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Hello, just so you know, this review will not be spoiler free, but I will put a quick synopsis towards the bottom of the page for a very quick spoiler-free run-down of what I think of it for anyone interested anyways
Overall, 8.8/10 for Back Cover. While it has generally great voice acting, excellent visual representation, and a good story to back itself up, fill in plot holes the series may have led, and further set up items for Kingdom Hearts III, it is slightly hindered from a couple of bad voice actors (specifically in the English department), some lackluster design in certain areas, and a story that, while compelling, does go a couple of places that do seem unnecessary at the present time.
So, what are your thoughts on Kingdom Hearts X Back Cover? Comment below, let me know! ^u^
Hello, just so you know, this review will not be spoiler free, but I will put a quick synopsis towards the bottom of the page for a very quick spoiler-free run-down of what I think of it for anyone interested anyways
Spoiler ShowOverall, I have to say that Kingdom Hearts X Back Cover was a pleasant surprise that did not disappoint from beginning to end. Since there's no gameplay in this short movie, I can't really give a synopsis on that, but I will tell you this: if you're thinking of introducing someone into this series, this movie is not the way to do it. This, along with 0.2 Birth by Sleep -A Fragmentary Passage-, is clearly meant to please fans by covering plot holes, humanizing previously underdeveloped to completely undeveloped characters, and setting up future events to the main game.
Despite the fact that the interviews before this little movie claimed that the movie could be a sufficient substitute for people who did not play Unchained X before eventually going into Kingdom Hearts III, I cannot safely say that this is entirely true. The movie did address a lot of the same plot points as the original browser and later mobile title did cover and does cover still, but it does leave a lot to the viewer to know ahead of time, such as why the Chirithy is important, who this Ephemer kid is and why he's so important to the story, and how the keyblade wielders in the unions feel about this rivalry between the foretellers. It is definitely a story to show another side of a bigger story, and, while this story does seem bigger and more overarching at times, it is definitely very important to know the other side of the story, and I might even suggest researching who Ephemer is and Chirithy before going into this movie ahead of time in case you have no interest in going into the mobile title (which is free, so it's not like they're necessarily making you spend more money to know the story). With that said, let's talk about the movie itself.
Despite not having all of that much action at all (with one actual keyblade battle, between Invi and Aced, if I'm correct), this movie really shines in its voice cast and direction overall. Despite the fact that I was worried going in that the Japanese and English voice actors for the Master of Masters were going to give wildly different performances from each other, they both brought plenty of wild energy and unpredictable slyness to this performance that I didn't expect out of this character in the series, and they certainly walked away as the show-stealers for this collection. As for the other actors, almost everyone is a standout, since the voice acting is so good, so I guess we'll have to talk about the voice acting that I didn't like: considering it was a short movie and there was a limited cast, their voice acting really shows, and I'll start with the English voices. The voices of everyone, for the most part, are great: even the one voice I don't like is pretty good anyways, despite the ridiculousness of it. However, there are two voices that are unpleasant or simply weak: the Chirithy voice narrating the opening is like shoving a cheese grater in a wood-chipper, and the voice of Ephemer is, unfortunately, very lacking for the English part. Not only did the animation not fit what he should have sounded like, as in I don't think they picked a good voice actor for the design of the character, but also this voice actor seems to be putting on his Toby McGuire Spider-Man for this role, and it simply doesn't fit a character whose personality is supposed to be rash and daring, like Ephemer in the games seems. Lastly, there's Aced, whose voice is just plain ridiculous. It's not that the voice actor was bad, he just was very, very over the top. As for the Japanese, the voice for Luxu was the only one I found was quite off, and his voice is so airy and thin that I thought he was trying to channel an old-timey 1930's era Italian mobster, which I might need a viewing to fully confirm. Overall, I'll give the voice acting a 8.5/10, because, while there are some weaker voice actors sprinkled into the mix, most of them fulfill their roles and perform them with a lot of emotion and vigor, and show-stealing performances like the Master of Masters really let this entire movie shine.
