天使のたまご

TENSHI NO TAMAGO

OVA

STATUS
COMPLETE
EPISODES
1
RELEASE
December 15, 1985
LENGTH
71 min

DESCRIPTION

In a desolate and dark world full of shadows, lives one little girl who seems to do nothing but collect water in jars and protect a large egg she carries everywhere. A mysterious man enters her life... and they discuss the world around them.

(Source: Anime News Network)

CAST

Shounen
Jinpachi Nezu
Shoujo
Mako Hyoudou

EPISODES

Dubbed

| | |

Not available on crunchyroll

REVIEWS

Peng
70/100
Cryptic, visceral, and evocative
_Angel's Egg_ is an enigma. A vintage classic from director Mamoru Oshii, it is difficult to critique this film like your standard anime because, well, this is quite unlike anything else I've seen before. Arthouse to the bones, prepare to be perplexed. One of the things that makes _Angel's Egg_ so unique is that it doesn't conform to the status quo of film construction. It lacks a 'plot' or 'characters' in the usual sense, but rather uses such elements in conjunction with visuals and sound to produce an expressionistic... something. The 'plot' revolves around a young girl living in a desolate, crumbling world, seemingly alone. She spends her days collecting water in jars and clinging to a large egg before she encounters a mysterious man. The characters are just as enigmatic; barely ten lines of dialogue are exchanged throughout the film's entirety and their actions are fairly limited. Visually, _Angel's Egg_ presents some of the most haunting and intriguing imagery I've ever encountered. This is really quite high quality stuff, especially considering it was released in 1985 (when Studio DEEN was seeing better days). Everything is harsh, somber and provocative - it evokes intense feeling and emotion, I just can't pinpoint what specifically. And the colours! The landscape is surprisingly dynamic, from clusters of decaying Gothic architecture to large open plains, but everything seems to be constructed from stone, rain and wind. There is nothing else. It's chilling. Background artist [Shinji Kimura](http://anilist.co/staff/100373/ShinjiKimura) (_[Akira](http://anilist.co/anime/47/Akira)_) really struts his stuff here. The cumulative effect of all of this is a heightened sense of surrealism. It's chilling. It's awe-inspiring. It's beautiful. In attempting to interpret this film, acknowledging the vast amounts of symbolism is vital. This isn't particularly difficult as every aspect of the film is symbolic for one thing or another, from the opening shot to the closing one. There is a heavy emphasis on Christian imagery, which really didn't speak much to me given my limited care for the subject. It's heavily esoteric. For some, the film tackles the struggles of maintaining faith; an exploration of religious quasi-existentialism if you will. Apparently, Oshii himself was training to become a priest and may have had difficulties dealing with his own faith before taking up directing, and thus the film is extremely personal. Faith, by many accounts, is a fickle thing. It is a source of immense strength and capable of great growth, but it is also fragile and is frequently tested. This is what comprises _Angel's Egg_'s allegorical core. Still, if all else fails, consider the feelings the film evokes above the thoughts. Even at only 71 minutes long, the pacing can be slow as not much actually happens and the film is littered with freeze-frames. That said, every moment of this film should be properly considered to gain the most from it, as everything communicates something and has some value behind it. When watching _Angel's Egg_, don't expect to be satisfied. Entertainment was probably the last thing on Oshii's mind when constructing this. Think and feel. Retrospectively, the film has a very Eliotian feel to it, both in theme and in design. Ultimately, different people will gain varying amounts from the film. Personally, the religious overtones were a bit overwhelming for my tastes, but others will appreciate it more (and less) than I did. For some, this film will fly completely over their heads and for others it will be immensely more profound. Those with a stronger theological knowledge will perhaps benefit the most from this film. Still, _Angel's Egg_ is undeniably gorgeous. Whether its visual motifs will mean anything to you is one thing, but their haunting presentation is sure to leave an impression.
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CountZero
85/100
This is a gorgeous, darkly beautiful work of film that’s probably the most surreal work that Oshii has made.
This is a gorgeous, darkly beautiful work of film that’s probably the most surreal work that Oshii has made (helped by the fact that Yoshitaka Amano did much of the art for the film and co-wrote the story). It is the first film I’ve seen that I don’t feel qualified to analyze.

