Having neither read the manga nor seen the anime, I rate this purely on the movie itself. Some parts of the movie are fascinating, some parts ridiculous (as I suppose was intended) and it jumps the shark regularly. I didn't find anything it it that made it stand out above other movies. Unless one is really into boogar picking and flicking, this is a mixed-impression flick that isn't serious enough to make a good story, nor is it funny enough to be a good satire film. I didn't find it boring, but neither was I enthralled. As solid a 5-star film as I've seen. Good CGI, and fairly good directing. The music was severely over-the-top and in places over-rode the film itself (which is never forgivable). That about sums it up.