Arcadia of My Youth

Arcadia of My Youth is the second animated adaption and entry into Leiji Matsumoto's Space Pirate Captain Harlock franchise. While Arcadia of My Youth is a fantastic stand-alone film, I would personally not recommend it to someone who hasn't seen anything else featuring Captain Harlock. Not because the film requires you to know the character, but because the film plays out more like an origin story and closes open-ended.(followed-up by an unofficial American comic book and an unsuccessful TV series) If you're interested in Harlock I would highly recommend watching the '78 TV series first, a masterpiece of TV animation, even though it is an entirely different continuity from this film.

You will cry many manly tears while watching this masterpiece of anime greatness.

although it does not follow the story set in the 1978 show this is still a good piece of fiction and worth watching. i think it's best to interpret each captain harlock presentation as part of a legend. if you're not familiar with 'space pirate captain harlock' i will clue you in, every appearance he makes is slightly different, not just in storyline, but sometimes in personality. if you're interested in the personality aspect of the character then i suggest the original '78 series and cosmo warrior zero series.

I'm torn here. I love Galaxy Express 3(9) and Matsumoto's animation style, it really grows on me, but "Arcadia of My Youth" didn't thrill me. It lacks all the powerful sentimentality and ethos of "Express" and we are left with only the space Opera, Cowboy elements. There are so many unexplained things in Matsumoto's earlier works, and here we have a bad alien race taking over Earth, and a few left over rebels fighting back, more original in 83' but still not full of the realism of found in apathetic story tellers in meta fiction...oh, yeah, the music rocks in this film.

I Love This Stuff! Matsumoto Leiji did a GREAT job here! Captain Harlock is a great character! I saw this in Japanese and WOW! It blew me away when I was 9! I wish They could dub it better! Old School Anime at it's Best!

The origin story of one of Anime?s most enduring heroes, Captain Harlock. And what a movie this is! This is the embodiment of everything that is so great about Matsumoto?s work. The Earth has been conquered by the evil Illumidus Empire with parallels drawn to the post World War Two occupation of Japan. Captain Harlock with a group that will become his life long friends begin their fight against this tyranny visited upon the planet earth with no regard to the costs the struggle will have on them, caring only for the ideal of restoring freedom to the people of earth. This film cemented Harlock?s and Matsumoto?s godlike status with me. Everything just works so well here, like GE999, it had great story, characters, music, and atmosphere. I think I cry more watching this movie than any other, there are just some scenes that overwhelm me. Harlock is one of my biggest heroes because no matter what, he does what is right in his heart. Even after the Earth Government banishes him because of his defiance against the Illumidus occupational forces, he still hangs around to protect the earth and its lethargic citizenry when the Mazone empire invades in the original TV series, even when they don?t deserve it. To me, thats what being a hero is all about, doing the right thing no matter what has happened to you. Leiji Matsumoto has provided me with hours of great entertainment, I wish I could thank him personally for all his hard work. Modern fans tend to not understand his style, such as when 2 starships battle it out in an old fashioned Broad-sides duel, or How a starship can be on fire and billowing smoke in the vacuum of space. The explanation is simple, Matsumoto uses these things for dramatic effect. He knows these things are improbable or downright impossible, but its all to create this grand atmosphere his films have. The Fire and smoke gives everything a sense of urgency, you can see they are in trouble without going through every room on the ship. Its these touchs that really give the film a grand old Hollywood feeling, and I love that.

This is perhaps one of the most mature, somber, elegant, and melancholy anime films out there. Matsumoto really gives the characters depth and humanity; the animation is simply gorgeous; and the story of occupation and resistance is portrayed in the proper light of perseverance despite the dismal futility. I love how the past of two heroes is interleaved into the story seamlessly, enhancing the drama. The final showdown at the end of the movie is very appropriate and ends the film on a note of nobility and triumph. I wish Mime were like Mime in the Space Pirate Captain Harlock series, though. My all-time favorite anime film!

have too give this a full score since this is prob the first real anime movie i saw as a child, saw it in 1987 i think and it beeing dubbed*horror* and i was to small to even comprehend the complexity the story has. But it affected me so much i never forgot it and i kept watching anime as i watched up, otaku since 95' ^^ and never looked back, ty Leiji.

I love this movie and his main character Captain Harlock! It is a beautiful and poignant movie. A great classic from Matsumoto

A film that's a bit too long. Though walks into my pantheon of immortal works for its first ten minutes.