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Origin - Spirits of the Past: The Movie




  • 020 4  I thought this anime was really one of a kind where technology and nature are in conflict . The musical score , the story , and the mechanical and environmental designs were well conceived and original . Also , this feature is PG , so it's one that viewers of all ages can enjoy . I just regret not buying the limited edition with the behind the scenes and making of , because I think a lot of planning and effort went into this movie .
    • 033 4  This is a very nice movie . Nothing extremely special , but worth watching . My kids and I have watched it more than once , so it's not just an ok movie , but above ok . Almost as good as the Miyazaki movies .

  • 021 4  Three hundred years after a global catacylsm where the coming of an entity called the Forest Dragon wipes out most of human civilization and restores a severely weakened natural world to a state of primal supremacy on the planet , a find from the past shakes up the global balance that's precariously positioned itself . The vast forest is supreme , but bands of humans still exist and have learned to grow in this new world - only two groups are involved in the movie ( there may well be others elsewhere on the globe ) , one of which lives on the cliffs that border the jungle and have managed to build a fairly prosperous though low-tech existance , scavenging relics from the ruins and existing in a sort of comfortable truce with the forest and the plant-life humanoids that now dwell in it and seem to act as its agents / emissaries . The other civilization is a militaristic society that's re-industrialized a small slice of territory and whose ultimate aim is an outright war with the sentient forest . When a pair of young scavengers from the first ( cliff-dwelling ) groups stumble across an immaculately preserved laboratory / bunker deep under the forest and the ruins , they end up awakening a girl from suspended animation , who went under right at the end of the old world civilization . She's welcomed into the cliff society but aggressively sought by the militaristic state , who believe that she has knowledge from the past that could help them to restore the world to its pre-cataclysm state . Though the cliff-dwelling society that's aligned itself in truce with the forest is clearly the ' good guys ' of the two factions , the industrialized group isn't depicted as gratuitously evil . Most of its number seek to restore the previous state of the world because they see it as a better future for humanity , not out of any maniacal , blind hate for the natural world or mad powerlust . They fear the forest greatly , and don't seem to consider that it could have crushed the new human societies at any time but is letting them exist as long as it , the forest , isn't directly attacked . That's MOST of the residents of the industrialized state ; their leaders seem to have a much darker and more control-hungry nature . The bulk of the industrialized society seems to view the forest and its ' entities ' as having started the war with the catacylsm ; the forest itself clearly would view that man started it with its widespread destruction of the natural world that forced it to act , with more power than anyone would have assumed nature possessed . The cliff society doesn't really seem to dwell on who started it , but have long since established a peace with the surrounding forest that leaves both sides from encroaching too much on the other and at peace . The leaders of the industrial society seem to view that as a weak path . In the days following the awakening of the girl from the past ( as it also comes to light that another from the past had awakened before ) , all kinds of secrets from ages ago , and revelations about the true state of the world , come out , as events that have been building up for years suddenly rush towards a potential armageddon . The movie has one of the most mind-blowing openings ever put on film with the dawn of the Forest Dragon ; it also has one of the most . . . amazing endings ever . I'd like to describe in what way it's amazing , but that would clearly give too much away . Just be sure to watch all the way past the end credits to see both the finale and its coda . I know not everyone's interested in such things , but I thought it worth mentioning that the packaging of this movie is superb , with great artwork and metallic-looking , light embossing on its outer sleeve , and a fold-out inside packed with quick looks at a number of the distributor's other anime titles . Also a great trailer gallery for relatively obscure anime and non-anime titles , too . My sole complaint is that this could have easily been far longer and have lost nothing , there's so much going on it . It's 90 minutes in length and could have easily been twice that . It could have even been a 5 - or - 6 disc series , and greatly beefed up the roles of some of the supporting characters and expanded on some of the secondary concepts . With it being this good though , I don't want to gripe too much . This is a must-see for fans of movies like Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind and Princess Mononoke , or of epic fantasy / adventures in general or big , imaginative , ' nature-themed ' tales .
