Spriggan (Special Edition)

Starring:J.D. Hawkins, Chris Patton, Kevin Corn, Ted Pfister, Andy McAvin, Kelly Manison, Mike Kleinhenz, Spike Spencer, John Paul Shephard, John Swasey, Jay Hickman, Amanda Winn Lee, Jennifer K. Earhart, Andrew Klimko, Kira Vincent-Davis, Frank Page, Kevin Charles, Vic Mignogna, Mark Laskowski (II), James Marshall (VIII)
Director: Hirotsugu Kawasaki
Studio: Adv Films
Product Type: DVD

Editorial Review:
Amazon.com
Fast paced, violent, and loud, Spriggan uses a combination of drawn and computer animation to deliver the kind of slam-bang thrill ride Final Fantasy only promised. The convoluted plot, based on a manga series by Hirotsugu Kawasaki and Yasutaka Ito, mixes elements from Raiders of the Lost Ark, 2001: A Space Odyssey, Akira, and Universal Soldier. Yu Ominae (voice by Christopher Patton) is a Spriggan, a member of an elite corps of biologically engineered warriors created by the secret organization ARCAM, who finds himself involved in a baroque adventure centered on the newly discovered Ark of Noah. The Ark is actually an extraterrestrial vehicle with the power to alter the Earth's climate and spawn new animal species. A sinister cadre of rogue Pentagon generals wants it and dispatches a corps of murderous cyborgs lead by Col. MacDougall (Kevin Corn), a monstrous child who's also the product of biological experiments, to capture it. ARCAM is determined to prevent the generals from gaining control of the Ark's awesome powers. Yu battles his way to victory through car chases, sword fights, shootouts, explosions, knifings, and psychic blasts, with a little help from fellow-Spriggan Jean-Jacques Mondo (Andy McAvin). Director Hirotsugu Kawasaki handles the action sequences more effectively than the minimal character development, and Katsuhiro Otomo's screenplay doesn't always make a lot of sense. But Spriggan supplies what hard-core action fans sought in vain in many recent Hollywood blockbusters. Just don't sit too close to a speaker. MPAA rated R, under 17 not admitted (for considerable violence). --Charles Solomon
Description
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! Will we become slaves to these cyborgs or will freedom prevail?

Average customer rating:

I actually liked this more than Akira...

There isn't too much to say about this anime

Good one

Action-packed movie

Intense Action-Oriented Story

Spriggan
Starring: J.D. Hawkins , Chris Patton , Kevin Corn , Ted Pfister , and Andy McAvin
Director: Hirotsugu Kawasaki
Manufacturer: A.D. Vision
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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Similar Items:

Wrath of the Ninja

Ninja Scroll

Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade (Special Edition)

Ninja Resurrection

X - The Movie

ASIN: B000063IMS
Release Date: 2002-04-23

Amazon.com

Fast paced, violent, and loud, Spriggan uses a combination of drawn and computer animation to deliver the kind of slam-bang thrill ride Final Fantasy only promised. The convoluted plot, based on a manga series by Hirotsugu Kawasaki and Yasutaka Ito, mixes elements from Raiders of the Lost Ark, 2001: A Space Odyssey, Akira, and Universal Soldier. Yu Ominae (voice by Christopher Patton) is a Spriggan, a member of an elite corps of biologically engineered warriors created by the secret organization ARCAM, who finds himself involved in a baroque adventure centered on the newly discovered Ark of Noah. The Ark is actually an extraterrestrial vehicle with the power to alter the Earth's climate and spawn new animal species. A sinister cadre of rogue Pentagon generals wants it and dispatches a corps of murderous cyborgs lead by Col. MacDougall (Kevin Corn), a monstrous child who's also the product of biological experiments, to capture it. ARCAM is determined to prevent the generals from gaining control of the Ark's awesome powers. Yu battles his way to victory through car chases, sword fights, shootouts, explosions, knifings, and psychic blasts, with a little help from fellow-Spriggan Jean-Jacques Mondo (Andy McAvin). Director Hirotsugu Kawasaki handles the action sequences more effectively than the minimal character development, and Katsuhiro Otomo's screenplay doesn't always make a lot of sense. But Spriggan supplies what hard-core action fans sought in vain in many recent Hollywood blockbusters. Just don't sit too close to a speaker. MPAA rated R, under 17 not admitted (for considerable violence). --Charles Solomon

