The Empire Corpses has a great concept but ultimately suffered from a confusing end plot and weak character bonds. The movie takes place in 1879 and corpse technology is used for low income jobs and soldiers in war. John Watson is a young scientist who wants to revive his friend back from the dead. In order to get his friends soul back he goes on a mission to retrieve Victor Frankenstein's notes on where to recover the soul. While the story was somewhat intriguing up until then the flaws of the movie began to show their true colors. The characters not really having any relation to each other began show when they tried getting emotional with each other. It didn't help that the hilariously big breasted women who turned out to be a robot and Thomas Edison's creation. At that point it just became cheesy and it could have been so much more. The part that truly lost me was the ending which incorporated what looked like magic(not really magic but looked to much like it), Complicated reasons for what the hell is happening, and the ending with Watson sitting in the chair and Friday working on him(seriously what the hell happened there). Lastly there was the Sherlock Homes cameo and the fact that the thing everyone is waiting for the whole film isn't even brought to them is quite unsatisfying(don't want to spoil it so i wont sat it). The Empire Corpses was decent at first but then drew away from the steam-punk zombie society and fell into weird cyborg booby girls and magic zombie controlling abilities.
9 Reviews
anticlimactic ending
jamwen74513 May 2019
Warning: Spoilers
Fine it just ruined the Project Itoh movie series.
Everything is going well before the one shows up. And the ending? wtf? I mean it might try to be logical from the beginning but wtf is the fkin crystal shiiiiiit in the end? And the green visible souls??????? Anticlimax.
Everything is going well before the one shows up. And the ending? wtf? I mean it might try to be logical from the beginning but wtf is the fkin crystal shiiiiiit in the end? And the green visible souls??????? Anticlimax.
Needed a script editor or something
Ghastlyy09 June 2021
Warning: Spoilers
I quite liked this for the first hour or so. Although the ending felt as if it never addressed the main focuses properly, throwing in hard to follow plot lines as substitutes instead. I think my main issue over being salty has to be post credits scene it felt so out of place and detached from the rest of the movie. (p.s This isn't really a hit but the romance between Watson and Hadaly during the last 20 minutes felt slightly forced.)
Well crafted and executed but the final act is flawed
myignisrules9 August 2016
At two hours, I'll be the first to admit, The Empire of Corpses is a movie you have to find the time to watch. With references to historical figures galore (Thomas Edison, Ulysses S. Grant and Charles Bumbray) as well as literary ones (John Watson, Victor Frankenstein, M, etc), it's not a film you want to watch half heartedly, as you will be doing yourself and this beautiful movie a disfavor The Empire of Corpses is one of the most beautifully animated films I've seen in some time. Every scene ebbs and flows like water. The voice acting is perfect, with each character perfectly suiting their anime counterpart, but it's the story that is truly something spectacular. With deep philosophical questions about Death, Souls, Ambition, Free Will, War and Love just to name a few. It's one of those movies you can watch and enjoy on the surface (The story isn't that complicated and can be easily followed if you're paying attention), or if like myself, you like to peel back the layers and see what's underneath, The Empire of Corpses will not let you down. I will admit to the final act being flawed. Without spoiling anything, the main villain's reason for doing what he was doing was
..weak/weird? While I could go along with M's reason for his evil plan (to make the world one way so there would be no more conflict or wars), I couldn't get behind the Final/Main Villain's reason. Everything got super confusing at this point. The ending also was very 'up in the air', with an end credit scene (with Sherlock Holmes no less), that while a nice nod to fans of literature, added nothing to the story and left you with more questions than answers. I'm sorry I took this long to watch it, but I'm glad I took my time. This a movie I could spend hours dissecting, but for the sake of this review I will simply say, it's not just for anime fans, this is a full length, well written, beautifully executed movie that deserves to be seen by all.
Another good ITOH Story
peterfmodel12 August 2019
Sherlock + Frankenstein's monster
WeAreLive30 May 2023
Warning: Spoilers
After breaking the law of reanimating human corpses, young Watson has to either work for the government or face punishment. He has to go on a secret mission, to find the notes of Viktor Frankenstein, who reanimated the first human corpse.
Long story short this is what happens when you combine a story about Sherlock Homes and Frankenstein's monster and have anime in the mix only for it to have a very mediocre result.
Not going to beat around the bush but yeah, I will admit I did like the old British setting of the film but overall the plot of the film was very mediocre.
I found John Watson to be a massive coward through the film to the point where I was even rooting for the side characters. His partner Friday for majority of the film was just some mindless zombie and had the most obnoxious scream to the point where there were times in the film where i felt like saying "would you just shut up! Already"
However the art style was good and I thought the dub was decent minus some of the bad accents.
Long story short this is what happens when you combine a story about Sherlock Homes and Frankenstein's monster and have anime in the mix only for it to have a very mediocre result.
Not going to beat around the bush but yeah, I will admit I did like the old British setting of the film but overall the plot of the film was very mediocre.