Maybe it’s my autism preventing me from seeing some of the underlying metaphors or understanding some of the film’s imagery. Maybe I need more knowledge of art and the vocabulary therein. Maybe I need to know more about philosophy. It’s depressing, tragic, sorrowful, and melancholic. It’s a film which I’d definitely describe as an art film, in that you look at the film, and afterwards you don’t talk about the plot, or the characters, but more about the emotional context the film provoked, the same way you don’t necessarily talk about the story of a painting in an art gallery.

I really want this film to get a release from the Criterion Collection, because I’d totally watch another 77 minutes of film scholars and animators talking about this film and the themes and imagery therein. Just so long as they stuck to the film – I really don’t want to hear a whole bunch of general bitching about how this is the only work of anime that’s had any artistic merit the same way I hate it when film historians complain about special effects are killing cinema as a medium*.

All of that said, this is an incredibly slow paced film. It’s dark, and there are a whole lot of scenes of nothing exactly happening – which you should expect if you’re familiar with Oshii’s work. It’s something that causes the film to not benefit as much from repeat viewings. There’s enough slow bits there, that on a repeat viewing you’re more likely to gloss over the film, rather than notice new bits that you missed the first time.

I completely understand why this film tanked at the Japanese box office – indeed, this is the kind of film that is never commercially viable. However, due to the nature of animation as a medium (and the costs therein), when a film puts this much detail into its animation, and so much craft into its art in general, you have a situation where it ends up costing more than say, something like Koyaanisqatsi or The Holy Mountain. An additional problem is the fact that, well, this is a film that has very minimal dialog, but consequently every line is important. Considering that this film has not received a legal US DVD release (at least on its own), if you import the film and watch it without subtitled, there are bits of the narrative that you’re going to miss, especially when you come to the film’s conclusion.

In spite of all that, should you watch this film? Yes. Once. Maybe a few additional times if this movie gets a Criterion Collection release with a whole bunch of material from film historians. Or maybe if it gets a release from Discotek Media with some audio commentary by anime historians like Carl Horn, Brian Ruh, or Frederick Schodt. Or if you’re planning on getting into animation and want to soak in all the wonderful little technical details of this film. Otherwise, just see it once. But see it.

Unless you have depression. Then you probably shouldn’t see it.

*Looking at you, audio commentary for The Wild Bunch.
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PlatinuMan
60/100
A strange film that masks itself with symbolism to create something truly unique
Angel’s Egg is an experimental film created by Yoshitaka Amano and directed by Mamoru Oshii. The film takes place in a strange abandoned world, where the skeletal remains of animals and murky rivers meet Neo-Gothic structures. The film centers on only two characters – they are, supposedly, the only two alive in this film. One is a pale-skinned, white haired girl, who is fascinated by filling up round flasks with water and who protects an egg with unknown contents. The other is a brown-skinned, white haired boy, who accompanies the girl midway through the film. Not much is known about him, other than that he carries a cross-shaped object with him.

The movie doesn’t really have a linear story and is presented more as a series of scenes. We see the boy and girl, whether individually or together, encounter and react to their world around them. Despite being labeled as a fantasy, these locations themselves aren’t anything beyond fantastic – they range from parks to a small town. What’s featured inside of these places is where things get bizarre. In the town, for example, statues of fishermen hunt shadows of giant fish despite there being no more fish in this world. These small oddities make it so no matter the “scene” being viewed, something strange will occur to let the viewer know this isn’t the world they know.

