Product Details

• Actors: Kôichi Yamadera, Gregory Abbey, Arisa Andô, David Brimmer, Chiemi Chiba
• Directors: Nobuo Takeuchi
• Writers: Leiji Matsumoto, Megumi Hiyoshi
• Format: Animated, Color, NTSC
• Rated: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Us Manga Corps Video
• VHS Release Date: August 6, 2002
• Run Time: 180 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B0000584ZX
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #391,567 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent complete Matsumoto series on One volume!, May 12, 2001

By 

Matthew L. Mutchmore (Indianapolis, IN) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Harlock Saga (DVD)

Leiji Matsumoto's HARLOCK SAGA was released in Japan as 6 separate volumes under the voluminous title: HARLOCK SAGA: Der Ring Des Nibelung: Das Rheingold. For U.S. audiences, Central Park Media tightened up the title and released all 6 episodes on one convenient volume.

Based on Richard Wagner's opera of the same name, although extremely loosely, the story revolves around Harlock and his crew searching for the stolen gold from planet Rhein, which can manipulate the forces of the universe. (....Sound familiar? This same plot was used not long ago for an episode of Xena...!) The last of the Nibelung clan, who happens to be Memme's (a.k.a. La Mime, who seems to have a different look with every series) brother, has stolen it and had it forged into a ring by the young Tadashi Daiba. The adventure comes to a head in Valhalla with a space battle, a Death Star like space fortress, some Giants who are in love with Memme's sister Freya, and the Norse God's themselves. At the adventures end, the Ring is in Harlock's hands. Meeme promises it will be returned to the planet Rhein--which was seemingly destroyed at the beginning of the series.....oh well.

As usual, another exciting adventure from the extreme world of Harlock, where the women are still 7 feet tall with 9" waists and floor sweeping hair. Just about everyone appears in this series--including Emeraldas & Maetal. The DVD also has a nice "World of Harlock" section with an introduction into each of the main characters. A nice featurette on the making of the English language dub introduces us to the voice actors behind the characters. Other extras include a title free credits section, trailers, and a DVD-Rom section too.

All in all, this is a very enjoyable package! You can watch the English dub or Japanese with subtitles so there is definitely something for everyone on this DVD. Let's hope they can bring us future Matsumoto adventures (like Maetel Legend!) in this fashion...

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Real Space Opera, September 12, 2002

By 

Marc Ruby™ "The Noh Hare™" (Warren, MI USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Harlock Saga (DVD)

I am not sure exactly what I expected when I picked 'The Harlock Saga' out to watch, other than a popular Japanese anime, but I have to admit that I was unprepared to find myself watching a version of Wagner's 'Ring of the Nibelung' recast as a space adventure in the far future. However, I am a fan of much of Wagner's work. After the initial shock when the opening credits rolled by, I settled into what was an honestly unique experience.

Harlock (actually the son of Leiji Matsumoto's original Harlock) is the captain of the Arcadia, a space pirate vessel. Accompanying him are his close friend Tochiro, Chief cook and engineering mate Yattran, and Meeme a mysterious woman who is rumored to be a sorceress of an ancient and fearsome race. The story opens with Tochiro and Harlock's sister Emareldas trying to track down Meeme, who disappeared from the Arcadia unexpectedly. They find a projection of her in the ruins of the asteroid Aclucion, where she warns them that another pirate is about to raid the planet Rhein in order to gain the Rheingold. Harlock races to the planet, but is not in time. Now this intrepid gang must trace the gold across the universe.

As they try to prevent the gold from being made into the ring that rules time, Meeme explains that the pirate is Alberich of the Nibelungs, her brother. He wants the ring to challenge Wotan and destroy Valhalla, little caring that this will destroy the universe as well. Of course, the crew of the Arcadia fails again and the ring is made. Now all, good and evil alike, flock to Valhalla where this recasting of Wagner's story reaches its climax as Harlock struggles to avert the Twilight of the Gods. As you can see, the story truly is pure space opera.

This is pure fun right out of Flash Gordon, but with classical music. Director Yoshi Takeuchi commits almost every dramatic sin there is, and the English language version compounds this excess into a perfect confection. Be warned, set playback to the Japanese version with subtitles or risk dying from unrelenting over-acting. What you have to keep in mind is that this file was never meant to be either a faithful rendition of Wagner's operas of a perfect redaction of Matsumoto's manga. Rather, it is intended to recreate the style of its sources and provide high entertainment. And that it does exceedingly well.

This is a long presentation (about 150 minutes) in six episodes. Unlike some manga adaptations, considerable effort is spent of providing continuity. So there is little confusion to detract from the excellent graphic design, art work, and the great musical score. I found the ending a bit anticlimactic, but not unbearably so. The action during most of the film makes up for that particular weakness. After all, there are only so many planets you can blow up before a certain amount of ennui leaks in. You may just find yourself wishing for a sequel.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A new Harlock for a new century., October 1, 2001

By 

Robb Boutros (Northford, CT United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Harlock Saga (DVD)

There are very few people who I would bestow the title of "genius" upon. Leji Matsumoto is definitley one of them. Since the 1970's he has created some of the most memorable characters and brought to the screen ( both in film and television) epic tales of good versus evil.

The Harlock Saga is another fine example of the enduring legacy of this anime icon. Set well within the Harlock Universe, The Harlock Saga is an epic "space opera" set against the backdrop of Richard Wagner's score for the "Ring Series". The booming music along with the crisp DVD audio really make me wish I had watched this first in a home theater setting. The tiny stereo speakers on my television really did not do this DVD the justice that it deserved.

Though some may have complained that the animation in this series wasn't very good I beg to differ. Having been familiar with much of Matsumoto's previous work, I can say the animation exhibits a retro quality while still maintaining a modern feel at the same time. A feat that must have been quite difficult but Bandai Visual seems to have pulled it off nicely. Though I did not like the Arcadia rendered in CGI, it was only done so in one episode.

The one problem I can see with this DVD is not so much the story but that the Matsumoto Universe is almost "too enormous" for just one series. I've heard other reviewers complain that they didn't understand many elements of the plot and that they were unfamiliar with many of the characters. There does seem to be a bias toward the more knowledgable Matsumotophile. And at the same time this story doesn't not seem to fit anywhere in the Captain Harlock timeline. This DVD has to be considered a "side story". Possibley one of the many adventures that Harlock and the gang had in their travels. (Note: The Harlock timeline itself is wrought with many inconsistencies.)

For the unitiated, it might be better to choose Galaxy Express 999 as a starting point for you Matsumoto viewing. Many of the characters from The Harlock Saga turn up in both Galaxy Express 999 and Adieu Galaxy Express 999. Many of the questions asked may very well be answered in these two films. The "definitive" origin of Captain Harlock is told in the film " My Youth In Arcadia", which has yet to be release on DVD as of yet. This film is literally the starting point for the Captain Harlock and his crew. As I said before the Harlock Universe is so vast it does tend to get a bit confusing at times.

As for the bonuses on this DVD, there is not shortage of them. Everything from English voice cast interviews to title free credit sequences and even DVD-ROM features. All the stops were pulled out for this edition.

All in all I'd have to recomend this DVD. If you love adventure on a grand scale, the climb aboard the Arcadia and set sail on the sea of stars with Captain Harlock!!