    • 003 4  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 .
    • 004 4  This review is from : Origin : Spirits of the Past ( Special Edition ) [ Blu-ray ] ( Blu-ray ) 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 .
    • 005 4  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 .
    • 006 4  Understand that Origin : Spirits of the Past was NOT a bad movie , but it wasn't a great one either . This anime movie has an amazing concept when it comes to the storyline ( i.e . the opening sequence , the idea of plants taking over , interesting future concept ) , but its execution wasn't great . For example , the climactic scenes aren't all that climactic and the story has so many loose ends . You don't really see much of the military city's power , the forest druids that are supposed to be the guardians of the forest don't show up much either , and the supporting characters have little to no purpose . Recycled themes aren't necessarily a bad thing , because if they were done well enough , it wouldn't make much of a difference how many times the themes were used . So , I have to stand up for Origin there because this seems to be the main reason that this movie gets a bad rap . You really don't get a good sense of who the characters are and they don't really connect to each other . They seem to lack polish : the youth are average youth , the adults are average adults , but there's no sort of individuality that makes you remember them . Most of all , they lack emotion . The character design and voice acting was average , though . However , the art and environments were top-notch ! The beautiful environment really gives you that sense of depth and adventure , redeeming this movie from mediocrity . Compared to the other material that has come from GONZO ( Trinity Blood , Samurai 7 , Blue Submarine No .6 , Chrono Crusade , Desert Punk ) , Origin isn't as good . It's a pity , because Origin had SO much potential . I wouldn't recommend buying it , but watch it firs t and see if you think it's worth purchasing .
    • 007 4  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
    • 008 4  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 .
    • 011 4  Visually this movie was amazing . Music and voice acting were also top notch ( For anyone keeping score , I viewed this product in japanese with subs , to quote an old friend , Bad Japanese voice overs are better than bad english voice overs because with the japanese voice over you don't understand just how bad it really is ) The story , however , was entertaining , but there are a couple of points where everything grinds to a halt and takes awhile to pick the speed back up . Overall I would recommend this movie to most anime fans . Not quite on the same level as Steamboy as far as entertainment value goes , but if you can look past a couple of slow points in the story line , the visual and audible parts of this movie will blow you away .
    • 014 4  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
    • 015 4  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 .
    • 017 4  I enjoyed this movie very much . Yes , it has a distinct Ghibli feel to it , and while they don't pull off the grandness that movies like Nausiica and Mononoke Hime manage this movie is still a wonderful watch . The man vs . nature theme is done well , not going overly preachy , but more thought provoking . As others have mentioned , the scenery is beautiful and masterfully rendered . The characters weren't overly captivating , but certainly likable and interesting to watch . The music was gorgeous ( and the Kokia song at the end is her best song , in my opinion ) and worth the viewing just to hear it . My only complaint is that this should have been longer . I saw the original theatric previews and they showed more characters and much more depth . Some intruiging scenes were apparently just cut out or were just left out after they put out the previews . If they had found a way to put more of that into the movie , it would have been a perfect 5 .
    • 018 4  Amazon should let you rate DVDs in 3 categories : storyline , visuals and packaging / extras . This rating is for the visuals . I've seen the Japanese R2 release of Origin . In terms of character designs / development and plot , this movie offers nothing new . You'll have Akira flashbacks when one of the characters starts transforming into a plant . Were it not for the unique , yet satisfying soundtrack , you could comfortably watch this on mute . Where this movie absolutely , completely crushes is in the mix of 2D and 3D animation . The backgrounds are incredibly detailed and vibrant . The action sequences are fluid and look natural , almost lifelike . Visually , everything just seems to click . The art team obviously put a tremendous amount of work into getting this movie close to perfection . If you've seen the Korean animation flick named Wonderful Days in R2 , Sky Blue in R1 , it kind of has that look and feel . Offtopic : Wonderful Days also had the same problem of weak plot , but stunning visuals . The soundtrack is pretty good , with 20th century classical music , J-pop tunes and what sounds like Eastern European-influenced chant . GONZO is doing it big time . In addition to Origin , they also released Brave Story , another 2D / 3D masterpiece , in Japan last year . If you like the eye candy in Last Exile , Origin is the movie for you . Although it does not have the character design complexity of SteamBoy or Karas , it is definitely in that class graphically . If the story had been deeper and more involved , Origin could have done for Anime in 2007 what Ghost in the Shell did for it back 1995 .
