Introduction
After conquering the galaxy, mankind has reached its apex and is now on a steady decline. The resources of the universe are diminishing, and around 500 billion humans begin to return home to Earth. Thus begins a war between the various factions of humans for control of the planet. Eventually, an authoritarian government known as the Gaia Sanction prevents the re-population of Earth.
Captain Herlock was one of the Elite Wing who was tasked by the Gaia Sanction to defend the Earth. His fleet of ships was unstoppable under his command. However, the Gaia Sanction allows a diplomatic elite to immigrate to Earth, which angers Herlock. He goes rogue and fires upon the diplomats and the rest of his fleet. He decides to unleash dark matter on the planet to make it uninhabitable, but also becomes engulfed in it which immortalizes him.
One hundred years have passed, and the legendary Captain Herlock is still at large, with only the Arcadia under his control. The Gaia Sanction continues with their plans for control over the Earth, while hiding its true state. But Captain Herlock is preparing for one final showdown with them, which will determine the fate of the world!
Audience reviews
11 · Sample from the first available page, separate from the total number of ratings.
acataLuca
this one is a struggle, the animation is surprisingly good. aside from that the issue with the story is that there is none, it's a mess with no real chance to connect with any character.
however, if you want a nice movie to look at and are able to get distracted by the pretty visuals of the battle even though you have no idea why it happened, consider this a recommendation. I know I liked it in the "so bad it's good" way (and I found it completely for free on youtube so it was a winning situation)
the characters don't seem to be anything like the 70s anime, but perhaps they are so bland that you can project the personality you want them to have easily. the female characters in the show also have typical "you have a great personality" body types and the whole aesthetic resembles final f…
Read at the sourceWorm_Death
This movie feels like the anime equivalent of the Final Fantasy VII remake.
While the movie looks extremely visually impressive, it's all style without substance or lack of style in this case. In every single case, without exception, I prefer stylized designs over hyperrealistic ones. Leiji Matsumoto's designs and characters have an extremely distinctive, instantly recognizable look, but they've been robbed of those stand-out qualities to just look realistic.
While I find the CGI to look impressive, the characters' movements seem really weird. They are clearly mo-capped, which isn't bad by itself, but they have this weird, flowy quality that almost makes it hard to watch them. The hair physics engine they use is clearly too sensitive, so even when they stand still and talk, their hair is…
Read at the sourceeienOwO
An extravagant show-piece of 3D rendering technology that's unfortunately bogged down by a needlessly convoluted plot, filled with TV-soap drama and characters who didn't know what they were doing.
If you don't care about making head or tails of a story, and only want the first 5 minutes of space carnage in Revenge of the Sith filling an entire feature film, this is your jam - Harlock repeatedly rams a cheat-enabled auto-healing battleship head-first into swarms of pleasingly weighty metal behemoths, crunching, crushing huge complex components amidst a light show of ray weaponry triggering chain explosions. Releasing endorphins in a primal part of our brains that finds a pleasing satisfaction in breaking up and disintegrating objects. The film brings TWO mega space weapons to boot, which…
Read at the sourceKR_P
I came into this blind -having never watched the original series or even read a synopsis.
The premise (of being relegated to living on dying planets) is quite good even though it is illogical given the super advanced science and technology on display.
The movie has really good visuals and passable OSTs; normally that would usually make for a good watch but the monumentally stupid plot and incredibly awful, trope riddled characters ruined any chance of enjoyment for me.
I won't say to skip it but if you are going to watch it -have low expectations for everything but the CGI to mitigate disappointment.
Read at the sourceTyrannicswine117
Warning possible Spoilers
It was kinda surprising to see that this movie was actually a remake of the original series back in the seventies, so I saw what the movie would offer and it wasn't as bad as I was expecting.
Story (6/10)
However just because it isn't bad, doesn't mean it has it's weak points and the story is definitely a weak point, sure it was simple as our MC Yama is a spy on Harlock's ship and tries to kill him, until he starts to realise what Harlock is doing and then a whole bunch of stuff that seemed like a ripoff of Wall-E happened, like the fact that after many years of suffering, the Earth is finally supporting life again just seemed way too familiar.
