Live Action Anime

Origin: Spirits of the Past

Here, ladies and gentlemen, we have a textbook case of what I’m henceforth dubbing UKAA (United Kingdom Anime-Apathy) syndrome, having taken almost three fucking years to receive a domestic release over here since premiering in Japan. I’ve wanted to see Origin: Spirits of the Past for a while now by the strength of one virtue alone: it has what might be the most amazing introductory sequence I’ve ever seen. The opening three minutes are a combination of images and sounds like nothing you’ve ever seen before, and might actually be the most gloriously aesthetically accomplished scene in the medium of animation. Although it’s been out on DVD for a while, I deliberately waited to see it at the cinema solely to see this sequence that I’d only previously known on a Youtube video player realised on the big screen, and goddamn, it was worth it.

Pity about the film attached to it, mind.

I jest, I jest. Origin isn’t bad. I’ll even concede that it entertained me, albeit often in spite of myself. The setup is straightforward enough; a sentient forest has engulfed the Earth after a genetic experiment on trees went tits up, and as usual when Something Bad happens in an anime like this, most of humanity has been wiped out. We’re mercifully spared the usual arbitrary “Two-thousand-and-something-something AD” sci-fi date and introduced to Agito, a young inhabitant of Neutral City, a dwelling which exists in a state of co-dependence with the forest: the forest allows the city water, and the city keeps out the military state of Ragna bent on undoing the forest and restoring civilisation. While Agito’s up to his usual youthful derring-do, he comes across a girl lying comatose in a hypersleep pod of sorts. He inadvertantly wakes up Ellen Ripley – sorry, I mean Toola – who is apparently some kind of key to the forest’s destruction. Understandably, this makes her a target for both Ragna and the forest, with Neutral City caught in the crossfire.

Although it borrows liberally from other anime that have come before it (Nausicaa is the obvious candidate here, although I was also reminded of the Korean film Sky Blue, as well as one scene which rips off Akira so audaciously it borders on insulting), Origin actually features quite a vividly realised world, and thankfully manages to avoid clunky Appleseed-esque exposition. Couple that with a few excellent action-packed set pieces and you have a formula for a cracking adventure yarn. And OK, while the script frequently reads like a Final Fantasy game on a bad day, Origin is undeniably entertaining. The narrative is tight and fast-paced, the characters are generally likeable (if two-dimensional) and at points, it’s visually absolutely dazzling. It’s engaging, there’s no two ways about it. You remember Origin the way you do an Indiana Jones film: a well constructed B-movie, a fun time.

Unfortunately, Origin sees itself as being more than that. You’ve doubtlessly suspected it from the moment you heard trees figured prominently into the plot, and you’re 100% right: Origin fancies itself as an ecological parable. It’s message is essentially reducable to “BE NICE TO GREEN THINGS,” but on this point it’s managed to get its ideology conflicted with its internal logic.

Without wanting to give too much away, Agito eventually finds himself battling a despotic Ragna colonel bent on using an ancient superweapon to completely eradicate the forest. Agito and Toola try desperately to stop him, favouring a life of coexistence with the forest. But hang on a minute… isn’t this the same forest that’s been presented to us as a malevolent entity which has reduced what’s left of the humanity it destroyed to poverty and servitude? For that matter, wasn’t it biologically engineered by man? Hasn’t it smothered the Earth, and all other species along with it, essentially making it the ecological parasite? There’s no plausible reason this forest shouldn’t be destroyed, but we’re asked to think of it leniently for no other reason than that this is the 21st Century and Green politics are the “in” thing. Sorry, no. I’m all for conservationism, but this is just insulting my intelligence.

As a spectacle, Origin fares just as you’d expect a high-profile GONZO production to; it looks gorgeous. The animation is fluid, with nicely expressive character models. They may look a bit basic, but this fact becomes pleasantly irrelevant by the film’s second half when the action heats up and the direction begins to favour broad, sweeping landscape shots, all of which are pure eye-candy. The battle scenes might look like a rehash of GONZO’s own Last Exile, but so what? They were awesome then and they’re just as awesome now. The score is brilliant, in particular the opening theme “Chowa Oto,” a haunting chant which hooks the audience from the first note. Watch this video and you’ll understand why I wanted to see this film as badly as I did.

Ultimately though, Origin: Spirits of the Past is like the demographic of early adolescents it’s primarily geared towards: energetic and endearing almost by default, but also indecisive and confused. It’s more spectacular than a lot of big-budget Hollywood productions, but its enjoyment is undermined by its flawed logic and contradictory ideology, a problem not helped by a script which doesn’t make the case for either side convincingly. If you do watch it, watch it on a big screen with the volume up, and for God’s sake, don’t try to read anything into it beyond superficial entertainment value. Alternatively, watch Sky Blue, a similar kind of dystopian adventure story, but more adult in tone and without the nonsensical pseudo-hippie subtext.

Thrasher’s Rating: ** (Originally written October 29th, 2008)

A Note from The Thrasher: This review has been re-posted as it originally appeared. I remain steadfast in my original praise and criticism of Origin: Spirits of the Past. However, having had time to dwell on it since this review was written, I’ve come to revise my opinion of the film for the better. Retroactively, I’d probably award it two and a half stars in recognition of its sheer entertainment value.

Rating System:

* – Horrible
*1/2 – Very Bad
** – Bad
**1/2 – Good
*** – Very Good
***1/2 – Excellent
**** – Masterpiece