Ranked #458

On your Mark

On your Mark surpasses what a music video is all about. Creating an entire universe in the matter of six-odd minutes, having a comprehensible, touching story, characters with actual personality... I must say, that's quite the achievement. But one can always expect quality from Studio Ghibli.

This short anime follows two officers of a futuristic city and a winged girl who they find near-death after a raid of a cult gathering. She is taken away, and after being taken off one altar (that of the religious cult), she is placed on another altar--the one belonging the scientists who want to examine her. The officers who rescue her decide that they have to do something about it. Just as a bird isn't meant to be caged, the winged girl is meant to soar, not to be studied.

On your Mark manages to create a story that can be told in hours and does so in a couple of minutes. The storytelling in this anime is rather good. There is no explanation of what is seen, and most of it is left to viewer interpretation. The plot of On your Mark feeds us with scenes from the future slipping into the present. However, the way the anime is told, it could also come across as scenes from the past, again, something up to viewer interpretation until the very last few seconds of the anime is seen and things are clarified. There are scenes that are repeated throughout the anime, creating a build-up for events that later occur. It is an anime about adventure, friendship and righteousness. Yet, it tells us all this with no dialogue whatsoever and in a matter of minutes.

The art and animation are excellent. Made back in the 1990s, and it looks far superior to a lot of things made today. The city is gorgeous, the futuristic tanks and helicopters are artfully drawn with a lot of detail, the countryside is beautiful. The art direction is spectacular. Scenes in which the angel girl soars through the air, or a vehicle plummeting hundreds of feet to the ground from great heights, crashing into people's homes and running off--it looks great, really. The animation is also incredible. A scene in which a bridge-like road was destroyed is one of the best animated scenes in On your Mark.

As for the sound, it's background sound effects accompanying the song On your Mark by Chage & Aska. The song is fairly good. It's upbeat for the most part. The incorporation of the effects in the song was extremely interesting to hear. One never overwhelmed the other, and the song and background effects worked well together. The rumbling of an engine, explosions, the sound of sirens... It blends in quite well. There is no dialogue whatsoever in this anime, be warned if you're looking out for voice acting--there is none.

On your Mark has good characters, but we don't really know anything about them other than they have deep bonds with one another and that they're fighters. The two officers are obviously buddies. They are based on archetypes; one is the righteous, serious one who won't stop until he is able to save the winged girl, and the other seems like the goofy best friend who wears the perpetual grin even in the face of danger. We don't learn anything really about the girl since she spends a significant portion of the anime unconscious. But watching them, it feels as though we're watching good friends all interact with one another.

On your Mark is extremely entertaining, especially if you're looking for something short. It certainly defies the convention of music videos. While most don't make any sense, or try to be "artistic", this one manages to be true art. I honestly think it has bones that could support a fleshed out story. If this were made into a series or movie, I would definitely make time to see it. It has immense potential if it ever wanted to be longer.

A music video that puts some movies to shame. That's what On your Mark is, and it is well worth looking at. read more

The numbers are as they stand, and I do not think that I am overrating at all. This is my true opinion of this OVA.

Short sweet and to the point. This is like a synopsis of a longer movie. The formalistic and seemingly abstract compilations of events lead the viewer to formulate and believe his or her own interpretation, which I found fascinating. From what I saw, I believed that the entire sequence is in chronological order. I would love to explain my belief in detail, but that would become spoiler saturated. I like the underlying theme of the fear of technology and its effects on human progress in addition to the main "never give up".

Ghibli. What more can you expect? In those 6:30 minutes, the greatest effort was put in by Miyazaki to represent the song, "On Your Mark." The natural scenery was great. The contrast between the representation of the hazardous yet beautiful outer environment as opposed to the futuristic yet dirty inner environment was phenomenal. I like the purple and green contrast between the surrounding forest near and away from human civilization. I also like how they represent the seemingly unlinear yet really linear (in my opinion) story through subtle differences in the actions of each event.

There were no vocals aside from Chage and Aska's background music, "On Your Mark." That was all that was needed to represent the feelings of the two protagonists. Everything else is overrun by sound effects, stressed where necessary, and dim where the bgm takes over. The sound balance is perfect.

The protagonists were modeled after Chage and Aska. You can see from Aska's straightforward personality and Chage's comical figure, as well as the Chage mug and Aska's gifts. The girl, or angel as I see it (not in the religious sense of the term), is given the desperation of giving them one more chance, like the lyrics of the song. Their characters are clearly defined in just 6 minutes worth definition.

I've watched this OVA infinite amount of times. It is permanently enjoyable.

Anyone who watches Ghibli should watch this. Anyone who likes good quality anime should watch this. This is the best music video I have ever seen. read more