Munto

Genre: Drama
Format: 1 OVA
Allegiance: Kyoto Animation
Director: Kigami Yoshiji
Vintage: 2003
Intelligence Agency Report by: Drake
The Heavens, a world of islands floating in the skies in a time beyond us, are running low on Akuto, the main source of energy. In anger, The Heavens launch an attack on the Magical Kingdom, which is a big user of Akuto. In a last ditch effort to save the Magical Kingdom and The Heavens from certain destruction, King Munto of the Magical Kingdom risks his life to descend to the perilous lower world to seek a girl named Yumemi, who was foretold in a prophecy to be able to save the world. Though at first glance this girl is nothing spectacular, she is the only one to see the floating islands in the sky. Can Yumemi come to reality with her destiny and help Munto save the world, or is all doomed?

Field Agent Report by: Drake
Plot
Characters
Impact
Visual
Audio
4.00
6.25
6.75
9.00
7.75
Overall 5.00
(not an average)

It isn’t very often that I find myself at a loss for words to describe an anime. However after watching Munto, that is exactly what happened. My initial response was that it had been very interesting, but after a second viewing I found myself wondering ‘what the heck?’

When I first read about Munto, I thought, based solely on the plot, that it would be a movie worth watching. However as I was watching it, I began to wonder if there was any coherent plot whatsoever. There obviously is a very involved storyline to speak of, but there is no real attempt to help a viewer get oriented with it. You’re just thrown into a world and expected to know all the details of the character relationships and past events. Sadly, the problems didn’t end there. You may wonder what else can possibly cause me to say the plot is choppy. Simple, there is a lot of irrelevancy in the subplot involving Suzume. Due to the subplot’s existence and the time constraint of roughly one hour, there is a lot lacking in the main storyline.

Munto does have one redeeming element. The animation is simply stunning and out of this world. It’s obvious the producers put their souls into this beautiful artwork. Character designs were a little generic overall, save for King Munto’s design. His was quite unique; not my favorite looking character but definitely different.

Overall, Munto seems interesting. It’s worth a watch for the animation and for those of you interested in deciphering the plot. If you ever fully decipher it please let me know. Until then back to my scheduled life.