Customer Reviews

Origin: Spirits of the Past (Special Edition) [Blu-ray]

5 star:		(25)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(21)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

reading the mediocre reviews here at amazon for this anime really had me questioning my purchase, but i am glad to say i really enjoyed my 'origin' experience. i just didn't watch it thinking "well...this has all been done before"....it was more like "ahhh that's really cool and a creative way at looking at the future", and the 'feel' of the film is very nice. sorta laid back with no outragous child-tantrum moments most anime's seem to be plagued with. english voice acting was great, music was great, the whole thing was just great and really really well drawn. very vibrant and clean colors, textures were excellent. i don't regret this purchase at all.

If a flying fortress, technology from the past, a hero with possessed powers, and a moral struggle with nature and humankind sound familiar, it's because they've all been done before. Origin doesn't add much to the pot in these areas, featuring rather depthless characters and a plot with less twists than Interstate 40. It borrows heavily from Ghibli greats (Nausicaa, Castle in the Sky, Mononoke), but lacks the charm and conviction of these films. Still, Origin will likely win its share of fans thanks to the visual adventure and immersive backgrounds. If characters and plot aren't an issue, and you just want to be entertained, the eye candy that is Origin may be for you.

I'm getting rather sick of reading reviews criticizing this movie on the basis of its perceived lack of originality in the storyline department. When did people stop enjoying classic plots and themes? Remember fairy-tales, folktales, sitting around campfires listening to stories you already knew but relished nevertheless? This movie is simply wonderful -- stunningly gorgeous visuals, classic characters and plotlines, archetypal themes, all skillfully and impressively executed. If you enjoy these things and don't expect every film you watch to be the absolute pinnacle of originality and complexity -- in other words, if you still have a part of you that delights in simple joys and wonder -- then you will probably adore this movie.

I also think many viewers are missing a crucial plot point, which may have been too subtle for its own good. Read on only if you don't want a -

*SPOILER*!!!!!!!!
A major crux of the story is that when Agito's body has been absorbed by the tree, but his consciousness is intact on another plane, the Forest reveals to him the truth about the relationship between itself and the humans. Agito learns that the genetic admixture that gives humans extraordinary strength and eventually turns them into trees is really a two-way exchange; it also changes trees in the Forest, causing them to give birth to new humans in giant fruits. These new humans appear to be a stable product of the combined genetic material of plant and human. The Forest, seeing that Agito can possibly teach humanity that there is no need for either hostility or separation between themselves and the trees, grants him his human form back. The point here is that even the "Neutrals" are not truly living harmoniously with the forest; they still hold themselves apart, trying to preserve that which is in an inevitable process of transformation. Hence the veiled, cautious passive-aggression between the Forest and Neutral City, whose denizens do not understand that their days are numbered and that the strange little nymph-like creatures who speak for the Forest truly represent the future of humanity.

It's easy to get blown away in the first few minutes of "Origin: Spirits of the Past," where we're treated to exquisitely creepy celestial visuals and a gorgeous theme song.

It's also a suitable lead-in for this beautifully animated movie about a not-so-distant future in which human civilization lies in dystopic ruins, and a vast sentient forest has taken control. The animation is stunningly lush and complex, and the lone-hero rescuer story is surprisingly moving... and it almost makes up for the fact that the eco-friendly plot makes absolutely no logical sense.

When a young boy named Agito stumbles on an underground chamber, he finds a girl cryogenically preserved for the past three hundred years. Toola is understandably upset by this -- and since she has an electronic neck device, her presence angers the Forest, who fear that she might be used by the militaristic land of Ragna. Of course, the Ragnan leader Shunack -- another survivor from three hundred years ago -- turns up to persuade her.

It turns out that Shunack wants to use E.S.T.O.C., a mysterious device that will return the world to the way it once was, and Toola rather understandably decides to help him. Agito's only hope for stopping them -- and keeping the forest safe -- is to undergo "enhancement" that genetically bonds him to the Forest's trees. But even that might not stop the might of Ragna's armies... and stuff, especially since Shunack is also "enhanced."

"Origin: Spirits of the Past" is a gorgeous film -- the animation is lushly-drawn and full of ruined buildings, vines, shimmering glades, great writhing vines and vast moving mountains full of weapons. Some of the more chilling images (such as Agito's dad slowly turning into a tree, or the seeming loss of Toola in a burning train) are exquisitely haunting, all the more so because they aren't played for horror. It is, simply put, a gorgeous piece of work.

It also comes up with an intriguing and slightly eerie concept for a sci-fi movie -- that plants engineered to withstand extraterrestrial life would mutate and become the dominant force on Earth, changing themselves even as they become integrated by humanity. The ruinous dystopia that results is both beautiful and disturbing.

The problem is, the plot makes no sense: presumably the whole living-in-harmony-with-Forest thing is symbolic of living in harmony with nature. But since the Forest was mutated by humans, wrecked the world, genetically altered the survivors and keeps civilization in a stagnant stranglehold, it's about as unnatural as you can get. And the alleged bad guys just want to switch the world back to its pre-mutant-plant state when man and nature were in balance... meaning that the Designated Anti-Nature Bad Guy is actually the Pro-Nature Good Guy.

Evidently, logic need not apply. Even director Keiichi Sugiyama belatedly seems to realize this, so he throws a rather random "villains will destroy a town" twist into the mix to the bad guy will really seem, y'know, bad. It doesn't quite work.

Additionally, Toola and Shunack are the most likable characters in the mix -- Toola is understandably miserable and freaked by the loss of the world she once knew, and the people with it. And while Shunack has made his place in this remade world and gotten a position of power, he's wracked by guilt over his part in the Forest's rise. Agito is a pleasant little hero who goes to extreme lengths, but he seems rather bland by comparison.

