Images of the Last Battalion

Images of the Last Battalion

Infobox Film
name = Images of the Last Battalion


director = Koichi Kishita
producer = Koichi Kishita
writer = Koichi Kishita
starring = n/a
music = Koichi Kishita
cinematography = Koichi Kishita
editing = Koichi Kishita
distributor = Digital Hollywood
released = flagicon|Japan 2005
runtime = 2:29 min
country = Japan
language = Japanese
budget =
preceded_by =
followed_by =
imdb_id =

"Images of the Last Battalion" is a 2"29, black and white, Retro-fiction 3DCG/Animation short film directed by Koichi Kishita (岸田 幸士) in 2005, then he was student at the Digital Hollywood graduate school of Tokyo (デジタルハリウッド株式会社). This bootleg work was officially released at the Raiden theater in May 2006, as a trailer for Mamoru Oshii's "Kerberos Panzer Jäger" [" [http://www.watch.impress.co.jp/av/docs/20060524/joqr.htm WatchImpress] "] .

Overview

"Images of the Last Battalion" is a student concept work, it is designed like a trailer and it focuses on a Schutzstaffel battalion equipped with Protect-Gears-like armors and fighting during World War II, and eventually been defeated, hence the title.

Awards

The concept work's original title and length were altered when entering different festivals, hence different designations, including "Image of the LastBattalion" appearing in the 3" title screen added by DFGP officials.

Kishita's self-production impressed Mamoru Oshii as it demonstrates a striking visual influence by one of his own production, "Avalon". Since then, Kishita became member of the Production I.G studio. He debuted in the 3D team of "xxxHolic", the anime adaptation of a manga by Clamp [" [http://www.production-ig.co.jp/contents/works_sp/1290_/s08_/001196.html Production I.G Staff Query] "] .
*" [http://mercury.via.or.jp/dhw/12.wmv Images of the LastBattalion] " (2'29, 01.2005):19th Digital Contents Grand Prix: Digital Creators Competition 2004 (DCAJ): 2nd, "Best Prize"
*" [http://mercury.via.or.jp/dhw/df05/lastbattalion.wmv Image of LastBattalion] " (2'32, 04.2005):Digital Frontier Grand Prix '05 (DFGP): 1st, "Best VFX Award"

A "Kerberos Panzer Cop" tribute

The photography and editing are obviously inspired by Production I.G directors works, such as Oshii's "Avalon" (アヴァロン) feature film released in 2001, from which it borrows various visual effects such as motion blur among other After Effects filters, and Hiroyuki Okiura's "Jin-Roh", particularly the stills used in the prologue of the 1999 feature "anime".

Another strong inspiration could be "Killzone"s CG cutscenes directed by Graham McKenna from the Glasgow based, Axis Animation studio. Some sequences from "Images of the Last Battalion" are restaging of "Killzone"'s promo teaser and video cutscenes based on WWII key themes, e.g. the Nuremberg rally or the Trench warfare. The 2004 Dutch game inspired by the Kerberos saga was finally published in Japan, in 2005, by Sega. "Killzone" was finally released in Asia after the Killzone 3 E3 trailer shock.

The similarities between "Images of the Last Battalion"'s characters and geographical background and the events portrayed in "Kerberos Panzer Jäger" could be interpreted as a direct motivation or inspiration to the drama series. Actually the Panzer Jäger characters were introduced within the saga back in 1999, in the "Kerberos Panzer Cop" part 2 (Act 5) as well as German-built tanks. According to an interview published in the Japanese notorious news website, WatchImpress, Kishita's original short film was modified to become a "trailer" for "Panzer Kerberos Jäger" which was showcased at the drama series' launch party. Cosmetic changes included alteration of the SS imagery, replaced by Jäger emblems, in order to fit the Kerberos saga's thematic universe.

imilarities with "Kerberos Panzer Jäger"

*Characters:SS Panzer Battalion (Normandy) / 101st Panzer Company (101st SS Heavy Panzer Battalion)
*Equipment:Stahlhelm Helmet:Protect-Gears:MG42 machine guns:Stuka diving bombers:Tiger I Panzer tanks
*Location:Europe (explicit reference to the Battle of Normandy)

European controversy

Kishita's work quickly became famous outside Japan through online popular media such as personal blogs and anime/films forums. However a such art work remains controversial in Western countries because of its ambiguous and taboo theme: glorification tribute to the fall of a Schutzstaffel battalion. The massive use of Nazi imagery, from "SS" insignias, to Swastika and Hitler salutes could be interpreted as a Nazi propaganda film outside its Kerberos saga -unofficial- underlying reference, and apart its filmmaking and technical appreciation context.

In European countries such as Germany and France, the criminal or civil codes makes the public showing of the Swastika and other Nazi symbols illegal and punishable, except for scholarly reasons. The situation is different in Japan where the Nazi imagery is not a cultural nor historical taboo.

Notes

ources

* [http://www.dhw.co.jp/df05-review/01.html Images of the Last Battalion@Digital Frontier Grand Prix 2005] ("Japanese")
* [http://www.dcaj.org/ DCAJ Digital Contents Association of Japan] ("Japanese/English")
* [http://www.dhw.co.jp/index.html Digital Hollywood] ("Japanese)
* [http://www.axisanimation.com/ Axis Animation] ("English")
* [http://www.watch.impress.co.jp/av/docs/20060524/joqr.htm Watch Impress] ("Japanese")

ee also

*Battle of Normandy
*101st SS Heavy Panzer Detachment
*Waffen-SS

Media links

* [http://mercury.via.or.jp/dhw/12.wmv Images of the LastBattalion VIDEO] (broadband)
* [http://www.hitman-4.de/gameradio/gr_killzone_interview.wmv Killzone preview VIDEO] (broadband)


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