Well, I must say the design for Orochi was pretty nice. The movie however? Not so much. I felt more like I was watching a historical fiction, then I felt like I was watching an episode of power rangers. The movie focused too much on the "evil gods" and "sacred powers" and such much more than the creature. The movie had three main monsters (not including the phoenix) which included a Lava creature, a sea monster, and of course Orochi, the eight headed dragon. The movie title and even the cover of my VHS copy (call me old school) focus on the dragon, but the dragon doesn't even make his appearance until after 80% or more of the film is already over. Not to mention the fact that when Yamato takes his Godly giant samurai robot thing form, he finishes the dragon off within all of 2 minutes. I mean, this movie is extremely hard to come by these days and I was interested in seeing it ever since I was a kid. It was a real disappointment for me, but hey, that's not to say for everyone. I will mention though that this movie drags, oh god does it drag, it was one of the longest Toho films I think I've seen. Well, maybe it just felt longer because I was bored. Who knows?

I saw this film in the form of a DVD with the title "Orochi: The Eight Headed Dragon," and found it very entertaining. The comment below about a mix of styles is apropos. To me, it almost seems like different directors and/or art directors were in charge at various times. Approximately the first 1/4 of the film is exquisitely stylish, with beautifully composed shots in which color is delicately harmonized, (an upward shot of the hero Prince Yamato with cherry blossoms in full bloom overhead, a procession of people in pastel-hued costumes zigzagging up a path on a green hill, Prince Yamato at the edge of a brook in the middle of a forest), and the costumes and interiors are of strikingly beautiful design. As the scope and action of the film picks up it seems to take on a garish, cartoon-like look, and becomes more reminiscent of the old Ray Harryhausen monster and magic films. Near the end, it seemed to me to take on a more familiar Japanese monster style, with huge puppets and actors in rubber or plastic suits. The special effects are also an oddly mixed bag. Most of them seemed dated by today's standards, but nevertheless pretty to see. There were, however, two or three morphing effects that were obviously done by CGI.The stylistic schizophrenia aside, I found the whole thing quite enjoyable. Not being too familiar with the Japanese sword and sorcery genre, I can only take others at their word that this sort of thing has been done better in Japan, but I had a good time seeing it and found more than one point of reference to more familiar genres.

This movie starts out with a great plot and lots of action, it has good special effects, character development isn't all that good. But you still seem to get a bit of "presence" toward each character. This movie would have been one of the best movies I have ever seen, that is if it didn't fall into a "slump". This "slump" beginning after the return from their quest, the movie takes a unseen turn into space, and starts going downhill from there. But still a great movie.

I enjoyed this movie a lot, and am frankly surprised that the few reviews I have seen of it have been so harsh. It's beautiful, filled with action and imagination, and fun to watch. Rather than taking itself seriously, as some of the reviews have said, it is perhaps innocent instead of cynical. The story begins with the creation of the universe, then quickly moves to the birth of a future hero, one of a pair of twin princes who must somehow surmount a whole series of harsh circumstances, ruthless enemies and, with the help of the woman he loves, eventually defeat a returning god! I found it well-done, visually enjoyable and fun. It has everything - handsome heroes, evil villains, handsome evil gods, beautiful heroines, sword fighting, cool special effects, mythological creatures, giant monsters, honor, love, sacrifice and triumph. Though for easy reference I called it a Japanese 'Clash of the Titans', I enjoyed it a great deal more than 'Clash'.