It’s time for another Rising Sun, and today’s topic animation is one that serves as one of Blu-Ray’s most amazing showcases.

Many gamers are familiar with the role-playing game genre, which was originally a niche genre before SquareSoft released Final Fantasy VII on the PlayStation. The game, which was the story of a mercenary named Cloud Strife gathering a team to stop supersolider Sephiroth from destroying the planet, was released to almost universal acclaim. So saying Square would eventually make a true sequel to Final Fantasy VII was like saying the United States would eventually recover from the economic slump of 2005. And when we got that sequel, a film called Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children, reception was rather mixed, praising the visuals but questioning the storyline. With the rise of Blu-Ray Discs and a desire for a superior cut of the movie, director Tetsuya Nomura went back and made a extended edition called Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children Complete.

The movie, set two years after the game, depicts Cloud as a co-proprietor of a delivery company, while also struggling to throw off the self-imposed gulit of not being able to stop the deaths of his friends Aerith and Zack. Not helping matters is the fact that the populace is suffering a illness called Geostigma, and three silver-haired youths are trying to bring Sephiroth back to life.

Square-Enix is known for dazzling visuals in games and movies, so the film has visuals that make you feel like you’re part of the film, as well as fight scenes that defy physical logic but also feel crisp and what you’d expect from the game’s heroes. The storyline has also improved over the previous release, providing more of a recap of Final Fantasy VII, providing more exposition and extending the climax, the part of the film that shines the most. And the music, oh man the music. With series regular Nobou Uematsu returning for the movie, the music of the film is mostly remixes of songs from the game, but it really pays off. Uematsu was also quite willing to experiment in mixing orchestra and metal at the end of the film, and it pays off, since the song in question was a mix of Jimmy Hendrix and Igor Stravinsky’s composing styles.

It’s kinda hard to find a copy of Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children Complete on Blu-Ray these days, but I still reccomend the film to science fiction fans, action film fans and Final Fantasy fans alike.