NoaIzumiAnime Review: Vexille
April 19th 2009 05:11
Film poster, showing Maria, Vexille, and Leon
In the late 21st century, Japan has withdrawn from the world and entered a high-tech isolation. When the Americans suspect that Daiwa, Japan’s leading robotics manufacturer, has been pursuing illegal technologies, they send in SWORD, an elite special forces team, to infiltrate Japan. Once inside, they discover a horrible secret.
Quick warning: As always, I tried to avoid spoilers, but in this case, I had to be content with spoiling as little as possible.
Vexille is one of the most anticipated titles in recent memory, directed by one of the producers of the legendary Appleseed. Pre-release buzz is all well and good, but does Vexille measure up to the hype?
Well, I don’t know about measuring up to the hype, but it’s sure a good movie. Vexille shares a lot of elements with Appleseed: strong female lead, computer animation, emphasis on action, and themes about artificial life. But in many ways, Vexille surpasses its predecessor.
Character-wise, Vexille focuses on two women, Vexille of SWORD, and Maria, leader of a Japanese anti-Daiwa resistance movement. The film is arguably mis-named, as Maria is the more interesting, but Vexille still holds her own. The two characters make an interesting contrast, and are probably more alike than either would care to admit. Vexille is tough, but just a little naïve, at least in the situation at hand, while Maria is determined, almost obsessed, to bring down Daiwa, so much so that almost everything else has been crowded out.
The story itself is a grim one. Over the previous ten years, the actions of Daiwa have devastated Japan, and infected the entire population with an artificial disease. So no matter what Maria and her fighters do, win or lose, they’ll all doomed. Their actions, taken to stop Daiwa from spreading to the rest of the world, are shocking to Vexille, but make perfect sense in this light.
The isolation plot-point is interesting, as it simultaneously creates a situation that’s completely alien to modern Japan and one which calls to mind elements of Japan’s past. In a sense, the situation is allegorical to Japanese history, when the isolationist policy of the Tokugawa Era gave birth to a Japanese empire that set out to conquer the world. I’ve reviewed animes that evoke Japanese nationalism (Silent Service, Submarine 707R), but Vexille is sort of the opposite, with the evil leader of Japan being the bad guy, and the Japanese people atoning for their mistake, leaving the Americans to lead the way in the new world.
Animation-wise, Vexille certainly does not disappoint. The character movements sometimes look a little jerky, but this has some of the best computer animation ever done.
Great Moments: The Jags, both in their introduction and the movie’s climax. Even though they look suspiciously like the sandworms of Dune, and don’t quite 100% make sense, they’re still really cool.
Extras: The special edition has a whole disk-full, including a director profile, voice acting footage, behind the scenes looks at the animation process, footage of the premiere event, creating the music, lotsa good stuff.
Summary: Strong plot, slightly less strong characters, great animation, slightly less great action. Grade: A minus
Age rating: 13 and up. No fan service to speak of. Violence, some of it bloody. A child is shot, off camera.
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