Arion

1986 [JAPANESE]

Action / Adventure / Animation / Fantasy / Romance / War

11
Rotten Tomatoes Critics - Certified Fresh 71%
Rotten Tomatoes Audience - Upright 71% · 100 ratings
IMDb Rating 6.4/10 10 532 532

based on manga ancient greece greek god

Director

Yoshikazu Yasuhiko Photo
Yoshikazu Yasuhiko

Top cast

Mayumi Tanaka Photo
Mayumi Tanaka as Seneca
Chikao Ohtsuka Photo
Chikao Ohtsuka as Hades
Tomomichi Nishimura Photo
Tomomichi Nishimura as Priest
Masanobu Ôkubo Photo
Masanobu Ôkubo as Zeus
720p.BLU 1080p.BLU
1.08 GB
1280*722
Japanese 2.0
NR
Subtitles us  
23.976 fps
2 hr 0 min
Seeds ...
2 GB
1916*1080
Japanese 2.0
NR
Subtitles us  
23.976 fps
2 hr 0 min
Seeds 4

Movie Reviews

Reviewed by kevin_robbins 8 / 10

Arion is an elite anime film and an absolute must-see for fans of '80s anime

I recently watched the anime gem Arion (1986) on YouTube. The storyline follows Arion, son of Poseidon, whose girlfriend is kidnapped by Apollo-who secretly plans to overthrow Mount Olympus. Arion sets out on a perilous journey to battle Zeus, the gods, the Titans, and anyone else who stands in his way to save her.This film is directed by Yoshikazu Yasuhiko (Mobile Suit Gundam) and offers a fascinating and original take on the Greek mythology universe. The premise is so well written that it wastes no time establishing the key characters, the world, and the formidable powers of Arion's adversaries. The backdrops and settings are immersive, the animation is classic '80s style that pulls you right in, and the worldbuilding is rich and unique.The action scenes are excellent, with one intense whip sequence in particular that completely caught me off guard. The film stays unpredictable throughout, keeping you engaged with each twist. The background score has the nostalgic feel of classic video games from that era-reminiscent of Zelda or Final Fantasy. I would've loved to see a sequel.In conclusion, Arion is an elite anime film and an absolute must-see for fans of '80s anime. I'd give it an 8/10 and strongly recommend checking it out.
Reviewed by BrianDanaCamp

Greek gods come to vivid life in Japanese animated feature

ARION (1986) is a spectacular two-hour animated feature from Japan that takes as its grandiose subject the war between gods and men in ancient Greece. Its title character is a teenaged boy whose origins are clouded in mystery and who undertakes to upset the reigning order of the gods at a time when Zeus and Poseidon are locked in a bloody power struggle. Taken from his mother, Demeter, as a child, Arion is raised by Hades, the god of the netherworld, who wants him to wage war on Zeus. The boy's true past is eventually revealed, along with the destiny that was mapped out for him long before he was born. He finds a mute girl, Lesphina, a counterpart with an equally mysterious past and hidden powers of her own, whom he feels a common bond with and spends much of the film trying to rescue from Apollo, who covets her.The plotline is incredibly demanding and takes the viewers on some mystifying detours through a barely recognizable revision of Greek mythology. The gods were supposed to be immortal yet Arion kills three of them with relative ease. Many familiar names from the myths are on hand, either as characters or references, including Chronos, Uranus, Gaia, Prometheus, Pandora, Ares and Athena. There are many dream sequences and travels on an astral plane, using a maze of abstract backgrounds and techniques. By the time we get to the climax, it becomes clear that this is all about that epochal moment in our civilization's past when men wrested control of their destiny away from the gods.There are a handful of elaborate battle sequences, involving thousands of participants and all manner of weapons. One such scene shows the forces of Poseidon, including fish men, dog warriors and winged reptile men, clashing head on with the forces commanded by Ares and Athena. A later battle shows a rally of ordinary mortals, guided by Arion, armed with the gods' own weapon, a solar-powered cannon left to them by Prometheus for the purpose of attacking Mount Olympus itself.The animation is consistently stunning and as fluid as one is ever likely to get from Japanese animators, with constant movement and a steady stream of action-packed confrontations, as well as subjective sequences showing nightmares and flashbacks during the hero's altered states of mind. The artwork is beautiful and recreates in vivid terms an ancient world and its myriad characters, ranging from gods to humans to beasts and all manner of hybrids, including Arion's giant, three-eyed protector, Geedo. The character design is also sharply rendered, with each character well-etched and infused with a set of distinct emotions. The director is Yoshikazu Yasuhiko, who served as animation director and character designer on the original MOBILE SUIT GUNDAM (1979) and directed in his own right CRUSHER JOE (1983) and VENUS WARS (1989). He's also an accomplished manga artist whose series, "Rebel Sword," was published in English by Dark Horse Comics. Another important contributor is composer Jo Hisaishi who provides a masterful, evocative score that easily ranks with his better-known scores for animator Hayao Miyazaki (CASTLE IN THE SKY, MY NEIGHBOR TOTORO, KIKI'S DELIVERY SERVICE, PRINCESS MONONOKE) and live-action star/director Takeshi Kitano (SONATINE, HANA-BI, KIKUJIRO, BROTHER).ARION is one of many celebrated anime features with a strong underground reputation that have yet to be released in the U.S. (as of this writing). It would most benefit from a theatrical release where it could be seen in all its glory on the big screen.
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