    • 019 4  I received this movie on my doorstep today and having since watched Origin I can honestly say I was disappointed . As for the backgrounds and settings they are visually stunning however the animation itself is rather average . The 3D scenes were gratuitous and did not lend anything to the plot or even make the movie more enjoyable because there was nothing that made those scenes special or deserving of 3D animation . The story itself borrows much from other anime titles and in my opinion follows the American Action Movie Formula rather than a typical anime film plot . For example , without giving any spoilers , the 3D Escape Scene at the end of the movie was pure Hollywood and should have been left on the cutting room floor . Additionally the movie was extremely disjointed . At many points I sat there asking myself questions like What just happened ? Why did he just do that ? Did I just sleep through a scene ? After the movie ended I felt that there was at lest 45 - 60 minutes of film that had been cut out to save running time . Lastly : what I will call The Doomsday Machine ( to avoid spoilers ) is so laughable its sad . I felt embarrassed watching Origin when it was revealed . This aspect of Origin seemed very forced or at the least unimaginative . I could picture this being some producer's idea because he thought it would be cool rather than part of the original author's concept . In conclusion , if you are looking for a good story with a unique and engaging plot then Origin is not for you . There really isn't anything in this movie worth buying except to add it to a personal movie collection .
    • 022 4  This review is from : Origin : Spirits of the Past - Special Edition ( DVD ) I see a lot of complaints that the storyline isn't very original , saying that the nature and humans living side by side or battling eachother storyline has been done to death . They're right . . . BUT a lot of movies and anime have used this premise and not gotten the backlash Origina has . Nausicaa is the first anime I know of that had this storyline , and many animes followed suit , including even Princess Mononoke , but no one complained about that . Is Origin as good as Princess Mononoke ? I'd give Origin's storyline a 3.5 / 5 , the voice acting a 4.5 and the animation a 5 / 5 . This has some of the best animation out there , and if you love nature and despise what humans are doing to it , Origin's plot and story will hold you from beginning to end .
    • 029 4  While this storyline may not be so original , it was still very entertaining , the characters are very likeable , and the animation and music more than make up for it . It's not a very easy feat combining an action / adventure with drama and lighthearted romance . The English dub was very well performed-we need more done like this . The blu-ray was clear as a bell ( of course ) and this would've gotten a higher score but I've seen this similar story with Princess Mononoke-damn near identical . In any case , I think still that this isn't one to pass up . One of the best anime movies I've seen in a while . 9 / 10 . ( I hate that 5 star system . . . )
    • 031 4  This review is from : Origin - Spirits of the Past : The Movie ( DVD ) Spirits of the Past is a very environmentally themed anime . Although I don't consider myself as being someone well-versed in anime , compared to other titles this one is very well animated with well-done CGI as well . The action scenes and fights are very detailed and you can tell that much work and attention to detail were put into them . As for the story . . . Well , I felt like it was kind of rushed as not much of the past events were revealed nor were the characters ' lives explored much . Coolness factors ? Plenty , including * * * possible spoilers * * * : giant walking artillery robots , stasis pods , a ' living forest ' , forest-enhanced fighting capabilities ( which reminded me of Naruto when he's in Sage mode ) , and a giant moving volcano .
    • 038 4  This review is from : Origin - Spirits of the Past : The Movie ( DVD ) 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 .