Customer Reviews:

I actually liked this more than Akira..........2007-04-21

Don't get me wrong, Akira was good, and Akira is what springs to everyone's lips when they think "anime." Still, I actually like the animation and the flow of the story better in Spriggan. I also liked the fact that this anime was more action-oriented (granted it's rather bloody in places; war is hell. So I wouldn't recommend showing it to squeamish kids w/o parental supervision).

Now, that's not to say I don't have any reservations about Spriggan. I thought the ending was, as many anime endings are, slightly cheap and incomplete. Granted it was "climactic" in some regards, and looked pretty, but it seemed to not necessarily tie everything up completely. Not that I could necessarily write a better ending, as some questions don't really have easy answers, and some problems don't have easy or sensible resolutions. So, I don't ENTIRELY begrudge the usual "shortcut" ending(s).

On the whole, I didn't know what to expect from this movie. But, that said, I was pleasantly surprised. I can say, however, that it's light years ahead of Harmagedon (which I watched just prior to Spriggan), in terms of visuals, character design and development. There didn't seem to be any "reused" scenes, unlike many early animes used (in fight scenes and whatnot). Or, if there were, I didn't notice them (unlike in Harmagedon).

There were minimal features on the disc (commentary & trailers mostly). But the video and audio were good, and the feature itself I liked. So, if you're into "fighting"/"super soldier" animes, pick up Spriggan if it's at a good price. I picked up the basic version of Spriggan, however there is a "Special Edition" of Spriggan with additional commentary. If you can get them for the same price, go for the special edition (however, where I picked it up, the regular version was about 1/2 the price, and the additional commentary track didn't seem worth the bump in price).

So, there you have it. I give this one a "recommend."

There isn't too much to say about this anime.......2007-04-02

I'm going to quickly point out the obvious. This anime is all about the action. They didn't focus on the story too much. This was something just thrown together as far I'm concerned. The main character is really the only who is developed. He's very strong and skillful. The thing I like about this movie is, even though the main charcter is powerful, he doesn't defeat his enemies very easily. To make this short. If your looking for a blastfest,pretty good fight scenes, and a simple fast paced story. Then this is your anime. It does pretty well for clocking in around 90 mins. Try to get it as cheap as possible. A rental at least.

Good one.......2006-07-27

I'm not good at writing reviews on anime. I'm usually a vocal person when it comes right down to it. This has to be one of Hirotsugu Kawasaki's best work. The story line flowed seemlessly right to the climatic end. This is one every true anime fan should have in their collection

Action-packed movie.......2006-03-13

"Spriggan" is one of the most action-packed anime movies I have seen. After initially reading the story and reviews I was expecting to watch a muscle-bound man in an action packed no-brainer movie. However, I was delighted to discover that the main character Yu is similar in age and looks to Souske Sagara from Full Metal Panic - a good looking teenage Japanese guy. The fact that both character have the same voice actor - Chris Patton - and both work for secret military international agencies only adds to this similarity. So for all you Full Metal Panic fans out there, this may be the closest to a serious movie along the lines of FMP that you are going to get.

The storyline: Two rival military secret agencies are both trying to claim an archaeology find in Turkey - Noah's Ark and to discover the secret that lies within. Of course this being anime - human experimentation, psychic children, and mechanical/human hybrids - also feature.

The action is non-stop but is also vitally important to the storyline. The soundtrack and dubbing are excellent and the graphics are similar to Cowboy Beebop: The movie. It is only upon the second viewing that you get to fully appreciate the level of detail the creators have put in their background scenery and action pieces. After I finished the movie I have to admit that I was disappointed - but only because it had ended. Why was this never carried on and made into a proper series? It has so much promise that you will also be dying to follow Yu on his next assignment. Recommended if you enjoyed Akira or Full Metal Panic or simply a good action-packed movie.

