Earlier this year, it was announced that All You Need Is Kill, the inspiration for 2014’s Edge of Tomorrow, would be receiving a full-fledged anime film adaptation. Edge of Tomorrow’s middling success seemed to have all but killed any interest in making a franchise out of the story, so the news was nothing short of surprising, to say the least.
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While All You Need Is Kill won’t have its official premiere until January 2026, the film is currently being shown at various festivals across the country, and sure enough, All You Need Is Kill is a truly amazing film from start to finish. After seeing the film at New York Comic Con, it’s hard to see this as anything other than a near-perfect adaptation of the story.
Rating: 4.5 Stars out of 5
| PROS | CONS |
| Visually stunning with masterful use of CGI. | Character designs might come across as more weird than stylistic to some. |
| Changes the original narrative into something equally provoking while still respecting the source material. | |
| The main characters have more depth than they’ve ever been given in any version of the story. |
Why All You Need Is Kill Is One Of Modern Anime’s Most Visually Stunning Films
The first thing to immediately stand out about All You Need Is Kill will be its visual style. It’s one thing for it to be an animated movie as opposed to Edge of Tomorrow’s live-action adaptation, but it also uses very stylized 3D visuals that are often weird to look at, especially when compared to the manga by Takeshi Obata.
Fortunately, none of that is a deterrent to the film; not only does All You Need Is Kill’s visual design contribute to the surreal nature of the plot, but the 3D, itself, is used surprisingly well with little to none of the rigidness often associated with CG anime, a true testament to the talents of the staff at Studio 4°C.
What’s especially great about it is how well the visuals are used for stunning scenes of animation, whether it’s a great action scene or something that fully utilizes the surrealness of the narrative. The final scene, in particular, was a great combination of both, and it might very well be the best 3D anime to watch.
All of this, of course, can be attributed to the fantastic work of the director, Ken’ichiro Akimoto; Akimoto is best known as the CGI director for Children of the Sea, so while this is his directorial debut, that experience does a lot to make him the perfect person to give All You Need Is Kill such a stunning visual style.
How All You Need Is Kill Changes Its Story For The Better
The biggest standout of All You Need Is Kill, of course, is its story. Much like 2014’s Edge of Tomorrow, All You Need Is Kill isn’t a straightforward adaptation, as not only is the war completely different, but it also makes Rita Vrataski the protagonist and Keiji Kiriya the supporting protagonist, a clear inverse of the original story.
That being said, those changes work surprisingly well, as between the unique take on the original story, the depth Rita is given through her new arc of overcoming familial trauma, and how fun it is to finally see the male protagonist supporting Rita, it does plenty to add its own spin to the original narrative while still paying it respect.
Going off of that, Rita and Keiji’s relationship truly is the highlight of the film. Unlike other takes on the story, Rita and Keiji are presented more as equals, and between that and the other changes to the story, they’re given far more poignant arcs as a duo and as individuals that are far more fun to watch play out.
All of that reaches its peak with the ending; All You Need Is Kill has a happier and more conclusive ending than the novel and manga, even directly borrowing elements from Edge of Tomorrow, but with how different the new story is and how depressing the old ending was, it’s not only fitting, but it’s incredibly cathartic, as well.
Is The All You Need Is Kill Anime The Best Version Of The Story?
Overall, there’s plenty to love about All You Need Is Kill. Not only does it have a unique and all-around gorgeous art and animation style, but the changes made to the original story do a great job of adding something new while still paying respect to the source material, making for a fantastic experience for old and new fans alike.
In many respects, that all puts the anime far above every version of the story to come before it; not only is it more optimistic than the novel and manga in a way that doesn’t feel forced, but unlike Edge of Tomorrow, it puts in effort to maintain the original narrative, resulting in a far more competent work, overall.
None of that is to say that those stories are bad, but the anime elevates the narrative to such an incredible level that everything else just pales in comparison. Studio 4°C’s All You Need Is Kill is probably one of the best anime films of recent years, and everyone needs to watch it when it makes its premiere next January.
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