User Reviews

good Spanish traditional animated movie, better than a few i've seen in the last months, the voices are all in English, so if you don't like to hear movies spoken in other language then English like me it's an important factor. the movie has a very driven storyline but very well explained, it tells the story of a samurai that awakens from the past to get the key to a magical portal, that opens a door to a dimension of hellish creatures, and it's his job to prevent it from happening, the animation is good if you look it was done on low budget, it refers many historical reference and culture of Spain, since the whole movies takes place in Spain(2004), hope to see in the near future something like this but in my home country Portugal. in conclusion it's a very nice movie to watch hope you like, has much as i did =)

Gisaku is a 2005 animated film directed by Baltasar Pedrosa Clavero. Despite being Spanish, it was made in the style of Japanese anime, thus being the first of its kind made in Europe. A nice but failed film with the aim of bringing Spanish culture and reality closer to Japanese society during the Aichi Universal Expo in 2005."It is a way of selling the image of our country with a different formula," commented María Jesús Escribano, a member of the SEEI, an organization that has co-produced the film. It was officially presented dubbed in Japanese in the Spanish pavilion at Expo 2005. It first premiered at the "Hispanic Beat Film Festival" in Tokyo on September 21, 2005. It was later released in Spain on March 17, 2006. In the introduction, the narrator tells of Yohei's arrival in Spain as part of the diplomatic mission sent by the founder of Sendai, Date Masamune, in order to establish a commercial relationship. The Subdelegate's name is Hasekura Tsunenaga, a vassal of Masamune, who first disembarked in Acapulco, New Spain, crossing the Pacific Ocean, and then headed towards Europe to visit Madrid, Spain and Rome, Italy, thus becoming the first Japanese to cross The Atlantic ocean. In Italy, that mission was granted an audience with the Supreme Pontiff. History places the departure of this mission in 1613 and the return around 1620. However, at the beginning the narrator places the fight between Yohei and the demon Gorkan in the same year 1620 and the arrival of Gisaku in Spain around 1625. It is also suggested that Yohei knew Cervantes but he died in 1616. Somewhere in Spain, a samurai waits patiently to fulfill a mission that was entrusted to him in the past: to protect the Izanagi Key from evil. The Key, made up of powerful pieces, closes a door that crosses the threshold of the world. Gisaku is the story of a Samurai who waits patiently in Spain to complete his long-entrusted mission: protect the Key of Izanagi from evil , while a spell transports the 17th-century samurai to modern-day . Concerning a fight between good and evil, in which a group of very opposite characters must work as a team to prevent Gorkan, the Lord of Darkness, from fulfilling his goal: invading the world with his demonic hordes. In the course of their mission Ricky, Gisaku, Yohei, Lynceto and Moira will be forced to overcome their internal conflicts and overcome numerous difficulties.

The movie is an enjoyable animation film but it is developed in fits and starts with a lot of flaws , failures and gaps . "Gisaku" cannot be seen in the same way as when you go to the cinema to see the latest Walt Disney film, mainly because it was not initially conceived for you or me to see, but for the Japanese to see. "Gisaku" was forged from a contest opened by the State Society for International Exhibitions , with the aim of bringing Spanish culture and reality closer to Japanese society. Producers proposed a contest of ideas to bring an Anime production to the Aichi Exhibition in Tokyo in 2005 so that it would be a part included in the cultural proposal of the Spanish pavilion and Filmax productions won. Logically when you show your house to the outsider you try to keep it tidy and show how beautiful you are, not how dirty you are . Production was completed in just 20 months due to deadline requirements, which, for those who understand a bit and know how long it took to make Otomo's Akira" or Mizayaki's "Castle of Cagliostro", or ¨Mamoru Oshii's Ghost in the shell¨ will understand that you can't compare with the best of the Japanese animation. Especially since we are facing an experiment, the first European anime in history and almost a milestone.

The action shows also sightseeing , famous buildings, monuments and streets from several Spanish locations , especially Sevilla and Barcelona. Production by Julio Fernandez, ruling of Filmax Productions and Fantastic Factory is fine . He has become one of the most important producers of the country . Actually, the position of his organization responds fully to the opportunities of the European and international markets in the leisure sector, emphasizing on the fantastic genre, through Fantastic Factory and animation with Filmax Animation, to the global market on home video, television and also theatrically . He has produced successful cartoon films as ¨El Raton Perez I and II¨ or "The Hairy Tooth Fairy", ¨Gisaku¨ , ¨Nocturna¨, ¨DonkeyXote¨, ¨El Cid : the legend¨ also directed by José Pozo and ¨Goomer¨, among others . The idea behind this anime Gisaku is creative and partially well executed and it will appeal to the younger spectators . The picture produced by José Pozo was regular but professionally directed by Baltasar Pedrosa . Rating : 5.5/10.

it is very very interesting film. well.... i would be very interested to see who was funding it. it seems that it was not film but rather Spain's science promotional material, which would be OK, if i would know i am renting promo, not animation film. yes there was scenario and a story... attached to main and most important part - PROMOTION ! apart from this i personally think this could be a normal animation film, the scenario (not too original) had some potential. I was listening it in English, and i found dialog very strange in a bad way. not sure which was original language though, so its not necessarily a reason to complain.

Gisaku is the first full-length anime produced in Europe, more specifically Spain. It is an action-packed, captivating movie about four mismatched individuals who race against time to obtain five magical stones. They are in a race against time before a dimensional portal opens and their enemy, a demon named Gorkam, can get his hands on the pieces and unleash his horde of demons.

There really is no justification for such a low rating on here. It is, granted, extraordinarily unknown and rare. It never quite got the attention it deserved, and today is hard to even find on DVD. It's quite strange considering it only came out 7 years ago. The original version is of course in Spanish, so the English version is more widespread. It's alright, but it naturally sounds rather weird how there are a lot of different English accents. So? That happens in all dubs.

The characters are a lively, entertaining bunch, especially Linceto, a lynx who was mutated into a humanoid lynx-man by Gorkam. The animation is action-packed and delivered well. The final ten minutes of the film are breathtaking, with a colossal fight scene and terrifying, apocalyptic tones. Give this film a chance. It has a semi-anime style and entertaining characters to justify it. One of the rarest animated movies in recent memory, but if you come across it, I highly encourage you to give it a view.