I found John Watson to be a massive coward through the film to the point where I was even rooting for the side characters. His partner Friday for majority of the film was just some mindless zombie and had the most obnoxious scream to the point where there were times in the film where i felt like saying "would you just shut up! Already"
However the art style was good and I thought the dub was decent minus some of the bad accents.
Don't bother
ThatAnimeSnob27 April 2016
Warning: Spoilers
So I watched the Empire of Corpses, which belongs to the trilogy of works by the late Itoh Keikaku, dealing with all sorts of existentialism issues. The premise is about a world where humanity can reanimate corpses and use them as cheap labors and soldiers, effectively building a strong economy around what used to be worthless. It's trying to retain a degree of seriousness but mostly fails because of the constant morbid imagery and the mindless explosions which is something you would expect to see in a B grade action flick.
The animation is done by studio WIT, and it looks amazing, yet overused at this point since they keep reusing the same setting in their works: An 19th century steam-punk Europe, with zombies. The music is OK, although forgettable, while the dialogue is mostly info-dumps, making the exposition very amateurish.
The characters are nothing to remember for and the only thing that stands out is their names. They are all based on famous people from history and literature, making everything feel like a hunt for references and derivatives. There is practically nothing fresh about this concept; even the premise is essentially Frankenstein taken to a global level.
The plot feels to the most part like watching the second Ghost in the Shell movie. Gorgeous to look, pretentious to listen to, and absolutely no commitment to give a dime about anything that is going on in it. The characters say stuff as if reading an essay written by a high schooler attempting to sound wise, then something blows up, they go to a different place, sit down, and continue their boring couch philosophies.
It may not sound like a big issue but trust me, it's impossible to give a dime when there is a war going on, the main characters as standing in the back, reading books, and talk about the meaning of life while zombies are chewing each other to a second death. They are talking about people who are not even alive, nor take part in the battle.
As if that wasn't enough of a problem, the last third loses all sense of logic and becomes about magic crystals and spells that make you switch bodies. Everything becomes possible, you can't take anything seriously, the resolution is a ridiculous cop out, and you are essentially watching Guilty Crown all over again. Final verdict, it's awful.
The animation is done by studio WIT, and it looks amazing, yet overused at this point since they keep reusing the same setting in their works: An 19th century steam-punk Europe, with zombies. The music is OK, although forgettable, while the dialogue is mostly info-dumps, making the exposition very amateurish.
The characters are nothing to remember for and the only thing that stands out is their names. They are all based on famous people from history and literature, making everything feel like a hunt for references and derivatives. There is practically nothing fresh about this concept; even the premise is essentially Frankenstein taken to a global level.
The plot feels to the most part like watching the second Ghost in the Shell movie. Gorgeous to look, pretentious to listen to, and absolutely no commitment to give a dime about anything that is going on in it. The characters say stuff as if reading an essay written by a high schooler attempting to sound wise, then something blows up, they go to a different place, sit down, and continue their boring couch philosophies.
It may not sound like a big issue but trust me, it's impossible to give a dime when there is a war going on, the main characters as standing in the back, reading books, and talk about the meaning of life while zombies are chewing each other to a second death. They are talking about people who are not even alive, nor take part in the battle.
As if that wasn't enough of a problem, the last third loses all sense of logic and becomes about magic crystals and spells that make you switch bodies. Everything becomes possible, you can't take anything seriously, the resolution is a ridiculous cop out, and you are essentially watching Guilty Crown all over again. Final verdict, it's awful.
9/10
DimmesdaleViktor27 February 2021
While the Empire of Corpses is by far one of my most favorite films of all time, you have to be prepared to go full in when watching it. It's not your typical anime movie, it deals with big problems, and stuffs so much into its 2 hour and 6 min run time, that I found myself watching it twice just to process it all. The animation is stunning, the characters believable and ''human'' and the overarching question of what it means to have a soul really makes this film. The ending (as you'll find most people were unhappy with) is due to the writer passing away before finishing. After learning this I take it as creative liberty on the co-writer's behalf, as I believe we'll never know the true ending the writer was aiming for. To sum this up, I give this movie a 9/10, the 9 only because of the ending. Which I noted before I can look past.
Interestng & Unique
sarahhalle-592387 July 2016
This film takes a well known story of Dr Frankenstein and adds a different spin on the ideas of death.
I thoroughly enjoyed it and was one of the first anime films i watched outside the Studio Ghibli collection. The idea of bringing corpses back from the dead as working puppets, is a very dark matter and i believe this film manages to convey its story.
However it may of helped me relate to the characters and have a better understanding towards their motives, if more background was given into their lives.
Enjoyed so much have ordered myself the steel-book blu ray version to enjoy :)
I thoroughly enjoyed it and was one of the first anime films i watched outside the Studio Ghibli collection. The idea of bringing corpses back from the dead as working puppets, is a very dark matter and i believe this film manages to convey its story.
However it may of helped me relate to the characters and have a better understanding towards their motives, if more background was given into their lives.
Enjoyed so much have ordered myself the steel-book blu ray version to enjoy :)
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