Plot Details: This opinion reveals major details about the movie's plot.

Hellboy: Storm of Swords (2006) Directed by Phil Weinstein and Tad Stones. Story by Mike Mignola.

”Oh, crap.” Hellboy.

While Hellboy, Abe Sapien and Liz are fighting an incarnation of Camazotz, the Mayan bat god of Night, Sacrifice and Death and his undead priests in Honduras, in Japan, Professor Sukai finds someone has sent him a scroll with a story about two demons, Thunder and Lightning, their reign of terror, and how it caused the Daimyo to promise his only daughter to them, and how they were thwarted by a samurai who loved her. He trapped the demons in his blade. Alas, the lovers did not have a happy end…

Nor does the Professor have a happy ending, as the spirits within the scroll possess him. He is compelled to seek out the sword, and when he finds it…bad things ensue.

So Hellboy, still covered in Bat Gore, is diverted straight away to Japan with Kate Corrigan and one of the Bureau’s psychics, Russell Thorne.

While Russell is warning about unfriendly umbrellas and Kate is dealing with the irate owner, Hellboy finds himself drawn into the scroll, and trapped in a land of Japanese mythology. A strange vixen appears as a sort of guide.

Hellboy’s adventures take him through several great myths and legends of Japan. His guide Kitsune tells him he carries the Sword of Storms, and that it has tasted the blood of Demons. He sees an apparition of the princess, learning her hero never came.

Back in the real world, Kate notices his disappearance, and the growing storm that has formed mysteriously. And we see the Professor, swollen by magic, and still dangerous.

Hellboy finds himself in a strange inn. He knows something is weird, and does some preemptive snooping. He finds the innkeeper and all the guests sitting headless. So he must defeat the flying heads.

His second adventure involves a beautiful woman alone in the forest, playing the Koto. A very elegant tale, with spiders.

His next quest is to face the Kappa, a water imp, fond of cucumbers and drowning people. And so it goes.

In the real world, the storms are growing, and now there are mini earthquakes as well; Abe and Liz head for Japan, but their plane is brought down by the storms. Fortunately Abe is very good at water rescues….
Liz Sherman: Underwater- that giving-me-air thing- that was, um... I didn't know you could do that.
Abe Sapien: I wasn't sure it would work, either, but I have burped excess air before, so I thought –
Liz Sherman: Aah! I was breathing your burps? Ugh!

Now they are trapped on a rock in the middle of the ocean, and the earthquakes have released a sea dragon.

Hellboy is trapped in Japanese fairy tales, Liz and Abe have a sea monster trying to eat them, and Kate and Russell are getting their tails kicked by animated scarves, teapots and umbrellas. How will any of them get out alive? And will the doomed lovers ever find peace? Will Thunder and Lighting escape the Sword, and if they do, what does that mean for our world?

The Cast
Ron Perlman ... Hellboy (voice)
Selma Blair ... Liz Sherman (voice)
Doug Jones ... Abe Sapien (voice)
Peri Gilpin ... Professor Kate Corrigan (voice)

You will note that the voice talents are also the movie talents; that is one of the things that moves these productions up a level from many animation productions. Hellboy sounds like Hellboy.

Also, the animation is excellent; Mignola’s art would not lend itself to animation very easily, but the creative director, Cheeks Galloway, has a style that also focuses on the silhouette. His smoother almost anime style blends with Mignola’s craggy style to create something new that really works for the animation process.

The final feature is that Mike Mignola wrote the thing, so it really is a Hellboy story, it just moves. Frequently, people have commented that Mignola’s style looks like storyboards…in fact, the Heads sequence is taken almost straight from the tale in The Chained Coffin.

Mignola is a wonderful unique storyteller, and this new medium has given him room to grow. If you have not gotten quite enough Hellboy after the Golden Army is defeated, I suggest you give this a try.

It's a comic AND a movie: Hellboy animated.
Hellboy: Blood and Iron.
Hellboy: Storm of Swords.

The movies:
Hellboy
Hellboy II: The Golden Army
Printed Page:
Hellboy: The Troll-Witch and Others.

Check out my reviews of all things Japanese:

My Neighbor Totoro
Across the Nightingale Floor
Grass For His Pillow
Brilliance of the Moon
Onmyoji II
Onmyoji
The Hidden Fortress
Hellboy: Storm of Swords
Vexille
Sanjuro
The Hidden Blade
Yaji & Kita: Midnight Pilgrims
Princess Mononoke
Spirited Away
Gay Tales of the Samurai
Howl's Moving Castle
Ghost Dog
Memoirs of a Geisha (Book)
Memoirs of Geisha (Movie)
The Last Samurai
The Sword that Cut the Burning Grass
Taboo
Forbidden Colors

Recommended: Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Fit for Friday Evening
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children up Ages 8