A Spriggan, in the new DVD release of the movie by the same name, is an undercover agent of a secret organization (they're always secret) called ARCAM. The purpose of ARCAM is to protect the world from the powers of different artifacts from an ancient, pre-dinosaur culture. In the wrong hands, these artifacts could control the world or destroy it.

The movie starts with scientists of some sort exploring an icy crevice on Mt. Ararat in Turkey, the fabled resting spot of Noah's Ark. Somehow, they set off one of these ancient artifacts that suddenly resonates and sets off a massive electromagnetic explosion, so powerful that it destroys a satellite in space above the site. Obviously a job for ARCAM.

The main protagonist is a 17-year-old Japanese Spriggan named Yu Ominae. In typical anime fashion, he goes to high school when not on missions. However, one rough day, a schoolmate shows up brainwashed with a warning that "Noah" will be Yu's death. Not one to turn down a challenge, he heads to the ARCAM investigation site in Turkey.

Nothing like a little cool posturing to go along with some of the slick action sequences which are the heart of Spriggan.	Secret agent by night, ordinary school kid by day...does that make this mahou shounen?

The movie from this point is primarily action, until the last act. The action is actually phenomenal in certain sequences. The travel to and through Turkey is reminiscent of Indiana Jones or another adventure series with exotic locales and people. One of the more interesting characters is a French Spriggan with amazing speed that seems to be a bit of a mentor to Yu.

A chase and fight scene through Istanbul is just simply awesome. The director and animators worked seamlessly to convey a sense of motion and weight through every scene. The force that it takes to hurtle across the rooftops is palpable, while the frame fights to keep the action to the center.

If this continued throughout the whole film, this would be every popcorn-muncher's dream summer action flick. Unfortunately, the third act gets dragged down by metaphysical what-not's about God, evolution, and what humanity is. The final battle becomes more about power than finesse and ability, as the previous action implied. In other words, the end of the movie drags.

The animation is truly excellent throughout the first part of the film, easily capturing the essence of different locations and tempos. While it remains top-notch towards the end, there really isn't anything exciting to see. Someone could draw a really excellent picture of a log, but that doesn't mean anyone wants to stare at it. The fact is, though, Spriggan is a big-budget film and just about everything looks better in it than the typical TV releases we get here.

The sound is also a terribly mixed bag. As far as production quality goes, the sound is excellent. The sound effects do a perfect job capturing the whiz of bullets and the crackling of fires. The music is very much of Hollywood movie quality. The problem comes from the experimentation that went into recording the voice actors with 5.1 sound. The sounds are supposed to approximate what someone would sound like based on how far they are from the "camera." So, someone in the back of the scene speaks at a much lower level than someone close up.

The main problem here is that, unless you have 5.1, you will probably have a problem hearing things on the Japanese track. I, for one, do not have 5.1 Dolby Surround. I have dual stereo, one being my television speakers, the other a stereo system set at the right distance to balance. This muted effect does not occur on a 5.1 system, but most viewers won't have a surround set-up. Just a note, I did not have the same problem on the English track. This only occurs in three or four locations, but it is annoying.

There are some nice extras. Besides a video portfolio of designs, there is a commentary track with the US director and sound engineer (talking about how great the sound was that I couldn't hear).

While this release is somewhat flawed both technically and content-wise, I would still recommend it for purchase, just for the fact that the opening half is just excellent animation and action. Some may not have the same issues with the third act that I did, and the sound problems were not constant.

Spriggan is a fun, action-filled exercise in animation. While not perfect, it is superior to most of the anime product available in America. Definitely recommended for the action aficionado.

Note: While there are several different folktales regarding spriggan, the most appropriate is the following: spriggan are spirits that guard burial tombs and megaliths and the artifacts contained within. They are sometimes considered to be the ghosts of giants, the have the ability to change size as well as other abilities.

Plot: B-
Character Design: B+
Animation Quality: A
Music: B+
Overall: B

Plot: B-
Character Design: B+
Animation Quality: A
Music: B+
Overall: B