EX-RENTAL REVIEWS: Grey Digital Target by Sami Sadek

Years ago I came across this in the anime section of a Science Fiction DK Encyclopedia, now until most recently I've finally watched it and for what it is it's a surprising and sadly very obscure movie that deserves more than what attention it gets.

The story itself is based off the manga "Grey" by Yoshihisa Tagami which follows the adventures of the main protagonist simply called Grey or his nickname Grey Death due to the bad luck Grey seems to have with every tragic situation he gets involved in and how overtime his story and everything around him gets darker and grimer. For the film itself we are instantly drawn into the typical post apocalyptic wasteland where the survivors are scrounging together and desperately trying to fight to survive.

Throughout the course of the film we follow Grey as he is has joined various armies in fights mainly set out to kill one another and his main goal is to become a full fledged citizen, that status can only be obtained until he advances beyond Class F Trooper status, we find out over the course of the film Grey's girlfriend Lips (in her pursuit for civilian-ship) had died years ago under the command of General Red. As all that happens his journey whilst tagging along with his partner Nova comes to a full conclusion with the world's computer structure Big Mama. So essentially the film's main focus with it's story is the advancement of a character trying to claw his way out of poverty and suffering to gain a chance of freedom.

Everything about this movie feels genuinely 80's, from the character designs, the music, the vehicles and mechs and with the plot kind of dragging from time to time it becomes rather difficult to follow, the movie despite it's dated features has aged well surprisingly. For this being done by Satoshi Dezaki (Mad Bull 34 & Riki-Oh) The action being rather gruesome in places following the death of several characters, in horrible and upsetting ways you can tell this film is not for the lighthearted.

From an audio perspective in regards to the music, the score by Goro Awami is both tense and rather minimal at best. Seeing as how the entire movie relies heavily on silence with only the characters doing their own thing that the only thing you might hear in it being music is 1 or 2 lyrical insert songs. The English dub though is where I think this stands out more, this is probably one of the Ocean Group's finest dubs and ranks up their among some of their well regarded work. Paul Dobson plays the character of Grey just right with adding a stotic and dry persona to the character but making him feel like a tragic soul, other Ocean regulars such as Scott Mcneil, David Kaye, Jaynse Jaud etc play their parts rather well which shows this movie on the English speaking side of things has a well assembled cast.

The biggest problem I have with this though which feels as though this movies pacing was a somewhat unwelcome payoff was the ending, which if anyone has already seen this or read the manga then you might know where it concludes. But the ending really speaks for itself saying that this is the key to a much bigger story and there can be more unraveled which sadly we won't get.

In conclusion, Grey: Digital Target is a forgotten gem that deserves more recognition. As an old school classic it's nothing "groundbreaking" but from a storytelling viewpoint it speaks a deeper message about the pointlessness of war and the untrustworthy behavior of authority and higher powers. A classic that deserves a DVD release and hopefully one day a revival, it's worth the recommendation.

Sami Sadek is a lifelong Transformers and Animi fan, and can often be found propping up bars or appearing in the background of Auto Assembly vids. He has also talks on Youtube, Tumbls on Tumblr and doodles on Deviantart. He has never had a swordfight atop a church whilst a crow watches. Honest.