A somewhat forgotten gem, Legend of Lemnear is one of the earliest anime entries in the Sword & Sorcery genre and it holds up as breezy fun despite the decades.
Legend of Lemnear is a ripping Sword & Sorcery yarn wherein the titular protagonist seeks vengeance against the evil wizard who slaughtered her family and city. There are strong parallels to Taarna the Taarakian warrior from the Heavy Metal film, except that Lemnear starts off as a stone cold badass and stays that way for the entire film.
As you might expect from an original animated video (OAV) with a runtime of only 45 minutes, the plot is thin and there are some noticeable holes. However, this failing is not uncommon for anime from the 80s. Much better are the animation and the character designs, which are also a product of the time (mullets ahoy!), but have aged reasonably well. Most importantly, like any good S&S story, the pacing is quick, the action is fast and furious and there's noticeable appreciation of the female form.
As a Hard "R", obviously Legend of Lemnear isn't for little kids or prudes.
However, as female protagonists go, Lemnear is pretty damn awesome: she doesn't take crap from anyone, she's the best fighter in the story and she saves the day.
That puts her in pretty rare company and she precedes Lina Inverse by two years.
This movie is also pure metal! From the hard rock soundtrack to the copious amounts of violence to the big hair, Legend of Lemnear cranks the amps up to 11 and doesn't stop until the movie ends with a giant explosion. The visuals are fantastic (pun intended) and, unsurprisingly, the villain has a giant floating castle shaped like a skull! How cool is that?
If you're the sort of person who is offended by chainmail bikinis, this is not the movie for you. If you're the sort of person who can't tell the difference between High Fantasy and Sword & Sorcery, this movie may not be for you. However, if you're the sort of person who wants to see what a Frank Frazetta painting would look like as a fun, roaring anime adventure, Legend of Lemnear is well worth your time!
Legend of Lemnear is a ripping Sword & Sorcery yarn wherein the titular protagonist seeks vengeance against the evil wizard who slaughtered her family and city. There are strong parallels to Taarna the Taarakian warrior from the Heavy Metal film, except that Lemnear starts off as a stone cold badass and stays that way for the entire film.
As you might expect from an original animated video (OAV) with a runtime of only 45 minutes, the plot is thin and there are some noticeable holes. However, this failing is not uncommon for anime from the 80s. Much better are the animation and the character designs, which are also a product of the time (mullets ahoy!), but have aged reasonably well. Most importantly, like any good S&S story, the pacing is quick, the action is fast and furious and there's noticeable appreciation of the female form.
As a Hard "R", obviously Legend of Lemnear isn't for little kids or prudes.
However, as female protagonists go, Lemnear is pretty damn awesome: she doesn't take crap from anyone, she's the best fighter in the story and she saves the day.
That puts her in pretty rare company and she precedes Lina Inverse by two years.
This movie is also pure metal! From the hard rock soundtrack to the copious amounts of violence to the big hair, Legend of Lemnear cranks the amps up to 11 and doesn't stop until the movie ends with a giant explosion. The visuals are fantastic (pun intended) and, unsurprisingly, the villain has a giant floating castle shaped like a skull! How cool is that?
If you're the sort of person who is offended by chainmail bikinis, this is not the movie for you. If you're the sort of person who can't tell the difference between High Fantasy and Sword & Sorcery, this movie may not be for you. However, if you're the sort of person who wants to see what a Frank Frazetta painting would look like as a fun, roaring anime adventure, Legend of Lemnear is well worth your time!
SC's Parting Shot: 7 of 10
No comments:
Post a Comment