Ibara no O

For an Anime, then "King of Thorn" ("Ibara no O") was actually quite alright.

The storyline was interesting and captivating, well at least it was for three-fourths of the movie, right up to the point where the enormous winged Godzilla-like thorn monster rose from the castle, from then on it just went fast downhill.

"King of Thorn" is about a strange virus, named Medusa, that is fast spreading and causing those infected to become ill and eventually die from petrification. A selected few, 160 people, have been chosen to be put into sleeping chambers until a cure can be found. However, those people are abruptly awakened from their slumber to find the facility overgrown with thorny vines and strange monsters are lurking in the hallways.

I enjoyed the story, right up to the last quarter of the feature, then it just fell to the floor and became ridiculous.

The animation was good and fluid, lots of really nice scenes and lots of action as well. There is a very dynamic feel to the animation in "King of Thorn", which really works out quite well. Lots of adrenaline and a constant good flow throughout the story.

However, some things did puzzle me with the Anime though. For starters, just how long were the group of people asleep in this sleeping facility? And what was up with the monsters, where did they come from? Don't get me wrong, they were really interesting in design and great to look at, impressive and awesome, but just where did they come from? And finally, for a technical and medical facility to hold sleeping recipients, the design of the compound was rather strange. Sure, I can understand the incorporation of the castle, but come on, certain parts were just a bit too much.

One of the stronger sides to "King of Thorn" was the characters. They were really nicely drawn and were full of characteristics and personalities, which was really great, where as it might as well have been the opposite; generic characters that had no personalities. There is something unique and admirable about all of the individual characters.

But again, to put a finger on a crucial point, why were everyone speaking Japanese? Even the Scottish, British and American. It was just a tad too stupid. At least have the common sense to have people speak with the proper native language given their nationality. It was just a minor thing, but still a nuisance factor.

In overall, then "King of Thorn" is actually a fair experience, and worth the time to sit down to watch (aside from the last quarter, in my opinion). The Anime had a great concept idea, good execution from idea to screen, great characters and interesting monsters. So all in all, well worth a watch if you enjoy Anime in general.