Customer Reviews

Harlock Saga: Clash of Space Pirates [VHS]

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

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...

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.

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!!

Following Queen Emeraldas, Leiji Matsumoto's Captain Harlock has finally sailed into DVD. The result, an amalgamation of Der Ring des Nibelungen and the Harlockverse, is a classic tale of high adventure full of moody, sweeping capes and willowy women with flowing hair. All the players are present, including a brief cameo from Maetel.

"Harlock Saga" is a fine example of what Matsumoto does best. The characters are larger than life and melodramatic to the extreme. Harlock struts the stage and holds pace with a gloomy Wotan and dismissive Freya. Richard Wagner's music is perfect mood music for a space opera. The animation is beautiful (with the exception of a small but very intrusive piece of computer graphics. thankfully it is very small and over quickly) and the story is captivating.

The DVD contains enough extras to please anybody. The "cast of characters" is really a bonus to those not familiar with Matsumoto's universe. Good sound and subtitles.

I grew up with Harlock on TV (known as Albator) and I fell in love with the romantic image of a not so heroic space pirate. The Harlock Saga is a great DVD to get the casual fan or the hardcore fan who never bothered to get it. The complex tale is one ripped from the RING opera and at times it shows. For the most part this is a great idea. The world of Harlock is the perfect setting for what takes place and the story of the ring is well told. The animation is great, much better than the old TV show. Any anime fan worth his salt should have it. Classic.

Finally Captain Harlock returns to video. The format is similar to last year's Queen Emeraldas (instead of one continuous show the tape is actually three separate episodes. The voice overs are good and appropriate for each character (practically all of the Captain Harlock universe is present from Tochiro to Galaxy Express' Matel). The opening music was of a style similar to "Arcadia of My Youth" . The only drawbacks were that the dialouge does get a little plodding at times, what plays for the first episode seems like a part of an ongoing series so I felt a little behind at first, and it felt a little fustratingly short (I guess the second tape will be out in May). For people new to the characters this might not be the video to start, but for me overall it was promising enough to go for the second tape in the Harlock Saga when it comes out

This has to be one of the best Leiji Matsumoto animes since Starblazers (Battleship Yamato). The stroy takes place with a mad man who steal the gold of Rhein Planet and turns it into ring giving him the ultimate power and destroy Valhala, the center of the galaxy. The only hope for Rhein is Meeme, one of the two Valhala organ players, and Harlock and his comrades. And while Harlock may not appear until the end of episode 1, in that episode you get to see an asteroid and a planet blow up! Some characters make smaller appearences are Emereldas and Maetel. Music is some very nice orchestral work with a few noticable scores. The plot moves at a generally slow pace, but it's entertaining. The English dub is ok, but I really enjoyed the Japanese more. Extras are just great. You get character bios on almsot every character in the Harlock Saga, a Behind the Scenes video of the English dub actors (very funny), interviews with four people who helped make the Japanese version, character sketeches and creditless endings and openings. You'll love the story, you'll love the value and easily enjoy the extras.

This was one of his best works. The dubbing on this was fantastic. I would recommend this title to anyone into sci fi.

Harlock takes the cake for me. I love the story line and over all quality of this series and DVD. If you are/were ever a fan of the original Starblazers get this NOW!

Thanks to Central Park Media to put all six episodes of this great saga in only one dvd. Story is based on one of the most famous Richard Wagner opera, "Der Ring Des Nibelungen". Here you will see together all famous Matsumoto's characters and cast: of course Captain Harlock, Emeraldas, Meeme, Tochiro, Tadashi and Maetel. Music is also very attractive, I think that this is one of the best Wagner's opera composed. I recommend all Matsumoto's fans to buy this great dvd which contains many bonus and extras, available languages are English and Japanese with English subtitles.