The setting is great and the visuals are stunning. Elements from Nihei's earlier works, such as something like a 'graviton beam emitter' and the iconic food ration bar, reappear in this movie. If you are a fan of giant robots (though not as sophisticated as those in BLAME!), megaprojects, and a long-dead hyperadvanced civilisation, you won't be let down.
However, the 'Nihei feel' stops there. The plot seems rushed in a few places, and suggest that the movie should start later in the series and the TV season should be more compact. The plot even fails to be believable: why wouldn't a determined and smart Kaina put on the admin suit in the room he found it? That the suit had to be taken away by the villain suggests the laziness of the writers: they couldn't even come up with a more engaging way to make Kaina fail (they could say that the suit would only respond to certain genes possessed by Plant residents, for instance). The characters seem underdeveloped. The man in black is the most stereotypical narcissistic villan I've ever seen.
However, the 'Nihei feel' stops there. The plot seems rushed in a few places, and suggest that the movie should start later in the series and the TV season should be more compact. The plot even fails to be believable: why wouldn't a determined and smart Kaina put on the admin suit in the room he found it? That the suit had to be taken away by the villain suggests the laziness of the writers: they couldn't even come up with a more engaging way to make Kaina fail (they could say that the suit would only respond to certain genes possessed by Plant residents, for instance). The characters seem underdeveloped. The man in black is the most stereotypical narcissistic villan I've ever seen.