Although despite the story seeming familiar, it did have it's own stuff to go on, like ulterior motives, betrayal, hid…
Read at the sourceI_The_Unguided
I'll preface this by stating that I had no prior knowledge of the story or characters before I watched this film.
Now, as it's the main reason I'm choosing to write this review I'll simply say that Yama is far and away the worst written anime character I have ever had the sheer displeasure of watching to date. His motivations are meaningless at worst and wholeheartedly flawed at best. He has zero sense of self and is for the most part an empty shell that both Harlock and Ezra use as a mouthpiece. I know the review guidelines say to avoid spoilers so with out going into much detail, Yama switches his allegiance to either party at least a dozen times. He is so damn frustrating. If anyone reading this has watched Iron Fist, imagine Danny Rands level of taking everything at face value and tim…
Read at the sourcedolphinwing
Having watched the original series and Endless Odyssey, I wasn't sure how much I would like this movie. I still looked forward to it and finally sat down and watched it.
First the art and animation. Obviously it is a beautiful film and the action scenes are top notch. The Arcadia does it's classic ramming technique a few times which is sure to please long-time fans. The designs for the characters and settings were also amazing, so if you don't like anything else about the film you'll at least enjoy looking at it! I will say, though it's not much of a gripe, I did think it was a bit odd that the characters all looked like regular people instead of the usual Matsumoto style. I can understand why they made this choice, however they included Harlock's bird which took on the same stylistic appe…
Read at the sourceNeverKnowsBest26
Captain Harlock is one of the most endearing figures in all of anime. Since the original Space Pirate Captain Harlock series premiered in 1979, the character has been in numerous spin-offs and re-iterations throughout the proceeding decades; each in a different continuity with the only commonality being a few key characters and the space-opera setting (sans Gun Frontier, which is a western). The latest reimagining is 2013 CGI animated action spectacle directed by Shinji Aramaki of Appleseed fame. It's a grand-scale sweeping space epic with big themes and bravado to match, attached to a somewhat convoluted sci-fi plot. In other words, it is a movie that is faithful to the spirit of the original, and a worthy addition to the franchise.
Following in the traditions of its predecessors, this m…
Read at the sourceSaul_L
Captain Harlock
Going into this film, I had no prior knowledge of the source material or previous adaptations of Captain Harlock. Though reading the synopsis and watching some of its trailers, I could see a lot of time and money went into its production. And it didn't disappoint in that regard. It looked fucking amazing!
Characters and Plot development. (6). I must say the biggest gripe I had with this movie was the fact that most of the MCs (Yama and Ezra especially) aren't really likable nor have audience investment to their agendas. They sort of just "fill" their roles rather than own their on-screen moments, its a bit like they were given identities but never explored nor captured the emotion and character of their identity. It was left up to the likes of Captain Harlock and first ma…
Read at the sourceKmyatsuhashi
Legendary anime/manga creator Leiji Matsumoto perfected dystopian before the rest of the world even knew what it was. His vast universe is rife with it, from Space Battleship Yamato‘s dying Earth to Galaxy Express 999‘s bleak future, Matsumoto does dystopian better than anyone else. No where is this more evident than in his legendary manga-cum-anime, Space Pirate Captain Harlock.
Captain Harlock made his TV debut in 1978, and he’s been back many times over the years with varying degrees of success. The latest incarnation, a big budget CGI fest, premiered in Japan last fall. It’s an origin story of sorts and stands well enough on its own. Those familiar with the Harlock will find much to like here. Viewers unfamiliar with Harlock stories won’t get lost here either.
The story begins with a…
Read at the sourcejillybean
I'm lucky enough to have seen this in the theater last night, so I thought I'd add my thoughts after seeing it!
I've been looking forward to Captain Harlock being released because the animation looked amazing. I have to say, it did not disappoint. I was blown away by the CGI! It was beautiful. I can't even imagine how much time they spent on this, but I hope it's done well in theaters here. Major props to the animations team.
I've never seen the original series and went into the film knowing next to nothing about the plot. I think the story was a bit lacking and perhaps a bit preditable (as were many of the characters). BUT I still really enjoyed it and would highly recommend it. If for no other reason, see it for the animation!
Read at the source