Hakuoki—Demon of the Fleeting Blossom: Wild Dance of Kyoto

This feature-length 2013 animated film serves up a compacted retelling of the 12-episode first season of the TV series Shinsengumi-Kitan, which was spun off from Idea Factory's historically-based series of video games that added supernatural elements to the true story of a rebellion that occurred in Kyoto during the 1860s. During a struggle between the Shinsengumi (the forces supporting the Shogunate) and vampire-like warriors called Rasetsu or Furies, Chizuru Yukimura—a girl disguised as a boy—makes her way to the city, searching for her long-absent father. Although she is taken under the protection of the Shinsengumi, it is eventually revealed that Chizuru's scientist father is playing a continuing role in the rise of the Rasetsu (through his development of the so-called Water of Life), while Chizuru herself is connected to a deadly sect called the Oni, or Devils, who have designs on her. Like the series, the film concludes on an open-ended note, although a sequel is already on tap. While it features atmospheric animation and some exciting fight sequences, the story's characters—at least in this truncated format—never rise above formula. Still, this will likely appeal to devotees of the games. Presented in separate dual-language DVD and Blu-ray editions, rated TV-14, this is a strong optional purchase. (F. Swietek)