1982, Japan. Starring the voices of Makio Inoue, Kei Tomiyama, Takeshi Aono, Shuichi Ikeda, Taro Ishida, Yujiro Ishihara, Eiji Kanie, Satomi Majima, Eiko Masuyama, Shuichiro Moriyama, Reiko Muto, Seiko Nakano, Rinko Okamoto, Ai Sakuma, Masaharu Sato, Hidekatsu Shibata, Kaneto Shiozawa, Reiko Tajima, Kin Takagi, Hideyuki Tanaka, Makoto Terada, Hiromi Tsuru, Yuriko Yamamoto, Koji Yata, Hiroshi Otake. Directed by Tomoharu Katsumata. Created by Leiji Matsumoto. Buy it from Amazon.

Legendary Japanese cartoon artist Leiji Masumoto pretty much defined the 1970s style of animation with his monumental creations Space Battle Cruiser Yamato (released in the United States as Star Blazers) and Captain Harlock. I read a lot of anime reviews that can't seem to get over the "retro look" of older animation, meaning the way cartoon art looks when it's actually art instead of computer generated stuff. I just don't relate to their problems. I think the 1970s style of animation is beautiful. Masumoto's character design is unique and easily recognizable, another element that is missing from much modern-day anime, where everyone just seems to look the same and no one is going out of their way to distinguish their artwork from anyone else's. Masumoto's characters are drawn in a somewhat bizarre, elongated style, almost wraithlike. They're quite interesting and were obvious influences on more recent anime films such as Silent Moebius.

But what really sets Masumoto's work apart from the pack is his frequent allusion to the past, and in particular, to World War II. The most obvious, of course, is Space Battle Cruiser Yamato, and since we have plans to review that series in the near future, I won't go into a detailed history of the legendary flop of a World War II battleship, the Yamato. Masumoto's a master of transplanting elements from the past into futuristic surroundings, a stylistic element that would later become a mainstay of cyberpunk films thanks to Blade Runner and Brazil, two more films that excel at mixing antiquity with futurism.

Most anime fans have at least heard of Captain Harlock, even if their new school mentalities keep them from embracing old cartoons in much the same way that new school Hong Kong kungfu film fans turn their noses up at the wonderful films of the 1960s and 1970s. What can you do with these people, really? Harlock was a mainstay in Japanese television throughout much of the 1970s and more or less became the icon of that generation of animation. He was a space pirate and freedom fighter roaming the universe in his massive starship, Arcadia of My Youth, fighting the forces of oppression. Harlock, along with frequent partner in galactic crime Queen Emereldas, popped up not just in his own series but also in assorted other Masumoto creations, including the Galaxy Express 999 films, and DNA 999, which unites characters from Galaxy Express 999, Captain Harlock, and Space Battle Cruiser Yamato.

That's another of the many things I love about Masumoto. Plenty of animators have created a wonderful body of work -- Haiyo Miazaki (Nausicaa, My Neighbor Totoro) and Masimune Shirow (Ghost in the Shell, Appleseed) are two who spring to mind -- but no one has linked all their various creations together into a coherent and massive universe. The characters from one Masumoto creation, however, are often likely to cross paths the creations from another, drawing his entire tapestry together into a truly fleshed-out, believable world. The gestalt makes each of the individual pieces that much more engrossing, and makes Masumoto's grand vision, creation, and master plan that much more impressive.

Arcadia of My Youth was the first (and as far as I know, only) feature film dedicated to Harlock. It works basically as a preamble to his adventures, going into detail about his origins as a pilot during Earth's war with a conquering race, his role as a freedom fighter, the acquisition of his star cruiser and crew, and his exile to the blackness of space. Masumoto weaves the entire tale around a core story that reflects the occupation of Japan after World War II.

It begins with a sequence about one of Harlock's ancestors -- all of Harlock's ancestors were pilots of one sort of aircraft or another -- facing off in his plane, Arcadia of My Youth, against a seemingly impassable mountain area nicknamed the Stanley Witch. The film switches back and forth frequently between the story of space pirate Harlock and his ancestors, one of whom was a fighter pilot in Europe during World War II (as best I can tell, Harlock is of Swiss descent?), but the bulk of the story takes place on the Earth of the future. The planet has been conquered, and rather than engage in a bloody and prolonged uprising, the leaders of the planet bend over backwards to please their new bosses.

