Rakuen Tsuiho: Expelled from Paradise (2014) Reviews

• A rollicking Sci-Fi spectacle with Food for thought.

  parknourie2016-03-28

  Honestly it was great fun. The setup was good, the plot was clear and the three main characters were all very likable. Plot: When a hacker called "Frontier Setter" hacks into an ideal virtual world where most of remaining humanity resides, the Officials of the system dispatch "Angela Balzac" to Earth where she'll not only have to cope with the harsh conditions of wasteland Earth but with her guide "Dingo" and her new body. The unlikely duo track down "Frontier Setter" and discovers a shocking truth that will lead to an unexpected battle against time. Of course there's philosophical talk. "What makes a person... human? Can robot have consciousness of its own?" It's a familiar theme, almost a standard in big budget Japanese theatrical anime. But it wasn't over-done and the message was straight-forward. Of course the female lead is impossibly hot (even in her "under-developed" "16 year old" body). It's textbook stuff, mate. There will be flashes of her naked body. She will wear clothes that show off her amazing physique and nobody in the film will bat an eye. And of course there will be big showdown involving missiles, lasers, machine-guns, robots, booby-traps, sniper rifles and giant swords. It is also predictably amazing in its visual aesthetics. Every frame is filled with detail and the sheer clarity of it all makes current CGI animation doodles on photo-shop. Lively camera work also adds to the action taking place while never losing focus on its characters. But you know all of this when you're even searching on IMDb for this film. This is not a game changer for mainstream anime. Nor is it a must-watch for newbies to get a taste of what an anime genre can offer. What it is that it's a pure entertainment that combines what's best in the industry and jam-packed into 100 minutes of rollicking ride. Your eyes shall water, your mind shall think and it will leave you satisfied. Nothing more, nothing less. My only wish for improvement is with plot in DEVA. It's a fantastic premise (although yes, it does sound like Matrix) and well deserves its own action sequence within. The possibility of it is endless and yet we are only given teases of it. However it's just a thought that comes way later after losing yourself in the film's world and its attractive characters. Oh and stay in for the credits. You'd be missing out otherwise.

• Visually spectacular with a gratifying story to boot.

  ajrcvr2016-06-18

  This is really the first "10" I've given anything, moreover, its' the first anime I've seen, out of many, that deserves it. This feature is simply beautifully animated and produced. The two main characters, Angela and Dingo, are attractive and engaging, having personalities that have been carefully crafted to be quintessentially human. The fact that Angela is as beautiful and sexy as she is, with an astonishingly provocative body, is almost out of place here, since it is the only truly erotic thing that there is in the movie; but the way the creators handle that is just to leave her be, this evocative beauty working her way through an otherwise barren and post-apocalyptic world. I suppose they did that to keep reminding us of the "perfect" world she comes from, and that she is truly out of place here in the far more sublime and tawdry Earth environment. The "real world" and its current state is the reason that whoever created Deva, a digitized, computerized virtual reality in which 98 % of the world population now "lives" - or whatever verb you wish to use to characterize that existence. There is a real story here, with some philosophical inputs as to what it means to be human. It seems that the Deva people believe a world without any hardship or struggle, and where you can have almost anything you want - providing you have earned enough memory - is the ultimate lifestyle. Dingo, of course, Angela's Earthbound guide, has different ideas about what it means to be free and human, which provides some thought-provoking interest. We are reminded by this comely, savvy Earth man that such ancient types as Hitler, Genghis Khan, Napoleon, and Attila the Hun were people who had similar motives to the administrators of Deva! The story moves along quite briskly, with some satisfying action here and there, but mainly it is a contrast in the two lifestyles, the computerized one Angela comes from, and Dingo's Earth reality. The two of them eventually come up against Deva's totalitarian rules for existence, and Angela comes to wonder whether her Deva reality is the ideal existence she believed; ultimately the two of them have to battle Deva's forces to maintain any life at all, while the Deva big-shots would be happiest if the two Earthbound people, and every free-thinking person like them, were eliminated altogether to protect their "utopia." Overall, this is a satisfying epic, with decent story, superb animation, which includes simply beautiful backgrounds and characters, and a mindful nod as to what the true value of being a human actually is. It is entertaining and satisfying to watch over and over again.

