Product Details

• Actors: J.D. Hawkins, Chris Patton, Kevin Corn, Ted Pfister, Andy McAvin
• Directors: Hirotsugu Kawasaki
• Writers: Hirotsugu Kawasaki, Yasutaka Itô
• Format: Anamorphic, Animated, Color, Dolby, DVD, Widescreen, NTSC
• Language: English (Dolby Digital 5.1), Japanese (Dolby Digital 5.1)
• Subtitles: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: R (Restricted)
• Studio: A.D. Vision
• DVD Release Date: April 23, 2002
• Run Time: 90 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (76 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B000063IMS
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #40,512 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "Spriggan" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Fast paced, violent, and loud, Spriggan uses a combination of drawn and computer animation to deliver the kind of slam-bang thrill ride Final Fantasy only promised. The convoluted plot, based on a manga series by Hirotsugu Kawasaki and Yasutaka Ito, mixes elements from Raiders of the Lost Ark, 2001: A Space Odyssey, Akira, and Universal Soldier. Yu Ominae (voice by Christopher Patton) is a Spriggan, a member of an elite corps of biologically engineered warriors created by the secret organization ARCAM, who finds himself involved in a baroque adventure centered on the newly discovered Ark of Noah. The Ark is actually an extraterrestrial vehicle with the power to alter the Earth's climate and spawn new animal species. A sinister cadre of rogue Pentagon generals wants it and dispatches a corps of murderous cyborgs lead by Col. MacDougall (Kevin Corn), a monstrous child who's also the product of biological experiments, to capture it. ARCAM is determined to prevent the generals from gaining control of the Ark's awesome powers. Yu battles his way to victory through car chases, sword fights, shootouts, explosions, knifings, and psychic blasts, with a little help from fellow-Spriggan Jean-Jacques Mondo (Andy McAvin). Director Hirotsugu Kawasaki handles the action sequences more effectively than the minimal character development, and Katsuhiro Otomo's screenplay doesn't always make a lot of sense. But Spriggan supplies what hard-core action fans sought in vain in many recent Hollywood blockbusters. Just don't sit too close to a speaker. MPAA rated R, under 17 not admitted (for considerable violence). --Charles Solomon

From the Back Cover

Directed by first-time director Hirotsugu Kawasaki and supervised by Katsuhiro Otomo, the legendary creator behind the cinematic masterpiece Akira, Spriggan is based on the comic Striker by Chu Takasige and Ryoji Minagawa, which originally appeared in the Japanese monthly magazine, Shonen Sunday. The comics were a popular success, selling millions of copies of the paperback releases, which led to a fervent bidding war over the right to make a movie based on the property. Otomo and Kawasaki eventually won out, and with the backing of acclaimed animators Studio 4°C, masterfully combined traditional cel animation with ground-breaking computer animation to create a stunning action film.

Story: At the top of the world, the ancient artifact known as Noah's Ark has been uncovered. Buried and forgotten since before the birth of history, it holds the potential to elevate its holder to the status of a god... or to wipe mankind from the face of the Earth in a second! Now, a desperate battle erupts across the planet as two secret organizations race to recover the lost artifact - one seeks to destroy it, and the other wants enslave the human race! Monstrous half-human cyborgs face off against Earth's ultimate defenders, the secret organization known as ARCAM and their elite agents, the Spriggan, in an epic duel with the future of our species as the prize!

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great action movie--but ONLY an action movie, September 17, 2005

By 

oldcrow - See all my reviews

This review is from: Spriggan (DVD)

Spriggan is a fast-paced action story with beautiful animation. However, that's ALL it is. If you're looking for an entertaining story filled with lively and well drawn fight scenes, then this is for you. However, characterization is limited, and in some cases non-existent. The plot is simple and leaves areas outside the main plotline almost completely unexplored. There is also no romantic angle to it.

In other words, this movie is good at what it is, which is a pure shoot 'em up adventure film complete with everything from car chases to gun battles to knife fights. It doesn't pretend to be anything other than that.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Animated Action Movie, April 23, 2002

By 

"amsaturn" (Ann Arbor, MI United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Spriggan (DVD)

This anime is exactly like your typical action movie, only animated. It's got your stereotypical characters - super soldier, psychic kid, evil government branch, old scientist dude and some French guy. There are many explosions! It is very well animated and fun to watch, but the plot will leave you a little confused on the details and has a high corniness quotient. The ending especially was like a string of cliches, while at the same time not making a lot of sense.

The one feature that makes it stand out is the dub sounds great! I hardly ever watch dubs because they usually do not begin to compare to the Japanese version, but all the actors in the Spriggan dub did a wonderful job!! The voices fit the characters (perhaps better than the originals), and the acting was on the mark.

I do have a complaint about the DVD menus, which is the text is so small I had a difficult time reading it. My tv is of a decent size, so I have no idea why they chose to make the writing so tiny. Besides that, the extras were ok, but there wasn't much of them.

This was fun to watch once, but I doubt I will watch it again. It's a nice rental. If you enjoy action movies even if they are a little cliched, you will probably have fun watching this.

13 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars No pretense, April 11, 2002

By 

J. Chang "eva05" (Milltown, NJ USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Spriggan (DVD)

Spriggan is an excellent work in the super soldier anime genre. Based off the manga by Takashige and Minagawa (who are now making the best selling manga "Arms"), Spriggan has some subtle themes but by no means is challenging. The story is pretty fast paced with a fight scene punctuating every 5-8 minutes of plot development. A nice touch is that the good guys aren't really all that good ^_^

The ending is a little hokey but the combat scenes are unparralleled! Highly detailed, incredibly articulated and dynamic animation. As some one who's worked at some US animation shops I can say this is some of the best stuff I've seen in the past few years (in terms of the motion)...think Cowboy Bebop level of quality.

The non-action stuff is also beautiful compositionally. Kawasaki, the director, keeps his pallette very desaturated so it has a slighlty melencholoy feel to it. The soundtrack is also worth mentioning as it is very, very good. Maybe one of the best action movie soundtracks I have ever heard. I saw this on the big screen in Japan when it came out and saw it a few times since at various festivals (subtitled). I have enjoyed every screening.