Harlock, who we first meet as the pilot of a ship transporting refugees, refuses a post in the new regime, preferring instead to walk away from flight than serve the new masters. He meets another former pilot named Toshiro in a bar, and before you know it, the two are part of a small band of freedom fighters.

Much of this happens because of Harlock's relationship with a women named Maya, who runs a pirate radio station broadcasting pro-freedom messages. She is public enemy number one.

Harlock and Toshiro meet a sympathetic government soldier who a member of a previously subjugated race on another planet. He uses some sci-fi gizmo stuff to let Toshiro and Harlock remember their past lives and the times their ancestors met in World War II. When the soldier discovers his own planet is scheduled for total obliteration by his new commanders, he decides to help Harlock and his band of rebels. Harlock also encounters the beautiful Queen Emereldas, a free space trader who decides to take her place alongside Harlock rather than maintain her status as a trader.

Toshiro reveals the battleship he has been building in secret underground, a massive battle cruiser named Arcadia of My Youth. Harlock, a couple sympathetic government soldiers from the doomed planet, and Toshiro take to the stars to save the planet while Maya and Emereldas are captured back on Earth and scheduled to be executed in an attempt to pressure Harlock into returning.

Putting to death the two women strikes a cord with a lot of the previously docile human subjects, and an all out uprising allows Maya and Emereldas to escape as revolution breaks out in the streets. Emereldas, however, is wounded, giving her the familiar scar across her cheek that resembles Harlock's scar and marks her as his female alter ego. Maya herself is exhausted from her prolonged life as a fugitive, and a gunshot wound during the insurrection pushes her that much closer to death.

Two things Masumoto has never shied away from are tragedy and melodrama, and he is exquisite at rendering both. In a painful scene, Harlock and his crew arrive at the planet only to find they are too late. It's already been destroyed. Down but not out, Harlock and his crew return to Earth to aid in the rebellion. Harlock is allowed to return to claim the body of the sympathetic soldier who helped him and Toshiro, but he is exiled to space after that. Emereldas decides to accept the same fate with her ship. Harlock spends his final moments on Earth with the dying Maya.

Of course, nothing is that simple. One of the commanders of the occupying force is impressed by Harlock's loyalty to his planet and his dedication to freedom. He is determined to meet Harlock in combat, one on one, ship to ship.

As with the battles in the Yamato series, the final fight is done in the same style as the great battleship fights of World War I and II.

Arcadia of My Youth is a powerful movie that is highlighted by compelling characters, a wonderful story, plenty of emotion, and a shining message about fighting for freedom and sticking to your beliefs even when it would be simpler and easier to conform to the status quo and surrender. Harlock is a champion of free thought, and Masumoto's celebration of the freedom fighters is invigorating. Parallels are, of course, drawn to the occupation of Japan after World War II and the rapid "Westernization," that occurred there as the Japanese people did their best to mimic and appease their new leaders. Masumoto isn't celebrating the Japanese militarism of World War II, of course -- he's far too much a humanist to either close his eyes to or support the cruelty and madness that misd Japan's imperial era. But he does mourn the quickness with which people abandon their traditions and ideals when faced with actually standing up for them.

The entire cast of characters is wonderfully fleshed out. Supporting cast members are given as much development as the main cast, making each character a vibrant and convincing entity. I don't think any anime or manga creator is as much a master of characterization as Masumoto. By the time you're done with one of his creations, you genuinely feel like you know these people.

Arcadia of My Youth is a sweeping epic, a space opera that continues to add depth to the universe created by Leiji Masumoto. It's a celebration of freedom and selfless sacrifice, an indictment of conformity, and an all-around wonderful film that draws its power from hope, tragedy, and the range of human emotion. It's rare that a film has anything to say to or teach us; it's even more rare that anime is possessed of such depth of story and character. It's a monumental film from a monumental artist. Masumoto's work is often very nearly overwhelming in it's scope yet somehow is minutely involved in the emotions and lives of the individual. It's quite a feat, and one that has been pulled off in grand fashion in this film.

Labels: Anime and Animation, Anime: 80s, Country: Japan, Series: Captain Harlock, Series: Leiji Masumoto, Year: 1982