Grey Digital Target

The blurb on the box claims that this is a story for the generation of former Yugoslavia and Rwanda. It goes on to say that this is one of the greatest anime films. In both cases this is something of an overstatement.

However "Grey" is a literate SF story which owes a lot to "The Twilight Zone" and "Logan's Run" and is far more worthwhile than many of the animes which have been released in the West. The messages such as the pointless of war and the untrustworthiness of authority are pretty obvious but always worth saying. It's a shame therefore that despite the script's ambitions, the plot is ultimately resolved with a massive gunfight, plenty of deaths and purest melodrama. Animation is fair, in that familiar early eighties "Battle of the Planets" style. Its a diverting 78 minutes but unlikely to rock your world. One tip, make sure you watch it right to the end of the credits for the final image.