Angel’s Egg is a hard movie to give a review, largely due to it being more of an experimental piece than a conventional anime movie or series. It has a mysterious atmosphere about it and isn’t very explicit about its premise or characters. Character dialogue is sparse and symbolic images are used often. Because of this, a majority of a viewer’s enjoyment will be tied to how they interpret each scene and how much they wish to invest themselves into the movie. There is a hint as to what the creator’s intentions were. Director Mamoru Oshii had lost his faith in Christianity shortly before film production and that alone can be the key to connecting a lot of the film together. On the flip-side, Oshii has reportedly been quoted as saying that even he does not know what the film is about. If this is true, then this film is more of an expression of feeling than of actual thought. It is certainly a product of its time. Humorously enough, it was brought to the U.S. and interspersed with live-action footage with the goal of making it a post-apocalyptic thriller. How anybody saw commercial prospects from this movie, I’ll never know. Besides, to tie in with the themes of the movie, I’d argue the film is more post-rapture than post-apocalyptic.

The film makes reference to religious (mostly Christian) beliefs, which tie in to Oshii’s loss of faith. Stained glass windows featuring fish and the boy’s cross shaped object are a few of the smaller references to these beliefs. Most notable is the boy’s corrupted version of Chapters 7-8 of Genesis. He claims that when the dove never came back, Noah and everyone on the ark remained there, soon forgetting about the dove and even themselves. Between these symbols and long stretches of silence are short scenes of dialogue that help shape who these characters are. For instance, the girl expresses her desire to see whatever is inside the egg, promising a place of warmness and comfort despite the cold rainy weather outside. The boy comes off as more cynical while the girl is hopeful and optimistic. Because of the lack of characters, having these two contrast each other is a smart decision. This isn’t found in just their attitude. The girl seems more familiar with her surroundings while the boy clearly is new to the area. Even if the events of the anime aren’t fully explained, moments where the girl shows or warns the boy of something help bring me closer to the world of Angel’s Egg, wanting to know more about the peculiarity that permeates this world.

The art for this film is very gloomy, preferring darker colors to give the movie a more melancholy tone. The only exception is found at the beginning, where the boy encounters an eye-like structure with statues on it amidst a scarlet backdrop. The film has decent animation and captures things like the fluidity of water or the facial expressions of the girl well. However, it does have a few flaws. Long stills are usually used to impact an important scene or draw out a feeling of finality. It’s used a few times here but I felt that they went on for a bit too long. It became less of a feeling of impact and more of a way of filling up time. Additionally, animation in the fish hunting scene and the girl’s awakening scene are reused. I’m a bit more forgiving on this since I know it was most likely a low budget film and it’s not as easily apparent. The soundtrack may be the weakest element here. Earlier, I said the movie was a product of its time and I meant it in more ways than one. Tape hiss is heard constantly throughout the film and the higher frequencies found in whistles and screams are harsher than they need be. The music itself is appropriate for the film, with a booming male chorus for the fish hunting scene and a piece for violin and female voice used during the title screen. The only true unconventional piece that comes to mind is the credits piece, which is a sole piano that uses repetition to mask its odd melody line. The voice acting is fine, as sparse as it is – the only negative would be Mako Hyodou’s yelling voice, but this is more a flat reaction than an actual critique.

Overall, I give Angel’s Egg a 6. It’s an odd, almost mythic movie that enshrouds itself in mystery. Despite its gloomy appearance and avant-garde leanings, it doesn’t push a viewer away. Instead, it gives them opportunities to dive into its world and leave it haunting their memory. This film will entice those liked more experimental works such as BLAME! or Serial Experiments Lain. Even if you don’t care for those shows, I’d still ask that you give it a chance. At only a little over an hour long, it’s worth watching at least once.

Do you like or dislike this anime? If you haven't watched it, are you encouraged to watch it or not? Leave a comment on my profile telling me what you think of the anime and/or my review.

Thanks for reading and have a blessed day!
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