Much, much better than it sounds. This is not a great, ground-breaking movie, but it is highly enjoyable.I bought this as an inexpensive VCD format movie, not expecting a great deal. But I was surprised to find it a kind of mangaesque fairytale come to life, in some style. I suppose this must have been made for a young audience, and I am an adult, but I enjoyed the story, visuals, and music.Something else I also enjoyed--the absence of a smart-mouthed bratty kid, the kind that shows up in Hollywood movies, and is portrayed as a wonderful thing. Asian movies seem not to do that! HUZZAH! Like a lot of other Asian movies, this also emphasizes loyalty and family, something Hollywood seems to have largely forgotten during the last 40 years.

I bought this as a VCD in Hong Kong for $3 (Hong Kong Dollars), which is about 50 American cents. I can easily say that it was very much worth the money! :-) I thought it would be a Chinese film with bad costumes, but found myself watching a special-effects packed Japanese manga-in-motion flick with lots of cool stuff.It's very nice computer-game-styled story, which is super-simple, but fun to watch. The slow episodes between the action are not at all bad, but instead interesting and even though they don't give the film any depth, they are as well done as the action-scenes since the actors and actresses are very good.I felt like I was watching an Asian version of WILLOW, or maybe a live-action role playing game, but I guess comparisons just don't give this film enough credit.There are really only one down-part (which is major, though!) and that's the silly STAR WARS-inspired "good demons"-dance scene. Fast forward that, and the rest is perfect.I really enjoyed the evil puppet master too, and especially his dolls! 8 of out 10. I was genuinely surprised by the quality!

OK, that was rather vague, but this movie really has the feeling of the "floating world" of ukiyoe paintings. It was the most unusual and striking thing about Sakuya, Slayer of Demons - that a simple fairy tale story would be portrayed in such a beautiful, classy, stylized atmosphere. Despite being a story fit for children, the movie is easily watchable by all ages - the effects are cool, the monsters are very interesting (being from a non-western mythological tradition), and the heroine is tough, stoic, fair and honorable.

Credible action flick even if it's obviously a kid's movie. Great special effects are the primary attraction here. The cast treats the material with deadly seriousness, but they're fun to watch anyway. And the fight scenes are above average. But some parts looked like a bad rehash of "H.R. Puffenstuff."