Spriggan
Mindless action in a mindless plot

// Synopsis: Akham is a secret, worldwide organization investigating artifacts from a lost civilization. When three of their investigators go to Mt. Ararat, they discover what they believe is the wreck of Noah's Ark. But suddenly the relic unleashes an awesome amount of destructive power. Quickly, Akham and the US military are battling for the Ark's secret. Their super soldiers face each other in what has become a holy war for the future of the human species.

// Review: Interesting premise that the Ark is actually an alien craft that's more like a bio-engineering lab. Here the US are the evil bad guys who just want to exploit the Ark, while Akham's motives are purely noble and scientific if you can believe that. This anime movie wasn't particularly bad, but outside of the premise their was just nothing that made it very special. There is an action sequence that takes place early on in a Middle Eastern town. But it just felt really contrived with non-descript henchmen wearing black suits and sunglasses. It's as if the producers said, "look we need X amount of action scenes so just stick a generic one here."

/ A tried and true formula is using a motley group of mini-bosses that the hero takes out in a one on one combat situation after dispatching hordes of goons. The problem is the villians weren't that interesting and came off as more of charicatures than characters more appropriate for video games. And I think this is where Spriggan suffers the most. None of the characters especially the hero, Tanaka, have any personality. He's just your typical wunderkind teenager that's just pounding the bad guys because that's what the hero is supposed to do. There is no motivational investment in anyone and it feels like you aren't rooting for the good guys as much as you are rooting against the villians.

/ When the big mystery of the Ark is revealed and the final showdown begins, there is no sense of gravity and it's like everyone is just going through the motions. The last act is just too anti-climatic and predictable.

// Wrap up: The productions values aren't outstanding but they are good enough. This OVA just wasn't very inspired. But the intense action and short length help cover up some its many short comings.

Entertainment rating: 2