In this OVA, the story of Gau's history with his adopted sister and the secrets that make up the shadow skill unfold. The pair make their annual return to the gravesite of Gau's parents, where his growth and progress as a warrior can be exhibited for them. Gau has come along way in his training as a Sevalle under Elle's mentorship, but there are those who wish to find a way of eliminating them, just waiting for the right opportunity to mount a deadly attack. As the travellers make their journey, their family bonds and skill will be tested. Opponents are many, and battles are fierce, but Gau's training also entails taking on his sister in battle, and fully embracing the skills he must learn to defeat his ultimate opponent.
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"Shadow Skill" is an Action/Anime OVA directed by Hiroshi Negishi. This anime was released in the US/UK by Manga Entertainment.Basic plot: 14-year old Gau Ban goes once again to his parents grave; his parents were killed by bandits when he was 10, while his adoptive sister Ella Ragu can martial arts. But after getting attacked by a monster called Wolfman, he is later forced to fight Ella and master Scarface. Ella wants to teach him a powerful martial art called 'Shadow Skill'...This is my story in relation to this OVA; As a little boy, the only anime I had seen was the Norwegian dub of "Panda no Daibouken (Panda's Adventures)", which was my childhood favorite film before "Toy Story (1996)" came. Where I live, bloody animations and such stuff simply didn't exist. I didn't know anything about this kind of animations until I accidentally discovered "Shadow Skill" (released by Polygram Video) year 1998. This one was rated 18 according to the Norwegian video box, and I was only 12-year old. My dad even had to pay some money to rent this, so my big sister and I got to see this anyway. No kidding here.This 50-minute long film happened to be my first time in my life to see an animated film where characters beat the crap out of each other, blood splatters everywhere, and some complicated talking go on. Despite released on Norwegian VHS, the film was the English dub version by Manga Entertainment without any subs. The same with "Venus Wars", "Akira" and "Ninja Scroll" which we saw the next three years. Anyway, my big sister and I really liked this film, and happened to be noted on big sister's wish-list.Once again, this was my first time in my life to see such violent anime OVA, and "Shadow Skill" (as well as the other three anime movies I mentioned above) will always remind me about this being the beginning of my life as an anime-interested guy. My rating for this anime is 5 of 6 points. ;-)
Shadow Skill has all that you want from a action anime: fight scenes, blood, gore, competent dialogue, if you think you relate to certain anime characters, this anime is for you. From the king of the moon, to Ella, to her younger brother Gal, you will be surprised as to how well this classic holds up compared to a more produced, or "polished" anime. I first watched it on the action channel, which no longer exists. It is truly one of those anime's you must watch, because it will be brought up some day in your future and you will look stupid for not having seen it!All kidding aside, I recommend this movie to people age 13 and older, because despite the blood and gore, it will instill you with a sense of righteousness you never knew you had. If someone ever tells you that shadow skill is mediocre, they probably don't watch a lot of anime, because it does have its flaws. I believe the frame rate might be a little low or something, its actually been a while since I've seen it, so I just remember how awesome it was.
Shadow skill is a poor excuse for a film, let alone an anime. From the start it throws you into the thick of plot which is complex (but hey, a lot of good animes do have complex plots) ,slightly shoddy and has been used way to many times before. Where as some films throw you in the thick of a plot and let the viewer figure out the plot for themselves to the viewer's satisfactory, Shadow Skill is just a barrage of confusion from start to the very end (if you can last that long). Shadow Skill does have one strong point though; some of the fight scenes are are very good. After all, Shadow Skill is an action/adventure anime but the fights do not save it. The plot is just so darn bad!!! If you want a good action anime, try fist of the north star and don't let Shadow Skill ruin any good anime experiences for the future.
In a war-torn world, a martial art called "Shadow Skill" exists, and you must fight to survive. Although interesting, pretty boring characters and a very hard-to-follow story line with several plot holes (I'm not kidding, and I fully understood "Akira"). However, the bit of story line that does make sense is pretty good, and the fight sequences are excellent.Gau and his sister, Elle, set off in a journey to his parents' grave, as they have done each year for four years. However, it is in Elle's blood to fight, even if it isn't in Gau's. But Elle will teach Gau the ultimate art: the art of... "Shadow Skill"!