Having heard from a friend that this anime film was well worth watching I decided to check it out for myself. As soon as it started I was immediately impressed by the stunning animation. The story is set in the distant future three hundred years after an environmental cataclysm which destroyed most civilisation and left mankind competing with the now sentient forests for survival. In a town built above the remains of a destroyed city two boys, Agito and his friend Cain, descend deep into the old city to get water from a well; here an accident leads to Agito being washed deep into the heart of the old city. Here he discovers a girl in a hibernation chamber and awakens her. She is Toola and she has been there since the time of the cataclysm. They become friends but news of her discovery soon spreads to a neighbouring city where another person from the past is keen to get his hands on her and activate a device that will fix the mistakes he believes he made that gave the forest its sentience. In order to rescue Toola Agito must join with the forest himself; something that will give him superhuman strength but risks him becoming a tree if he loses control of his new strengths.I'm glad a listened to my friend as I found this to be an enjoyable film; most of the animation looks great even if some of the 3D CGI contrasts a little too much with the traditional animation that makes up most of the film. The characters are enjoyable and don't fall into the cliché of having a black and white morality; even the antagonist is doing what he does because he believes that is the right way to save civilisation. The environmental message might seem a little heavy handed to some but the plot justifies it and I don't think it got too preachy. People who want action scenes should be happy too as there is quite a lot including plenty of explosions and a fight between Agito and the antagonist.These comments are based on watching the film in Japanese with English subtitles.

This well animated film treads the same nature versus technology ground that Hayao Miyazaki films often do, and in the beginning it is pretty good, with a reasonably interesting premise and very nice, visually striking animation.There are some minor problems in the plotting early on. Most notably, it's unclear why bringing civilization back is a bad idea. Eventually it does become clear why, but the movie just kind of assumes it must be a bad idea without taking much pains to persuade the audience.Still, I was enjoying the movie until perhaps the last 20 minutes, when it becomes ridiculous. It turns out that, rather than restoring the world, the final solution will, as best I could tell, return the earth to the state of burning lava. How is that a good idea? And how would anyone survive? Next, why is the volcano weaponized? If it is just designed to reformat the earth, why does it need defensive weapons? I'm also unclear on why it needs to move. Does it simply destroy a little of the planet at a time? (In which case I suppose the planet could be reformatted piecemeal, which would explain how people could survive.) Lastly, why, if you shut down the volcano, would it self destruct? What possible sense would that make? And how would any personnel in the volcano actually leave? And get far enough away.Towards the end the movie also gets way too sincere and preachy. So that what should be the emotional, uplifting finale feels like a huge let down.All that being said, it's a nice looking, perfectly enjoyable movie if you can accept its flaws.

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 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.

The first noticeable thing about Gin-iro no kami no Agito is its visual excellence. From the first look at the exploding moon over the lush greens of the great forest to the magnificent views of the broken cities of Earth, the production values for this movie are nothing short of stunning. Studio Gonzo sure knew how to make the best of its budget, seamlessly mixing CGI and more traditional art. A wonderfully engrossing, orchestral soundtrack by Iwasaki Taku tops this all off, making this movie a memorable experience, especially when viewed on the big screen High production values alone do not make a good movie, but fortunately, Gin-iro no kami no Agito also has an entertaining, if maybe a little stereotypical, action plot. There are those that wish to coexist with nature and those who want to destroy it; guess who's good and who's bad? Still, the addition of Tula and, to a lesser extent, Shunak brings a bit of depth into the conflict. After all, both sides have reasonable motives for their actions and are equally fanatic. All in all, the plot could even be called interesting...... were it not borrowed shamelessly from Nausicaä of the Valley of Wind. Humanity struggling with a dangerous environment? Check. Conflict between peaceful and militaristic people? Check. An ancient, technological relic that could turn the tide in the conflict? Check. The hero making a sacrifice in the end to achieve victory? Check. Even the structure of this movie's (The first noticeable thing about Origin ~Spirits of the Past~ is its visual excellence. From the first look at the exploding moon over the lush greens of the great forest to the magnificent views of the broken cities of Earth, the production values for this movie are nothing short of stunning. Studio Gonzo sure knew how to make the best of its budget, seamlessly mixing CGI and more traditional art. A wonderfully engrossing, orchestral soundtrack by Iwasaki Taku tops this all off, making this movie a memorable experience, especially when viewed on the big screen High production values alone do not make a good movie, but fortunately, Origin ~Spirits of the Past~ also has an entertaining, if maybe a little stereotypical, action plot. There are those that wish to coexist with nature and those who want to destroy it; guess who's good and who's bad? Still, the addition of Tula and, to a lesser extent, Shunak brings a bit of depth into the conflict. After all, both sides have reasonable motives for their actions and are equally fanatic. All in all, the plot could even be called interesting...... were it not borrowed shamelessly from Nausicaä of the Valley of Wind. Humanity struggling with a dangerous environment? Check. Conflict between peaceful and militaristic people? Check. An ancient, technological relic that could turn the tide in the conflict? Check. The hero making a sacrifice in the end to achieve victory? Check. Even the structure of this movie's Japanese name (Gin-iro no Kami no Agito) reminds us of Miyazaki's early masterpiece. The name "Shunak" sounds suspiciously as though someone rearranged the syllables in the name of Nausicaä's opponent, Kushana. There's hardly an original element in the story, except for one, and that doesn't really fit into the setting; around the middle of the movie, Agito gains superpowers. The way these powers are bestowed upon him is a little... anticlimactic, so to speak, but the bigger problem is that the entire plot would have been much more exciting without this little addition. A virtually undefeatable hero doesn't make for good drama, does he?) reminds us of Miyazaki's early masterpiece. The name "Shunak" sounds suspiciously as though someone rearranged the syllables in the name of Nausicaä's opponent, Kushana. There's hardly an original element in the story, except for one, and that doesn't really fit into the setting; around the middle of the movie, Agito gains superpowers. The way these powers are bestowed upon him is a little... anticlimactic, so to speak, but the bigger problem is that the entire plot would have been much more exciting without this little addition. A virtually undefeatable hero doesn't make for good drama, does he?