Vexille

For a sci-fi anime movie VEXILLE has had a surprising amount of cinema screenings. Admittedly they have been somewhat specialised – London Film Festival, ICA and, of course, SCI-FI-LONDON, but it is a testament to the quality and appeal of this movie that it was able to sustain an audience that is usually reserved for the likes of Studio Ghibli.

Its futuristic story about the development of androids and the United Nations' resolution to ban them to prevent them from becoming weapons does reflect the situation in today's world where the power of the corporations often exceeds that of elected governments, especially in the world of munitions (Haliburton anyone?). In this movie, Japan withdraws from the United Nations and the world in general and exists in isolation. Further reflecting the current political situation, the US, out of paranoia and fear for what they don't know or understand, decides to send spies into Japan to discover what is really happening there.

Led by the eponymous Vexille, the team join up with a group of underground rebels but the soon discover that all is not as it seems and the future of humanity is at risk.

These are themes that have been explored many times in sci-fi films and books, with one sequence, for example, looking like it is straight out of Dune, which is a real pity because the makers have done a fantastic job with the animation. Again, this is something we have seen before in anime features that are visually stunning but are let down by weak and/or convoluted stories (GHOST IN THE SHELL: INNOCENCE, FINAL FANTASY: SPIRITS WITHIN). Of course anime is not the only culprit of style over content, with Hollywood producing more than its fair share. It just seems such a waste of talent to produce something that looks so good but has no depth. A bit like having a partner who looks great but can't string a meaningful sentence together.

The cel-shaded CGI does give the film its own look. Although they are trying to emulate 2D animation I doesn't have any of its artistry, although the cel-shading does remove the distraction of being awed by the texturing in standard CGI movies (or is that just me?). Also, I couldn't help thinking that the characters and machines had been purchased from DAZ3D's Aiko model range.

Despite these little niggles, VEXILLE is still a great anime sci-fi that deserves to be in the collection of any anime and/or sci-fi fan. It is certainly a lot more watchable an intelligent that most of the OVA stuff that gets released.

The DVD release comes with a commentary from Jonathan Clements, co-author of The Anime Encyclopaedia and SFL festival regular, plus a second disc of interviews and making-of features.

VEXILLE is released on September 1 through Momentum Pictures and is available from major retailers including Amazon and Play.