Kill Bill Chapter 3: The Origin of O-Ren

SaoriJade Jul 22, 2011

7

This is a tricky one to opinionate on since it's just a part of the movie Kill Bill, no longer than 10 minutes probably. I was so stoked to see this part of the film, it's so awesome. I absolutely adore the anime style. The story and characters are hard to rate though because we don't really get too much detail. I wish it was longer! Though I truly wish that they would come up with something like this more, and for it to be an original project - That would be ABSOLUTELY amazing, in my opinion. xo Saori

LouieBee Dec 21, 2013

6.8

Note: This review contains minor spoilers.It must be clarified that Kill Bill Chapter 3: The Origin of O-Ren was never released as a standalone OVA. In truth, its function was pieced into the film, primarily summarising the character of Kill Bill: Volume 1's central villain, O-Ren Ishii. Just to make a quick digression, Quentin Tarantino's movie structure has always followed a novel formula. On this occassion, it is done in nod to a similar revenge flick in the seminal Lady Snowblood (which was based on a seinen manga). Although Tarantino picks up on a multitude of cinematic techniques, applying them to his own films whenever possibly, it is clear he has a wider grasp of popular culture and the fact that this sequence is made by a Japanese animation studio in the first place presents us with a mainstream recognition of Japanimation in western media. Anyway, returning to the topic at hand, this brief but harrowing 5-10 minute backstory serves only to provide the exposition of O-Ren's ascension into the criminal world, with all dialogue told in third person narration by Uma Thurman's character - "The Bride" (Black Mamba).The use of art and sound in particular are some of the most powerful in Japanimation. The sadistic violence recorded in O-Ren's disturbed childhood are, in true Shakespearean flair, thoroughly tragic and vengeful. The Origin of O-Ren shares the same relentless style that Tarantino's other films capture, and Goddamn, is it effective. Never did I think beforehand either that Luis Bacalov's theme to "Grand Duel" could be so depressing either. Yet, as mentioned in another review, the problem with The Origin of O-Ren lies in how short the run-time actually is. Outside of the brutalising scene described prior, most of O-Ren's history is lazily recounted through static shots which rely heavily on Uma Thurman's narration. There are a number of inevitable plotholes that crop-up as the film skips over important stages of her life too for the sake of building up her assassin persona, and really, that is a shame. We're never given the full-explanation of O-Ren's properties that edged her into transforming from a cute child to a stone-cold killer. It is worth pointing out that even by Volume 2, we're presented with little information about the Black Mamba's history before becoming an assassin, or even in Bill and the rest of his assocciates for that matter. O-Ren is the only character to have a detailed chapter dedicated to her past, and explaining how she became a killer. Nethertheless, while Kill Bill is my least favourite of Taraninto's creative ouput, I understand why it is so important for Otakus and cinefiles alike. Really, it was a surprise to me that Tarantino incorporated an animated sequence into his film at all. I doubt we'll ever see such recongition of anime from a Hollywood motion picture studio again either, especially on an R-Rated movie. It is only disappointing then that they didn't take the potential of the animation any further than telling O-Ren's story in a different way.

Jessiohhh Aug 15, 2018

6

This is a very dark vignette in Kill Bill. I really enjoyed Kill Bill and this chapter of the film. The art is cool. The back story is cool. I would recommend seeing the entire movie and not just this chapter.