Plot Details: This opinion reveals minor details about the movie's plot.

Vexille (2007) Directed by Sori Fumihiko

In 2067, Japan, the leading manufacturer of robotics on the planet, responding to a UN ban of Android Technologies, withdrew from the UN, erected a nation spanning scrambling field and closed their borders. Nothing has been heard out of Japan in ten years.

Now, they seem to be being felt in the rest of the world again. It is obvious that Japan is up to something. But how to figure it out?

With the political clout Japan has with proprietary property it is difficult for any government to do anything to them. So the American special forces organization S.W.O.R.D. is doing a covert operation. They will be sending in seven agents in their combat armour to send a signal from the inside. If it goes three minutes, the outside world will be able to unravel the scrambling field, and for a brief time, take satellite pictures of Japan. This will be the first intelligence about the country in over ten years.

The SWORD squad manages to make it past the barrier, but is seven seconds shy of getting the signal complete. Then they are pounded by the Japanese defense forces. Leon, the leader, orders Vexille, our heroine and his lover, to head for the water and escape. She has the back up signal generator.

Vexille does as she is ordered. Targeted by multiple missiles, she blacks out.
When she awakens, she is in a shack, in clothing. A young Japanese lad is watching over her. She escapes, into a tightly packed slum. Though poor, it strikes her how very full of human life it is. Then another woman sticks a gun in her back and takes her back to the shack where she woke up. She is Maria, the lad, Taro. She learns that not only are they hiding her from Saito and the powers that be in Japan, they have repaired her armour and even more importantly, they have successfully sent the signal for over the three minutes they needed.

Meanwhile, back in America, they have penetrated the defense barrier, and are getting the first pictures of Japan in ten years. There is no life; there are no mountains, no forests, and no roadways. There is one City: Tokyo. And in the entire country, there is one life signature…Vexille’s. They can see the crowded masses of the slums, but only Vexille is alive; the rest are androids.

It ends up that Diawa Corporation, the defacto ruler of Japan, has injected the entire population with a cybervirus that slowly turns them from man to machine. When it reaches the brain, they basically become soulless androids completely under the power of Diawa Corporation.

In the rest of Japan, past the giant walls of Tokyo, is a vast waste land, patrolled by Jags. Jags are giant worms or tornados composed of spinning metal. They are created when the Android process goes wrong. They relentless pursue and “eat” anything metal.

Diawa Corporation has plans to introduce the virus to the rest of the world. How can one woman and a city of oppressed people who are having their humanity stripped from them stop Diawa?

The Analysis
This is an excellent anime. It is reminiscent of both Ghost in the Shell, and Resident Evil. The story is well written, and compelling, and moves with the pacing to sweep the viewer up and move him past the suspension of disbelief.

Then there is the matter of the Art. It is unbelievable; it is beyond anything that has been done to date…imagine the CGI of Final Fantasy, Spirits within, with an almost hand painted feel, sort of like Through a Scanner Darkly, without the “Paint by Numbers” feel. It blends together to create a very believable and visually stunning world. I think this technique will be used extensively in many future projects. It is that good.

The score was beautiful, but not always appropriate. There was just a little bit that was off there. Sad, but not so it ruined things.

Also, the dubbing did not always match, and the English voice talents are not listed, hence, my lack of inclusion here. I could put in a list of Japanese Actors, but since I doubt you hear any of them, the point seems moot.

This is a wonderful anime, dark and distopian, exploring the nature of humanity, and the dehumanizing influences of advanced technology. It is also a kick butt action flick. It works on a lot of levels.

It is not perfect, but it is ground breaking, and while I am only giving it four stars, it is almost a five. Check it out.

Check out my reviews of all things Japanese:

My Neighbor Totoro
Across the Nightingale Floor
Grass For His Pillow
Brilliance of the Moon
Onmyoji II
Onmyoji
The Hidden Fortress
Hellboy: Storm of Swords
Vexille
Sanjuro
The Hidden Blade
Yaji & Kita: Midnight Pilgrims
Princess Mononoke
Spirited Away
Gay Tales of the Samurai
Howl's Moving Castle
Ghost Dog
Memoirs of a Geisha (Book)
Memoirs of Geisha (Movie)
The Last Samurai
The Sword that Cut the Burning Grass
Taboo
Forbidden Colors

Recommended: Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Fit for Friday Evening
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 13 and Older