Origin: Spirits of the past

Last night I watched Gonzo Productions' 'Origin: Spirits of the Past,' directed by Keiichi Sugiyama. It was released in 2006 firstly in japan, where it was made, then worldwide. It is yet another in a series of Japanese anime films that I have been making my way through. It is a fantasy sci-fi film, and very similar in vein to Ghibli's 'Nausicaa.' It echoes the setting of a post-apocalyptic world where civilization is at war with nature, and there are warring factions of humans. Although I have not watched 'Princess Mononoke' yet, I am told that it reflects a lot of similarities with that film also. Akira is recalled in parts, such as when Agito's arm transforms (example of metamorphosis) into a tree-like growth.

Most of the art is hand drawn animation, or hand painted background art, which is striking and one of the great feature points of the film. I liked the epic quality of the scope and cinematography. What I disliked mostly was the integration of CGI with the traditional artwork, which I though was very crude and poorly executed. I would like to be able to emulate the beauty of the traditional artwork, but it has made my shy away from trying to use multiple production techniques or styles together on one piece, because I can see how noticeable and garish it can look when not done well. An example would be the machinery the humans use as weapons, and the vines that come to life and snake out in tendrils from the forest.
One thing I enjoyed in the narrative was the personification of non-human entities, such as the 'Zruids' and other forest creatures.

The soundtrack plays beautifully into the narrative, and it synchronizes very well into the action. In some places, there is a noticeable juxtaposition of calm, melodious music with dramatic events on screen. An example is the scene when Agito falls down through the work structure he is suspended above, which is frightening and quick paced, yet classical music plays. I likes the whole of the musical soundtrack, as well as the sound effects utilized and the synced dialogue in Japanese. Though I will not be using dialogue in my own piece, seeing this makes me excited to get to work on the soundtrack for my animation with my composition artist.