Gyt Kaliba here, and boy did I hit the jackpot. I was at my local Wal-Mart doing some shopping, when I happened to glance at the Red Box machine and notice a familiar looking title - They actually had an anime title in stock. One dollar to rent a movie I haven't seen yet? Great. One dollar to see an anime I otherwise might never get around to seeing? PRICELESS. ^_^So, it goes without saying that I picked it up, and even put a stop to my re-watching of Fruits Basket, to watch Vexille. And it was definitely worth it.
First off, the plot was really good in my opinion. Nothing trend-setting, but definitely not particularly like something I've seen before. For starters, Japan is the villain in this...well, sorta. Let's start from the beginning: In the 2060s, technology had advanced to such a degree that cyborgs could be made far too human-like. The UN banned research into further advancements, but Japan protested, and left the UN to develop their technology. 10 years later, in 2077, an American police agency called S.W.O.R.D. has a run in with some dirty politicians, and while chasing one of them, an accomplice gets away by cutting off his own leg with a knife. When the agents (Leon, Vexille, and Zak) take the leg back to S.W.O.R.D's base, one of their scientists discover that though the leg has a bio-signature, it's imprinted. This could only mean one thing - the man was a cyborg, and one more advanced than is legal.
The U.S. secretly sends our heroes into Japan to find out what's been going on for the past ten years, but upon infiltrating, Zak is killed, and Leon and Vexille are seperated. Vexille awakens in a strange house with a woman named Maria, who takes her into the town to explain the current state of Japan. The Japanese government used it's own people as an experiment to create cyborgs, and as a result, not a single real human exists in Tokyo! Now it's left to Vexille to single-handedly save Japan, find Leon, and stop the U.S. and the rest of the world from sharing Japan's dismal fate.
Now, you can tell by looking that this isn't your normal anime. Instead of traditional animation, Vexille was created using CGI, much like Appleseed and Appleseed Ex Machina. The result is simply stunning - only a few times have I seen CG look this good, and never has it looked this good in anime style.The soundtrack is also simply stunning, with great songs from bands like the Boom Boom Satellites and Asian Dub Foundation. This soundtrack is only made even more remarkable by the stunning performances given by the voice actors.
I unfortunately cannot give a review of acting based on the original Seiyuu's work, as I had to return the film before getting a chance to watch it again in Japanese. However, FUNimation has done a great job with the dubbing, and Colleen Clinkenbeard should definitely win an award for her performance in this film. The rest of the cast is top-notch as well, which is to be expected from a dub directed by Mike McFarland, a man who clearly recognizes talent.
So all in all, this is a film that I would definitely have been happy purchasing. So if you feel safe spending money on something you haven't seen yet, this is definitely a safe bet. However, if you're hesitant to buy blind as I am, see if there's a Red Box near you, and give it a try. For a dollar, anythings worth a try, and you aren't going to get any better for a buck than Vexille.I give this film an 8 out of 10 - In the end, it's not something you absolutely HAVE to see, but you are better for the viewing.
Cast List
Colleen Clinkenbeard as Lt. Cdr. Vexille Serra
Travis Willingham as Cdr. Leon Fayden
Christine Auten as Maria
Christopher Sabat as Zak
Jason Douglas as Saito
Luci Christian as Takashi
Illich Guardiola as Ryo
J. Michael Tatum as Kisaragi
Todd Haberkorn as Taro
John Swasey as Captain Borg
Phil Parsons as Saga
Kent Williams as Itakura
Background voices include Cynthia Cranz, Kyle Hebert, and Chuck Huber.