My, how far this series has come
From the first time I was ever exposed to the first Bunnykill, I was very interested in the concept but saw it as more of a one-shot sort of flash movie. However, it was when I saw the second movie that I was definitely enthralled by it. The smoothed animations and the rather complex fighting scenes were the staple attractions for this series for its later installations and continued to amaze me with each and every single scene as well occasionally made me smile with the personalities of the hapless grunts as they each fell to Snowball's blade. These elements and more are further exemplified and refined in Bunnykill 5 Part 1, like a blade that has been sharpened to its sharpest edge.
From the moment the first scene of the movie, one could see that Mottis has really pulled out all of the stops in refining his style and animation. The movements of the characters carries a flow unlike other animations and they are exemplified further with the fight scenes. They are quick and concise, building a lot of tension in the action and capturing the familiarity of the Bunnykill series with each slice, break and gunshot deflection. While it carries the feeling of the style of samurai action flicks, the urban environments present a rather enticing contrast to these settings, creating a location of its own within each frame of action animation. Snowball easily glides through his opponents like never before, further highlighting the increase in skill that the animator has experienced over the years working on this series.
On an atmospheric standpoint, I do like the tenseness of the action and its settings. The turmoil beneath the skyscrapers ads to the feeling of emergency throughout and slight foreboding feeling to what is to come for the rest of the animation. The same with usage of color in the scenes reflects a more complete and sharper style on the animator's part, creating a familiar yet different feel to the environments and characters. What's still in full effect has to be the subtle humor within the animation, from references to Metal Gear and the clumsiness of the guards and Snowball's ease of dispatching his opponents, it all ads that extra little dose of the animator's personality and sense of humor to keep it from feeling too action packed or even serious.
Everything that you've come to expect from Bunnykill is here in Bunnykill 5 part 1, but its all been brought forth like you've never seen before. The stylization of the location, characters and actions still carries that enjoyable feeling from scene to scene and the tenseness of combat still makes you stare and beg for more. A definitely great animation for any and all who are fans of action, or even animation in itself to enjoy.
Good work Mottis, and here's to Part 2 blowing off the doors next time!