    • 039 4  This review is from : Origin - Spirits of the Past : The Movie ( DVD ) The setting seems familiar . On after-the-crash earth , orbited by a shattered moon , the remnants of humankind have split . The forest-dwelling druids take their place at one pole of the dichotomy . Mechanized warmongers stand at the other pole , barely able to breath because of the smoke that belches from rows of chimneys . ( Sound familiar ? ) A young couple in love tries to reach across that bottomless divide . ( Sound familiar ? ) Literally - a huge chasm separates the two lands , with Neutral City perched precariously between the two . Then , one side prepare to unleash untold destruction . Well it seemed to make sense at the time . And so on like that . As befits an animated sermon on living green ( also literally , in some cases ) , this consists entirely of recycled plot elements , in an apparent effort to conserve our ever-dwindling supply of new ideas . That doesn't mean it's bad , just that the characters and plot will fade from memory after you've seen two or three other anime . The good part is good , though . Scenery and backgrounds meet the highest standards . At times , I even found myself comparing them to the gorgeous hand-painted backgounds in Disney's feature films , the ones before computers took over . So , there's nothing much to object too ( unless tree-huggers give you a rash ) . Visuals range from standard characters to exceptional backgrounds . You could do worse , and we need to watch something until Studio Ghibli sends out another masterpiece . - - wiredweird
    • 040 4  The setting seems familiar . On after-the-crash earth , orbited by a shattered moon , the remnants of humankind have split . The forest-dwelling druids take their place at one pole of the dichotomy . Mechanized warmongers stand at the other pole , barely able to breath because of the smoke that belches from rows of chimneys . ( Sound familiar ? ) A young couple in love tries to reach across that bottomless divide . ( Sound familiar ? ) Literally - a huge chasm separates the two lands , with Neutral City perched precariously between the two . Then , one side prepare to unleash untold destruction . Well it seemed to make sense at the time . And so on like that . As befits an animated sermon on living green ( also literally , in some cases ) , this consists entirely of recycled plot elements , in an apparent effort to conserve our ever-dwindling supply of new ideas . That doesn't mean it's bad , just that the characters and plot will fade from memory after you've seen two or three other anime . The good part is good , though . Scenery and backgrounds meet the highest standards . At times , I even found myself comparing them to the gorgeous hand-painted backgounds in Disney's feature films , the ones before computers took over . So , there's nothing much to object too ( unless tree-huggers give you a rash ) . Visuals range from standard characters to exceptional backgrounds . You could do worse , and we need to watch something until Studio Ghibli sends out another masterpiece . - - wiredweird
    • 042 4  The music was fantastic , the animation smooth and crisp . The story , to put it bluntly , is lacking . Environmentalists v . Neutrals v . Factory lovers has been done far too much , and this iteration adds nothing new . While beautiful , it is only skin deep I'm afraid .
    • 046 4  Simply put this movie is another boring pedantic man vs nature , technology bad , tree hugging good . I write this as a card carry Green liberal . It plods along in a predicable formula right up to the end . Most of the animation is beautiful but grates on your nerves from time to time as obvious short cuts have been used in a poor mix of styles . You can keep the money I spent on the disc . I want the time I wasted watching this , hoping it would get better , back . I should have re watched Princess Mononoke or Spirited Away . As Rule I do not write reviews . I am only taking the time to write this in hopes of saving someone Else's evening and money .
    • 050 4  I don't get why everyone's so gaga for the visuals in this movie . Sure , there are a couple of good moments ; however , most of the movie is done with horrible shading ( similar style to a lot of 15 year old anime fan artists out there ) . This jarring , overly blurred shading only brings your attention to the other deficits in the drawing . The line quality is garbage - I couldn't believe I was watching a bluray at first . I thought I had mistakenly bought the DVD , but no . There's no refinement to the line , nor is the line pleasantly unrefined . It's simply awful . Most egregious is the coloring . The whole thing looks like it was colored by a high schooler . Some shots look awfully oversaturated , and sometimes the hue of people / objects doesn't change even under drastically different lighting . I cannot believe an art director gave the go ahead on this . Most TV quality animators do better .
