440https://i.ur.com/hudvgwn.jpg Rather than continually justify itself with each new episode a feature film like Fus can be a singular object of beauty. Its beautiful in foreground and background in stills and in dynamic motion illustrating a fantastical version of old Tokyo Edo in vibrant and festive colors. Within this audiovisual celebration of Edoperiod arts is a story of a mountain hermit girl turned bounty hunter in the big city tracking the last of the werewolves by royal decree. Moments of harmony and joy interweave the bloody business. Familial bonds are made while others are tragically unmade. Its fitting for a tale based on Nans Satomi Hakkendenhttps://legendofeightdogs.wordpress.com/storysummary2/ an Edoperiod epic which the film expects at least a passing familiarity the author of Hakkenden himself is a character in the anime. The naive tomboyish hunter girl accompanied by a kabuki actor of female characters discovers her feminine beauty in a kimono shop within the Yoshiwara pleasure quarters. Its colorful facade hides a dark undercurrenthttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/YoshiwaraHistory depicted in the film as an inky ditch where the unwanted are thrown away. Within that stack of contrasts is the films thrust the duality of the human condition a classic Japanese theme to be sure. Soon enough the hunter unmasks one of her prey hiding in plain sight as a celebrated courtesan and the chase is on. 440https://i.ur.com/UhVWYYS.jpg The hunter and prey dash through rows of hanging flowers interwoven with sad vignettes of the floating worldhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ukiyo. The beautifully animated action has a cartoonish flair that partially resembles the woodblock prints of old and the exaggerated motions of kabuki. Fittingly the hunter later attends a kabuki play which helpfully recaps a portion of the Hakkenden story. Fus is a Japanophiles dream a powerful dose of ahh Japan. That said its more than the sum of its references and buttonpushing. The visual stylings of its Edo fantasy are ultimately its own playing with the past but not slavishly recreating it. Its tightly scripted supernatural tale doesnt underestimate its audience some of its major story connections are made by the viewer rather than spoonfed by expository dialog which may as well be a rare feat in the anime medium. 440https://i.ur.com/SgNrge3.jpg I suspect that Fus is a tragically overlooked movie. Its too singular and unusual to be championed by otaku too foreign for mainstream audiences and too anime for the arthouse crowd. But our failure to appreciate it is ours alone. Its a fantastically well put together movie a love letter to old Edo in the form of an enjoyable urbanfantasy actionadventure. Anyone with even an ounce of inner weeb should give it a watch. Comment on this reviewhttps://anilist.co/activity/78567874