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One of the things I love about classic anime is its full-speed-ahead, logic-be-damned sheer sense of style, and nobody did style better than Leiji Matsumoto’s sci-fi pirate mash-up, Captain Harlock. Fully decked out in black cape and eye patch, cutlass at the ready, Harlock blasted his way through space aboard the Arcadia, flying the Jolly Roger, and defending Earth from all manner of intergalactic threats. Harlock’s gotten the full CGI feature treatment now, and while the results are a bit dour in terms of story, the captain and his crew have never looked better.
There have been a number of iterations of Harlock since the character’s 1977 debut. In Harlock: Space Pirate, humanity has spread out into the universe, largely abandoning their home planet. Dwindling resources among these scattered planets have led the population toward resettling Earth, only to be stymied by the powerful Gaia Coalition. Only Harlock and his crew of misfits aboard the deadly ship Arcadia have found a way to break past the coalition and discover the secrets it’s hiding.
That’s only a bare description of the plot, which includes a major midpoint twist, a particularly confusing MacGuffin, and a noticeable lack of clearly developed characters. Unfortunately, Harlock gets bogged down under a number of confusing decisions, the most prominent of which gives the supposed hero a back story so dark that it’s hard to know whom to root for coming into the final stretch. And shortly after watching it, I still couldn’t tell you exactly what the Gaia Coalition or Harlock intended to accomplish—only that they really, really didn’t like each other.
If you can get past the problems in storytelling—which can be tough—Harlock presents an absolutely delightful visual feast. While we still haven’t completely crossed the uncanny valley—that sense that CGI characters, no matter how well rendered, just don’t look real—the detailed texture work and smooth animation are among the best I’ve seen. The original Harlock was perfectly suited for hand-drawn animation with bright colors and striking design. This version opts for more of a steampunk inspiration—a choice that lets the animators play around with the fun design choices while giving everything a sense of weight and presence.
That playfulness in the design remains Harlock’s greatest strength and a good reason to overlook the weaker aspects of this particular story. The good captain retains his full pirate regalia, complete with cape and crossbones. The Arcadia manages to look even more imposing with the giant skull adorning the bow while it belches black smoke even in the airless void of space. If you’re looking for understatement, you’ve definitely come to the wrong place here.
It can be tough to transplant an idea across nearly four decades, and maybe that plays somewhat into the storytelling troubles that Harlock: Space Pirate encounters. Despite those shortcomings, it’s got the right attitude and enough striking visuals to recommend itself, especially for those familiar with the original anime. Even if it’s your first visit to the Arcadia, it’s hard not to be at least a little charmed by a movie that digs into such an oddball idea with such a sense of style.
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