Ranked #2987

First Squad: The Moment of Truth

You will get your very own moment of truth in watching this movie: it is nothing like what the previews or video that came before it seemed to promise.

In regards to the music video, First Squad teased the audience into waiting and expecting a fleshed out movie about renegade youth fighting against the great army in Russia. What we get is a tale of ghosts fighting ghosts during World War II. Young Nadya can foresee events to come, and she sees that a demon army from the dead will come and destroy the Russian faction out on the battlefront.

The story becomes downright confusing and convoluted in attempting to piece together a legend, actual historical fact, the characters' motivations and fantastical elements of the anime. What exactly is it trying to say? We go through motions that are never really explained to us. Yet, so much of the anime is spent explaining things that need not have even been touched upon. More so, why is this story nothing like what the music video promoted?

First Squad: The Moment of Truth is an interesting blend of realism and fantasy. It takes the factual documentary portion and slips it in between the animated portions which play out like a supernatural fiction. An interesting concept indeed, but it is not executed well. In fact, considering that these moments are meant to provide explanation to the historical, psychological and supernatural elements of the anime, it comes across as more of a distraction than anything else.

Which is a shame, since this anime has near perfect animation and art backing it. First Squad looks spectacular. The icy white snowfields of Russia, the dank and dreary towns, the smoking battlefields and the colourful carnivals all create a magnificent atmosphere for this anime, replicating both the dilapidation and folksiness of Russia during the war. The character design border more to the realistic side rather than trying to be pretty or cute. First Squad's 3D art is seamless and extremely detailed. The animation is absolutely spectacular, though sometimes it seems as though the animators attempted to be frugal by cutting the fights in half and slipping in the live action segments.

The sound of the anime is also very good. The first noticeable aspect of it is that it does not come with Japanese audio. In fact, the entire anime is in Russian. The voice acting seems to be decent, though having no personal experience with the inflection and nuances of the language, it is hard to discern whether the voice actors did great jobs or were mediocre. The score is suitable and attempts to sample the rich style of music that comes out of Eurasia.

First Squad's characters are mostly stagnant and unimpressive. They do rather impressive things, such as train hop, cut people's heads off, blow things to bits and have some good fight scenes, but they all severely lack personality and chemistry. An important plot of the anime relies on Nadya's connection with her group of friends to be carried out. However, other than with one person, Nadya has zero chemistry with them. In fact, it's like watching five strangers with one another who work together to fight. They attempt to give them some backstory, but only Nadya comes out as the most developed character, and she still is not even that. The movie introduces so many characters yet it does nearly nothing with them.

If you are expecting a more detailed version of the music video, be warned, this is not it. Well, it is, but it is truly unsatisfying and not what you would expect. The fact that it is about World War II even takes away something from this anime, as it grounds it in reality that it quite unnecessary. It would have been fine being a fantasy/action/war anime set in an alternate historical setting of Russia in the 1940s. But the insertion of the documentary commentary disallows us in seeing it as such, and instead, makes the fantasy elements rather irksome than enjoyable.

First Squad: The Moment of Truth is possibly one of the biggest disappointments in terms of the build up surrounding it. But that is not to say a disappointment is entirely bad. It did not rise to the expectations of excellency that surrounded it. It did not be all that it could have been. It instead drips in mediocrity that it does not deserve.

Stick with the music video. At least you can use your imagination and think up a better continuation of it for yourself. read more

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Pre-Review Notes
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I'm going to be using a more freeform style for Movie reviews, as they are much smaller and I can describe my feelings for the movie in a much clearer fashion.


Studio 4°C’s anime transcends the borders of Japan. From Linkin Park's "Breaking the Habit", to the Animatrix, and even to the Gotham Knight, their portfolio is varied and extensive. First Squad, their latest effort, is a collaboration between two Russian directors and 4°C, crossing the sea once again to create international anime. I had high hopes for First Squad, as the Studio's last movie, Tekkon Kinkreet, was excellent. However, the bullets of the collaboration were quick to puncture my hopes; after an hour and thirteen minutes they looked like swiss cheese.

The story of First Squad is told in a unique fashion: meshing live action documentary with more traditional animation. There is an interesting interplay, as Russian scholars and veterans ground the fantastical story into reality. First Squad could be commended on this approach if the story itself were not so weak. The plot is predictable; the Nazi's are beckoning vengeful spirits from the other realm, and the Russian's need to stop them. The characters don't do much to salvage the poor tale. The pacing is erratic and disjointed, jumping from scene to scene with little sense of cohesion. The movie's namesake, the First Squad, is a poorly developed cast, with only slivers of background ever filled in. Nadya, the main antagonist, is drawn from clichés –an amnesiac psychic who would give life and limb for country.

The voice acting didn't help prop up the narrative. The Russian voice actors sound deflated, their flat voices conveying plastic emotion. The music was passable, a boisterous overture in the opening that harkens to any military film. The rest of the score is appropriate, weaving melodies from low growling organs with the rhythmic hum of violins.

Studio 4°C does deliver the goods on the art. A muted palette washes over the snowy seas of the Eastern Front. Moscow’s majesty is quiet from the war-torn world, a stark contrast to the Gloom World, a twisted realm where fallen warriors continue to tear at one another. Russia is a feast to look at. Excellent CGI is threaded together with top-notch animation. Artists made a successful effort in modeling the characters, drawn to have a distinctive Caucasian look.

First Squad, to say the least, disappointed me. Despite the pretty little black dress it wears, what is inside does not satisfy. The story is forgettable, the characters are paper-thin, and the voice acting isn’t exactly inspiring. I praise Studio 4°C for attempting to blend two styles –documentary and anime. Hopefully this method of storytelling won’t be thrown to the wayside, and will be used to create a much more engaging and entertaining experience. read more