My Youth in A Ship With a Freaking Skull and Crossbones on the Front

I just watched Arcadia of My Youth the other day, and for the most part, I was pretty impressed. Or rather, it had some very impressive moments and sequences that stood out in a story that took its sweet, sweet time. A lot happened throughout its two-hour runtime, of course; when you have to arrive on Earth, find allies there, escape from Earth, go to another planet, go back to Earth, escape again, and fight an alien space fleet, the minutes are going to get eaten up even without developing your sizable cast. But, you see how events are kind of repeating themselves? Also, things come to a screeching halt every time a named character's body is onscreen so everyone can take their time shedding manly tears; is it really necessary?

Both story and animation were hit-and-miss, but those hits were home runs. While some scenes definitely wore out their welcome, like the aforementioned dead body scenes, others such as the launching of the Arcadia and its journey through the Prominence benefited from the slower pace. Fans of the far faster, busier space combat of Macross and its ilk will probably gripe at the final battle's sluggishness, but then it was intended to be grandiose, not a high-flying circus. Even if we're bombarded with some repeated animation and improbable body movements at times, that shot of Arcadia emerging through its enemy's wreckage is to die for.

The characters were interesting enough, despite my never having watched any Harlock property before, and relatively few Matsumoto works in general. Tochiro was easily the most interesting throughout, with Harlock also having his moments in the first half before sliding into the silent, broody role he's famous for. The Tokargans' tragic plight lent a welcome weight to the proceedings, but unfortunately the women did little besides look beautiful and/or badass. Taken together, this is your typical easy-to-root-for ragtag group of misfits common to such sci-fi settings (Guardians of the Galaxy immediately springs to mind), but don't fix it if it ain't broke. Music was about what I expected for this sort of jaunt; bombastic enough without being too memorable.

The thing is, pretty much all my criticisms against this film can be dismissed due to its own romanticism. Who cares if the women are useless, the men overemotional when they aren't brooding silently, or if it takes too long to get from point A to point B? Not the makers of this. They wanted to make a movie where noble men do noble things, where not even the shittiest future could kill chivalry, and they succeeded. Those who scoff at romantics should probably stay far away, but I'd call this two hours well-spent.

So, what are your thoughts on this movie? On Leiji Matsumoto or Captain Harlock in general? Anything you'd recommend I watch after this? Sound off in the comments!