• Is it good? Read to find out.

  arturodv19962015-10-11

  just finished this Anime film tonight called Expelled from Paradise and I thought it was good. When I saw a trailer for it, I thought it would be good for Toonami, and it could be, but since I watched it already, lets see if it will interest you guys . The plot takes place in a time where people have been digitized and are in a new world in a space computer. But someone/something is trying to hack into their world, so a woman by the name Angela Balzac, goes down to earth (where humans now have a hard time living in this apocalyptic world). She comes down to find the hacker and to rendezvous with a man named Dingo. When they meet, well, the first thing is trouble - and that's where the story starts. It later has a twist where you think the bad isn't bad sort of thing. But after it was over I had this feeling where I wish there was more to their journey and I would have liked to see what they were doing even after the film fully ended. There are few clips in the middle of the credits, and at the very end of the credits, just a two or three second thing and that's it; the last clip was very short. I thought Steve Blum (Dingo) and Wendee Lee (Angela) did a great job as well as Johnny Yong Bosch (Frontier Setter). I enjoyed watching it all the way until the end. I don't know how many people would watch it and like it, but I guess you could watch it to find out for yourself. The animation was good - it had that 3D-ish type of feeling and a mixture of anime. It also had a Matrix feel to it because of the world that Angela comes from, and also a wild west feel to it in some scenes. Overall, a good film.

• A almost perfect Sci-Fi anime.

  philpw992015-03-13

  After reading residentgrigo's review, I felt an obligation to express my view of the movie. So for the first time in a long time I write a review in IMDb, because I really like the movie. It might contain some spoilers. First, it is built on a very possible scenario: in the future world-wide desertification threaten human's survival. So they built a gigantic space station which contains millions of souls/virtual brains. In the meantime some real human, in much less quantity, still live in the ruins of the previous civilization. A mysterious hacker from Earth invaded the space station and broadcast some strange messages. Thus the "Gods" in space send out "Angels" to earth to find the hacker and stop him... I won't go too deep into the plot. What I want to say is this movie has impressive details: the virtual fantasy world in space is vastly different than the after apocalypse world on Earth. Everything from above is shiny and super-advanced while everything down there is dirty, rusty and hand-made. How they dress and trade things, how they think about happiness are quite different based on their situation. In short, everything is carefully thought of, except one giant hole as other reviewer mentioned: she should have changed her clothes while walked in the town. The cities of ruins look authentic. One of them is clearly Manhattan. I can even see the "34th Street Penn Station" words on the subway entrance. Other cities all have kind of America-after-collapse feeling. I wish I knew which one they were based on. Nonetheless you can feel like each rusty pole, each broken window, each damaged building is telling you a tiny story. Details, people. The desert scene and night view are also very well drawn. The action scene is good and decent. A little too fast but that's Japan anime for you. Watching it frame by frame will give you unexpected surprised. Try it if you watch it a second time. The fighting is 80% brain and 20% brawl, unlike most of other animes. Weapon system is mostly old school. (An advanced weapon was used in the beginning but somehow not used in the later fights. Another small plot hole.) So in all I'd say this is a decent Japanese Sci-Fi animation. Fans of Gundam and Ghost in the shell will love it. Lastly, when watching this movie, pause at Earth scenes and think about it: will my grand children live in a world like this? According to most scientists, they will.

• This anime firm discusses the life in three angles

  liuyiyang2014-12-11

  For the rulers (such as the central council in Deva), it would never be allowed to tolerate any existence that could threat the stability in the world. In Rakuen Tsuiho, that means Frontier Settle, who owns the technology that could ruin the whole Paradise, could never coexistent. It is a similar story that Transcendence(2014) had told. However, as for public or individuals, the safety is no longer the first priority. Some may say, freedom does. that was represent by Dingo in the movie. He could have very luxury life based on his ability, if he abandon his body and accept the offer from Deva. But he choose to live like a human. What a good mentor for Angela! And no doubts that there are always some people conflicting with government in this case. Some may say, honor does, that represent by Angela, who lived a life pursuing higher social ranking in Deva. After returning earth, meeting Dingo and Frontier Settle, she found herself living a life like a program. Even give up your body, humans still fight for living space, to avoid being zipped. To sum up, what do you really want for your life? Are you pursuing something causing a lot of lost? BTW, the third angle is 11010110 10110111, for the angle of Frontier Settle. Lol. PS. for why one star less, since Angela wearing that hot, how could the people in slum never notice this, even the three bad guys were really gentle towards her.