    • 051 4  She's an Anime Head . This was on the top of her lengthy list of Anime needs . She loved it . Doesn't matter what I think . She was happy , so I'm happy .
    • 052 4  Trees that first give people super powers and later take them over and turn them into plants , all because someguy gave them too much special fertilizer . This movie gives new meaning to the term vegetating
    • 054 4  The artwork and animation is first rate . The color and most of the production values are very good . The voiceovers are pretty good as well though the balance is sometimes off so that it is difficult to understand them over the background noise . But the story is really dumb . Believing that a plant could grow as fast as a man could run ? Don't these people understand that growth requires energy ? How about that you could put legs under a volcano and have it walk around . Apparently the writer doesn't know that a volcano is powered from the core of the earth and not from something inside itself . I give this a marginal recommendation because this was a superb production lacking only a reason for being made - a story to tell .

  • 023 4  I see a lot of complaints that the storyline isn't very original , saying that the nature and humans living side by side or battling eachother storyline has been done to death . They're right . . . BUT a lot of movies and anime have used this premise and not gotten the backlash Origina has . Nausicaa is the first anime I know of that had this storyline , and many animes followed suit , including even Princess Mononoke , but no one complained about that . Is Origin as good as Princess Mononoke ? I'd give Origin's storyline a 3.5 / 5 , the voice acting a 4.5 and the animation a 5 / 5 . This has some of the best animation out there , and if you love nature and despise what humans are doing to it , Origin's plot and story will hold you from beginning to end .
    • 013 4  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 .
    • 044 4  couldn't find this any where so i ordered it and it was in wonderful condition and came in good time , original box which is always nice .
    • 045 4  This movie has great animation , and some pretty cool action scenes to keep you entertained . Many animes seem to beat you over the head with their we're all a part of the environment , humans are ruining the planet message , and this one does that just as well as any of the others . Overall , this is not a great movie , but it is a good movie . If you like anime you should check it out .
    • 047 4  This ranks as one of my favorite anime movies . The Sound track is great and artwork astounding . The story is wonderfully presented , a lot of work went into this . Watching the movie I could feel completely submerged into the story as though I was in it . You can't go wrong with with this movie , I'd recommend it to anyone .

  • 024 4  I have to admit that I picked up this movie mainly based upon the cover art which portrayed it as being an anime that was set in a vivid , beautiful , and imaginative world . . . and that it was . The scenery within this movie is amazing and the animation pretty darn good . Sadly , beneath the surface the end result is somewhat lackluster . As a couple of reviewers have touched upon already , it's all been done before . Throughout the entire film I could not help but think that it felt a little too much like Nausicaa , Green Legend Ran and Princess Mononoke with a splash of Akira here and there . Adding to this drawback there really is little in the way of character development and the whole thing felt like it went by a little too fast , especially in the major turning point for the main character . A scene which should have at least taken at least 5 to 10 minutes to play out ended in around a minute and a half with little emotion or explanation . By the end of it I honestly felt like I accidentally skipped a chapter of the DVD . Still , this movie does have it good points . As I mentioned , the settings and backgrounds are amazing , the characters a likeable , it has a nice amount of well executed CG and the animation in general was pretty good . Still , this movie could have seriously benefited from an addition 20 minutes of story telling . When all is said and done I'd have to say that unless just looking for a movie that lets you escape to a different world you might want to consider passing this one up until a price drop . I'd say it would be a good buy for around $15 dollars but anything more and you might find yourself wishing you had looked into something else . I personally don't regret buying it , but I wouldn't have minded waiting a while longer to pick up this title .

