• Most new users don't bother reading our rules. Here's the one that is ignored almost immediately upon signup: DO NOT ASK FOR FANEDIT LINKS PUBLICLY. First, read the FAQ. Seriously. What you want is there. You can also send a message to the editor. If that doesn't work THEN post in the Trade & Request forum. Anywhere else and it will be deleted and an infraction will be issued.
  • If this is your first time here please read our FAQ and Rules pages. They have some useful information that will get us all off on the right foot, especially our Own the Source rule. If you do not understand any of these rules send a private message to one of our staff for further details.
  • Please read our Rules & Guidelines

Sukaiwaka Fortress, The:

MCP

Well-known member
Messages
12,824
Reaction score
440
Trophy Points
168
Sukaiwaka Fortress, The:


'"Yib Nub" echoes in my mind.'

This is not an easy thing to pull off. Take a classic - arguably untouchable - (in mono) and rescore it with Star Wars, change character names and subtitles, make it family friendly, maintain the narrative, make it feel new and yet familiar.... The editor succeeds in all these things, resulting in what is hands down one of my favourite fanedits to date.

Aside: The funny thing about fanedits is you forget they're not normal. I had two very confused people walk in during my viewing and they just couldn't understand why they were hearing Star Wars music and seeing an old, black and white, Japanese film. One even asked: "what episode is this?"

Video - Exellent quality. No noticeable transitions.

Audio - Very well done. I'm often very suspicious of rescoring since it's so easy to get wrong. The levels need to be just right otherwise it can be incredibly distracting. Ssj did an absolutely wonderful job. The choices of score were perfect 99% of the time (the 1% being a subjective quibble not worth mentioning), and the levels were just right for me, blending perfectly with the film. There were a couple of points where the film audio dropped out leaving just music, but it was a rare occurrence and by no means jarring. Naturally, working with mono means some compromise is inevitable.

Narrative

Dare I say it? An improvement. It's been a while since I've seen the original, but it felt like it flowed so much better. Sure, the scoring probably helped, but I know SSJ also did some trimming and I certainly didn't miss anything. Making the flick family friendly is also a nice bonus.

Of course, the added Star Warsian element is masterfully done. Clever name changes, loads of subtle lines that felt natural and yet also sang with referential nerdiness, and excellent music choice to not only stir the soul with a sense of nostalgia, but enable one to connect with the characters and events all the more.

Favourite moments (spoilers):

- Binary sunset during the Princess' mourning was perfect.
- Loved Duel of the Fates during the spear battle
- Emperor Palpatine's/Throne Room theme during when Jin is identifying them. Gorgeous. Sent chills down my spine AND (spoilerrrrrr) made his switching of sides all the more unexpected.

It's so tempting to list all my favourite lines and references, but I'll restrain myself. If you're reading this review and you haven't watched it yet (chrono-hop featurette included) - watch it.

Now.


https://ifdb.fanedit.org/the-sukaiwaka-fortress/discussions/9913/
 
Top Bottom