HARLOCK: SPACE PIRATE (Theatrical Release USA 2013)

Ben Meyers’ rating: 3.8|5.0 Starsììì

Harlock: Space Pirate—Japanese anime—contains cutting edge animation technique and times itself with well-placed, great special effects. However, the storyline is complicated and becomes a bit difficult to follow as it does not always set the groundwork for why provided information is significant; the script is not self-explanatory. Story portrayal is very good to great with terrific characterization.

Film Poster Courtesy of Wikipedia

Storyline

Humans have populated thousands of the universe’s planets, but need to return to earth for repopulation. However, repatriation causes a war so severe that a special commission bans earth forever as a planet for human habitation. The elite of the special commission decide they have special privileges and that they alone will be allowed to immigrate to earth. The chief defender of earth, Harlock, believes this to be unfair and hypocritical. He goes rogue to ensure justice.

Additional Thanks

Thank you to Director Shinji Aramaki for directing efforts. Thank you to Producers Joseph Chou, Yoshi Ikezawa, Rei Kudo for making the film possible. Additional characters/cast include: Miime (voice of Yû Aoi), Kei Yuki (voice of Jessica Boone), Tori-san (voice ofAyano Fukuda), Yattaran (voice of Arata Furuta), Yama/Logan (voice ofAdam Gibbs), Roujin (voice of Kiyoshi Kobayashi), Captain Harlock (voice of David Matranga), Yama (voice of Haruma Miura), and Isora (voice of Toshiyuki Morikawa).

Buy a ticket? Yes? No? Maybe?

Yes. It’s a good study into the future of film making techniques. However, do a bit of research and study the film’s overall story before delving into watching the movie in order to maximize entertainment value and understanding.

Video Critique Available Here:

Ben Meyers