"Origin: Spirits of the Past" is a gorgeous piece of animation with a hauntingly sober backdrop, but the actual plot about the Forest makes no sense at all. Enjoy for the copious eye candy, but don't expect deep stuff here.

The artwork is as good as it gets. Very imaginative drawings of the old ruins of what once were earth buildings. Even the clothing of people is clever. Lots of mechanical devices to delight. Similar to "Steamboy". Scenery is excellent. All visually as good as Miyazaki's work. Unfortunately the story is about average. Another environment message film. It's still a good enough dvd to own. The visual is enough for me.
Steve

Mostly this anime came off as really, really wanting to be a Miyazaki film. It's a decent watch and I don't regret the time I invested in it, but I was underwhelmed with the rather derivative elements of the story. Princess Mononoke and Nausicaa are both stronger films dealing with many of the same concerns- nature v. man, man v. man, you know the drill if you've watched anything by Hayao Miyazaki. Even the main female lead feels like a Mononoke castoff. The animation is beautiful and despite my issues with the storyline, it's sadly one of the better animes I've watched in the last year or so. If you have an evening to kill, I'd say to go for it. If you're looking for something truly impressive, go somewhere else.

Origin: Spirits of the Past / 704400023729 / B000KWZ1U2

*Spoilers*

It is difficult to deny the strong "nature vs. technology" theme in so many good anime movies, but like the others before it (Nausicaa, Princess Mononoke), "Origin" takes a difficult subject and contributes something meaningful to it.

Indeed, in some ways I like this movie more than "Princess Mononoke", and that's not meant as light praise. "Origin" takes the difficult position of defining nature as the aggressive, destructive force at the beginning of the movie, and trusts that we'll come around to the opposition side at the end: that nature's 'destructive' force is just one aspect of its job as a force for renewal and rebirth - in other words, you can't have life without death and decay. Whereas "Mononoke" ends with a sort of plot-induced 'truce' on the part of man and nature (I say 'plot-induced' because nature has definitely gotten the short end of the stick, with most of the animals and all of the gods dead and gone... and the humans openly planning to keep doing what they've been doing all along), "Origin" ends on a more triumphalistic note - namely, that trying to fight the forest is futile because in the end, we will all succumb to death regardless.

Although it's difficult to stand out as a nature anime, "Origin" stands out in other, satisfying ways. Everyone in the movie is pleasantly sane and sensible, from the young girl awakened out of a deep cryogenic sleep, to the leaders of the village she comes to live in, to the children who come to love her, and even to the 'villain' who wants to right the wrongs of his past. It is refreshing to see sensible adults, moderate communities, villains with depth, and children who are more than Mary Sue stand-ins for the authors - something that all movies could stand to see more of. And it is nice to see a forest with a 'dark' side - this isn't a Disney forest where everything is light and good and perfect; though the forest may be justified in its concerns and actions, they are not played lightly or for laughs. If you enjoyed "Nausicaa" or "Princess Mononoke" and would like to see another take on this common theme of nature vs. humanity, do check out "Origin" - you won't be disappointed.

~ Ana Mardoll

A previous review stated that a flying fortress, technology from the past, a hero with possessed powers, and a moral struggle with nature and humankind has been done before, well thats just fine by me because I love all those things espcially the hero with possesed powers bit. I don't care that its been done before becuase frankly all these things rock hard in my book.

Amazing animation, beatiful soundtrack, I LIKED the story, it was straight forward and didn't leave me wondering what the hell was happening(*cough* Karas *cough*). The only thing I found it somewhat lacking was character development and to a lesser extent the character design which wasnt as detailed as I would have liked. Seriously man when Agito gets those magic tree powers the fun really begins to take off, he can kick some serious ass. The dialog was ok too, charcters didn't stop speaking midway through sentences or stand there saying nothing when other characters spoke with them like in so many other animes i've seen. I didnt find the movie preachy at all, the people who find it preachy are probably the same people who litter and dont recycle(just kidding). Well theres not much else I can say. I really liked it.

It wasnt perfect but its still gets a 5 because of great animation and action sequences(i just love those magic tree powers), awesome sound track (the song "with reflection" by female artist Kokia is amazing), a happy ending(if i'm going to sit down and watch anything for more then an hour it better have a happy ending or i will not be pleased) and most of all replay value i've watched it so many times. Honestly theres not that many anime movies that top this one for me, definately in my top 10.

Version: U.S.A / Funimation / Region A
Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
MPEG-4 AVC BD-25 / AACS
Running time: 1:34:24
Feature size: 19,751,824,704 bytes
Disc size: 24,730,973,887 bytes
Total bit rate: 27.89 Mbps
Average video bit rate: 17.98 Mbps

Dolby TrueHD Audio English 3897 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 3897 kbps / 24-bit (AC3 Core: 5.1 / 48 kHz / 640 kbps)
Dolby TrueHD Audio Japanese 1314 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 1314 kbps / 16-bit (AC3 Core: 5.1 / 48 kHz / 640 kbps)

Subtitles: English, English SDH
Number of chapters: 23

#Making of (SD - 51m:38s)
#Screening Event Special Preview (SD - 3m:57s)
#TV Spots (SD)
#Trailer (SD)

This movie is Super amazing! Everything I was looking for. It was so good I had to hunt down the sound track, wich wasn't to easy but it was worth it. Dude you should totally see this movie if you hanen't already! And if you have, well watch it again kuz it rocks :)