Legend of the Millennium Dragon

鬼神伝

6.50(6K votes)

Ranked #7848Popularity #5942

episodes

Type

Movie

Status

Finished Airing

Aired

Apr 29, 2011

Studios:Studio Pierrot

ActionAward WinningSupernatural

Synopsis

When middle school student Jun Tendou is chased by a strange creature into a temple, he is shocked when the head priest, Genun, offers more details about the oni demon he had just evaded. Before he has time to consider this new information, Genun suddenly transports them both back in time to the Heian period, where Heian-kyo—the ancient city which would eventually become modern Kyoto—is facing regular attacks by these same oni. The nobles of Heian-kyo see Jun as their savior; as the descendant of a special bloodline, Jun can control the dragon Orochi and use its tremendous force to defeat the oni. However, not only is Jun hesitant to resort to violence, but he also discovers that the oni are not what they appear to be. [Written by MAL Rewrite]

16,275 Members

Worth Watching? — Global Verdict

6.6/10

Average Review Score

57%

Recommend It

Reviews Worldwide

International Reviews

opernlied

Recommended

Going back in time is always a surprising turn of events. As if that wasn't enough, you also find out that you're the special hero that has to stop a conflict between two opposing factions! That's pretty much what the main character goes through, and what the premise for Onigamiden is. Unfortunately, that's as interesting as the story gets. Jun Tendou, a middle school boy, is thrown back in time to the ancient Japan in the Heian period and finds out that he is the Savior- the only one who can control the legendary Orochi and turn the tides in a war betweenthe Oni tribe and the humans. With this set-up, a somewhat interesting yet predictable turn of events occurs, and the theme of "man versus nature" comes about. The question of who the hero should fight for is raised. It's a common theme to explore, sure, but that isn't the concern here. Rather, it's because of its execution that makes the issue largely one-sided. Due to the how the story presents itself, the main dilemma that Jun goes through is hardly given any thought and the decision that he's supposed to make becomes obvious (in other words, there are really no "gray areas" presented). Thus, it makes the majority of the plot all too standard. Art and animation are obviously the focus of this movie. The scenery and traditional temples all look nice, and help depict the setting of an older Japan. Character designs might feel a bit different for some, but nothing too jarring. I personally got a Sky Crawlers feel from them, which isn't much of a surprise, as it's the work of the same character designer. Where the art and animation really shines, though, are the designs for the fantasy elements. The Oni tribe looks particularly demonic, and the CG effect that they have actually helps to create an evil aura for them. The spiritual beings, including the Orochi, all have fascinating designs which really bring out the setting of the movie. The action scenes are nicely animated and are another plus. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for the sound, which suffers from inconsistency problems. Sometimes the soundtrack is good- it is fitting and gives the appropriate atmosphere to the movie's traditional setting. At other times, however, modern pop/rock is playing and basically feels anachronistic. This is mostly noticeable through the action scenes. At the very least, the voice roles are appropriate and not out of place. The one thing that's noteworthy about the sound is the ED, "Starlight." It's a rather catchy song that creates a rather emotional feeling. Characters, for the most part, feel very static. None of their personalities particularly stand out. They exist and fulfill their respective roles. There might be some interesting developments shown for some of the characters, such as their past or motivations, but no one really changes by the movie's end, save for maybe Jun. He is pretty much the typical male lead who first lives an average life, until something extraordinary happens. Of course, he's confused about all this at first and questions the morality of the situation, eventually making the (obvious) decision to do what the hero is supposed to do. Despite all its problems, Onigamiden was a somewhat entertaining watch. The action scenes were nice, as were the depictions of the various mythological beings in this movie. The premise, setting, and themes had a fair amount of potential, brought down by its lackluster story and characters. The pacing was fine, as no particular scene dragged on for too long. As a movie that targets a general audience, it does accomplish its job. If you're looking for a title that has fantasy elements with some great action scenes here and there, then this is a movie that you might be interested in.

Community Discussion

Ah-hey-go

Not Recommended

Millenium Dragon – Prophecy Bullshit Imagine…for a moment…a…a pretty cool action scene that promises a good movie. Now imagine the main character, Wimpy Mc Simpy, ruining any potential of an enjoyable film, from his screams that reminds the viewer of a dying horse to his character design that reminds the viewer of a dying horse. Remember that pretty cool action scene that you just imagined. Does this shitty middle schooler who gets isekaid back in time to save everyone because he’s the chosen one or whatever seem anywhere near as good as the movie that intro promised? It’s all fine though since he eventually is brought into thatcool setting, which might seem like enough of a reason for you to care about some genuinely great action sequences but don’t worry, the film makes sure to keep explaining things that you don’t care about. In fact, the film makes sure you know everything about everyone. The only thing it doesn’t tell you about these characters is why you should give a shit about them. This egregious amount of exposition I think is the point of the film. It wants to throw you into a series of conflicts and resolve these issues with words, which I don’t think is necessarily a bad thing. If I did then monogatari would be nowhere near my favorite anime of all time. The difference between this film and monogatari though, is that monogatari was built with conversation in mind, whereas Millennium Dragon feels like a fantasy action movie with some boring “Violence is bad” arc thrown in to make it feel unique. It instead leads to long, boring exposition, which is the opposite of fun. When the film does eventually reach these fun moments, it is genuinely well done, I simply did not give a single shit about what was going on. I don’t know how they made me not care about this kid with a dragon beating the shit out of everyone, but they somehow managed it. Maybe it’s because once the kid gets the dragon nobody else can-do shit to him so he’s basically invincible which ruins any tension. If you were to just isolate the brief segments of something, then the animation and OST alone would be enough to carry the film. Unfortunately, there’s a whole other film attached to these scene’s that make sure to ruin an enjoyment that could have been had. I genuinely feel bad for the talented staff behind these moments. All in all, if you want a story about a reluctant hero that’s forced to learn about the two sides to a conflict they’re an outsider to and know nothing about, with themes of man vs nature sprinkled throughout… Just watch Princess Mononoke you uncultured swine. 4/10 This Review is actually the script to this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3TojozWIlHw Check that out and subscribe to the channel if you want to see more reviews like it.

7 found helpfulSep 3, 2020