Munto Anime Movie Review

A spoiler-free review of the anime movie Munto. I simply critique plot, characters, etc. A CHRISTIAN EVALUATION is included at the end for some viewers and as a parental guide.

Munto

 

A spoiler-free review of the popular anime movie

 

Title: Munto

Genre: Fantasy/Magic

Episodes: 1 (movie). The entire Munto series is made up of three movies, however.

Running Time: Approx. 54 minutes

 

Synopsis: Ever since she was five years old, Yumemi has been able to see strange floating islands in the sky. No one except for her two closest friends has ever believed her �" until now. When the mighty, magical Lord Munto suddenly visits her, she discovers the true peril of the world she inhabits, as well as the one only she can see. Munto informs her that in the heavenly realm where he comes from, their power source �" also known as Akuto �" has almost completely run out. Munto’s enemies are waiting on the border of the heavenly realm, biding their time until they may strike and topple Munto’s kingdom. Without Munto, they believe, the terrible imbalance and disappearance of the highly powerful Akuto will be solved.

            Believing it to be a dream, Yumemi pushes Munto away. While she hesitates, the seven towers that hold the heavenly kingdom in the sky are destroyed one by one, and the floating islands begin a dangerous descent toward Earth. With Munto’s strength ever waning, can she finally trust him �" and herself �" to protect the futures of all those she holds dear? Only she is capable of unlocking the future of both heaven and earth.

 

Plot: The plot of Munto, when viewed alone, is satisfactory. While it doesn’t strive for extreme depth, it tries to communicate a story just a little bit beyond what we as viewers normally see. The true brilliance of Munto’s plot comes in its execution �" story elements that could have been accomplished in a calm, linear fashion are instead broken up into sudden, jolting encounters between Yumemi and Munto. This lends a feeling of tension and expectation to the movie, which really brings it to life. While the plot is nothing terribly amazing, it is surely not a failure by any means.

 

Characters: The main reason that I enjoyed Munto was because of the fierce presentation of its characters. Munto himself (although a little bit put-off-ish at first because of his radical animation design) soon grew to be a personal favorite simply because of his intense and dynamic personality. The writers wove in a sense of Munto’s knowing (and caring) more than he actually appears to, and this unseen depth makes him more appealing. Yumemi had the potential to be a very annoying character (a “woe is me” kind of person) yet that never actually comes to fruition (thankfully). Rather, she is strong in a meek kind of way. It’s difficult to describe, but the film communicates in nicely. Even minor characters like Gus and the rest of the heavenly beings are all extremely well-acted and thoroughly brought to life despite the short running time of the movie. The character aspect is where Munto shines the most.

 

Animation: While nothing groundbreaking or spectacular can be found in Munto’s animation, the visuals are certainly not substandard. At first glance (especially at Munto himself) the animation can seem a little dramatic. As the story progresses, however, the viewer discovers that the bold and flashy animation suits the spontaneity of the film very well. Images depicting the attempts at crossing the space-time chasm are particularly well animated. Plainly put, if this movie were animated more realistically, it would not be nearly as interesting!

 

Music: Unfortunately for Munto, the music aspect is nothing of note. From such a bright and boisterous film, I expected more intense music. It seems, however, that I was sorely disappointed. To play the devil’s advocate, most films don’t succeed in the music department….

 

Ending: Short and sweet, to put it simply. We build up to it and the end comes like a bolt of lightning �" you see it, then the movie’s over. However, this is explained by the fact that there are two more movies, so conclusively and thoroughly ending the “series” is inappropriate at the moment. Considering this, the ending was nice and left enough of an opening for the next installment while still concluding this one.

 

Recommendation: I would recommend this movie for those who, like me, just want to have something to watch for an hour. The story is a nice mix of action and character development which should satisfy most viewers.

 

Audience: I would not recommend this movie for children under 10. While nothing truly “dangerous” to a child’s mind occurs in the movie, some children may be affected by the fact that Yumemi can see things that “don’t exist.” This is up to the parents’ discretion.

 

Final Score: 7 out of 10, for some awesome English-dub voice actors, bright and flashy animation, and some nicely animated scenes. The lack of truly innovative material keeps this movie from getting a higher score.

 

For the Christian Audience: Most things in this movie shouldn’t really bother you except for the reference to Munto’s world as heaven and to Munto as the king of heaven. Whether you choose to let that influence you or not is up to you. Other than that, the movie is clean. Conclusion: View at Your Own Discretion!

Author's Note

Have you seen Munto? Tell me about it! Did I do a good job reviewing it?