Cinematic Point Of View

I was looking into the work of composer Kuniaki Haishima when I happened upon the soundtrack for something called Spriggan. Wow! Until the other night, I had no idea that this anime existed!

Spriggan, directed by Hirotsugu Kawasaki and based on the manga by Hiroshi Takashige and Ryoji Minagawa, is a 1998 anime action film that follows the story of Yu Ominae, a young elite agent (he’s in high school!) working for an organization called ARCAM, whose mission is to protect powerful ancient artifacts from falling into the wrong hands.

This movie is a cross between Indiana Jones and James Bond with all the styling of Akira. Both Hirotsugu Kawasaki and Katsuhiro Otomo, known for their work on Akira, give this film the look and feel of that classic. I miss this style of anime. It’s so full of energy and life. The attention to detail in the action scenes is astounding and beautiful. Near the beginning, there is a car chase in Istanbul that elevates this film into instant classic terrority.

In Spriggan, Yu finds himself on a mission to stop a group from obtaining and using Noah’s Ark, a legendary artifact with world ending power. There is so much I love about this simple, outrageous story. I love that they use Noah’s Ark as the weapon of power, clearly a call out to Raiders of the Lost Ark.

I love that Yu is a super elite cyborg soldier and he’s a high school student. It’s all done with complete seriousness, as if this is just a normal thing that makes total sense. If I had watched this in high school, it would have been my favorite movie. It plays perfectly on that secret identity fantasy you dream about when you’re growing up, like Spiderman or Superman.

I also love that the United States is the “villain.” I am guessing that is one of the reasons why this film has never been re-released on Blu-Ray in the U.S. It’s honestly so refreshing to have us cast in this light. I’m not anti-America, but we’re no angels, even if there are good intentions.

The action comes fast and furious throughout. And bloody. Very bloody. Bullets and razor wire are lopping off heads and exploding bodies like there is no tomorrow!

Character arcs and story depth are a bit shallow, but that’s okay. There is just enough backstory to feel whole. And like our hero Yu, one of the main villains is also a kid. I would imagine this symbolizes how world powers use their children to fight their wars, which lifts the fantasy into a bit of reality.

In the end, I liked the good guys and I disliked the bad guys. I watched this movie from beginning to end in one sitting which is VERY RARE these days. That’s a win in my book.

This is fun, popcorn entertainment.

I mentioned at the top that I stumbled onto this looking into the music of Kuniaki Haishima, who also did the score for Master Keaton. There are hints of that in this soundtrack. I’m a big fan of Master Keaton and it’s score, and during the quieter moments of Spriggan, you hear those notes. 

It also turns out that Netflix released a new Spriggan anime series in 2022! I started it this week, and honestly, it’s pretty enjoyable too. I’m not positive, but it seems like they are doing a different issue of the mange with each 40- 50 minute episode. It’s working for me. I love that Netflix has given manga a chance to jump to life on TV.

Anyway, I’m glad that Spriggan exists. It’s like finding a Christmas present under the tree from last Christmas. (Here I go with Christmas analogies again) Open it up and give it a watch!