Synopsis:
Saeko Shirasu is a 25-year-old war frontline photo-journalist who became a celebrity after taking a picture of civilians raising a makeshift UN flag in war-torn Uddiyana. The image then became an instant symbol for peace. However, just before the peace agreement is achieved, the flag was stolen by an armed extremist group in order to obstruct the truce. The UN peacekeepers decide to covertly send in a SDC (pronounced as Seedac—Special Development Command) unit to retrieve the flag. Because of her connection with the “Flag” photo, Saeko Shirasu is offered the job of following the SDC unit as front-line journalist. The SDC unit is equipped with an HAVWC (High Agility Versatile Weapon Carrier—pronounced “havok”) mecha armored vehicle.
Story: 9/10
The narrative and directing in Flag is told almost solely from the view of the local journalists and photographers and viewfinders of all kinds of video/photo recording equipment and news reports. This narrative/direction style is very reminiscent of “The Blair Witch” back in the early nineties, and more recently movies like “Cloverfield”. The viewer finds himself behind shaky photo/video cameras, webcams, and cameras on military vehicles, satellite visuals and of course computer generated imagery.
This allows for a hyper realistic feeling to Flag, remember the footage they released of the guided bombs and attacks at night during I Iraq war? Imagine that but with more detail and realism added, you feel totally immersed in the story and at times you totally forget that you are actually watching an anime. Having said that the story of Flag really hits home especially during the early and late 90`s when conflict was rife all over the world, the Gulf war and Bosnian civil war comes to mind.
That’s why Flag is one of the best anime titles I have had the privilege of watching this year. The story takes all of the great elements like human drama, philosophy and the most import aspect of the show realism and produces something aw inspiring. Of course the story of Flag is not as much about the war or the mecha it is about the human spirit, hope and love. I’d really like to discuss the story more in-depth but this would seriously spoil the show and give away the plot elements.
Characters: 9/10
The main character of Flag is Saeko Shirasu, we first meet her as a photographer who just graduated from photography school and is uncertain on what path to take. But things are about to change as she gets assigned to SDC and an imbedded war photographer. From there on out we see her develop as a person and a photographer in each and every episode. But the character development is not only limited to her, but also applies to all the members of the SDC group she joins.
We also get to see some character development in the SDC special unit division, as the warm up to the idea of Saeko being assigned to their unit as an imbedded war photographer. We also get to see glimpses into each of the member’s personal thoughts and lives and what makes them tick through the camera lens of Saeko. And this is what makes the show so great you get to see the characters develop from a first person and a third person’s perspective.
There is little character development outside of Saeko and the SDC Special Forces but that does not really matter as it is the main focus of the anime, is on Saeko and the SDC. And the way they achieved this development using third and first person view points was just amazing I take my hat off to the directors and writers who came up with the characters of Flag. There isn’t a single bland character in this show as every character has an interesting aspect to them, and what makes them tick.
Animation: 9/10
The visuals of Flag are one of the most striking elements of the entire show. The way the animators brought the fictitious country of Uddiyana to life was just amazing; with brilliant scenery and sunsets which brought a sense of realism to the story of Flag. The amount of special effects, CG and 3D graphics that was used in the show was just mind numbing. But never did it feel out of place during the course of the series, as they blended both rich 2D animations with high polygon count 3D animation perfectly.
The special effects that are use during the show are also impressive, especially the filters and affects like viewfinder menus, interlacing, film grain, lots of blur and pixilation affect when used to give us the first person perspective through the lens of a camera. One other thing worth mentioning is the mecha designs, no over the top multi color designs. But rather military style designs that at times look really achievable with current hardware and technology, not to mention a refreshing way of looking at mecha designs.
Sound/Dubbing: 8/10
The audio for flag is pretty solid, the English dubbing is of high quality but I preferred the Japanese voice acting for this show. The background music that gets played during the course of the show has a Middle Eastern feel to it and compliments the show nicely. I would highly recommend watching this with 5.1 sound as it only adds to the already impressive visual affects of Flag. As far as the OP/ED goes it is pretty much average with the expectation of the opening theme.
Enjoyment/Value: 9/10
I cant recommend this show enough enough, as it has all of the elements that makes it a awesome show. Flag’s art and direction style makes for an immersive, realistic and gripping show. An anime show like this only comes around once every couple of years. And this show sure did not disappoint me, Flag turned out to be one of the best and most original anime titles I have seen in a very long time. All I can say is go watch it people go watch it NOW!
