The evolution of the male protagonist in anime and manga is an interesting one, over the years we’ve seen how the personality and style has changed to the male character and how today it manages to leave a different impact on the audience. A “Badass” lead character in Anime or Manga has a different variety of characters to choose from, whether it be Guts from Berserk, Kenshiro from Fist of the North Star or Cobra from Space Adventure Cobra; the male leading character based on their masculinity and their somewhat tough personality is what makes them iconic characters in anime (especially older anime). One of those characters which has been running for over 30 or 40 years still stands as a “Man’s Man” in this field, one of them is Golgo 13. |
Based on the Manga by Takao Saito, Golgo 13 (otherwise known by his pseudonym Duke Togo) is a professional assassin whose real name, origin, nationality, age etc. are entirely unknown. Since 1968 the story of Golgo 13 focuses on the main character taking on an assassination based on the request of the different client and after he has completed the task he then vanishes never to be seen or heard from until the next job is available to him. The reference to the name Golgo refers to the hill where Jesus Christ was crucified and number 13 (considered an unlucky number) due to the 13 participants at the Last Supper. Golgo 13 as a medium has been adapted into live action movies, two anime movies and a TV series that ran from 2008 to 2009. As a character Golgo 13 has had a run in with well-known figures from history such as Nelson Mandela (where he spent time with him in Prison), being partially responsible for the death of Princess Diana whilst assassinating a fictional counterpart of Prince Dodi Al-Fayed, even going so far as shot the ballots of the 2000 presidential election that Al Gore won, Golgo 13 has been all over and has left his mark on the anime and manga industry.
The film “The Professional” tells the story where upon Golgo 13 assassinates Robert Dawson (the son of wealthy oil baron Leonard Dawson). As he carries out his daily routine of hired kills for various clients Leonard Dawson does everything in his power to see that Golgo 13 is killed and his son is avenged by unleashing what can be considered a Christ Almighty perfect storm of violence at the hands of mercenaries, the CIA, the US army all hired by Leonard Dawson to take out this one lone Assassin, over the course of the film however the character of Leonard Dawson spirals into complete insanity as he risks so much and puts his own company at stake just to avenge the death of his son and even so much as put the people that are closest to him in terrible circumstances all while the character of Golgo 13 eventually blazes away through the fodder to get to Dawson.
Having seen this movie in my teens during the Sci-Fi Anime years I didn’t know what to think of this movie at first, the more I watched it though on repeated viewing the better it gets. From a series that focuses on a stone-faced, emotionless and very much so personality less character Golgo 13 relies heavily on the influence of the main character and what he has done for those around him as opposed to us following the main character. Who he has killed and what affect it has for the other characters and how it changes throughout the story, The Professional is a rather entertaining movie in where the story itself is a rather pitiful one. There are no heroes or villains and no one to really root for in regards to what a typical story would usually have, instead what I find works about this movie is how real the characters are despite the setting of how this story is laid out to be what you would expect from an action movie made in the 80’s.
The movie itself really focuses on two characters, Golgo 13 and Leonard Dawson. As mentioned Golgo 13 is described as an emotionless, stone-faced, dedicated, quiet and very skilled assassin who speaks very little, the character shows really no emotion when being asked to take an assassination job depending how affordable it is and will be more than willing to carry out the task and then never see the client again after the job is done. That said throughout the film when we see him take several gun shots, punches, knife wounds etc., although the character appears stoic and very cyborg in some regards he is shown to be vulnerable and not as indestructible as one would think. As well as being a skilled Assassin the one thing he is known to get more of is his fair share of sex with women, with which he does a lot of in this film and the main manga itself. The character itself is a force of nature as he outruns everything that comes at him head on and does everything possible to take them out so he can cover his tracks as well as complete the job, the movie itself while we see him doing various jobs isn’t really focused on him as it’s focused more on what is being put up against him and him trying to stop it. The character of Golgo 13 itself is enigmatic because although he is the star he takes on the role of a background character while the story rolls on without him.
