Legend of Crystania: The Motion Picture

Starring:Eric DeValpine, Jay Sefton, Gary Dehan, David Jones (XIV), Alfred L. Kinsey, L.B. Bartholomee, Bill Sutherland (III), Aimee McCormick, Michael Stuart (II), Victor Steele, Charles Campbell (II), Joe Hamilton (III), Robin Balkwill, Patricia Pearcy, Lou Perryman, Edi Patterson, Boni Hester, Tom Bartling, Adam Dudley, Tom Byrne
Director: Ryutaro Nakamura
Studio: Adv Films
Product Type: DVD

Amazon.com

This three-part OAV is set in the same universe as Record of Lodoss War, but there's little overlap between the stories. The choppy and often difficult-to-follow narrative traces the effort to resurrect the evil wizard-king Barbas. Opposing the attempt are Sir Redon and his retinue, a dark elf, the twins Irim and Kirim, and assorted other warriors. The characters wander through Crystania as the story builds to the inevitable confrontation in which Barbas is defeated not by Redon, but King Ashram, who's spent the last 300 years trapped in the World of Chaos. The filmmakers fail to give the characters distinct identities: at the end of "A New Beginning," Kirim turns into a swan who will carry souls to paradise, but the viewer has no idea how or why he's making this transition. Unrated; suitable for ages 12 and up: Violence, grotesque imagery. --Charles Solomon

Customer Reviews:

^,^ must buy it!!.......2007-04-03

i thought at first i should try with this anime and i never expected to be such a great fun anime to watch :D im so glad that i bought it , this anime is way better and much more funnier than loddoss war :D

That's actually 3 1/2 stars.............2007-01-10

Legend of Crystania.....where should I begin? I'm not really sure...

If you are a fan of Lodoss, this will probably appeal to you. It has a few familiar characters, such as Pirotess and Ashram. But don't expect this to be Lodoss. Though there are some similarities, this is different. The plot isn't bad, but parts are a bit hard to follow. Maybe if there had been more episodes, more material could have been covered, and more explained. Even so, you can follow it, and Legend of Crystania keeps you entertained.

The animation isn't bad. The characters (Pirotess and Ashram) look different, but I thought that was good, so that you're able to keep it separate from Lodoss. For the most part the animation looks very good.

The music threw me a bit. It tended to be a bit jazz-y and I didn't expect that. But it wasn't bad.

The ending was....well.....I don't want to spoil it, but I was a little disappointed. That's why I give it 3 1/2 instead of 4 stars. Don't get me wrong, there was really nothing wrong with it, it wraps up the major plot points fairly well, and it was more satisfying than some anime I've seen, but it wasn't exactly what I was hoping for.

All in all, I'd recommend it. You might want to rent it first, I can see how some would be upset with themselves for spending the money on it. However, I'm not. I'm glad I bought it. To me, it's like a Lodoss fanfiction. Interesting to look at, but ultimately just not part of the story, if you can understand that. And if you watch this with a mindset like that, you'll probably like it a lot.

Could be great but has major flaws..........2004-01-30

Down to the point, Legend of Crystania isn't a complete flop. Truthfully, the story could have been very good and captivating. It however isn't back to the old loved style of Record of Lodoss War. The animation can look wonderful at times, but usually lacks color and has very thick, black lines for details. As for the story, it seems a bit rushed and lacks depth in character. The main characters don't have real personalities and thus, you don't get attached to them. The story is pretty good, but it takes time and effort to figure out the whole story. After watching it, you feel empty, and the story just doesn't make since, like bits and pieces were left out. It does add a bit more to the Lodoss Saga and is worth you time at least. So all in all, Legend of Crystania isn't great due to rushed story and very unrealistic characters... But before you just blow it off, you should at least rent it and see it for yourself.

Ugh!.......2003-11-13

Very bad... not much of character development... not much of a plot... Aviod this is you are a Lodoss fan.

This is the Sequel to Legend of Crystania.......2002-10-14

I found none of the previous reviews deal with this movie. They all refer back to Legend of Crystania - The Movie. This is the sequel to that movie. I had to do a bit of research on the internet prior to buying it as I already had the movie. If you enjoyed the movie, you will enjoy this, as it is better. The story is not of the depth or scope of the Lodoss DVDs. It, however, has very good animation, no still pictures charging into battle as in Lodoss. The voice acting suffers a bit from overly hormonal actors, which seems to plague the English voice tracks in anime. Overall I enjoyed it and gave it 4 stars only because, I gave Lodoss 5 and it is not that good.