Spriggan
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Movie Reviews of Spriggan
Movie Review: A Riveting Action-Packed Anime!
Summary: 5 Stars
Spriggan came to some theatres in the US a while back, with much hype. Most compared it to Akira.Spriggan finally arrived to DVD in April and I was able to pass my own judgement upon it.
Remember Akira? I thought it was a classic anime. However, after reading some of the manga, I quickly realized as good an anime as it was, a LOT of the story was condensed nd much compromising was made. Major characters took a complete backseat, some making mere cameos. For this reason, some don't look at the movie as well as they should.
Well, Spriggan suffers from the same problem. This was also a Manga first, called Striker here in the US. I myself have had a chance to see it, and the story was greatly condensed as well.
But don't let that keep you from getting this anime! The story, while quite light, is still present. However, I will admit that is not really the highlight of the movie. It's the action that takes center stage!
Spriggan is an aboslutely exciting anime filled with many memorable fight scenes.
The story revolves around Yu Ominae, a high-school student who is also a part of a top-secret organization known as ARCAM. When his friends begin to be killed off one by one, he goes off to Turkey in search of who is reponsible. What he finds is beyond comprehension, as he meets a group of half machine/half human beings bent on finding the secret behind Noah's Ark deep within Mount Ararat. In a desperate bid to stop their malevolent plans, Yu must fight against immeasurable odds.
The fight scenes are absolutely sights to behold. The bullets fly, punches blaze through the air; the action gets crazy but never too hectic. The animation is top-notch and completely smooth.
And the sound is a bonus as this film is filled with explosions and battle cries. The music, while probably not classic, has a couple memorable beats. "Jing Ling," the ending theme, is extremely infectious and in fact, as I type, I am listening to it.
The DVD menu itself is quite clean and I thought ADV did a good job. The extras tie up the package. Not the best I've seen, but certainly no the worst. Production sketches of vehicles and key locations and characters. My only gripe is of all the trailers to forget, they forgot to add Spriggan's!
All in all, this DVD is worthy of a purchase and is excellent to show to friends just starting with anime, or just want some non-stop action!
Movie Review: I actually liked this more than Akira...
Summary: 5 Stars
Don't get me wrong, Akira was good, and Akira is what springs to everyone's lips when they think "anime." Still, I actually like the animation and the flow of the story better in Spriggan. I also liked the fact that this anime was more action-oriented (granted it's rather bloody in places; war is hell. So I wouldn't recommend showing it to squeamish kids w/o parental supervision).
Now, that's not to say I don't have any reservations about Spriggan. I thought the ending was, as many anime endings are, slightly cheap and incomplete. Granted it was "climactic" in some regards, and looked pretty, but it seemed to not necessarily tie everything up completely. Not that I could necessarily write a better ending, as some questions don't really have easy answers, and some problems don't have easy or sensible resolutions. So, I don't ENTIRELY begrudge the usual "shortcut" ending(s).
On the whole, I didn't know what to expect from this movie. But, that said, I was pleasantly surprised. I can say, however, that it's light years ahead of Harmagedon (which I watched just prior to Spriggan), in terms of visuals, character design and development. There didn't seem to be any "reused" scenes, unlike many early animes used (in fight scenes and whatnot). Or, if there were, I didn't notice them (unlike in Harmagedon).
There were minimal features on the disc (commentary & trailers mostly). But the video and audio were good, and the feature itself I liked. So, if you're into "fighting"/"super soldier" animes, pick up Spriggan if it's at a good price. I picked up the basic version of Spriggan, however there is a "Special Edition" of Spriggan with additional commentary. If you can get them for the same price, go for the special edition (however, where I picked it up, the regular version was about 1/2 the price, and the additional commentary track didn't seem worth the bump in price).
So, there you have it. I give this one a "recommend."
Movie Review: Sad to be an American...
Summary: 5 Stars
ok, maybe the title of the review is a bit over the top. i might not be "sad", exactly. i am-irritated.
"a reviewer" the name given by a previous reviewer exemplifies the reasons i am "irritated" to be an american. basically, i am a fan of "anime" NOT cartoons. an example of a cartoon to me would be: roughnecks, titan a.e., batman, static shock, etc.
the "negatives" given by "a reviewer" shows that he/she is a fan of "cartoons". to address them point by point:
>meaningless dialogue-that comment shows that "a reviewer" does NOT understand how "animation" is used in japan. "anime" is/are movies. big budget/production feature length movies. even in most american produced action movies (which is essentially what spriggan was) there is a dialogue, that rarely ever fits or has meaning. my point, however, is that it is a feature length film not a saturday morning cartoon.
