the audience applauded

Beautiful, moving film.

It is not deep, but it is fun to watch. It does have a bit more of an edge to it than other similar films.

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

There must be a lot of people like me. Older, turned off by Anime's deliberately juvenile Manga artwork, Disney Channel level plots, and voices completely obnoxious to anyone over the age of nineteen. I have enjoyed Cowboy Bebop and Tactics, but that is about it. Tactics at least has a genuine sense of humor that is not completely juvenile, and at least a hint of a thoughtful darker side that is not lifted from cheap scare films.With Flag, the basic artwork is for grownups. Not a triangle mouth or Keane painting set of eyes to be found. Beyond that, the 100% camera, photographic print and web cam viewpoint, with selective focus and hand held movement, is groundbreaking, done to perfection and generally brilliant. The music employed is moving and appropriate, and also very grown up.The narrative content is WAY past anything I have ever seen in Anime. Serious drama, intelligently portrayed. The major themes encompass pretty much everything that is actually important to the life of human beings. I can't recount very many narrative films that covered this much serious ground. The web of life, death, religion, politics, war, ethics, bravery, power, nature, faith, love and the big picture is all woven convincingly into a really first rate film experience. It is very compact for a serially presented film, having been envisioned from the beginning as a limited series. While there is much action, it is presented realistically. No animated recycled Power Rangers rip-offs here.Kids' stuff is fine, but fantasy has its limitations as a story telling medium. This is much deeper and ultimately more rewarding and satisfying. Anime has been giving us The Three Stooges and Star Wars. Now I realize it could also give us Wild Strawberries, Pather Panchali and Cross Of Iron.The details are outstanding. Just one example, I had no idea that the camera at the end of the credits in each episode was setting up for the final resolution. I am going beyond recommending Flag as Anime, I am giving it a top rating as a movie.

FLAG is a new series (well, relatively new; it just came out this month in the US and originally aired in Japan in 2006) that takes a different approach to telling a war story.-This is a Spoiler Alert!- During a brutal civil war in an East Asian country, a single photograph taken by a female Japanese photographer becomes a symbol of hope, a symbol of peace. It is a picture of UN soldiers and rebels hoisting a flag together. The flag itself is now a physical symbol of the possibility of peace. However, when that flag is stolen, the UN recruits her and her teacher/mentor to join a special forces unit consisting of pilots and new, prototype bipedal combat machines to get the flag back...but as it turns out, the _real_ reason for the war is a lot more complicated...and a lot darker.--End spoiler-- Of course, this is just a bare-bones summary. What really struck me about the series was how it was filmed. The whole series--only 13 episodes--was "shot" to make it look like it was cobbled together from video cameras, digital cameras--it has a strong documentary feel, with the cameras going in and out of focus, shaky hand-held footage, and still photographs. I have never seen anything like it in animation before...and I've seen a lot.I wanted to see this show because the creator/director was Ryosuke Takahashi. I seriously respect his works, because he knows how to tell gritty, character-driven war stories that happen to have a lot of cool mecha. His most famous work is ARMORED TROOPER VOTOMS (1983-1984) and FLAG is a worthy follow-up. Once again, Takahashi is never afraid to show us the true horrors of war and its effects.FLAG is an excellent, ADULT animated series. It is only 13 episodes, and the action is not high, but if you like serious, character-driven stories (and if you're a fan of BATTLESTAR GALACTICA), please see this show, which is now on sale in America. It isn't NARUTO or BLEACH--but it is another fine gem from one of anime's legendary directors.