The Empire of Corpses

That the most bees in my bonnet lately have come from an unkindly underestimated animated mishmash of various Victorian and overall European contemporary elements, to which I could add whatever I can think of, is what I call a surprise. Nonetheless, it was a success for The Empire of Corpses, even after I was skeptical about the premise of the mysterious John Watson. However, I very much like the recently concluded (and also underrated) series Penny Dreadful, one of its storylines focusing on the experiments of Doctor Frankenstein and the physical and mental consequences that ensue. Ryôtarô Makihara's spectacle thoroughly analyzes this storyline in an emotional, technical, and grand steampunk direction, and out of what seems like a mishmash (of universes, philosophies, and incompatible authors, there is truly a huge abundance here) it becomes, at times, an almost existential work, yet still based on adventure. Questions and reflections on one's own mortality, supported by an ambiguous conclusion, swirl to an unforeseen extent after watching it. (01/19/2017)

I enjoyed The Empire of Corpses a lot in terms of its animation and soundtrack, despite the fact it had a really peculiar narrative. Sure there is an alternate reality, it is a science-fiction movie, and it is once again an assortment of all sorts of characters and myths, and they are trying to find answers to some important questions. Dr. Watson longs to find out what the nature of the soul is and how to return it to the animated body of his friend, whom he has named Friday for purely practical purposes. There are two bad guys, each with a very odd motivation, although one is somewhat understandable. Anyway, throughout the movie, I struggled with what is this soul, what is right and wrong, and the answers I got are so, well, mediocre. There is quite a lot going on in the two-hour running time; there are many action scenes and zombies. Still, I find it kind of disjointed, too convoluted, and frankly peculiar. In conclusion, I think it is a quite interesting science-fiction movie, and I probably got the point of its narrative even though somehow I did not fall for it, and it did not impress me. 6/10. (03/27/2016)