As for the animation, I had no qualms whatsoever. I will say that the design of the characters did lack at points, and no, I'm not talking about the black coats that the Master of Masters of Luxu wore; the designs of the "player" characters in the Dandelions were quite weird, and the ones showcased in the front of the crowd were particularly wonky, and the blue hair theme in the group made their models look blurry and uninspired. I know probably none of them will be big players in Kingdom Hearts III or anything, so their designs don't have to be stellar, I just wish we at least had Skuld here to make the designs look more interesting. Oh, that's right, SKULD! If everyone here doesn't know who Skuld is, she is a girl who also met Ephemer that has been having dreams of him and teams up with the player to find him and later lead the Dandelions out of the world to travel to a new one. Not a big deal she wasn't here, since she wasn't necessary for this story, but couldn't we have at least seen her at that Dandelion meeting? Ah, whatever, broken record. Anyways, the animation on the foretellers, from the particle effects of the keyblade summoning to the expressions on the black coats and the character given to faces whose true identities we aren't privy to, are simply stunning, and turning them from characters who speak almost never and have nearly no character inside of their game (seriously, I think Invi has a documented 1 unique line from mobile X) to emotional, deep characters with aspirations, separate agendas, and emotions we can connect with is a feat that I thought was impossible, and I'm glad to say that I am very happy they came out like this. Overall, 9/10 animation, losing a point for some slack lost on the designs of the Dandelions.
And lastly, story & characters. I combined them because, to me at least, this is entirely a character-based story, so if they're not made then the story isn't sold to the viewer. That being said, the characters are... really good, and even great at times. Not stellar, as not all of them really are that compelling; but we'll get to that. First of all, I'm glad we got a full body Ephemer render and all, but he really didn't do much other then please fans who wanted to see Ephemer on a console, and I can't even remember if he did affect the main plot, so I can't really speak for myself here when I can't even remember what he did in the first place to grade his job. The chirithy also suffered a greatly diminished role than I think I was expecting at first, also was denoted to a mere cameo role with a super annoying voice as well. As for everyone else, it really was pretty damn good! Ira does a good job at being stern and unsuccessfully unifying while being understanding and compassionate, such as when he tells Aced that he was following the master's orders, following his heart as his guiding key, and everyone else works off of each other really well. I am curious, though, as to why they never establish ANYTHING with Luxu. I'm just confused on a storytelling perspective, as the other foretellers seem like they've never been affiliated with him, and no one seems to bother to ask "hey, where is Luxu?" which DEFINITELY wasn't the case at the end of browser X. As for the others, Invi has a shockingly good character, and I love the scene where she realizes she offended Ava and apologizes for going a bit too far, Gula is great and truly grows as a character throughout this entire experience, and I fully support Aced in his doing and feel like they really did justice to his character when it could have very easily been a scenario where Aced was the one that turned himself into the traitor. As for Ava, she's always been developed (having developed in X), so not much changes here (although she seems considerably closer to Gula than I previously thought in browser X), but I do love how she shows how strong she is by standing up to Invi while also showing her vulnerability, and her voice actor really shined in these parts. Luxu doesn't really have much of a character here, so I won't say much; as for the Master of Masters, he really seems to be confusing. I like how he pits everyone against each other, sets up his Keyblade to survive past the Keyblade War, and reveals the secret behind his own eye to Luxu (which is a twist I really like). As for where the Master disappeared, he could have very easily been able to transport to modern times due to his all-seeing eye, and we'll find out what he does there. For now, all I know is I can't view him as a bad guy or a good guy, and we'll all have to wait and see how everything turns out. Good thing they kept that box a secret (although I still am itching to know what's inside it!). Overall, 9/10 for the story, points off simply because Ephemer and Chirithy are kind of shoved in without too much to warrant it, and there was a couple of scenes where the voice acting unfortunately took away from the drama of the moment.
Overall, 8.8/10 for Back Cover. While it has generally great voice acting, excellent visual representation, and a good story to back itself up, fill in plot holes the series may have led, and further set up items for Kingdom Hearts III, it is slightly hindered from a couple of bad voice actors (specifically in the English department), some lackluster design in certain areas, and a story that, while compelling, does go a couple of places that do seem unnecessary at the present time.
So, what are your thoughts on Kingdom Hearts X Back Cover? Comment below, let me know! ^u^