7 SEEDS (Part 1)

((summary adapted from Wikipedia))

When a catastrophic future is predicted by astronomers, world leaders meet and develop a backup plan for human survival called the Seven Seeds project. Each country will cryonically preserve a number of healthy men and women, allowing them to survive the devastation of the impact until a computer determines that Earth is once again habitable.

In Japan, five groups of survivors are scattered across the country, named, Winter, Spring, Summer A, Summer B, and Autumn. Each group consists of seven members as well as an adult guide who has knowledge of the project, and is trained in wilderness survival. Since most of the "seeds" are not told what will happen before they're put in cryonic preservation, they awaken to find themselves amidst a hostile environment bare of any human life, their entire world irrevocably changed. Now, completely alone, they're forced to depend on themselves for survival.

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Yobi, The Five Tailed Fox

What a gorgeous movie. The directing, the animation, the music, the story. I fell in love with it all. I never would have thought I'd like it this much--it reminded me a lot of a Korean version of the Japanese anime, Spirited Away. If you like fantasy stories, with a touch of romance, then you'll definitely enjoy this one.

The characters in this film are wonderful, especially Yobi. It's so much fun watching them come to life, and interact with each other. It really made me nostalgic for when I was younger. Since most of the characters are children, you get to relive the innocence and joys of youth, and all the things that go along with it: childhood friendships, crushes, playgrounds, facing your fears in the woods. It was all so much fun to watch!! The little aliens were really cute too, especially the little guy that ate nails, lol.

The animation, of course, was just beautiful. The way they animated the forest alone was breathtaking--the use of colors, the images of the leaves flying like butterflies. You can tell they put a lot of time, effort, love, and energy into this movie. I was consistently blown away. Of course, this is by the same director as My Beautiful Girl Mari (which was the first thing I reviewed on this site) so it's really not that surprising.

People who are overly familiar with Japanese anime, will notice how different the Korean style is, though there are some similarities. Those not familiar with anime, however, will probably assume this is just another one. But the way they set the scenes and capture the different frames--even the way the characters move--really sets itself apart, boasting a completely different style. I personally love it, and can't wait to watch more like this one!

I was actually familiar with the legend of the foxes already, so I understood most of what was going on. I'm not sure if it's really necessary to know the history beforehand though--all you really need to know is that a fox with tails have the ability to become human, but in order to do so they need to steal a human soul/liver.

It's a common folk tale in Korea, and one that the target audience will surely know about. But non-Koreans, of course, can (and will) still enjoy it.

SPOILER

One of the reasons I think I fell in love with this movie, was because of the reincarnation aspect at the end. I am a sucker for anything reincarnation/fate related, and almost any movie that ends this way is going to get an automatic high score from me.

That's not to say I wouldn't have given this movie a high score anyway--it's that great a movie. I'm just admitting that I'm bias in this particular way... which is probably why I was so impressed after watching it. If it had ended differently, I probably wouldn't have started gushing so unabashedly about it.

If you dislike reincarnation story-lines though, then you probably won't like the ending, and consequently, the movie.

I personally find the idea incredibly romantic...

I thought it was the perfect ending for Yobi. She finally got to become a human, and didn't need to steal a soul in order to attain it. I really believe her and Geum-yee will someday be reunited. And that's all I need to believe, in order for me to consider it a happy ending.

END SPOILER

Again, my favorite thing about this movie was the ending. But everything about this film was enjoyable. If you like funny, interesting characters, and a story that's unpredictable, original, and entertaining, then Yobi will definitely be a movie you'll enjoy. ^_^

So if you have any free-time, hurry up and watch it!!

My Rating:

My Beautiful Girl Mari

((summary taken from asianmediawiki.com))

Nam-woo and Jun-ho have grown up as best friends in a Korean fishing village. As the film opens, the two are meeting again as adults. Jun-ho offers Nam-woo a small box, which launches a flashback to their childhood days. The two children each have social problems: Nam-woo has been solitary and detached since his father died, keeping only Jun-ho and a stray cat named Yo as friends, while Jun-ho is teased for his rich family (and because he's a bit of a whiner).

The combination of a special marble and a condemned lighthouse send Nam-woo into an alternate world of imagination, where he finds huge flowers and coral, clouds on strings, flying globefish, a giant dog and a mute girl covered in wool who he calls Mari. During a storm, in a moment of danger, fantasy appears to converge with reality. But as the vision fades, Nam-woo and Jun-ho move on with their lives.