It has been 300 years since mankind left Earth in ruins. The remnants of humanity are divided, and the crumbling remains of vast cities are threatened by the encroaching forest. Humans live on both sides of this brewing conflict. Young Agito, the son of an aging hero, sets a series of events in motion when he wanders into a forbidden zone of the forest.
For a film that came out 10 years ago, Origin is still to this day a beautifully animated film. It has stood the test of time and the soundtrack that goes with it is still as haunting today as it was back then. The story follows the aftermath of humanities meddling which caused the moon to shatter, and the forest to become sentient. 300 years later the story follows Agito as he runs into a young girl from humanities past who has been asleep for 300 years.
As mentioned before, just from the trailer alone you can see the quality work that studio Gonzo put into the animation of the film. The CG is well-integrated and the detail is stunning through-out the film. Of course, a film is not complete without a good soundtrack to accompany it. The bold and haunting soundtrack adds an eerie appeal to the film, evident by one of its most iconic songs in the trailer above.
The story is the area where the film is not perfect, but still intriguing. The idea is humanity destroyed the world through genetic engineering on trees on the moon. Humanity who were still on the planet went into cryo-sleep to survive and slowing over the centuries some have begun to wake up. Humanity is split between reviving technology and becoming friends with the now sentient forest. The story had a lot of potential to be a very powerful tale on the ramifications of genetic engineering, however it fell slightly short.
It’s the issue you run into when a story this complex is dropped into a single film. You don’t have enough time to really flesh out the depth of the story so it ends up a bit shallow. They were trying to get in a complex back story, political undertones and an environmental statement all into 1 film. A TV series might have done it better justice, but still even if you look past that, even with a slightly shallow plot, the incredible visuals and eerie soundtrack make this a great addition to your collection.
You can pickup the new release on DVD/Blu-ray Combo Pack from Funimation.com
The release includes the following special features:
- The Making of Origin
- Screening Event Special Preview
- Theater Previews
- TV Spots
- Textless Opening & Closing Songs
- Coming Attractions
