Spriggan

"Spriggan" is a fairly decent piece of anime showcasing some of the best high action / movement animation I've ever seen; technically it is quite a well-developed film with many intricate cuts and superb editing. For anyone interested in a decent action / sci-fi thriller, I recommend this movie without prejudice.

Thematically, I don't think it is as deep or metaphysically intriguing as films like "Akira" or "Ghost in the Shell" nor do I think it raises enough questions and insights about its subject matter as say "Neon Genesis Evangelion," particularly in how it deals with its own use of religious iconography and mythology; they are more of a "technology" than anything else, however, the film is still enjoyable.

And of course there's the completely benign homo-social relationship between Yu and Jean to add to the fun.

Spriggan (1998) is a relentless action-packed anime that throws logic, subtlety, and storytelling structure out the window in favor of nonstop brawls, explosions, and conspiracy. Based on the manga of the same name, it's very much a product of its time-with visuals, pacing, and dialogue that scream "late 90s anime."

Kevin and I from the K J and A Podcast describe it best: "This movie is 90% action and 10% everything else." That "everything else" includes a loosely strung-together plot about ancient alien technology (OOPArts), government black ops, psionic kids, and an ancient ark capable of controlling weather, life, and stasis-yep, it does everything.

The animation is surprisingly fluid and detailed for the era. The action choreography stands out-especially the city sword fight, the Jeep minigun scene, and the brutal hallway brawl with Fatman. Kevin praised it as "one of the best anime fights from the 90s," while I noted the fight scenes often seemed like "setups for trailers more than natural plot beats."

The characters are mostly archetypes: the brooding teen super-soldier (Yu), the creepy child villain with god powers (McDougal), the cigar-chomping cyborg thug (Fatman), and a handful of scientists there to yell exposition. The story hints at something deeper with Yu's dark past in Project COSMOS, but barely scratches the surface.

It's not essential viewing, but definitely a fun one if you're into 90s anime explosions and overpowered protagonists yelling things like, "I'm a f***ing Spriggan!"

The movie starts out with a fairly typical premise: Japanese High School student, Yu, is actually a super-soldier (A "Spriggan") and part of a secret army that recovers and protects ancient artifacts. From there, however, the movie is anything but typical. Lots of wild, incredibly animated action and over-the-top fighting with an actual plot behind it.

In short, the secret army's just found Noah's Ark on Mt. Ararat, Turkey, and they dispatch their best agent, our Yu, to check out what's up. The enemy, the naughty United States military forces, sends their best agents in the U.S. Cybercorps to stop the project and recover the ark. Interestingly enough, these agents are codenamed 'Fatman' and 'Littleboy' - the same names of the two A-bombs that dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The movie veers madly between plot scenes and wild, edge-of-your-seat action sequences until it gets to it's stunning, and CGI-assisted finale. Highly recommended, even with it's vague anti-US slant.

This was a great movie with lots of action. The animation is really lovely to look at. Go see it!

8/10 stars.

Directed in a style similar to western action/adventure films (esp Indiana Jones) the art leaps off the screen. The backgrounds are particularly well done, and the animation is smooth. Though I did notice some scenes that were almost experimental in there use of techniques. Particularly shading in some scenes and the methods they use to do motion blur. It looks great, but it's often only employed once and so is somewhat inconsistent. The story which has been summed elsewhere is very easy to follow and stays within action movie lines quite nicely, though for this reason it's easy to find it lacking any kind of stimulation. Otomo's hand can be seen in the way certain scene play out, and the style of animation, though not the individually drawn cel. The music is good, but traditional action fare. The voice acting is on, except for that child col. when he laughs, it sounds so forced, even the non-Japanese speaking will pick up on it. So if you like action oriented animation, or are drooling for another Indiana Jones movie (plus anime staples like cyborgs, psychic powers, and armored muscle suits) Spriggan is one the best films to come out that fits that bill perfectly. Look for a Region 1 dvd and VHS later this year (2001). They're even speaking of a theatrical release. In the meantime, unless you speak Japanese look for a fan sub.