Harlock Space Pirate

“What is it that haunts space where matter is found?” – Arthur Eddington

Leiji Matusmoto is the creator of many great sci-fi anime of the 1970s: Space Battleship Yamato, Galaxy Express 999, and Space Captain Pirate Harlock among them. Like most anime from the 1970s, you can probably expect them not to be released on Region 2 or Region B anytime soon. 

However, Harlock has gone through several different adaptations and sequels. The most recent of these was a film adaptation in 2013 which was made using 3D CG animation, something which is not that common.

Set seemingly in the far future, humanity has left Earth and spread across the cosmos. The human population had risen to over 500 billion people, but then humanity fell into decline and started returning to Earth. This resulted in the “Homecoming Wars” between rival groups who wanted to return home. The war was ended with the creation of the “Gaia Communion” which declared the Earth sacred and that no-one should go there.

Space Captain Pirate Harlock though is of a different opinion. He believes that humanity should return to Earth and that the Gaia Communion has grown too powerful, so he rebels against them using his mighty spaceship Arcadia and plans to “start over” humanity’s progress. A man named Logan (Yama in the original Japanese) manages to get on board the ship as a member of Harlock’s crew, but in fact he is a mole planted by the Gaia Communion to kill Harlock on the orders of Logan’s disabled brother Ezra (Isola). Logan is spared however by Harlock when one trip to an alien planet almost ends in disaster and they save each other’s lives.

As Harlock’s plans start to fall into place, Harlock reveals to his crew that much of what they have been told about the Earth is a myth. It seems that Harlock’s plans could be more destructive than anyone has previously thought, not just now, but many years ago. Whether he can get his crew to agree to his plans is another matter.

The animation is probably the main feature of note about this film. It is rare for any 3D CG anime to be released. Some would argue that such animation is not as warm as the normal 2D style that people are used to, but alternatively I would argue that the coldness of the animation suits the mood of the film. The Arcadia is an old, grim, miserable ship, and a counterpoint to the slick, white ships used by Gaia. The grimness suits Harlock’s equally grim disposition. It all works well together. 

The plot itself is good as well. Admittedly, however, it is going to be hard trying to tell the story of the series in less than two hours, but the film is enjoyable in its own right. It makes for an exciting story, with plenty of action to keep the viewer entertained.

There are some issues with the release however. It you get the Blu-ray Steelbook you get a Blu-ray disc and a DVD disc, which both contain the film. However, on the Blu-ray disc the dialogue is in an English dub only, with no subtitles, although there is the option of watching it in either 2D or 3D. On the DVD, though, the film is only available in Japanese, with subtitles that can be turned on or off. Therefore, if you want to hear the film in the original language, you have to watch it in, arguably, an inferior format. The Blu-ray also contains no extras, while the DVD does feature a “Making of” documentary. 

It must be said however, speaking as someone who does not like English-language dubs, even I thought that the dub was OK. Maybe it is the way it was animated, perhaps it was simply acted better than other dub performances, but it did play more convincingly than many others.

Harlock Space Pirate is a pretty good film. It would also be good if someone in the country released the original series so the two could be easily compared.