Featuring captivating motion-capture animation the film Harlock Space Pirate kicks sci-fi up a notch with serious action, manga characters and beyond imagination space craft. The thriller establishes a whole new world for those who are not already fans of the dark story lines and the space traveling counter hero. If you are a gamer, like anime or just want to take a ride on the wild side, then check out Harlock Space Pirate.
It’s far into the distant future where space travel has allowed the population of the Galaxy to grow to over 500 billion. Unfortunately for most however, their planets have not been good to them and they want to return to Earth. Earth has already been burdened with a high population and the ruling dynasty has deemed the planet a forbidden zone. Defending Earth is the Gaia Fleet headed by Ezra.
However, the elusive determined Captain Harlock who was branded a space pirate, has a plan to take back the Earth. Traveling across the Universe with a top notch crew and his able followers Kei, Yulian, and the mystic Mimay he fends off the Gaia Fleet. Needing an additional member Kei finds Logan a young man who wants to fight for freedom. Now ready for a fight he takes his death ship the Arcadia into the heart of the Gaia military fleet in an attempt to set the two last elements of his plan.
The adventure is very good, the characters are exciting and the directing way above most anime I’ve watched. Director Shinji Aramaki his thumbs pressing the action button creates a wild ride through space showing Harlock maneuvering his remarkable Arcadia through the fight. His motion capture animation has a nice flow with each of the characters taking on roles much like the original live action Star Wars.
If you haven’t been a follower of motion capture, the animation he creates can be likened to some of the most popular video games including “Halo”, “Metal Gear Solid” and especially “Final Fantasy”. Aramaki’s animation stands out as a darker more fierce action with his characters taking on more of a menacing persona as opposed to the characters in Hayao Miyazaki’s Howl’s Moving Castle for example. I like anime in a lot of formats, but Aramaki’s tends to lean toward a teen angst crowd while others like those of American animation tend to target families. Harlock would never be considered a hero in American animation, while in this film his character has been flawed for good reason and becomes a dark antihero. Most followers of Harlock’s insurgents will already be able to reflect on the mastermind of outer space, gamers who are just being introduced will like the feel of the film and rebel teens will be asking for more.
Harlock Space Pirate has not been rated by the MPAA, but contains sci-fi violence, brief stylish nudity and some language. The film can also be shown in the Japanese animation version with dubbed English in Dolby Digital 5.1 and 2.0 (Turn on the Japanese language after you’ve watched the film for a different kind of treat). The movie is also available on home video in the 3D format that was shown in theaters. I have a feeling with the already excellent depth of field in 2D animation that the 3D should bolt out of your television and onto your lap.
Specifications and additional video information:
Cast: David Matranga, Yu Aoi, Jessica Boone, Adam Gibbs, Haruma Miura, Emily Neves, Maaya Sakamoto
Director: Shinji Aramaki
MPAA Rating: Not Rated, contains sci-fi violence, language
Genre: Animation, Adventure, Action, Thriller
Running Time: 1 hr. 51 min
Video Release Date: March 31, 2015
Language: English, Japanese
Format: DVD
Audio: Dolby Digital 5.1, 2.0
Video: Aspect Ratio 2.39:1
Subtitles: English, Japanese
Number of Discs: 1 Disc
Distributed by: Ketchup.
Writer, critic, film editor John Delia, Sr. has been on all sides of the movie business from publications to film making. He has worked as a film critic with ACED Magazine for more than 20 years and other publications for a total of 40 years. He earned a Bachelor’s degree in communications from the University of Florida. John is a member of the Southeastern Film Critics Association and Critics Association of Central Florida Send John a message at jdelia@acedmagazine.com
