4 Star

Corpses, Guns and a Soul.

From burgeoning director moving up from being key animator Ryôtarô Makihara (Hal, Fullmetal Alchemist the Movie: Conqueror of Shamballa) brings us a beautiful piece of anime in the Gothic style involving many literary and real characters such as (John H. Watson, Noble Savage 007 (Friday), Hadaly Lilith, Frederick Burnaby, Alexei Karamazov, Nikolai Krasotkin, M, The One, Ulysses Simpson Grant, Moneypenny, Thomas Edison, Sherlock Holmes).

Many years ago before 1878 Victor Frankenstein deciphered death and managed to reanimate a corpse (The One) who could speak and think for itself and most importantly he had a soul.

But the One was destroyed and Frankensteins notes go missing another method is used, an artificial soul known as “Necroware.” which can be upgraded like a computer using data cards fed into the ‘Charles Babbage’ a super computer located within the tower of London. Now in 1878 corpses do all menial tasks slowly and quietly but as the science improves so do the corpses and when battle are fought on both sides by a few alive and in charge as the battlefield is filled with moving fighting corpses.

John H. Watson is a young medical student studying Corpse Engineering and when his fellow student dies he brings him back using the Necroware, but not being able to speak or think for himself Watson labels him ‘Friday’.

But during his experiments to find Fridays soul he is discovered by ‘M’ an agent for her majesty and he tells Watson that he will go to prison or he can work for her majesty and the British Empire and help find Frankensteins notes.

He accepts the latter and soon he and Friday (He writes everything in a journal are off to Bombay and the British Indian Empire where he spots Ulysses S. Grant and a mysterious woman in white at the docks just as there a couple of explosions and they came from corpse assassins which are set to explode, they come after Friday and Watson but they are saved by Frederick Burnaby sent to be their bodyguard.

The corpses were of Russian design and they are after the notes as well and it is quite a shock to Watson when they come across their guide Nikolai who says they are off to Afghanistan. Where Watson hopes to see the improvements the secluded Alexei Fyodorovich Karamazov, a Russian corpse engineer who stole The Memorandum, Frankensteins original notes and has been experimenting on corpses. What will Watson do to get his friends soul back?

At 2 hours long you get plenty of time to get the story of all these characters and the atmosphere of this Gothic tale. It is beautifully animated with some great scenes that will keep your attention though out the film.

Available to Order Online Now.