The character of Leonard Dawson however is who we are focusing on and how his journey through this movie is a somewhat tragic one, as he is about to step down as head of his company Dawson Enterprises he passes the torch onto his son Robert Dawson. But all that horribly fades away as Robert Dawson is then killed by Golgo 13 which the movie cleverly sets up a rather interesting plot twist at the end and tells you why the hit was carried out, so now Leonard Dawson is a shell of his former self he does everything in his power to hunt down Golgo 13 and kill him by hiring the CIA, the US Army and the FBI and by using whatever assets are available at his disposal. However what makes the story tragic for Leonard as it destroys those around him, his daughter in law and widow of Robert Dawson Laura who he hands to one of his assassins to be raped and have her sanity broken, his granddaughter Emily who he has sent along with his manservant Albert to kill Golgo 13, and fail. So ultimately what you are seeing is the downfall of one character that is doing so much to take down another character and commit a terrible and cataclysmic suicide not just on himself but everything he has worked so hard to build.
The rest of the cast while they are another major focus are pretty much fuel for the opposing leads, from the women that Golgo 13 has a passionate and sexual engagement with, the hired assassins who try to kill him, the Dawson family that psychologically destroy themselves because of the death of Robert, the informants and suppliers who are connected to Golgo 13 himself they really are to lead the main leads to their conclusion of the story. While they aren’t developed well they serve an importance and offer so much in the means of little moments that give the story something to keep you really invested in, to pay attention to the minor details and the iconography which this movie manages to relish in rather well. Character Development isn’t so much a part of this film, Character Devolution is the main part of this because you are focusing on the supporting cast interact with the leads and how they’re story devolves and what harm it brings on themselves.
From an audio perspective in this movie, the score by Toshiyuki Ohmori is rather good. The score has a mix of laid back saxophone for the sex scenes and the scenes with just Golgo 13, a tense and pumping tone for the action scenes and some melancholy moody tones for moments involving the characters being in a rather depressing situation, so there is a strong Blues and Jazz influence in this movie. The English Dub by Streamline holds up incredibly well with a wide range of talent at the helm, Gregory Snegoff plays Golgo 13 like a typical action hero by coming across as stoic and stern. However despite the character of Golgo 13 not having much to say Snegoff also plays the assassin Snake, so in a voice role where you have one actor playing two characters you can hear the engaging tussle of one actor displaying a wide range in a fight scene playing two characters. Michael McConnohie plays Leonard Dawson flawlessly, he displays a calm tone but then flies off the handle and gives an outstanding and heart-breaking performance where you hear lines being roared at and expressed with so much emotion that you can see what was given for Michael to work with and play the character as a broken man on the brink of insanity. The rest of the supporting talents are great, names such as Michael Forest, Tony Oliver, Edie Mirman, Jeff Winkless, David Povall, Steve Kramer, Kerrigan Mahan each do a wonderful job by playing the supporting characters in this movie. In particular Streamline voice actor Mike Reynolds who plays the character of Bob Bragen displays a loud, ruthless and incredibly commanding characteristic when playing this character and he does it so well that the dub would feel hollow without the presence of Mike Reynolds.
Overall Golgo 13: The Professional is an interesting movie, interesting in that so much of it focuses on the characters threatening the main character than focusing on the main character himself. The investment of the destruction of Leonard Dawson as he tries to take out this Assassin is what the story drives on and what really makes this an interesting but also tragic tale. A product of its time and easily one of the more recognisable anime movies of the 1980’s, so much to offer and it does not waste a single second in the energy it has to give you the entertainment you want.
Highly Recommended.
Sami Sadek is a lifelong Transformers and Anime 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, doodles on Deviantart and is a regular co-host on this very site's Cyberritz. He has never had a swordfight atop a church whilst a crow watches. Honest. |