Samus Aran Origins: Metroid’s Influences Beyond Alien | Hardboiled History
My new video is about the origins of one of my favorite video game characters. Everyone knows Metroid was inspired by the movie Alien, but what about its other influences?
Other questions explored include: Who did “Samus Is A Girl” before Samus? Why does Adam call Samus “Lady” in Metroid Dread? Were Metroid and Zelda inspired by Rareware games? Why does Samus fight a Mother Brain? Where does Samus’ first name come from? What does “Metroid” mean? What is a “bailey”? Who was the first character with an arm canon? And why can’t Metroid crawl?
Lensman·A Japanese feature-length animated film Released in 1984 Running Time: 107 Minutes· Directed By: Yoshiaki Kawajiri & Kazuyuki Hirokawa
Lensman took four years and $10 million to make.
SF Shinseiki Lensman was released in Japan in 1984. Carl Macek’s company, Streamline Pictures, dubbed the movie into English and released it in America as Lensman in 1990.
Lensman is somewhat remarkable from a technical perspective, as it was the first anime movie to combine computer-generated animation with traditional cel animation. The movie is above-par from a technical perspective for an anime of the period.
The movie is very loosely based on Galactic Patrol by E. E. “Doc” Smith.
Based on the seminal space opera stories by E.E. Smith that eventually inspired Star Wars, the feature film directorial debut by the famed Yoshiaki Kawajiri, and one of the earliest anime movies to combine computer animation with hand-drawn cels,Lensman certainly has pedigree.
This was the first anime film to use CGI animation along with traditional hand-drawn animation.
The bulk of the film was created in the traditional cel-oriented fashion (which some CG animators would call 2D) but the directors wanted some 3D/CG elements to give the film a new look. Allegedly the only feature film that had used this technology before was Tron.
Co-director Yoshiaki Kawajiri later became one of the most respected names in anime, directing notable films including Wicked City (1987),Demon City Shinjuku(1988),Ninja Scroll(1993),Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust(2000),Highlander: The Search for Vengeance (2007) and a director of episodes in the anthology films Neo-Tokyo (1987) and The Animatrix(2003).
Reviews:
“…There are some sharp visual effects here, a combination of imaginative and innovative computer animation and the traditional hand-drawn animation, and when the special effects take over the film seems to come alive.” —Chris Hicks, Deseret News
“Adapted from the best-selling science fiction novels of E.E. ‘Doc’ Smith, this superbly animated film combines detailed hand-drawn animation with state-of-the-art computer graphics.” —Ken Innes, Absolute Anime
“The sense of cosmic scale that Smith specialized in is something that Japanese animation does like nobody else… (This was interestingly the first anime film to feature computer animation…) The action is exciting, particularly the speeder-bike chases near the end or the escape from the Overlords stronghold. The filmmakers design a fabulous array of ships — the Boskonian fleet are black clouds lit up from inside with lights, or their planetary patrol ships that are like hollowed-out animal skulls drooping with pink innards.” —Richard Scheib, The Science Fiction, Horror and Fantasy Film Review
“An excellent example of its genre, Lensman will delight the growing ranks of Japanese cartoon fans in the United States. The storytelling and character development are minimal by Western standards, but superior to the recent Akira; and the film offers the requisite array of jazzy effects, including explosions, ray gun battles, weird-looking aliens, rapid-fire editing and computer-generated imagery.” —Charles Solomon, Los Angeles Times
In the 25th Century, Kimball Kinnison is an eager young pilot from a lonely agricultural planet called Mquie. Kim is living a peaceful life with his father as a farmer on their planet until one day when a runaway spaceship is detected moving at a high speed towards his father’s farm. The Galactic Fleet ship Britannia manned by Lensmen is fast approaching the planet Mquie with vital data about the location of the villainous Boskone Empire’s Devil Planet. As the spaceship is about to crash land in their corn field, Kim, being the excellent pilot that he is, boards the ship before it crashes and lands it himself, along with his companion, Van Buskirk.
On board the ship they find a severely injured, dying man whom with his dying words begs Kim to take something of his to the Galactic Fleet. The man has a legendary Lens — a semi-sentient crystalline device— embedded in his hand. As the Lensman is dying, he mysteriously passes on the Lens to Kim.
Kim becomes involved in a galaxywide battle between the forces of good and evil when this mysterious Lens of the Galactic Patrolman attaches itself to his wrist. It has turned Kim into a Lensman. Other than giving Kim unknown powers, it also contains vital information for the victory of the Galactic Fleet over the evil Boskone Empire. Kim must now bring the Lens to the Galactic Fleet. But this is not an easy task when Lord Helmet of the Boskone Empire is willing to use everything in his power to stop him.
Pursued by the Boskonians, Kimball, and the burly engineer Van Buskirk, along with spaceship Britannia inhabitants nurse Clarissa MacDougall, and the reptilian Lensman Worzel, undergo a dangerous journey to return the information to the Galactic Patrol.
Kim is soon zipping between planets on the spaceship Britannia, fighting the evil Boskone Empire with some help from the roaring Von Buskirk, and their other alien companions. Kim must find out the purpose of the Lens before the Boskone dynasty does.
Lensman is a visual adventure for the eyes. Watch as young Kim must survive the perils of the galaxy as the mysterious and frightening villains close in on his every move. With the Boskone secrets trapped within the powerful Lens Kim is gifted with, it is his responsibility to relay it to the Galatic Fleet before the Boskone Empire can catch him… but with their willingness to destroy entire worlds to get at him, does he even stand a chance?
Title:Lensman [Also Known As: Lensman: Secret of the Lens | Original Japanese Title: SF Shinseiki Lensman]
Release Year: 1984 Production Country: Japan Film Directors: Yoshiaki Kawajiri, Kazuyuki Hirokawa
[Co-director Yoshiaki Kawajiri later became one of the most respected names in anime, directing notable films including Wicked City (1987),Demon City Shinjuku(1988),Ninja Scroll(1993),Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust(2000), Highlander: The Search for Vengeance (2007) and a director of episodes in the anthology films Neo-Tokyo (1987) and The Animatrix(2003).Lensman was the first animated feature film he directed.]
Animation/Production Studios: Kodansha, MK Productions, Madhouse, Toho Company
Medium: hand drawn animation, CGI (at the time, the computer graphics it introduced were revolutionary, though they may seem a little primitive today)
