Deep in the mountains of Turkey, ARCAM — a secret organization dedicated to securing and containing the dangerous artifacts of an ancient advanced civilization — has uncovered what appears to be Noah's Ark. A rogue faction of the U.S. Pentagon called the Machine Corps wants it, and has dispatched an army of cyborg soldiers to take it by force. Standing against them is Yu Ominae, a Japanese Spriggan — ARCAM's elite field operatives, trained to handle threats that conventional military forces cannot. Joining him is Jean-Jacques Mondo, a French Spriggan with his own brutal methods. Leading the Machine Corps assault is Colonel MacDougall: a genetically enhanced child soldier of terrifying psionic power who can shatter bones with a thought and whose capacity for violence is matched only by his instability. The battle for the Ark — and for control of a weapon capable of wiping humanity from the Earth — unfolds across the frozen mountain in some of the most kinetically intense action animation produced in 1990s Japan. Spriggan is a 1998 theatrical film directed by Hirotsugu Kawasaki, supervised and co-written by Katsuhiro Otomo — the director of Akira and Steamboy — and produced by Studio 4°C, the studio behind Memories and The Animatrix. It is based on the Noah's Ark story arc from Hiroshi Takashige and Ryoji Minagawa's manga — the same creative team behind Project ARMS. The film received a limited North American theatrical release on October 12, 2001 before its DVD release by ADV Films on April 23, 2002. A Special Edition with audio commentary by Chris Patton and Kelly Manison and a packaged soundtrack CD was released February 15, 2005. Note: a Netflix anime series adaptation was produced by David Production in 2022. Notable Staff & Voice Talent Director: Hirotsugu Kawasaki (Naruto the Movie 2, Onigamiden)Supervisor / Co-Writer: Katsuhiro Otomo (Akira, Steamboy, Memories, Metropolis screenplay)Original Manga: Hiroshi Takashige & Ryoji Minagawa (Project ARMS, serialized in Weekly Shonen Sunday, Shogakukan)Studio: Studio 4°C (Memories, The Animatrix, Princess Arete)Music: Kuniaki Haishima (Alien Nine) Japanese Cast:- Shōtarō Morikubo as Yu Ominae (Sorcerous Stabber Orphen)- Takehito Koyasu as Jean-Jacques Mondo (Slayers, Escaflowne, Gate Keepers, Fushigi Yugi, Z.O.E. Dolores I)- Masashi Ebara as Col. MacDougall- Jūrōta Kosugi as Larry Markson (Sol Bianca: The Legacy, Fushigi Yugi, Revolutionary Girl Utena) English Dub Cast (ADV Films — Houston):- Chris Patton as Yu Ominae (Princess Nine, Angelic Layer)- Kelly Manison as Jean-Jacques Mondo (Princess Nine)- Kevin Corn as Col. MacDougall- Spike Spencer as additional cast (Evangelion, Nadesico, Sorcerous Stabber Orphen)- John Swasey as additional cast (El-Hazard: The Alternative World, Princess Nine, Megazone 23)- Andy McAvin as additional cast (Princess Nine)- Mike Kleinhenz as additional cast DVD Features (ADV Films Standard Edition) - ADV Films Previews- Note: Special Edition (2005) also available with audio commentary by Chris Patton & Kelly Manison and packaged soundtrack CD in digipak Spoken Languages: English & Japanese Audio, English Subtitles Edition Details Japanese Title: スプリガン (Supurigan)Runtime: ~91 MinutesDirector: Hirotsugu KawasakiDVD Release Year: 2002 (U.S. Standard Release, April 23 — ADV Films); Special Edition February 15, 2005Original Release Date (Japan): September 5, 1998Publisher: ADV FilmsRating: 17+Region: Region 1 (U.S. / Canada)Genre: Action, Sci-Fi, ThrillerThemes: Noah's Ark Artifact, ARCAM vs Pentagon, Psionic Child Soldier, Katsuhiro Otomo Supervision, Studio 4°C Production Media assumed VG+ unless otherwise noted.
