Going into this film, I had no prior knowledge of the source material or previous adaptations of Captain Harlock. Though reading the synopsis and watching some of its trailers, I could see a lot of time and money went into its production. And it didn't disappoint in that regard. It looked fucking amazing!
Characters and Plot development. (6). I must say the biggest gripe I had with this movie was the fact that most of the MCs (Yama and Ezra especially) aren't really likable nor have audience investment to their agendas. They sort of just "fill" their roles rather than own their on-screen moments, its a bit like they were given identities but never explored nor captured the emotion and character of their identity. It was left up to the likes of Captain Harlock and first mate Yattaran to deliver the solid performances and flesh out their identity. The plot and ethos was very interesting and at times inspiring but I felt as though the pace was rather slow in conveying the story which left much of the movie underwhelming at times until something happened. Although to contrast this slow pace, when the action kicked in (whilst looking fucking amazing! - yes i said it before) it certainly lifted emotion and developed a very enjoyable atmosphere to watch, Just needed a better balance in pace and character interactions to give an invested attachment to the plot and story unfolding.
Art, Sound and Action. (9.5) Wow, awesome, amazing, beautiful or holy smokes batman! The production level in detail of the animation is incredible and really makes this feature an eyegasmic joy. The action and art seamlessly work together. Sound is the only small adjustment that could have made this section better (to be perfect) and that is the suspense. There were plenty of decent themes portrayed but again the contrast between the highs and lows didn't really connect well together. Still its only a small botch on an otherwise awesome production.
One small side topic I'd like to point out and this isn't really a spoiler but more of a "window shattering moment" but it seemed to me a lot of the time that the animation of mouth movement during speech was out of sync. It's kinda of annoying when you pick it up and they give you plenty of opportunities to notice this flaw. A slight distraction to consider, it doesn't hurt the movie but just annoys the shit out of me. (Not sure if you, the reader, will have the same reaction - to each their own i suppose) It's noticeable in both the dub and sub, btw both are great so you're not missing out by watching the dub.
This film is blockbuster entertainment for its production value alone. Beautiful action scenes and character designs for the making of an epic tale. Sadly, the characters and plot can't compete with it. I had a lot of eyegasms during this movie and their are plenty of memorable moments to enjoy. I just wish it fleshed out the characters a bit more (especially Ezra and Yama) and pushed the plot a little quicker so we could admire more of its beauty!
