Also known as トレンヂア 無皇刃譚, is an Japanese animated movie from Studio Bones. For those of you in the know, they are the studio also responsible for works such as Fullmetal Alchemist, Eureka Seven, and Ouran High School Host Club.

There was a special nationwide showing this past Thursday at select theaters. It was playing at one of the local places, so my friends and I decided to see it on the big screen.

The movie takes place in Medieval Japan, and coincided with the Ming Dynasty of China. The general plot is as follows. A group of Ming warriors have come to Japan searching for a boy to complete a special medicine for the Ming emperor. That boy doesn’t want any of that, and is on the run with his dog. He stumbles upon a nameless stranger during his escape. The stranger ends up being brought into the fray, and ends up fighting to protect the boy.

The story was, as shown above, nothing too special. I thought it was firmly… ok. The animation however, was very nice. Then again, studios with a movie budget usually churn out nice visuals. I can’t really compare with other recent works, but I was visually pleased.

One thing I didn’t like was that the movie ticket cost me $12.50, when a different movie would only have cost about $6. The theater’s excuse? It was a special showing. Pfft. A movie’s a movie. Wasn’t even 3-D or anything.

Anyway, I’d place this movie is “worth watching” category for the visuals alone. And the fact that the boy’s dog is total win. Even when it barfs.