Nazca: Blood Rivals [DVD]

Features

• Type: DVD
• Studio: Geneon [Pioneer]
• Language(s): english
• Subtitle(s): english
• Actor(s): Japanimation

The awakening memories of past lives as Incas has turned Kyoji's mentor, Tate, into a cold and calculating enemy bent upon a 1,000 year old ambition to purify the human race. While Kyoji refuses to give up on his teacher, he must resume his past opposition to Tate's attempts to revive the powerful Inca magic, Illotese, or else Tate will kill millions of people! Tate and Kyoji both gather allies in the present who are linked to their past, but the ancient memories of past alliances conflict with relationships in the present. Which will be chosen - the past or the present? This improbable fantasy continues, as a group of Japanese high school students explore their previous lives as Inca warriors. Kyoji, the 17-year-old hero, learns that his best friends, the mountain-climbing Dan and Seino, who talks to insects, also are reincarnated Incas. The three young men ally themselves with Yuka, the beautiful fiancée of Kyoji's kendo instructor, Tate. But Tate has assumed his former identity as the warrior Yawaru: he plans to let loose the god Iriyatesse to destroy most of humanity, allowing him to realize his vision of a "purified" civilization. To assist in this scheme, Tate has assembled the psychotic Shiogami; Shiogami's half-sister Tatsuko, who seems to nurture an incestuous passion for her brother; and the nerdy Daimon. In "Decisive Battle," Tate uses Iriyatesse's power to wreck a nearby town, killing thousands of people and revealing the extent of his megalomania. "Nazca" features some handsome designs that evoke the Nazca line figures and Incan gold work. Tsuneyoshi Saito's elaborate score mixes Western classical music, Peruvian-inspired melodies, and pseudo-Philip Glass minimalism, although having Incas chant the "Scotch Snap" theme from the first movement of Dvorák's New World Symphony sounds more than a little incongruous. Rated 13 and older for violence and profanity. --Charles Solomon