Year of Release: 2006
Story: Umanosuke Iida
Origin: Spirits of the Past is an anime film that portrays what life would look like on Middle Earth if the Ents from The Lord of the Rings decided to get serious. Not literally, but you get my drift. Hundreds of years previous to the movie's setting, scientists discovered a way to bio-engineer extremely resilient trees that could grow under the harshest conditions (initial experiments on the tress had them growing on the moon). Flash forward 300 or so years into the future, and the Earth has been overgrown with trees that seem to be sentient lifeforms. Not surprising. Way to go, dickhead scientists.
ART SECTION: 9/10
General Artwork & Backgrounds 4/4: I found the level of detail in this film rivals the work produced by Hayao Miyazaki on a regular basis. The backgrounds are superbly drawn, and fits perfectly into the storyline. I mean, it's a movie about trees, and you get what you expect: lots of trees. I can't really say I'm disappointed.
Character Figures 1/2: While I had enough gall to form comparisons to Hayao Miyazaki's work and this particular piece of animation, that was specifically for detail in the general artwork and background category. The character detail is lacking a little in this film. Still drawn to a high standard, but missing something, and I'm not sure exactly what yet. It feels like they put more effort into the story than the character animation.
Watchability (Flow) 4/4: I would watch this repeatedly, if my mind wouldn't break and I didn't start to form crazy conspiracy theories after watching it 4 times consecutively. Definitely worth the replay value. It's another one of those anime I enjoy so much that make you question your very being once you've finished watching. Now that I think about it, I'm pretty sure anime creators just like to mess with people and make them feel bad for no real reason.
STORY SECTION: 6/10
General Scenario 2/2: Epic general scenario. I touched base on it in the small intro up top, and I must say, it delivers, whether you want it to or not.
Pacing 1/2: I felt the first 20 minutes or so was a little on the bleh side, getting the feel for the characters and introducing the setting. Once that's out of the way, though, the remainder of the film is something you just can't stop watching. 60 minutes in, I could turn off the TV and the TV would likely turn itself back on and in close captioned text inform me to finish watching the damned thing.
Side Stories 0/2: There isn't much in terms of side story for this film. There are some flashback sequences, but they all tie directly into the film's main story.
Plausibility 1/2: I... don't honestly see this happening anytime in my lifetime, or the next. I could see this being a reality if humankind was foolish enough to overpopulate the Earth and run out of resources. It's the next logical step to take, isn't it? Who doesn't want to fill the moon up with indestructible trees?
Conclusion 2/2: The ending was far, far, far better than I expected. I mean, without ruining anything for those of you who haven't yet seen it, I expected something totally different to have occurred by the end of the film, but I was just glad I didn't bet on the outcome. I'd be so, so poor right now if I had. While the ending is a little predictable, it's quite tastefully done and has a few surprise twists near the end.
VALUE & ENJOYMENT SECTION: 8/10
If this film was a soccer ball, I would kick the ever-loving shit out of it (in a positive way). That's how much I enjoyed it. Wait, wait... A better example? If this film was a child rapist, I would prison shank it with a rusty blade. Yeah, that's the one I was looking for.
VERDICT: 23/30
While I can't speak for absolutely everyone on the planet, I feel that this was a very well done film. I hope to see more anime in a similar vein. I might not be the biggest advocate against deforestation, but dammit, I still care enough to watch cartoons about it. Captain Planet. He's my hero. Gonna take pollution down to zero... No? Just me? Alright then.
SUGGESTION LIST
I suggest you watch a Green Peace documentary if you want something similar.
If you don't want to watch a Green Peace documentary, instead watch heavy science fiction-based anime like:
The Ghost in the Shell (preferably Stand Alone Complex)
Neon Genesis Evangelion
Scrapped Princess
Akira
Last Exile
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