Originally posted by Mospeada:
never heard before? but howcome u said poor rating given?
To be objective.
There are viewers who enjoyed the animation.
However most lean onto giving negetive comments and were disappointed.
http://www.animecritic.com/crystania/anr-crystaniamovie.html
http://www.nz17.com/anifanatikku/reviews/53.phpThough I was giving it the benefit of the doubt, Legend of Crystania proved to be quite a disappointment. The story line is less than underdeveloped. In the short length of less than 1.5 hours, there isn't much time to make good story plot, but they managed to put forth very little effort. I was pretty disappointed about the fact that they even have a BIO section for all of the characters and state that Ashram and Pirotess are the same people from lodoss war, but act/look nothing like themselves. I have not yet seen the series, but i might imagine it to be a little bit better due to fewer time constraints... but I won't get my hopes up quite yet.
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As has been said by previous reviewers, Legend of Crystania is not a sequel to Record of Lodoss Wars, although it appears to bill itself as such. While the names of Lord Ashrom and the dark elf Pirotess are employed, and the hero bears a striking resemblance to Parn of RLW, that is where the similarities end.
The animation is average at best. The voice acting is somewhere between indifferent and poor, and the character depictions flat terrible. The dark elf acts nothing like any dark elf I've ever seen or read about. Another character is apparently meant to be a berserker, but is only a pale shadow of what he could or should be.
All these problems notwithstanding, the story somehow holds together and manages to retain the viewer's interest. By the end, you may actually find yourself hoping that Ashrom and Pirotess at last have a chance for mutual happiness. Weak as it is, Legend of Crystania does work.
If you approach this DVD hoping it will be a continuation of the Lodoss War saga, you will be disappointed. However, if you can set that preconception aside and accept Legend of Crystania as a sword and sorcery tale entirely its own, you may find it a surprisingly satisfying story.
Recommended, but just barely.
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If you're a Lodoss War fan, avoid this title. Despite it's billing, it has no tie-in with the Lodoss world besides a 2 minute history intro and a couple of names thrown out at the very beginning.
Beyond that, the story is indifferent, and the animation is poor. It has none of the sharp style and bright contrasts that typically makes for good anime, coming across blurry and dull instead (and that goes for both the animation AND the story!).
Imagine that someone took a water-color version of the Lodoss War, erased the story, and then left it out in the rain overnight. This is what you'd have left. Go see the original again, or try the 'Chronicles of the Heroic Knight' (now out on DVD). Give this one a miss.
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I thought Record of Lodoss War was fantastic on many levels. However Crystania bears virtually no relation to Lodoss at all other than the fact that Ashram and Pirotesse are in it. When did Pirotesse become a weakling that couldn't defend herself? When did Ashram become one of the good guys? The animation is as similiar to Lodoss as Peanuts is to Disney's Fantasia. I have to disagree with the other reviews about the voice acting, it was bad also. The story was terrible and seems to have been concocted by someone's 10 year old nephew. Do yourself a favor and rent this movie first (you will see I was so disappointed) if you are truly interested.
