Just so...so bad

This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

This is a dark and sometimes deeply uncomfortable drama

Director and storyboarder Yasuomi Umetsu's high octane visuals hang from KITE's basic, unoriginal storyline, but don't let that put you off this pleasing document.An assassin forced to kill and driven into occasional sexual servitude by perverted bosses is the basic set-up of this excuse for subversion (nothing wrong with that).That the assassin looks twelve (despite her concessionary breasts) is why KITE is questionable material in more conservative circles.The shoot-outs are beautifully realized and the sound effects are sharp and effective. Umetsu has a passion for the domino effect of violence as one grisly atrocity begets another until the Tokyo streets and subways resemble a hellish inferno.The erotic sequences, cut or softened in some versions, are as explicit as you can possibly get and gorgeously drawn.The 2004 Kitty Media DVD (the only one to get) is totally uncut, as is a German disc released a couple of year's ago (sans English subs).KITE is juvenile in spots, slow in others, but it's a good animated co-feature if you're thinking of screening Luc Besson's THE PROFESSIONAL for your comrades.

To put it out flat, if you are into chick flicks, or movies with commendable plots, you probably won't like this anime.But if you are simple in your tastes, this anime is good. It has just about everything you could hope for. Its especially good for a late Friday night rental. Revenge, violence, unique love story sub-plot (I believe), and a slightly dramatic ending. And even though this anime showcases the wonderfully cliché components of a naked girl, guns, and action violence, the plot itself is very interesting and different from your run-of-the-mill mecha or Tokyo-pop girl/boy out to save the world, or at least the city of Japan.8 out of 10.

this is certainly not the best anime out there, but dont take it too seriously and have fun with the really twisted story and well thought-out action sequences. the ending is very rushed. i had to watch it a couple times until i figured out exactly what happens. its no akira or space battleship yamato, but kite still delivers good entertainment at a decent level of inteligence. on some levels kite reminded me of the professional (natalie portman movie). i've heard some people complain that its too short, but i couldnt imagine this anime being any longer than 50 minutes.

When I first saw this film, it was the edited American version (its missing nearly 1/2 hour), and I instantly fell in love with it. I am a huge fan of anime, but I prefer actual movie format (like that of "Perfect Blue") as opposed to the OVA format (like the "Slayers" series). This movie had an excellent plot, rapid-fire animated sequences, and alot of violence and weapons-play. I personally didn't care much for the animator's style, but that is more than made up for in the fluidity of the frames. Watching the movie in its original Japanese will help answer alot of questions that, due to mouth-syncing shortcomings, were not really addressed. And, although "Kite" (pronounced "kah-ee-toe", if one were to read the katakana on the boxfront... pronouncing it like "kee-teh" will mean something entirely different in Japanese) is missing that 1/2 hour of footage, there is nothing really lost in the plot or motif. Anyone who does not watch this film superficially will put the missing details together by context clues throughout. Overall I say that if you can, get the video in its original Japanese, with subtitles in English if necessary...get the raw feel for the film. However, the full unedited version, if you're interested, is only available in Japan, and Hong Kong, I believe. The video and DVD formats used there aren't programmed to play on American players. So, if you want to see it uncut, you'll have to see it in the country of origin.