|
Anime
Synopsis:
Directed by first-time director Hirotsugu Kawasaki and supervised
by Katsuhiro Otomo, the legendary creator behind the cinematic
masterpiece Akira, Spriggan is based on the comic Striker by Chu
Takasige and Ryoji Minagawa, which originally appeared in the
Japanese monthly magazine, Shonen Sunday. The comics were a popular
success, selling millions of copies of the paperback releases,
which led to a fervent bidding war over the right to make a movie
based on the property. Otomo and Kawasaki eventually won out,
and with the backing of acclaimed animators Studio 4°C, masterfully
combined traditional cel animation with ground-breaking computer
animation to create a stunning action film. Story: At the top
of the world, the ancient artifact known as Noah's Ark has been
uncovered. Buried and forgotten since before the birth of history,
it holds the potential to elevate its holder to the status of
a god... or to wipe mankind from the face of the Earth in a second!
Now, a desperate battle erupts across the planet as two secret
organizations race to recover the lost artifact - one seeks to
destroy it, and the other wants enslave the human race! Monstrous
half-human cyborgs face off against Earth's ultimate defenders,
the secret organization known as ARCAM and their elite agents,
the Spriggan, in an epic duel with the future of our species as
the prize!
DVD EXTRAS:
•
Region 1 encoding (US and Canada only)
• Color, Widescreen, Animated, Dolby
• Portfolios: Character designs, vehicles & equipment production
sketches, key backgrounds
• Commentary by English ADR director Matt Greenfield
• Image Gallery
• DVD-ROM Features
• Widescreen anamorphic format
KNOWN DVD SECRET(S): None
that I know of.
DVD REVIEW:
There has been a lot
of hype about this anime. After all it's one of the most beautifully
created action anime and it also has a few big names behind the
title.
Chances are that if
you talk to an anime fan about "Spriggan", they will
tell you it's one of the best animated action films and I have
to agree that when it first came out, "Spriggan" was
pretty damn good and for it's time, I will give the movie it's
props...it is quite beautiful.
From watching it, even
if you don't know the name behind it, the first thing to come
in mind is Akira. It's purely a very well done action flick but
I am not one to give this anime a perfect score because it has
its faults.
For one, since the movie
focuses so much on action, there really isn't too much of a plot
of what "Spriggan" really is. Perhaps, the next animation
will go into that. But I'm a bit picky, the American counterpart
would probably be X-Men's Wolverine and no one knowing why he's
a great warrior and people are more into the action than the plot.
The same with Spriggan. You pretty much want to watch him kick
butt.
Now, as for the DVD.
The animation is quite beautiful and the sound in Digital 5.1
is very nice! But what I enjoyed is listening to the commentary
by English ADR director Matt Greenfield. You get to learn a lot
about this anime. The other special features are character, vehicle
and equipment designs.
I haven't really heard
the English dub track but from other reviews out there, they say
it's pretty good. So, if you are in the mood to watch a pretty
cool anime action flick, check out "SPRIGGAN".
THE ANIME:
B+
THE DVD EXTRAS: A-
THE DVD OVERALL: A-
Check out other cool
DVD reviews on this movie by clicking here: 1,
2
| 
