Ranked #2265

Golgo 13: The Professional

I'm amazed that there's no review for this movie, especially as Golgo 13 is pretty well known in anime circles. But then again, anime that are over 25 years old don't seem to get much love these days, no matter how good or bad they are.

Golgo 13: The Professional was released in 1983, a full 7 years after the manga by Saito Takao ended serialisation. During it's run the manga saw phenomenal success in both Japan and the rest of the world, with over 200 million sales in various formats. The series was adapted into two live action movies in 1973 and 1977, both of which were reasonably well received, but were not the successes that had been hoped for.

Fast forward to 1983, and the release of the first anime incarnation of the legendary assassin Duke Tougou. At that time anime was still in it's infancy in the Western market, with much of what was being released were either Ghibli affairs, or shows that were deemed suitable for Western audiences. Then, Golgo 13: The Professional arrived on the stage, and nothing was ever the same again.

It's often commented about how Akira opened the Western markets for anime, however what is often overlooked are the shows that came before it that gradually forced their way into how we in the West viewed "cartoons". Golgo 13 was not only responsible for giving that door a good kick, it also had the added bonus of being made specifically for an adult audience, something which was almost unheard of at the time.

The story follows the exploits of Duke Tougou, the legendary assassin known only as Golgo 13. He has been comissioned to kill one Robert Dawson, the son of oil baron and owner of Dawson Enterprises, Leonard Dawson. Although Golgo 13 is successful in his task, Leonard Dawson has sworn bloody revenge for the murder of his son and heir. Throw in the army, FBI, CIA, other assasins, mass murderers and a distinct lack of morals, and you have a recipe for something..... unique.

The pacing and style in which the plot unfolds is actually very good, and is very reminiscent of the better class of action movie. Indeed, the writers took their cues from several action movies from both the East and the West, which is ironic as this movie has in turn inspired others, from Luc Besson's "Leon", to Tarantino's "Kill Bill" (even the videogame "Hitman" pays homage to the whole Golgo 13 series in several instances). The whole story starts with an innocuously languid feel, which belies the breakneck speed at which it progresses later on.

One thing I did like about the plot for this movie was that it wasn't simply about Duke Tougou, but was seen from the perspective of Leonard Dawson as well. His blinding rage at Golgo 13 is the main driver for the story as a whole, and is also what adds some drama and tension to what would otherwise have been a fairly one dimensional action movie. Another thing that separates this from the herd is the huge twist at the end of the movie as it adds a new dimension to the events that occur, and also explains a lot about Leonard Dawson as a character.

Given the age of the movie it would be fair to expect animation to be subpar compared to most titles on offer today. That said, Golgo 13 was one of the first anime to make regular use of CGI, something which did not become prominent in the medium until the mid 90s. This is only used in certain sequences, however it is used to good effect on the whole. Some of the buildings and backdrops are clearly CGI, but rather spartan with the detail. Those that are not are nicely drawn and detailed, making them a decent canvas upon which the action can take place.

The design for Duke Tougou follows very close with that of the manga and, using the manga as inspiration, the other characters were also created using Saito's foundations. The nice thing about this is that each of the characters have a certain "believable-unbelievability" about them, in other words, they're visually larger than life characters in the style of any good action story.

Animation-wise, the movie isn't too bad on the whole. It is, however, reflective of the time, which means that there is often an over-emphasis on speed and movement (the use of speed lines for example), which can detract from a given scene. These techniques were used often during the 70s, 80s, and early 90s though, so their usage can be forgiven if one remembers that fact.

Unfortunately I've only seen the English dub for this movie (one of the few anime I haven't watched in both languages - yet), but don't be fooled into thinking that this is a bad thing. The dub is actually pretty well acted, if a little wooden on the whole. Gregory Snegoff, who plays the role of Duke Tougou, has also played several other anime based roles, however this role was a challenge for him and the rest of the cast as they were effectively being asked to speak and act like no other anime characters before.

Ultimately the dub is pioneering stuff though as it effectively paved the way for more adult oriented anime like Akira, Crying Freeman, Wicked City, Genocyber, AD Police, etc, etc, to be released on the Western market.

The music an eclectic blend of pop, rock and jazz, with some strange quasi-classical pieces thrown into the mix. This seemingly odd mixture of style and content has meant that some people have found the movie to be less than satisfying, primarily because the music and the atmosphere sometimes don't mix. Although this may be the case in certain circumstances, it's my belief that, at least musically, the movie is well served by the majority of the tracks it uses.

As far as characters go, one would expect Duke Tougou to be the one who gets the most development. Ironically, and fittingly, it isn't actually him who is the driver for the movie. That role belongs to Leonard Dawson who, in my opinion, is one of the better anime antagonists to appear fro the 80s. Dawson's blind rage over the death of his son pushes him to act in ways that are both morally and legally wrong, however his thirst for revenge overrides everything else. What is interesting to see in the movie is how Golgo 13 remains unchanged and unchangeable - forever the quiet assasin, whilst all the hatred, evil and invective happen because of Leonard Dawson, which poses an intruiging moral argument as to who is actually the monster in this case.

That said, the other characters aren't really developed all that well, and some of the supporting characters are extremely stereotypical. Laura Dawson (the widow of Robert), is a case in point, as she seems to be a character with almost no backbone whatsoever, no matter gets thrown at her. The other characters are equally as poor unfortunately, with almost no depth to them.

This is a movie with numerous flaws, however it works as a straight up action flick simply because of the conflict between Duke and Leonard. The acting may be wooden at times, but this can easily be forgiven as the action does make up for it.

So, will you enjoy this? If, like me, this was one of the first anime you owned back in the 80s, then the movie will have a certain nostalgic feel, especially when we recall how cool the CGI helicopter looked back then. Likewise, if you're a fan of the manga, or the recent TV series, then this is a movie you shouldn't miss as it does do justice to the franchise.

Action junkies and people looking for something with a bit more bite may also want to give this a try as, even with the flaws, it's still makes for pretty entertaining viewing.

But if you want romance, friendship, comedy, or twinkly stars and rainbows, then steer clear.

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