To be objective.
There are viewers who enjoyed the animation.
However most lean onto giving negetive comments and were
disappointed.
http://www.animecritic.com/crystania/anr-crystaniamovie.html
http://www.nz17.com/anifanatikku/reviews/53.php
Though I was giving it the benefit of the doubt, Legend of
Crystania proved to be quite a disappointment. The story line is
less than underdeveloped. In the short length of less than 1.5
hours, there isn't much time to make good story plot, but they
managed to put forth very little effort. I was pretty disappointed
about the fact that they even have a BIO section for all of the
characters and state that Ashram and Pirotess are the same people
from lodoss war, but act/look nothing like themselves. I have not
yet seen the series, but i might imagine it to be a little bit
better due to fewer time constraints... but I won't get my hopes up
quite yet.
_
As has been said by previous reviewers, Legend of Crystania is not
a sequel to Record of Lodoss Wars, although it appears to bill
itself as such. While the names of Lord Ashrom and the dark elf
Pirotess are employed, and the hero bears a striking resemblance to
Parn of RLW, that is where the similarities end.
The animation is average at best. The voice acting is somewhere
between indifferent and poor, and the character depictions flat
terrible. The dark elf acts nothing like any dark elf I've ever
seen or read about. Another character is apparently meant to be a
berserker, but is only a pale shadow of what he could or should
be.
All these problems notwithstanding, the story somehow holds
together and manages to retain the viewer's interest. By the end,
you may actually find yourself hoping that Ashrom and Pirotess at
last have a chance for mutual happiness. Weak as it is, Legend of
Crystania does work.
If you approach this DVD hoping it will be a continuation of the
Lodoss War saga, you will be disappointed. However, if you can set
that preconception aside and accept Legend of Crystania as a sword
and sorcery tale entirely its own, you may find it a surprisingly
satisfying story.
Recommended, but just barely.
_
If you're a Lodoss War fan, avoid this title. Despite it's billing,
it has no tie-in with the Lodoss world besides a 2 minute history
intro and a couple of names thrown out at the very beginning.
Beyond that, the story is indifferent, and the animation is poor.
It has none of the sharp style and bright contrasts that typically
makes for good anime, coming across blurry and dull instead (and
that goes for both the animation AND the story!).
Imagine that someone took a water-color version of the Lodoss War,
erased the story, and then left it out in the rain overnight. This
is what you'd have left. Go see the original again, or try the
'Chronicles of the Heroic Knight' (now out on DVD). Give this one a
miss.
_
I thought Record of Lodoss War was fantastic on many levels.
However Crystania bears virtually no relation to Lodoss at all
other than the fact that Ashram and Pirotesse are in it. When did
Pirotesse become a weakling that couldn't defend herself? When did
Ashram become one of the good guys? The animation is as similiar to
Lodoss as Peanuts is to Disney's Fantasia. I have to disagree with
the other reviews about the voice acting, it was bad also. The
story was terrible and seems to have been concocted by someone's 10
year old nephew. Do yourself a favor and rent this movie first (you
will see I was so disappointed) if you are truly interested.
