Angel’s Egg / Tenshi no Tamago

Review by: John Fragglepuss Evans

Genre: Fantasy, Drama, Dementia, Artsy

First Released: December 1985, 71-minute OVA

Summary: An unnamed girl lives alone in the remains of an undetermined city protecting a mysterious egg. An unnamed boy crosses her path. He has questions about the egg she’s protecting as well as her general situation. They are in the company of one another for a short time before the film reaches its conclusion.

The animation and soundtrack are two of the highlights of Angel’s Egg. The film has little dialogue and there are times where several minutes can pass without a word being spoken, but the space is filled with haunting music that sets the scene and creates an uneasy feeling appropriate for the post-apocalyptic setting. The slow pacing and lack of dialogue remind me of horror films during the same era with slow moving plot lines that allow for a significant amount of personal reflection. Sometimes with this style of film I find myself immersed in the storytelling and thinking heavily about the story that’s unfolding. I didn’t feel this way with Angel’s Egg. Instead I found myself thinking, “It’s been three minutes and the animation has not changed save the small fire crackling away”.

You might enjoy this if: You want to view something that feels more like animated art than a story-based film.

You might not like it if: You want a more traditional film. Angel’s Egg is incredibly slow in its pacing with hardly anything occurring from beginning to end. It leaves you a lot of time to watch the screen and listen to the soundtrack while nothing is happening with the animation.

Similar Series: Serial Experiments Lain, Ergo Proxy, Vampire Hunter D, Metropolis

Note to the Viewer: Angel’s Egg was written by Mamoru Oshii, who himself stated in “The Cinema of Mamoru Oshii: Fantasy, Technology and Politics” he does not know what the film is about. He also stated in “Stray Dog of Anime: The Films of Mamoru Oshii” that Angel’s Egg kept him from getting work for years.

Angel’s Egg Trailer by fokkusu1991

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