Reviews

As the godfather of manga and anime, Osamu Tezuka is held in such reverence and awe over his decades-long contributions to the country. But let's not forget that for all of his famous works like Astro Boy or Kimba or Black Jack, he also worked on dozens of other shorts and specials that have faded into obscurity over time. Bagi is one of them. And, like most of those faded, forgotten stories, they are best left in obscurity.

Let's get the "elephant in the room" out of the way first: furries. Yes, I know, the red-headed stepchild fandom to anime in America (they had the same C/FO roots) where fans want to, you know, get "better acquainted" with their animal side. And at the start, this movie seemed to veer in that direction, as delinquent Ryo is visited by the kitten he raised as a child, only now she's all grown up, and, you know, sexy. Hoo-boy.

But, let's put that to rest, because the story veers away from that pretty soon after, and it does NOT go in that uncomfortable direction. Instead, we learn of Bagi's true origins, about the evil horrors of gene manipulation, and we're off! There are all sorts of improbable twists and turns along the way, that make this far from a straightforward story.

Character designs are more or less standard Tezuka (no surprise). The animation quality is a little sub-par, but not distractingly so. The weak point is the overall story itself, and Tezuka's tendency to mix in little unnecessary humorous bits into non-humorous situations. And, of course, the heavy-handed moralizing that is a strain throughout many of his works.

Given the wide range of stories that Tezuka worked on over the years, you're better off going elsewhere to get your Tezuka kicks, and leave this one alone.