoy! "Good if you give it time" This is really an anime that grows on you. The first time most people watch it they have no idea what's going on. I have shown it to at least 20 friends, and I have had to explain the story too every one of them. None of them even had a clue. Many people say that this is because there is almost no storytelling to speak of, and that nothing is explained. This is not true. There is in fact an extremely involved and layered storyline that works on multiple levels if you just take the time to understand them. It just takes a few viewings. The film is a very stylistic piece, with heavy influence on music, sound effects, and off-the-wall angles and colors. Though this makes the film extremely confusing at first, once you understand the storyline it is it's greatest asset. The music and artwork flesh out this sci-fi horror freak show. The story is extremely layered as well. There's references to the creation of mankind; speculation on the future of pharmacutical companies, the sex industry, technology, and metropolization; the documentation of the evolution of demons, guardians, and humans and their interactions throughout time; and even love stories. Some people would say that the extreme gore and explicit sex are disgusting, but in fact these are crucial to making the film realistc and the establishment of this as a theoretical real future. The characters are original and interesting, and this anime contains my favorite monologue EVER! That's right, including any movie and play I've ever seen. I'm refering to the supreme demon's monologue at final scene. The contrast of the horrific physical form and the intellegent words is absolute genius. My only reasons for not giving it a perfect score are that it is rather brief for a feature (clocking in at just under 45 min), it's a little lacking in character developement, and the DVD itself it totally lame. There are virtually no extra features of any value whatsoever. But don't let that deter you from purchasing it, because overall this is a great anime that is hard to appreciate, but once it has been it is quite an achievement and definitely worth picking up. "Falls way short of its potential. I want my money back." In addition to a friend recommending this to me, I also saw the trailor to this movie on the Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust dvd (Which was extremely good, by the way), which made me very excited about picking up this title. But upon viewing, my excitement turned into confusion, and from confusion to disappointment, and from disappointment to sheer anger. If one word could describe this, it would be "rushed." Weighing at only 50 minutes long, the director (or writer, producer, or whoever else was involved) tried to cram too much into such a short film, and in turn told a sloppy and yawn-inspiring story. While I have no problem at all with gore and nudity, it seems at certain points that they were added in just to say there was gore and nudity (like the scene when the woman was re-united with her fiance and stabs him in the neck, which subsequently had no effect on him). Scenes are extremely short, begin with no set-up, and end very abruptly. It's almost as if 15 different concepts were thrown into a hat, and animated, and strung together in the last scene of the film. The list of positives are very short. The artwork was above average, some of the action was cool. The dialog in the last scene was exceptional. Thats about it. Twilight of the Dark Master had the potential to be an excellent film, only if it had been at LEAST 30 minutes longer. That extra time would've given more time to explain certain things in the film and give the characters more development, which is desparately needed. If you still have the urge to get this, I would advise you to rent it first, or you'll most likely end up looking for your reciept, like I am. "I luv this movie" To me this is the perfect anime movie. Being female I have a soft spot for touching emotional stories about love and heartache, however I hate dramas. Kinda wierd huh? What I do like is touching love stories when they are combined with elements of gore, fighting, and did I mention gore? Especially when creepy demons are running about. Cool. This movie didn't have a whole lotta action but it is there and the sheer atmosphere of the setting is creepy enough to give you goosebumps. It does have it's fair share of blood and killing tho' for freaks like me that crave that kinda thing. What I really loved about the movie was the extremly beautiful and tragic love story intertwined in it. I even cried at the end. The story is also very good, there is a lot of talking but if you actually listen to what they're saying you'll find it all ties in together very nicely. The character designs and music are also very gorgeous. I should add that the dub is extremely well done and impressed me greatly. No corny high pitched screeching like some animes. I recommend this for anyone who likes a little blood, a good story and setting, and tragic love. "It had it's ups and downs" This movie had a great story and very nice art. The voices were done well also. If you like your movies having good plots and stories and don't care too much for battles and fighting, I'd say you would like this movie a lot. But i like my movies with a little more fighting, blood, and all that other good stuff. I think this movie could have been a lot better though. There wasn't really a climax in the movie. It was just a constant flow. Even at the end of the movie, the fight scene was a little on the dull side. I don't know if I'd recomend to buy this movie. Unless you like the type of movie with a good story and not much action. I like all kinds of animes, but this one just didn't seem all that interesting to me.