Intense Action-Oriented Story.......2006-01-31

(MOVIE REVIEW)
Spriggan, while definitely an entertaining movie, is not the deepest, though you won't think it after you hear what the movie is about. It's carried by its action, and there are times when characters are introduced solely to bring action into a scene (i.e. Jean when he first fights Little Boy). But as an action flick, this movie is excellent, and carries itself well using mostly the action, with very little in the way of plotting.

The story is basically about two rival organizations: one is an American organization hell-bent on keeping America on top; the other is a world-wide organization meant to protect the world from potentially dangerous artifacts. At the core of this second group is an elite unit of warriors known as Spriggan, and Ominae Yu, who appears to be your everyday Japanese student, is one of their best. He's sent to Mt. Ararat in Turkey in order to help protect the recently discovered Noah's Ark. That's when the opposing organization makes their claim to the ancient artifact; so starts the endless scenes of great action. Yet during all of this, Col. MacDougal, a child-psychic, makes his way to and into the Ark, and seems to be the only one who knows the true purpose of the Ark. Is it a savior of man-kind, or a weapon of ultimate destruction? Either way, Ominae doesn't care. His job is to keep enemies away, and he goes about doing this as only he knows how.

What's great about this movie is not just the action, but the excellent animation as well. Though a bit washed and chaotic at times, Katsuhiro Otomo's influence on the film is evident, with super-detailed scenes and settings, his own unique character styling, and his penchant for Akira-like violence. Without him working as supervisor, I'm sure this movie would have failed. So, with that said, I'd recommend Spriggan to people who enjoyed Akira and aren't too picky about deep plotting (like me). If you're like this, you may be one of the people who gives this movie five stars.

(SOUNDTRACK REVIEW)
For anyone familiar with the Spriggan movie, you know what to expect of this soundtrack: high-impact symphonic sounds, as well as some harmonic singing in the background, often with a quick, harsh tone. A lot of the songs are techno/hard rock mixes, with a few softer sounds. Only a couple have actual lyrics played along with the music, but in truth this is one CD that doesn't really need lyrics, as the songs very in tempo from moment to moment, stealing away some of the repetativeness that comes with intrumental music.

The good thing about this CD is it has a huge track list (20 are listed on the back cover, but mine has 27, which I attained through the special edition movie). But the problem with this is that most of the songs sound the same. It's a good soundtrack, but not very well-rounded. Easily, the best song on the CD is "Jing Lin," the opening track. Other good tracks are "Drive in Istanbul," as it has the feeling as if it is being played right on the streets of Istanbul; "Ararat" is also well-done, and is the first real some to come along with a different sound than most of the other songs, and it constantly morphs into something different, from mysticism to techno to jazz.

If you can get the Spriggan Special Edition, then I'd highly recommend you get the sound track this way. While it's a good soundtrack, it can be surpassed for others and isn't really worth the price tag on it.

Average customer rating:

I actually liked this more than Akira...
There isn't too much to say about this anime
Good one
Action-packed movie
Intense Action-Oriented Story

Spriggan (Special Edition)
Starring: J.D. Hawkins , Chris Patton , Kevin Corn , Ted Pfister , and Andy McAvin
Director: Hirotsugu Kawasaki
Manufacturer: Adv Films
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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Wrath of the Ninja
Ninja Scroll
Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade (Special Edition)
Ninja Resurrection
X - The Movie

ASIN: B000767QRW
Release Date: 2005-02-15

Amazon.com

Description

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! Will we become slaves to these cyborgs or will freedom prevail?

Customer Reviews:

I actually liked this more than Akira..........2007-04-21

There isn't too much to say about this anime.......2007-04-02

Good one.......2006-07-27

Action-packed movie.......2006-03-13

Intense Action-Oriented Story.......2006-01-31

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