>hero couldnt die-one word, willing suspension of disbelief. ok that was four but you see the point. furthermore, the character did NOT get shot or blown up. he got shot at and explosions were near him but not on him. this isn't rare. i suggest that bruce willis' character in die hard to more damage than this character and let's not mention the A-Team, Bad Boys, etc. how many american movies do cars explode AND flip and the drivers are ok.
>drawn out ending-again it is a feature length film. therefore, maybe it is harder, as in most action movies, to wrap everthing up in a saturday morning fashion.
>bad graphics-if those are bad graphics i'd like to see what you consider "good" graphics. i watch an obscene amount of anime (maybe i shouldnt admitt that, lol) and i can't think of any american (or any other country besides japan) producing anything better than spriggan.
in conclusion, i think it is our, americans, insistence on everything being "fast/simple" that we lack the ability to appreciate anything that asks us to think or concentrate for more than 20 mins (the standard length of a sit-com/tv show).
Movie Review: when imagination becomes animation
Summary: 5 Stars
When I first learned anything about Spriggan was when I read the manga of the same title (Thai versions). I just happened to come across it at my friend's house and consumed every volume available at the time in a single night. It was so fun and addictive. Because of the immensely intriguing plot and the sheer scale of the backdrop depicted in Sprigan's world, I didn't expect any animated installation to come forth for it will be impossible to transfer Sprigan with just average cheap budget anime series. But someone has finally done it into the high-budget movie version! Spriggan the movie has lived up to my highest expection and more. The action is incredibly slick yet so powerful. It simply doesn't get any better than this. Even if you don't like the plot you won't have any trouble appreciating this movie just only because of its finest animation sequence. The plot of the movie is based on my favorite Sprigan's mission in the manga (i think from volume2)accompanied with short and brief character introduction. Its biblical setting is so attractive and should be easily welcomed by western audiences. However, the character introduction was not good enough and may leave some fans hanging. For that matter, in manga, Spriggan team composed of three members not two (the other one being a chinese kungfu master who is the best in the team) and Jean-Jacques is actually a werewolf with bullet-like speed and immortality in his pocket. For anythig else, everything from pacing, music, voice acting, and ending all seem perfect to me and I have nothing to complain.
What I 'dlike to mention is that the reason I think that some western audiences fail to appreciate this feature is that: they don't have any manga background before. In the west, the access to japanese manga seems to be very poor compared to Asian countries like Thailand (which has almost every single titles available in Japan). Thus, when it comes to an anime movie that has poor character-intro western fans can get easily confused since everything is so abrupt. Anyway, this is the one title worth checking out.
Movie Review: This anime is among THE BEST!!!!!!!
Summary: 5 Stars
Say what you will about it not having this or that, but ya know...I don't watch a horror film to hear jokes and I don't watch a comedy to see gore. Catch my drift? I was so thankful this had NO obligatory underlying romance story (ie every other anime in existence, notably Akira, Ninja Scroll...which are still in my top 10, but i digress...) If you wanna see killer action, sick gun fights and arch nemesis(esque) showdowns on 2 accounts(!), then this is the one. Solid Snake (Metal Gear Solid) super commando type of protagonist, evil little @$$hole kid with psionic powers, crazy sci-fi inter-dimensional surreality, and, oh yeah, CARNAGE!
Look folks...I'm like a very sophisticated savage, and NOT like those ridiculous Geico neanderthals/chromagnons/whatevers, meaning I like a well thought, intelligent anime like Perfect Blue or what-have-you, but if you, like me, want something that is not overbearing with convoluted plot, but has SOME kind of enticing story, and you like your share of gore, action and whacky sci-fi mechanoid craziness, look no further!
Let me put it this way...I sleeplessly searched forever it seems trying to remember the name of this freaking movie just to find it again because it was driving me crazy. They just don't make good animes like this anymore. Everything now is big eyed cutsey girls and drawn out dramatic scenes. yeah...thats great, but sometimes they can wrap it up a little quicker and still do a good job. anyway...get this.
***make sure you get the original 1998. this copy is not what I watched and the cover is kinda suspicious. The ultimate whatever dvd looks more like. Don't worry...this review will be on there too for you to read AGAIN!