    • Origin : Spirits of the Past - Special Edition ( DVD ) Like some others have already said , i too was wanting this to be another Anime Masterpiece um not entirely while the concept is admirable along with the characters plight it just seemed to be missing something , what ? I do not know , visually it is second to none . It seems to be akin to it's much earlier predecessor Nuasica ( messed up the name ) and the valley of the wind ' however this one is far more Nature-Gaia centric in that it involves Elementals , monkish druids made out of trees etc . . so , it nice to see ( for the first time ) definitely not a bad anime , but could have branched out story-wise instead of the simplistic tale of duality . . Black and White Us vs them approach . this was OK , but was rushed , and became all too predictable not leaving any room for pondering what would happen next . However the animation is above average so giving this 4 stars is stretching it little . Very good but not the Myazaki film I thought it would be . I am not really sure if he was even involved in this , so I may be wrong for giving it that critique , either way it's worth looking at .
      • 016 4  OK , maybe the theme of the scenario is not fresh , but it still entertains with out becoming stale . One thing boggles my mind though . . . How do you move a volcano ? Don't get me wrong ; I can overlook almost every fantasy animes can throw at me , but doesn't a volcano needs to be attached to EARTH to be fed lava ? Anyway I guess I even pass that one during the movie and enjoyed it all the way ; )
      • 025 4  This review is from : Origin : Spirits of the Past - Special Edition ( DVD ) Like some others have already said , i too was wanting this to be another Anime Masterpiece um not entirely while the concept is admirable along with the characters plight it just seemed to be missing something , what ? I do not know , visually it is second to none . It seems to be akin to it's much earlier predecessor Nuasica ( messed up the name ) and the valley of the wind ' however this one is far more Nature-Gaia centric in that it involves Elementals , monkish druids made out of trees etc . . so , it nice to see ( for the first time ) definitely not a bad anime , but could have branched out story-wise instead of the simplistic tale of duality . . Black and White Us vs them approach . this was OK , but was rushed , and became all too predictable not leaving any room for pondering what would happen next . However the animation is above average so giving this 4 stars is stretching it little . Very good but not the Myazaki film I thought it would be . I am not really sure if he was even involved in this , so I may be wrong for giving it that critique , either way it's worth looking at .
      • 026 4  Like some others have already said , i too was wanting this to be another Anime Masterpiece um not entirely while the concept is admirable along with the characters plight it just seemed to be missing something , what ? I do not know , visually it is second to none . It seems to be akin to it's much earlier predecessor Nuasica ( messed up the name ) and the valley of the wind ' however this one is far more Nature-Gaia centric in that it involves Elementals , monkish druids made out of trees etc . . so , it nice to see ( for the first time ) definitely not a bad anime , but could have branched out story-wise instead of the simplistic tale of duality . . Black and White Us vs them approach . this was OK , but was rushed , and became all too predictable not leaving any room for pondering what would happen next . However the animation is above average so giving this 4 stars is stretching it little . Very good but not the Myazaki film I thought it would be . I am not really sure if he was even involved in this , so I may be wrong for giving it that critique , either way it's worth looking at .
      • 027 4  i think the movie had a good story.but i think it be better if it could still have a happy side on tech . i mean so what it saying is tech evil live green go back 500 years . and thats good for the would never go to space or have city on mars or city at all . just live and maybe you can apart of the colleative . thank you i have seen star trak . ha ha ha do note fight goooo greeeen aaaaahhhh

    • Spirits of the Past comes extremely close to the quality and depth of his work . Contrary to what other reviewers have said , I do not share their claims that this has been done before , or as one reviewer said that this was an environmentalist commercial . Neither one is close to the truth . While similar issues have been approached before , none of them have done so in such an original way as Origins has . Origins is very original . The characters are very well developed individually and are given very realistic relationships between them . Origins may not have the spiritual depth of Hayao Miyazaki's work , but it is still an excellent story , well told and produced . Don't deny yourself the pleasure .
