Reviews
unoriginal, but visually stunning
If a flying fortress, technology from the past, a hero with possessed powers, and a moral struggle with nature and humankind sound familiar, it's because they've all been done before. Origin doesn't add much to the pot in these areas, featuring rather depthless characters and a plot with less twists than Interstate 40. It borrows heavily from Ghibli greats (Nausicaa, Castle in the Sky, Mononoke), but lacks the charm and conviction of these films. Still, Origin will likely win its share of fans thanks to the visual adventure and immersive backgrounds. If characters and plot aren't an issue, and you just want to be entertained, the eye candy that is Origin may be for you.
really enjoyed this one
reading the mediocre reviews here at amazon for this anime really had me questioning my purchase, but i am glad to say i really enjoyed my 'origin' experience. i just didn't watch it thinking "well...this has all been done before"....it was more like "ahhh that's really cool and a creative way at looking at the future", and the 'feel' of the film is very nice. sorta laid back with no outragous child-tantrum moments most anime's seem to be plagued with. english voice acting was great, music was great, the whole thing was just great and really really well drawn. very vibrant and clean colors, textures were excellent. i don't regret this purchase at all.
Fantastic!
I'm getting rather sick of reading reviews criticizing this movie on the basis of its perceived lack of originality in the storyline department. When did people stop enjoying classic plots and themes? Remember fairy-tales, folktales, sitting around campfires listening to stories you already knew but relished nevertheless? This movie is simply wonderful -- stunningly gorgeous visuals, classic characters and plotlines, archetypal themes, all skillfully and impressively executed. If you enjoy these things and don't expect every film you watch to be the absolute pinnacle of originality and complexity -- in other words, if you still have a part of you that delights in simple joys and wonder -- then you will probably adore this movie.
I also think many viewers are missing a crucial plot point, which may have been too subtle for its own good. Read on only if you don't want a -
*SPOILER*!!!!!!!!
A major crux of the story is that when Agito's body has been absorbed by the tree, but his consciousness is intact on another plane, the Forest reveals to him the truth about the relationship between itself and the humans. Agito learns that the genetic admixture that gives humans extraordinary strength and eventually turns them into trees is really a two-way exchange; it also changes trees in the Forest, causing them to give birth to new humans in giant fruits. These new humans appear to be a stable product of the combined genetic material of plant and human. The Forest, seeing that Agito can possibly teach humanity that there is no need for either hostility or separation between themselves and the trees, grants him his human form back. The point here is that even the "Neutrals" are not truly living harmoniously with the forest; they still hold themselves apart, trying to preserve that which is in an inevitable process of transformation. Hence the veiled, cautious passive-aggression between the Forest and Neutral City, whose denizens do not understand that their days are numbered and that the strange little nymph-like creatures who speak for the Forest truly represent the future of humanity.
Anime
