Golgo 13: The Professional

I seem to be the guy who fills in the gaps here at Mikomi/CAR by writing reviews about Anime which is just barely worth watching. A store was trying to get rid of the used VHS anime to make room for DVDs, so tapes were being sold at the rate of three-for-$10. I needed my Anime fix, but the selection was getting sparse, so I grabbed "The Professional". Before I got around to watching it I read a review on the internet which was so damning that I left the tape on my shelf for at least six months. Recently I came across some more reviews which were more merciful, and decided to give the movie a watch.

I think Mike Toole at "Anime Jump!" discovered the secret of how to enjoy this film: treat it as a comedy. As he puts it, "that's the entertaining thing about Golgo 13: The Professional. It's completely f-----g crazy. It makes absolutely no sense." If I had been trying to take it seriously, I would have been offended by Golgo's unbelievable ability to escape from any threat, no matter how hopeless his situation appears, through luck and/or skill. But you can't take a movie seriously when it includes violence that can only be described as gratuitously gratuitous! Interspersed shots of a gunfight and a woman swimming nude, A dead man spinning in a chair and spraying blood in all directions, a child employed as an assasin, and best of all, the way Golgo finishes off one of Dawson's killers--I could only exclaim "Oh my God!"--while laughing.

I noticed right off that the style of animation was kind of neat, especially for a 1983 production, with all sorts of exotic camera angles, split-screen action, unusual charachter designs, an early example of computer graphics, etc. The Professional is based on a Manga by Takao Saito which has been in publication since around 1970, and the artwork of the movie is said to be faithful to the comics. Having never seen the Manga, I was uncertain whether Golgo 13 was supposed to be a "good guy" or not--he kills a Mafia godfather and a Nazi war criminal, but until near the end of the film his victim Robert Dawson seemed a kind, innocent man who Golgo couldn't possibly have had a justifiable reason to assasinate. It turns out he does, however, in one of several bizarre plot twists contained in the film. It's not easy to like this guy--as Leonard Dawson himself puts it, "If only I were like you--devoid of human sentiment". He's as skillful and dangerous as James Bond, but totally lacks the charm. However, whereas Togo is totally inscrutable the expert hitmen Dawson hires are pathologically evil, so if somebody's gotta take a fall, better them than Golgo. One is responsible for a disturbing rape scene--the box warns that the movie "contains scenes of extreme violence and sexuality" (No kidding!). At the end of the film Golgo happens to run into the victim in a confusing, yet somehow touching scene. Better not tell you too much.

To sum up, this is not your usual anime. Believe it or not, I'm glad I picked this movie up. It wasn't nearly as bad as the first review I read made it sound like--certainly worth $3.33. Yes, it's sexist, ultra-violent, exploitative--but it's just so weird, so absurd, that I couldn't help laughing along with it. I can't believe it's makers didn't expect this. There's something intriguing and fascinating about the mysterious Duke Togo--I wish some more anime based on the manga would be made. To quote Mike Toole once more, "Golgo 13: The Professional isn't a total loss".

My favorite line: "If I have to blow up a city or two in the process, I will!"--Dawson

P.S., Guess what--I found a strongly positive review of "The Professional" at "The Anime Cafe", written by Joe McCulloch: "Although held in contempt by many fans and reviewers... Golgo 13 is actually a deeply original action anime, due to the fact that the "hero" is totally unsympathetic and the "villain" is the major focus of the film's sympathies." (Whether you consider this a novel approach, or just plain foolish, is up to you!)

8/03 #52