Expelled from Paradise

Honestly it was great fun. The setup was good, the plot was clear and the three main characters were all very likable.

Plot: When a hacker called "Frontier Setter" hacks into an ideal virtual world where most of remaining humanity resides, the Officials of the system dispatch "Angela Balzac" to Earth where she'll not only have to cope with the harsh conditions of wasteland Earth but with her guide "Dingo" and her new body. The unlikely duo track down "Frontier Setter" and discovers a shocking truth that will lead to an unexpected battle against time.

Of course there's philosophical talk. "What makes a person... human? Can robot have consciousness of its own?" It's a familiar theme, almost a standard in big budget Japanese theatrical anime. But it wasn't over-done and the message was straight-forward. Of course the female lead is impossibly hot (even in her "under-developed" "16 year old" body). It's textbook stuff, mate. There will be flashes of her naked body. She will wear clothes that show off her amazing physique and nobody in the film will bat an eye. And of course there will be big showdown involving missiles, lasers, machine-guns, robots, booby-traps, sniper rifles and giant swords.

It is also predictably amazing in its visual aesthetics. Every frame is filled with detail and the sheer clarity of it all makes current CGI animation doodles on photo-shop. Lively camera work also adds to the action taking place while never losing focus on its characters. But you know all of this when you're even searching on IMDb for this film.

This is not a game changer for mainstream anime. Nor is it a must-watch for newbies to get a taste of what an anime genre can offer. What it is that it's a pure entertainment that combines what's best in the industry and jam-packed into 100 minutes of rollicking ride. Your eyes shall water, your mind shall think and it will leave you satisfied. Nothing more, nothing less.

My only wish for improvement is with plot in DEVA. It's a fantastic premise (although yes, it does sound like Matrix) and well deserves its own action sequence within. The possibility of it is endless and yet we are only given teases of it. However it's just a thought that comes way later after losing yourself in the film's world and its attractive characters. Oh and stay in for the credits. You'd be missing out otherwise.