SPRIGGAN Ze Deutsch? (reviewed by OG)

"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 seeking to destroy it, the other to 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."

-From the SPRIGGAN summary at IMDB.com

Yeah...and you thought I was gonna take the time to explain all that shit? Hell naw, G.

The world of Japanese Manga (AKA: anime) has always dazzled me. The first of its kind that I got a chance to witness was a little flick called BAOH, as well as a Japanese Hentai (anime porn, basically) short called POP CHASER, back in 1994 or so. The idea of animation taken to the adult level of action/sex/violence hooked me in a matter of seconds, and I've been checking out anime ever since. Luckily, the stuff just keeps getting better and better.

Enter SPRIGGAN, released last Tuesday, May 14th (2002) for American consumption. Directed by Hirotsugu Kawasaki, the film (which was supervised by the man who gave us AKIRA, one of history's most popular anime titles) flows as smoothly as a live action flick, with action sequences that you only WISH American directors would study and reproduce. The main character, a high school student named Yu, is a secret agent in charge of protecting ancient artifacts (codename: Spriggan...of course), whose past is shrouded in a violent history. Once a member of a rival corporation, Yu was genetically engineered to be a killer, but after taking out a group of innocents, the kid went apeshit and gunned down his own superiors. Now he's in a race against his former commanders to secure the secrets of Noah's Arc, which for some reason is made of steel and is 50 times the size it's supposed to be, according to the Bible. Pretty good story, and the trip to the film's climax is definitely worth the price of the DVD.

It's the climax, however, that leaves the viewer a bit disappointed. After an hour or so of amazingly conceived action scenes and flawless imagery, the movie leaves the resolution up to Yu and his nemesis, a young boy with extreme telekinetic abilities. The final battle is decent, taking place inside the arc itself, but the convoluted "reasons" given by the evil child for wanting to take over the arc (he ultimately wants to become God) are pretty weak and pointless. The rest of the flick, as stated before, more than makes up for its somewhat sloppy ending.

As far as Manga goes, SPRIGGAN strives for the same magic that AKIRA achieved in the 80's and achieves it spectacularly, getting rid of all the mind numbing traits that made AKIRA a cure for insomnia (it's a pretty film, but ultimately a weak alternative to a bottle of Nyquil). It's not-so-grand finale notwithstanding, this one's definitely worth checking. Just make sure you check out NINJA SCROLL, VAMPIRE HUNTER D, and FIST OF THE NORTH STAR before you do.

(5.28.02)