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SUMMARY

Spring and Chaos is the semi-biographical tale of Kenji Miyazawa, one of the foremost poets of Japan.

Kenji is a teacher, with lofty ideals about the world.  Despite being firmly rooted in science, he believes in the spirit of the world.  

With a desire to help, Kenji quits his teaching job to become a farmer. He hopes to show farmers how to succeed in this rapidly changing world of technology.  However, those he wants to help, do not want it.

Now, Kenji must take a journey in order to discover not only his true self, but his place in the universe.

DVD VISION TEST

VIDEO: The transfer is pretty good on the main feature.  However, we did notice some wrinkles and pixels during the interview segments

AUDIO: The 2.0 Japanese is very clear, yet softer than the English 2.0.  There is plenty of directionality, with dialogue front speaker based, with music and FX from the sides and back of our Altec Lansing speakers.

With the English 2.0, it is louder, but it sounds like it was recorded in a box.  Even with the subwoofer at full base, there was still too much treble for my taste.

EDITS: English titles have been used instead of the original Japanese credits.  No edits to the move that we know of.

EXTRAS: You have interviews with writer/director Shoji Kawamori and Sound Director Atsumi Tashiro on a variety of topics.  There is the art gallery, but it is merely a collection of stills.  Finally, there is a brief history on Kenji Miyazawa.

WIDESCREEN REVIEW

STORY: You can tell that a lot of research went into the life of Kenji Miyazawa.  While it focuses mostly on his time as a teacher and farmer, we do get a little background on where he came from.  The script its self uses bits and pieces of Miyazawa's poetry to help you understand what kind of man he was.

ACTING: I was not impressed with the English cast.  I found that their delivery lacked passion, in a story that needed it.  To be fair, this is about a Japanese poet, so the American cast was at a disadvantage.

As I am sure you guessed, I prefer the Japanese actors.  While none really stood out, they all played their parts well, and with the right amount of passion and intensity.

FAN SERVICE: None what so ever. 

CONCLUSION

Let's get one thing straight.  This is not an anime for most people.  There are no cute girls with short minis.  There are no robots, aliens, or ninja commandos from hell. There are no romantic entanglements involving a boy, a space pirate, and a girl in a kimono.  Unless you love poetry or you really want to know who Kenji Miwazawa was or what "Spring and Chaos" is about , I would not read any further.

Kenji Miwazawa was Japan's first free spirt.  First, he turned his back on his wealthy upbringing to teach low income children.  From there, he became a farmer, in hope to teach the local farmers how to use science to grow crops.  During this time, he wrote poetry that, to this day, inspires many to look beyond the "concrete" world, and become one with the cosmos.  He was also anit-war, anti-establishment, and anti-materialism.  The fact that he lived in the 1920's further showed how far into the future his mind went.

Unfortunately, the farmers and poor he was so desperate to help, didn't want his help. They felt that because he came from a rich family, he could not understand their plight.  They refused to learn the techniques that could have save them years of backbreaking work, and improved their standing.  When his crops flourished and theirs did not, they destroyed all his hard work.  At the same time, his sister was sick, adding to his worries.

Yet, through it all he maintained a sense of optimism. His stories and poetry, while very abstract at the time, showed his wonder of the world, his love of science, and his belief in humanity.

Spring and Chaos takes place in two worlds.  The world he lives in, full of heartache and strife, and his mind, full of wonder, excitement, and personal demons.  While not a complete biography, it does show what kind of man he was.  He loved the world, loved science, and always kept his eyes on the future.

Visually, it feels very much like a Miyazaki film.  The characters as cats, the beautiful landscapes, and the use of color to accentuate the scene are very reminiscent of his work at Gibili.  However, it would not be a Kawamori film with out CG, and boy does this movie have plenty.  As he states in his interview, he deliberately intended the CG to look CG. While it is sharp and well done, it does clash with the "cell" drawn animation at times.

For me, the true heart and soul of the film was the music by Shang Shang Typhoon.  At times reminiscent of Yoko Kanno's work on "Macross Plus" and at other times, it reminds me of Kenji Kawai's score from "Ghost in the Shell" it is truly a fusion of Japanese and modern music.  The opening theme is very beautiful. My favorite piece takes place at 50 minutes, 20 seconds.  The music combined with Shoji Kawamori's visuals will bring a tear to your eyes with it's power.

Disc wise, it's not bad.  However, some of you technophiles may be disappointed with some of the wrinkles and pixels.

Like I said earlier, Spring and Chaos is not a film for everyone.  However, if you want to take a chance and experience something different in the anime genre, pick up a copy.  You may find that it is not as "abstract" as some people say it is.

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