Title: "Origin: Spirits of the Past", (銀色の髪のアギト, Gin-iro no Kami no Agito, Agito the Silver-Haired)
Anime Cliche: Superhuman Power
Type: Science Fiction, Drama, Post-Apocalyptic Dystopia, Environmental
Presentation Rating: 5 stars (5 stars is 16:9, DTS japanese audio, 4 stars is pro-logic and 16:9, 3 stars is 16:9 and stero sound, 2 stars is 4:3 with stereo sound, 1 star is improper format flag and less than stereo sound)
This is a top flight presentation with 16:9 video and full digital surround sound. The quality is crisp and the soundtrack is excellent. The songs are varied and appropriate.
Art Rating: 5 stars (5 stars is completely smooth with no rough transition between any CG limited use of money saving techniques, 1 is extremely shoddy)
The art quality is superb all around. Gonzo is known for their excellent technique in animation of water and this is no exception. Certainly feature film quality animation. One of the most striking artistic features is the backgrounds, they are so detailed you will not be able to absorb it all in one sitting.
Composer: Taku Iwasaki
Music Rating: 4 stars (5 stars is perfect for the content and universally enjoyable, 1 star is totally mishandled)
From the same composer who brought you the fun and memorable Read or Die score.
Director: Keiichi Sugiyama
Story Rating: 3 stars (5 stars is reading material, no plot holes, 1 star is unintelligible)
The story was great in the setup. Agita is a boy born in the dystopian future who mischievously awakens Toola, a girl from the distant past before the apocalypse. Of course, together they have to save the world. I really liked some fresh new ideas that were presented in the story about the relationship between the forests and the people. It was unusual enough that I never felt overshadowed by the environmentalist in the shadows. Character development was average, the characters did show some growth over the period of the story for certain but for the most part you had to imagine where the characters came from and they felt rushed.
Studio: GONZO
Commendation: zettai 絶対
Overall Rating: 4 stars (rounded to the nearest star)
I was worried the average rating for the story would ruin things but the incredible art and presentation carried the day. The pacing was the biggest problem, or maybe not. That was the fastest 94min in recent memory for me. Maybe we should be praising the pacing for keeping us interested.