Movies based off video games have certainly earned their lackluster reputation. But, in this case, I proudly present you with an exception to this trend. In honor of the release of the final game in the Layton series here in the US, I present to you, my first anime movie review, Professor Layton and the Eternal Diva.
Genres: Video Game, Adventure,
Synopsis:
The story is told as a long flashback, from between Curious Village and Diabolical Box, to between Last Specter and Miracle Mask (I live in the US, so the names may be different where you live). The professor receives a letter from a former student of his, inviting Layton and Luke to an opera she is starring in. But the opera soon turns into a deadly game for the quest of eternal life. Can the Professor, along with new and familiar faces alike, solve the mystery and expose whoever's behind this baffling case?
Story and Characters:
Okay, first of all, if you're not familiar with any of the Professor Layton games, they are known for having many rather large plot holes. But, to be honest, it's these plot holes that actually define a Layton game. With plot holes, come a lot of speculation. And eventually, your brain starts to fill in the gaps, especially after going through the story a second time. And the actual plot you are given is quite fantastic, in my opinion. Anyways, BACK TO THE MOVIE. Like most anime movies, you have to grasp at what's going on very early on, and it will all make sense towards the middle of the movie. As an actual entry in the Professor Layton chronology, it actually serves its purpose very well. And if it wan't initially planned, I'd say these guys did a darn good job planning the story. (I'm sorry if I don't say a whole lot about this movie in this review, it's really easy to give spoilers.)
The cast of characters isn't terribly large, and it probably feels that way because we've seen some of them in Last Specter. I think everyone gets enough screen time and development in the movie. Besides the main characters that we've all seen before, there's also Janice (or Jenis) who stars in the opera. Then there's Oswald Whistler, his dead daughter Melina, and the rest of the rich and famous members of the audience that get caught up in the game. Every character contributes to the story, and each one is memorable in their own way.
Art and Animation:
The art is exactly what you'd expect from the Professor Layton series. P.A Works did the animation, so it looks exactly like the full animation cutscenes from the game. The art is 2-D, simple, charming, and looks beautiful when it wants to.
Now, the animation isn't like, super high quality, but knowing the Professor Layton series, it does its job fine. There are a few fast, action scenes, but they're very enjoyable and not so "cut-up" like a lot of shonen anime likes to do.
Voice and Music:
The first thing you may notice about this dub (if you live in the US) is that not all the voice roles are consistent with the games. Yes, I know some of the roles are the ones used in the European English dub, but it was still a little strange to me. I just wish they weren't so lazy and decided to use the localized VA's.
The OST of this movie actually has a lot of repeated or slightly varied tracks And many of these are variations of themes we've heard before in previous Layton games. A lovely change to the OST is that we hear the original Japanese vocals by Nana Mizuki. And they are FANTASTIC. The ending theme was stuck in my head for days.
Execution and My Enjoyment:
Like I said before, this movie does its job almost perfectly. It fits right into the story, and is even referenced in Miracle Mask and Azran Legacy. It doesn't try to do anything crazy to throw off the whole scheme of the games, and that's great. Watching this movie is essential if you want the full Professor Layton story.
As for enjoyment, well... I've seen this move many times, actually. but that's because I am a BIG fan of the Layton series. How much you enjoy this movie really depends on how much you like the games, because the movie follows a very similar pattern. There are a few plot twists, and you can even solve puzzles during the movie. Yes, there are PUZZLES IN the movie. but there's only about 4 or 5.
The Score:
Averaging the 8 values for the catergories listed above, I give Professor Layton and the Eternal Diva an 8.1/10 and would HIGHLY recommend this movie to anyone who has played the first four Layton games. Seriously, you should. But if you haven't, then sadly, this movie is not really for you.
Story: 8.8 Characters: 7.2
Art: 7.5 Animation: 7.2
Voice: 6.8 (Why you no localize?!?!) Music: 8.8
Execution: 9.0 My Enjoyment: 9.5
For similar wait... Actually, I can't really think of anything similar to recommend. However, there is a live action movie based off the first Ace Attorney game, a series very similar to Professor Layton. If you've played the game (they do skip over some of the events from the game) I suggest you check out the live action movie.
SORRY I didn't publish a review for March! This was supposed to be it, but I'll try and get out my next review and something else out for April.
NEXT REVIEW: The Earl and The Fairy (Hakushaku to Yosei)
Last Updated: 8 April 2014
Originally Published: 1 April 2014
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