This article needs to be updated. (October 2013) |
First Squad: The Moment of Truth (Japanese: ファーストスクワッド Fāsuto sukuwaddo, Russian: Пе́рвый отря́д, romanized: Perviy otryad) is a joint animation project of Japan's Studio 4°C and Russia's Molot Entertainment. It won the Kommersant newspaper's prize.[3]
| First Squad: The Moment of Truth | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Kana | ファースト・スクワッド |
| Directed by | Yoshiharu Ashino[1] |
| Written by | Aljosha Klimov Misha Shprits |
| Produced by | Eiko Tanaka Aljosha Klimov Misha Shprits |
| Starring | Elena Chebaturkina Michael Tikhonov Ludmila Shuvalova Damir Eldarov Irina Savina Aleksandr Gruzdev Sergei Aisman |
| Cinematography | João da Costa Pinto Sergey Akimov Kumiko Sakamoto |
| Music by | DJ Krush The 3ug3reeder |
Production companies | Studio 4°C Molot Entertainment Film Company |
| Distributed by | Molot Entertainment Film Company |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 73 minutes |
| Countries | Russia Japan |
| Language | Russian |
| Box office | $ 292 377[2] |
Plot
editSet during the opening days of World War II on the Eastern Front (autumn and winter of 1941/1942). Its main cast are a group of Soviet teenagers with extraordinary abilities; the teenagers have been drafted to form a special unit to fight the invading German army. They are opposed by a Schutzstaffel (SS) officer who is attempting to raise from the dead a supernatural army of crusaders from the 12th-century Order of the Sacred Cross (i.e. the Teutonic Knights) and enlist them in the Nazi cause.
Most of the teenage crew die, except for the protagonist Nadya. She is taken to a secret Soviet lab that studies supernatural phenomena, especially contacts with the dead. Nadya's task is to dive into the world of the dead for reconnaissance. There, in the Gloomy Valley, she meets her dead friends and persuades them to continue fighting.
Voice Cast
edit| Character | Russian voice actor | English voice actor |
|---|---|---|
| Nadya | Elena Chebaturkina | Cassandra Lee Morris |
| Leo | Michael Tikhonov | Joey Morris |
| Zena | Ludmila Shuvalova | Carrie Keranen |
| Marat | Damir Eldarov | Tony Oliver |
| Valya | Irina Savina | Bryce Papenbrook |
| General Below | Aleksandr Gruzdev | Michael McConnohie |
| Baron Von Wolff | Sergei Aisman | Phineas |
Ligalize's video clip
editOn the eve of May 9, 2005, a video clip was released, based on the track "Наша с тобой победа" ("Our victory") by Russian rap artist Ligalize. The clip was directed by Daisuke Nakayama, produced by Aljosha Klimov and Misha Shprits and depicted an epic fight between Soviet Pioneers and Nazi soldiers, with the German side in possession of mecha and various supernatural soldiers. Among the featured locations are the Palace of the Soviets and Mayakovskaya metro station, Moscow.
Production
editIn 2007, it was announced that a motion picture titled First Squad: The Moment of Truth[4] was in the works. Film is produced by Studio 4°C and recently created for this purpose studio Molot Entertainment, distributed by Amedia. Directed by Studio 4 °C director and animator Yoshiharu Ashino, cowritten and produced by Aljosha Klimov, Misha Shprits, with Eiko Tanaka, featuring character development by Hirofumi Nakata, and music by Japanese musician DJ Krush. The film has been shown at Cannes Film Festival,[5] Locarno Film Festival,[6] Fantasporto[7] and Fantasia film festival.[8] On June 8, 2010, Anchor Bay Entertainment announced that they will distribute the film in the United States through Manga Entertainment and L.A. based XYZ Films.[9]
References
edit- ^ First Squad info (in Japanese)
- ^ "First Squad: The Moment of Truth (2009)". Box Office Mojo.
- ^ "4°C's First Squad Wins Award at Moscow Int'l Fim Fest". Anime News Network. 2009-06-30. Retrieved 2009-10-11.
- ^ First Squad Archived 2018-08-19 at the Wayback Machine — official site
- ^ "Studio 4C Goes To War In Russia! Brand New Trailer For Russian Anime FIRST SQUAD!". Twitch. 2009-04-29. Archived from the original on 2009-10-01. Retrieved 2009-09-04.
- ^ "FIRST SQUAD". Locarno. 2009-04-29. Archived from the original on 2009-08-28. Retrieved 2009-09-04.
- ^ "Lista de filmes - Fantasporto 2010". Jornal de Notícias. Retrieved 2010-02-28.[permanent dead link]
- ^ "First Squad: The Moment of Truth, MONTREAL PREMIERE". Fantasia Festival. 2010-07-10. Archived from the original on 2017-08-24. Retrieved 2010-07-14.
- ^ "First Squad Moment Truth Acquired By Anchor Bay". Mania.com. 2010-06-08. Archived from the original on 2010-06-11. Retrieved 2010-06-09.
External links
edit- Official website
- First Squad at IMDb
- First Squad (OVA) at Anime News Network's encyclopedia