The concept of BLADE OF THE PHANTOM MASTER really interested me, and the outcome surprised me. The film reminded me of an 80's anime, dealing with magic, goblins, devils and whatnot. However, as a film, it has a few flaws. Basically there these people called Angyo Onshi they are warriors with mystical powers. The main character is one of these Angyo Onshi. He travels around, killing corrupt kings and other villains. But when a man who saves him is killed in the desert, this warrior sets out to find his fiance and free her from a mad king, and the two form an unlikely alliance. BLADEOF THE PHANTOM MASTER moves at a good pace, once the right characters are lined up to complete its entire story. But there are problems. This is a film, so you need good character development and this film heavily lacks that. The main character has no real background, other than we know he's an Angyo Onshi and we don't know a lot about the female character and how she got her ability's. The film, although places its characters in this universe nicely, there is no real storyline for them to follow. Instead, it plays out like a few stand alone shorts that have no real conclusion. But the film is very brutal and the main character, although extremely unlikeable, is very good at what he does. His attitude reminds me of Wolverine or Mad Max. He only cares about himself, his desires and he does some really surprising things to save his own neck.

Aside from the violence, the art work and special effects are great. I like the atmosphere and this world too. Mixed with that and its lack of characters that offer little to no flavor in the story and its episodic nature that would of worked better as an OVA or an actual show, the film is fun as hell. A perfect two-hour killer that will keep you interested with some pretty bold moves that you wont see coming. I liked it, I just wish they could of expanded it. Is there a sequel? If there is, I would love to get my hands on it.