KITE LIBERATOR review: A fusion of action and story

KITE LIBERATOR - All-round review and recommendation

■ Public Media

OVA

■ Original Media

Anime Original

■ Release date

March 21, 2008

■Release and sales

・Seller: Happinet (SB) (D)

■Frequencies

58 min

■ Number of Episodes

Episode 1

■Original Story

Yasuomi Umetsu

■ Director

Yasuomi Umetsu

■ Production

Animation Production: ARMS Production: "KITE LIBERATOR" Production Committee

■Works

©2008 Yasuomi Umezu/“KITE LIBERATOR” Production Committee/Fever Dreams LLC

■ Story

In the previous work "A KITE", the hitman Sawa suddenly disappears, his whereabouts unknown... A few years later, a girl dances lightly in the darkness of the city. The angel of death eliminates her target with a brilliant technique, then disappears back into the darkness. Monaka is a girl living an ordinary high school life. Her plain and modest attire is just one part of her. The other side of this two-sided coin... that is the other face of the angel of death, Monaka. Her unknown past and the irony of fate are tossed about, but she never gives up, and at the same time, her heart is delicate and sensitive. What future does she see in her gaze?! Monaka the girl shoots through the darkness!!

■Explanation

The girl, Hyakunanka, shoots at the darkness!!

A sequel to the OVA "A KITE". Several years have passed since the assassin Sawa, who avenged his family, suddenly disappeared and his whereabouts are unknown. A girl dances lightly in the darkness of the city. Her name is Momonaka. Despite being tossed about by the irony of her unknown past and fate, she has the strength to not give up and a delicate and sensitive heart. What future does she see in front of her gaze...?

■Cast

・Noguchi Hyakunanka/Inoue Marina・Noguchi Origai/Koyama Rikiya・Doi Koichi/Sato Setuji・Noguchi Issho/Nomura Kenji・Noguchi Aizuki/Shindo Kei・Waga Rin/Morita Seiichi・Amezu Torokuro/Mugihito・Mukai Mana/Okamura Akemi・Oion Takato/Yasuhiro・Oion Kaori/Yasuhiro

■ Main staff

Planning: Keio Suzuki (Happinet Pictures), Masato Suzuki, Keiji Kusano (Studio Flagship), John Silabella (Media Blasters (English version))
・Original story, director, script, storyboard, direction, character design: Umezu Yasuomi ・Chief animation director: Umezu Yasuomi, Kaneko Shuichi ・Prop design: Kaneko Shuichi ・3D production: Digital Frontier, Studio Toriko ・Art setting: Hirata Shuichi ・Art directors: Sato Goshi, Wakamatsu Eiji (Kusanagi)
・Color design: Ryota Nakata ・Director of photography: Toru Sugawara (Studio Cosmos)
Edited by Takeshi Seyama (Seyama Editorial Office)
・Music: Ishikawa Tomohisa・Music Production: Lantis・Sound Director: Shimizu Katsunori・Sound Effects: Jinbo Daisuke・Sound Production: ZACK Promotion・Producers: Kusuhara Mariko, Koshinaka Osamu, Hayama Yoko・Animation Production: ARMS・Production: "KITE LIBERATOR" Production Committee

■ Main Characters

Noguchi Momonaka is a beautiful girl with a brilliant mind who is ranked in the top three of her grade. In reality, she is an assassin known as the Angel of Death, and is feared in the underworld. The only person who knows her true identity is a certain boss. She works part-time at the restaurant Apollo 11.
Koichi Doi is the chief of the space food development center at Defy Foods, a major food company. He is in charge of researching the effects of long-term stays on the space station on the human body, putting together countermeasures, and developing food for practical use.
・Aizuki Noguchi, the only daughter of Kazuzou Momonaka. She enjoys living with Momonaka, who is the same age as her. She loves sports more than studying. She works part-time to help out her struggling family financially. She also takes care of the housework. Her cooking skills are top-notch.
Detective in the Public Safety Department Security Division of the prefectural police station. He frequently visits the Apollo 11 restaurant to keep an eye on it after receiving information that the owner and manager of the restaurant was an illegal gun dealer. He has feelings for Momonaka, who works there part-time, and this is one of the reasons he visits the restaurant often.
- Tokuro Amatsu The owner and manager of Apollo 11, a late-night restaurant. He has been divorced. He has been sexually harassing the girls who work there, so the staff is replaced frequently. He is actually running an illegal gun sales and manufacturing business behind the scenes.
・Manatsu Mukai An employee of Apollo 11 and the store chief. She is a single mother and works hard for her young child. She sighs every day at the sexual harassment of the store manager and the rudeness of customers, but she knows how to deal with them. It seems that she has a painful past that she cannot tell anyone about...
Takatomo Oion is the older brother of twin serial killers who are shocking the world. His identity has been revealed and he is being pursued by the police as a most wanted criminal. He always commits his crimes together with his twin brother.
The younger brother of twin serial killers who have shocked the world. He is obedient to his twin brother, but sometimes he loses his temper and goes on a rampage, which is what caused his brother to be exposed. Since then, he has had a delicate relationship with his brother.

■ Related works

・A KITE
・KITE LIBERATOR Digest version

■Detailed evaluation

"KITE LIBERATOR" was released in 2008 as a sequel to the OVA "A KITE", and was directed, written and character designed by Umetsu Yasuomi. The work tells the story of Noguchi Momoka, a new assassin who takes over from Suna. On the surface, she is an ordinary high school student, but in the underworld, she is feared as the "Angel of Death". The work depicts her dual nature, her past and the irony of her fate.

The story revolves around Momonaka working part-time at a restaurant called Apollo 11 while carrying out missions in the underworld. Various characters appear around her, and the problems and secrets each of them holds add depth to the story. In particular, Momonaka's relationships with her family and the employees of Apollo 11 play an important role.

The animation quality is extremely high, with the fluidity and tension of the action scenes being particularly impressive. Umetsu Yasuomi's unique drawing style is consistent throughout the film, creating a strong visual impact. The technical capabilities of Digital Frontier and Studio Toriko, who were in charge of the 3D production, also shine through, with the realism of the gunfights and battle scenes being particularly striking.

The music is by Ishikawa Tomohisa and produced by Lantis. The BGM plays a role in enhancing the atmosphere of the work, and is used effectively, especially in tense scenes. The teamwork between sound director Shimizu Katsunori and sound effects director Jinbo Daisuke is also excellent, enhancing the viewer's immersive feeling.

The cast is also impressive, with Marina Inoue's performance as Noguchi Momoka particularly outstanding. She skillfully portrays Momoka's dual nature, leaving a strong impression on viewers. The other cast members also do a great job portraying the individuality of their characters, raising the quality of the entire work.

■Recommendation details

"KITE LIBERATOR" is a work that features dark themes and beautiful visuals. It is especially recommended for those who are interested in the theme of assassins and those who like Yasuomi Umetsu's drawing style. In addition, the action scenes are of high quality, so those who like action anime will also enjoy it.

Please also check out the previous work "A KITE" as a related work. "A KITE" is the story of Sawa, and you can feel the continuity with "KITE LIBERATOR". There is also a "KITE LIBERATOR digest version", so if you want to know the outline of the story, you can refer to this as well.

This is a work that you can enjoy the deep themes, beautiful visuals, and drama woven by strong characters. Please give it a watch.