Shisha no teikoku

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.