Official Synopsis
A mysterious space pirate of the future, Captain Harlock, is determined to return his death ship and loyal crew to a battered Earth, which has been declared off-limits by the intergalactic Gaia Coalition. The rogue captain comes up with an incredible plan to go back in time to rescue Earth, but that includes the destruction of everything, as it exists. A young soldier of the Gaia Coalition volunteers to go undercover on the infamous skull ship and assassinate Harlock, but he soon discovers things are not as they seem. As dark secrets of the past are uncovered, the fate of the entire universe teeters on a very thin edge.
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Harlock: Space Pirate has all the glamor and glitz, but it’s short on substance. It’s certainly nothing like its early brethren, such as Space Pirate Captain Harlock: Arcadia of My Youth, where a more cohesive tale was spun to give some insight into who Harlock was, and more importantly what his intentions were in his actions. It was tragic, beautiful and timeless.
And maybe that wasn’t the vision that director Shinji Aramaki had with Harlock: Space Pirate. Instead of reliving some old ideals and re-establishing the Harlock origin (even re-telling it), Aramaki’s choice to start in the middle of Harlock’s actions seemed like the best way to go. Superhero films are starting to go with that idea now (see the upcoming Spider-Man decisions for details), so it seems a good route to go. Just getting right down to the nitty-gritty can be entertaining.
On top of this, it doesn’t hurt that the technology is certainly there to make Harlock and his crew come out of their hand drawn world and into a proper, more believable digital format. Before we get into the story breakdown, let me just say that Harlock: Space Pirate is one of the most gorgeous animated films that I’ve seen in the last two to three years. I didn’t think that a character like Harlock could be properly translated using the latest tech, but this movie proves it can be done, and well. The faces, figures, expressions and even down to the haunting ship his pirate crew flies in space; it all looks quite stunning. If you need a reason to see this film, this is the reason.
Anyway, let’s get right to the story breakdown before I start drooling.
Aramaki’s Harlock starts with the space pirate desperately wanting to get his pirate refugees, and the Earth’s refugees, back to a Gaia Coalition run Earth. He does what he can to make his presence known with the Gaia and also let’s them know that they can’t do anything to stop his eventual plight — including ramming ships to destruction (which is kind of cool to see).
The movie lays it all out there at the beginning and doesn’t apologize one bit for the senseless loss of life, as it shouldn’t.
As act two begins, the simple plan of returning people to earth starts to form into a more complicated plan of destroying the universe and basically resetting everything back to its original form. By setting off 90+ explosions across the universe, Harlock plans to snap the universe back into a sort of ‘big bang’, which is should set everything back to the way it was — regardless of human life lost. A crazy idea, no doubt, but it’s not too far fetched when set in a world of flying ships and ruthless space pirates. It brings a new layer of complication, but at the same time it seems like a fun trip into more action. Certainly something most would buy a ticket to see.
Without going into too much detail about the intricate web that Harutoshi Fukui and Kyoto Takeuchi start to weave, the movie’s added complication actually makes it a bit more interesting. It’s no longer a snatch and grab job with the Earth, rather it becomes a race against time. It puts the Gaia in emergency mode to stop Harlock no matter the cost. I love that plot point and it makes this movie deeper than it has a right to be. Add this layer with a spy that gets aboard the ship and the movie’s story is heading towards a more epic climax than what you might expect from a film of this type.
*SPOILER ALERT – TURN AWAY!*
Then something seems to stumble the flow of it all. That something is the underlying reasoning for Harlock’s to return to Earth. He looks to expose the Gaia and their wicked ways. In the process, he also outs himself as the reason the Earth is inhabitable. It’s a curveball, shallow in explanation and it gets wackier. On top of this new information, which if treated right could be a wonderful twist to it all, Harlock explains his relationship to the ship. I don’t want to reveal too much, but just know that it’s a ‘really?’ sort of moment that doesn’t quite fit into the scheme of structures that have been put built as the story unfolds. The ending truly becomes a tangled mess of loose ends that never get resolved.
And to be quite frank, it’s disappointing to see the film dip so badly on the reveal. There should be this gigantic climax that gives that melancholy anime film aura, but it just turns to confusion by the third act that never truly gets explained.
*SPOILER ALERT END*
Two good acts certainly is better than a complete disaster. I jut wish that director Shinji Aramaki, and his writers, would have figured a way out of their own setup. What they put together will hook you, play with your nostalgia and captivate your attention, but all of it’s for nothing by the end. I wanted more from this film so very badly.