Synopsis
A member of an elite paramilitary counter-terrorism unit becomes traumatized after witnessing the suicide bombing of a young girl and is forced to undergo retraining. However, unbeknownst to him, he becomes a key player in a dispute between rival police divisions, as he finds himself increasingly involved with the sister of the girl he saw die.
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Cast
- Yoshikatsu FujikiKazuki Fuse (voice)
- Sumi MutohKei Amemiya (voice)
- Eri SendaiNanami Agawa (voice)
- Hiroyuki KinoshitaAtsushi Henmi (voice)
- Kohsei HirotaBunmei Muroto (voice)
- Yukihiro YoshidaHajime Handa (voice)
- Ryuichi HoribeShiroh Tatsumi (voice)
- Kenji NakagawaIsao Aniya (voice)
- Yoshisada SakaguchiHachiroh Tohbe / Narrator (voice)
- Tamio OhkiSelf-Police Member (voice)
- 100
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
The plot is often bewilderingly complex and the dense layers of subterfuge hard to follow, but by the climax the fairy tale has been twisted into a fascist fable of realpolitik mercenary opportunism. - 90
L.A. Weekly
Where Okiura leads the art of animation into truly uncharted territory is in his character work, the precise behavioral strokes that bring people to life in two dimensions. - 80
Village Voice
A superbly crafted science-fiction fairy tale that's both Grimm and grim. - 75
San Francisco Chronicle
The film is built to quaver and buckle along with its victims and martyrs. In an almost soulful way, it bespeaks the reality lingering when the final fantasy ends. - 50
TV Guide Magazine
Characters are undermined by the inexpressive animation that mars the majority of animated films: Their haunted inner lives are clearly meant to take center stage, but their faces are blank and two-dimensional. - 50
New York Daily News
Dubbed for U.S. audiences, the film has suffered in translation. - 50
Austin Chronicle
It's a gorgeous albeit depressing mess, as distancing and despairing as a realpolitik wipeout. - 50
Christian Science Monitor
The story's emphasis is on action, but there are some sensitive moments and interesting ideas along the way.