      • 048 4  I'm a big fan of Hayao Miyazaki , and Origins : Spirits of the Past comes extremely close to the quality and depth of his work . Contrary to what other reviewers have said , I do not share their claims that this has been done before , or as one reviewer said that this was an environmentalist commercial . Neither one is close to the truth . While similar issues have been approached before , none of them have done so in such an original way as Origins has . Origins is very original . The characters are very well developed individually and are given very realistic relationships between them . Origins may not have the spiritual depth of Hayao Miyazaki's work , but it is still an excellent story , well told and produced . Don't deny yourself the pleasure .

    • Spirits of the Past seems familiar to you then you are not alone . Even the most indiscriminate anime fan can tell that this is basically a watered-down copy of Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind . There are so many similarities that I'm surprised no lawsuits were involved . Set in a future where plant life has taken control of a desecrated world the survivors try to live a delicate existence between the powerful forest and the fascist military until one day a mysterious girl arrives out of the past with lots of questions and long , drawn-out answers . Meh , it's all just so generic and dull full of all the usual anime nonsense . I never really understood why the hero , Agito , falls in love with her so easily . There's not much going on between them . And who was that calling her on that weird phone thingy near the start ? It's never explained . This story has been done bigger and better 25 years ago and there's not any particular reason why anyone should rush out and see Origin . Sorry .
      • 010 4  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 : )
      • 028 4  This review is from : Origin : Spirits of the Past ( Special Edition ) [ Blu-ray ] ( Blu-ray ) While this storyline may not be so original , it was still very entertaining , the characters are very likeable , and the animation and music more than make up for it . It's not a very easy feat combining an action / adventure with drama and lighthearted romance . The English dub was very well performed-we need more done like this . The blu-ray was clear as a bell ( of course ) and this would've gotten a higher score but I've seen this similar story with Princess Mononoke-damn near identical . In any case , I think still that this isn't one to pass up . One of the best anime movies I've seen in a while . 9 / 10 . ( I hate that 5 star system . . . )
      • 030 4  this movie has a good premise and nice music . the animation is well-done and i find it a fun movie to watch .
      • 032 4  Spirits of the Past is a very environmentally themed anime . Although I don't consider myself as being someone well-versed in anime , compared to other titles this one is very well animated with well-done CGI as well . The action scenes and fights are very detailed and you can tell that much work and attention to detail were put into them . As for the story . . . Well , I felt like it was kind of rushed as not much of the past events were revealed nor were the characters ' lives explored much . Coolness factors ? Plenty , including * * * possible spoilers * * * : giant walking artillery robots , stasis pods , a ' living forest ' , forest-enhanced fighting capabilities ( which reminded me of Naruto when he's in Sage mode ) , and a giant moving volcano .
      • 036 4  This review is from : Origin : Spirits of the Past - Special Edition ( DVD ) Love the movie but the packaging is not the typical plastic case . The case is hard cardboard and a slip cover . The case is the only reason I did not give 5 stars
      • 037 4  Love the movie but the packaging is not the typical plastic case . The case is hard cardboard and a slip cover . The case is the only reason I did not give 5 stars
      • 041 4  If Origin : Spirits of the Past seems familiar to you then you are not alone . Even the most indiscriminate anime fan can tell that this is basically a watered-down copy of Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind . There are so many similarities that I'm surprised no lawsuits were involved . Set in a future where plant life has taken control of a desecrated world the survivors try to live a delicate existence between the powerful forest and the fascist military until one day a mysterious girl arrives out of the past with lots of questions and long , drawn-out answers . Meh , it's all just so generic and dull full of all the usual anime nonsense . I never really understood why the hero , Agito , falls in love with her so easily . There's not much going on between them . And who was that calling her on that weird phone thingy near the start ? It's never explained . This story has been done bigger and better 25 years ago and there's not any particular reason why anyone should rush out and see Origin . Sorry .
      • 056 4  It isn't the movie I am rating it is this download thing , I can't watch it cause I don't live in the US at the moment . it is always like this just because I live in canada The only things i can get are dvds that take like two weeks to gets here .

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