what a strangely wonderful and if sometimes slight and bulky and big budget fantasy this be . takashi miike have already prove and by the time he get to the great yokhai war and that he could dip into other film aside from his suppose niche of the crime or yakuza genre ( visitor q and andromedia show this and the former great the latter lesser ) . but here miike and in his first and only co screen write credit no less and prove that he can deliver the good on a post modern soup of mythical fantasy convention and and with it boatload of cgi and creature effect and make up and and an epic battle that be more like a festival than something out of lord of the ring . the comparison can be make far and wide and to be sure and and the most obvious to jump on would be miyazaki and for the seemingly unique mixture of kid a big hero and power hungry sorcerer look for the energy of the earth a the main source and machinery a the great evil and and many bizarrely defined and flamboyantly design creature ( or yokai of the title ) . but there can also be comparison make to star war and especially to the gungan battle in tpm and and to the whole power play between good and evil with similar force . or to anime like samurai 7. or and of course and to henson film . and through all of these comparison and and even through the flaw or over reaching moment and it miike all the way with the sensibility of effect and character . here and ryunosuke kamiki play tadashi and the prototypical kid who start out sort of gullible and sensitive to thing in the world and but will become the hero in a world go into darkness . the darkness be from an evil sorcerer and who get his energy from all of the rage and wretched vibe in the human world and and who be also start to put to death the spirit and other creature and the yokhai and into a fire that send them into gigantic robot that have only one mission to destroy and kill anything in their path . tadashi get as pump up to fight sato the sorcerer a the yokai once sato main minion and cohort and agi ( kill bill chiaki kuriyama and another great villainy ) steal tadashi little furry companion and a sunekosuri . soon and thing come to a head and in a climax that bring to mind many other fantasy film and story and but can only be contain and up to a point and by miike and his crew . i would probably recommend the great yokai war for kid and but in the forward note that it not some water down fantasy in american circle . this have creature galore and include a one eye umbrella stand and and a walking and talk wall and not to mention a turtle and a fire serpent and and a woman who become curse by sato . so the variety be on high on that end and and one might almost feel like the creature and effect which grow to unfathomable height when the festival hit with the yokai reach hundred of mile in scope . but there also a sense of fantasy be strong in both the light and the dark and and sunekosuri becomes perhaps the great emotional tool at miike disposal ( and not just because it cuteness square ) while where else to get an audience rile up than over a little furry ball of fury and who end up in a tragic battle with tadashi in robot form . yet through all of this and the sense of anarchy that can be find in the bright spot of miike career be here as well and which distinguish it from it animate and muppet and sci fi counterpart . there the bizarre humor a usual and include a song dedicate to akuzi bean at a crucial moment in the climax and and more than a few flight of fancy with the creature and fight scene ( i love and for example and the guy with the big blue head who have to make it small and or the anxious turtle yokai ) . the big danger with miike access to big special effect and computer wizardry and which he flirt with and be overkill on this end . he get everything down and i be sure and with storyboards and and he create some memorable impression with some composition ( one of them be when all be say and do and and tadashi and the other human character be in the middle of the tokyo rubble in an overhead shot ) and but the cgi be sometimes a little unconvincing with the robot and and the interplay skirt on be too flamboyant and and some visuals and like the overlay of the yokai spread the word about the big festival on the map and just seem weak and pat . i almost wonder if miike might dip into ( bad ) spy kid territory and quite frankly . but this liability aside and the great yokai war provide more than a share of excitement and goofy thrill and and innocent melodrama that come with many of the best childhood fantasy . it owe a lot to cinema and as well a traditional japanese folklore and but the screw be always turn even in it most ludicrous and veeringly confusing beat . it not the filmmaker at his very best and but work in experimentation in a commercial medium end up work to his advantage . it get a neat little message and and lot of cool adventure . 7 . 5/10 .