Hellboy Animated: Sword of Storms
Movie, 2006, Animated, Set in Japan
Hellboy Animated: Sword of Storms is #2 of 6 in release order and #2 of 6 in chronological order in the Hellboy.
The story
A folklore professor becomes unwittingly possessed by the ancient Japanese demons of Thunder and Lightning. But when The Bureau of Paranormal Research & Defense dispatches a team of agents to investigate, a cursed samurai sword sends Hellboy to a supernatural dimension of ghosts, monsters, and feudal mayhem. Now while pyrokinetic Liz Sherman and fishboy Abe Sapien battle one very pissed-off dragon, a lost and cranky Hellboy must find his way home.
Hellboy Animated: Sword of Storms recap
Hellboy: Sword of Storms (2006) is an animated film in which Hellboy picks up a cursed katana and is pulled into a spirit version of old Japan. Phil Weinstein directed it, with animation by Madhouse, and it premiered on DVD before airing on Cartoon Network. Ron Perlman, Selma Blair and Doug Jones voice Hellboy, Liz Sherman and Abe Sapien, joined by Peri Gilpin as folklore professor Kate Corrigan and Mitchell Whitfield as the psychic Russell Thorne. The demon brothers Thunder and Lightning, trapped centuries ago inside the sword by a samurai who defied his lord, possess folklorist Professor Mitsuyasu Sakai and send him after the blade. Hellboy, guided by a fox spirit, walks west through a dreamlike land and fights kappa, flying heads, a spider woman and a giant skeleton. Back in the real world, Liz and Abe face dragons stirred up by the brothers. Part of the plot comes from the comic collection The Right Hand of Doom. Stands alone; it shares the del Toro voice cast but needs nothing from those films.
Hellboy Animated: Sword of Storms ending explained
Hellboy: Sword of Storms ends with Hellboy tricked into shattering the sword on the samurai's stone statue, which frees the demons and sends him back to the real shrine. He traps Thunder and Lightning in the blade again, sealing the dragons away. The ghosts of the lord and his daughter possess Kate and Russell to replay her execution, until Hellboy persuades the lord to forgive her and the samurai, ending their cycle of deaths. Hellboy: Blood and Iron followed in 2007.
Where to watch Hellboy Animated: Sword of Storms
Hellboy Animated: Sword of Storms is streaming on YouTube (free), Plex, and Tubi in the US. You can rent or buy it on Amazon, Apple TV, and Google Play.
Ratings
IMDb 6.4/10
Where it fits
- Release order: after Hellboy, before Hellboy Animated: Blood and Iron.
- Chronological order: after Hellboy, before Hellboy Animated: Blood and Iron.
What to watch before Hellboy Animated: Sword of Storms
Hellboy (2004), which Hellboy Animated: Sword of Storms (2006) continues.
Cast
- Ron Perlman as Hellboy (voice)
- Selma Blair as Liz Sherman (voice)
- Doug Jones as Abe Sapien (voice)
- Peri Gilpin as Professor Kate Corrigan (voice)
- Gwendoline Yeo as Kitsune (voice)
- Dee Bradley Baker as Lightning / Kappa / Pilot (voice)
- Phil LaMarr as Bureau Member / Pilot / Additional Voices (voice)
- Mitchell Whitfield as Russell Thorne (voice)
- Kim Mai Guest as Additional Voices (voice)
- Michael Hagiwara as Additional Voices (voice)
- Yuriana Kim as Additional Voices (voice)
- Clyde Kusatsu as Additional Voices (voice)
Directed by Phil Weinstein, Tad Stones.