Prime Rose Review – 75/100

While Nagagutsu Sanjuushi was a bad example of a nonsensical anime, Prime Rose – A Time Slip of 10000 years is a good example of such a series. The result of combining Osamu Tezuka and Osamu Dezaki in a movie from the eighties is pretty weird. There are many times at which the movie simply didn’t make any sense at all, but it definitely was entertaining.

This movie too has some plot twists that simply lack build-up. We see the story about a time patrol unit who travels 10000 years into the future to save two entire cities. Why the time patrol only can send a young male and a ten-year-old brat is never answered, we’re just left to assume that things happen the way they do, and there are a few more plot twists like these.

But unlike Nagagutsu Sanjuushi, this movie has plenty of things to make up for it. The amount of imagination that went into this work is really Tezuka-worthy. The monster-designs in particular look really sweet, and you can see that a lot of creativity went into the making of this movie. That’s something I can really appreciate.

The characters are also interesting enough to keep the movie fresh, and especially Prime Rose surprised me: at the start of the movie we’re led to believe that she’s a simple damsel in distress, while she grows into a feisty warrior and the heroine of the movie. In fact, all of the major characters get enough screentime and development for the timespan of a one-hour movie. Oh, and I just have to mention the soundtrack, which is an excellent one: very varied with catchy tunes that never get in the way of the important scenes.

While nothing extremely special, this movie is a recommendation for any Tezuka-fan out there, it’s really typical of his works: not the most solid or realistic, but a whole lot of fun to watch with young-looking characters who somehow don’t end up annoying. There are a few cameos out there from his other works and Osamu Dezaki did a good job of making his manga come to life.