Supurigan

Person who said that Spriggan "isn't revolutionary but is still fun" summed it up best.

Only thing that I found negative was the scenes of really pointless, over-the-top, violence. The only reason Little Boy had the offensive capabilities he had, was so that the viewers could see his victims explode in explosions of gushing blood.

More flash than substance, but still a fun rental.

BTW, the word "Spriggan" (as far as the title reference goes) has nothing to do with the ugly, baby-stealing gnomes of European lore.

"Spriggan" is the "Americanization" of the Japanese word "Supurîgan," which means "Striker" and is the original name of the manga series "Spriggan" is based on.

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.

Yu is a member of the group ARCAM; a organization set to hide and stop people from uncovering ancient artifacts. Yu is also a Spriggan, an elite fighting machine. He's strong, fast, agile and extremely deadly. When one of Yu's friend commits suicide with the message that Noah will be your grave, Yu starts to investigate. Colonel MacDougall, a psychic experiment kid, has found Noah's Ark and intends to use it to start a new world.

Spriggan is a visually amazing animation that puts you right into the action. The action sequences are fast paced and intensely violent. The inter film moves at a lightning pace, it doesn't stop to take a breath. So in that respect it isn't boring. But the draw back is the script. At times it seems heavy handed and doesn't explain everything. It doesn't have much depth to it, but its a very interesting topic to use. The action does pick up the flaws of the script, but action cant always save a film from bad writing.

Taking it ques from Raiders of the Lost Ark and Akira, its a wild and extremely fun ride, it just could have been a lot more.

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.

A big, loud brash anime that in many ways has more of a Hollywood blockbuster feel to it than a normal anime film. This film moves along at a smart pace, with very few, if any slow patches.

The animation is of a high standard, especially the scenes set in Istanbul, although some of the CGI effects used in the film were not necessary. Spriggan has one of the best English dubs yet seen in anime, the quality of the voices & the technical mixing of the soundtrack both excellent. A must see for anime fans. 8/10