juicyjujube21 The first time I saw this movie I was about 12 or 13 and I absolutely loved it. At the time I was (and still am) very interested in Japanese culture, both past and present... So I was very excited to see this film. It took my until just 5 minutes ago to find this film again!!!For those who don't watch very many foreign films, it may be a little hard to understand and follow along with the plot, it may not be a brilliant plot, but it is better than a few people have said on here. All in all it is a very interesting film about Japanese occult. Rating 10/10Saw it on: Showtime Beyond

screaminmimi I agree with just about everything Jaida says, except that I wasn't a fan of Sanada-sama's going into it. This was only the second movie of his I'd seen, the first being "Tasogare Seibei." This was the movie that, because of the vast difference between the two characters of Doson and Seibei, made me fall in love with Sanada's acting.It's worthwhile to note that this was Nomura Mansai's first major film role, having come from a Noh background. He didn't overplay or stylize the way you might expect a Noh actor to do on film, but there was something not quite right about his performance... all the good things Jaida said I agree with, but I also felt like Nomura was standing outside and commenting on stuff. I suppose Sanada was guilty of it too. If that's the film's self-consciousness, it wasn't uniform. Perhaps it was a choice to represent these two sorcerers as standing outside human reality, but the other sorcerers didn't behave this way.I'll have to watch it again to appreciate the cheesier effects as part of an intentional package. Again, though, the cheesiness wasn't uniform. Some of the effects were technically perfect and dazzling and just made the cheesy ones seem even cheesier.I must say I didn't like Ito Hideaki's performance at all, except when he was doing things that didn't require him to speak. He's darned cute, and maybe he'll be an actor some day. On the other hand, Takita got a lot of bang for the buck from Koizumi Kyoko, yet another pop star turned actress, and a great performance from a real actress, Natsukawa Yui. She was awesome. I don't know why no one mentions her. I would have to say "Onmyoji" is a hell of a lot more feminist than "Genji Monogatari," and the feminism was on fire in Natsukawa's performance. Emoto Akira as her father was strangely not weird. He was good, but I've come to expect him to be weird and good. He was just Dad here.Also, this just betrays my Nihon-eiga geekiness, Kishibe Ittoku is one of the better ex-rockstar actors in Japan. I'd love to see him carry a picture as a lead. I never recognize him from one role to the next, except for his voice, and in "Onmyoji," not even his voice gave him away. He's always fun to watch.

apendraggin I was amazed at the hypnotic affect of this movie.It was so beautiful and enthralling and entertaining.So much so that I had to find it on the internet and must buy it for my library as well as Onmyoji II which was even better!I can hope we have not seen the last of this wonderfully beautiful and compelling story and cast.I read the subtitled version and I still cannot wait to see it again.I am excited that My Japanese Fiancé has never seen it and I cannot wait to send it to her.I would recommend this movie to anyone who likes Beautiful stories in a historical context.The special effects added to the story without being distracting.I cannot praise it enough to express how much the movies effected me.

movieman_kev This Japanese period piece/fable/fantasy/comic-book adaption hybrid film was the second highest grossing movie of 2001, just behind the superb "Spirited Away". It's not as good as that aforementioned film. A fantasy that long to be epic, yet falls a tad bit short thanks to sub-par special effects. That's not to say it's not enjoyable, as it is. Very much so. Just that, for me, the effects turned a film that could have been great into one that's merely pretty good. That said I still look forward to viewing the sequel.My Grade: BWhere i saw it: Showtime Beyond