Future War 198X

Future War 198X (フューチャーウォー198X年, Fyūchā Wō Sen Kyū Hachi Ekkusu-nen) is a 1982 Japanese

Future War 198X was created by Toei Animation, but was animated by outsourced animators. Prior to its release, the film sparked controversy in Japan over reports, based on an early script, that the film had a strongly pro-war narrative, and its production and release were boycotted by over 30 organizations; this led to the script being greatly reworked, shifting to an anti-war film by release.

Future War 198X was released on October 30, 1982. Retrospective reviews criticized the film as being slow-paced and having a weak, unconvincing message.

A German dub was later released for home video as Null Zeit (Zero Hour) in West Germany and Das Ende aller Tage (The End of All Days) in East Germany. An English version, also for home video, was released by Wizard Video in Australia as Future War; however, this was not a dub and instead had the original Japanese audio with English voiceovers, as well as a shortened runtime and licensed music replacing the original film score. In March 2018, the Japanese version was distributed digitally for a single day through PlayStation Video. Due to the film's limited distribution, especially internationally, copies of Future War 198X are considered particularly rare.^[2]

Plot

In September 198X, the

On

The fighting rapidly escalates and spills out of Europe as additional theaters open in the Middle East, Central America, and the Pacific Ocean. China in particular allies with the Soviets to invade much of East Asia, but internal racial tensions and disputes over occupied territory eventually lead China to attack the Russian Far East. Gibson receives a ceasefire proposal from Orlov, but rejects its demands for massive territorial gains; Secretary of State Girard theorizes Orlov himself may not have sent it. Meanwhile in Moscow, Kutsov convenes the Politburo to remove Bugarin and draft a proper ceasefire, but Bugarin arrives and launches a coup d'état, ordering Kutsov and the entire Politburo arrested for "treason".

Bugarin orders a

Space Ranger is launched in time to counter another wave of Soviet ICBMs, but three laser modules are overwhelmed and destroyed, the fourth is crippled, and the Voyager is severely damaged, leaving Wataru as the last surviving crew member. In Moscow, Bugarin, confronted by a recently freed Kutsov, reveals he will fire a final volley of MIRV-loaded ICBMs at the last standing cities in the U.S., crushing all remaining opposition and allowing Soviet communism to reign uncontested. Realizing he has gone mad, Kutsov and Bugarin's former supporters attempt to stop him, but Bugarin manages to launch the ICBMs before being shot and killed. Meanwhile, Laura arrives at Vandenberg, and Professor Brown allows her to board a shuttle sent to rendezvous with Wataru. In space, Wataru repairs the fourth module and, assisted by crewed Soviet satellite Baikal, manages to shoot down most of the MIRVs except one bound for Los Angeles. Unable to get a clear shot, Wataru flies the Voyager extremely close to the MIRV, destroying it but knocking him unconscious and throwing him into space. As the American shuttle with Laura aboard flies to rescue him, the Soviet Union dispatches Baikal to meet them, and Gibson and Kutsov watch the rescue from their respective spacecraft's camera feeds. As the rescue spacecraft close in, Wataru regains consciousness to see the Sun rise from behind the battered Earth, its inhabitants now set on world peace.^[2]

Cast

• Kin'ya Kitaōji as Wataru Mikumo (Robert Manning in the English version)
• Masako Natsume as Laura Gains
• Hidekatsu Shibata as Burt Gains
• Keiichi Noda as Professor Brown
• Yoshio Kaneuchi as U.S. President Gibson
• Osamu Kobayashi as U.S. Secretary of State Girard
• Tamio Ōki as U.S. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff McCoy
• Masashi Amenomori as Soviet Premier Orlov
• Yōichi Miyakawa as Soviet First Deputy Premier Kutsov
• Takeshi Aono as Soviet Minister of Defense Bugarin
• Chikao Otsuka
  as Lieutenant Colonel Stroganov
• Yasuo Tanaka as Koiso
• Gorō Naya as JSDF Commanding General Tōno

Production

It is unclear when production on Future War 198X started, but it was primarily conducted by Toei Animation. Most of the production staff had previously worked on the Space Battleship Yamato franchise. Toei Animation's managing director Akinori Watanabe stated Toei's intention was to produce the film in a "realistic" art style with "Western-style images"; to this end, the film's aesthetic was mostly influenced by Japanese film illustrator Noriyoshi Ohrai, who also created illustrations, posters, and concept art.^[3]

Production was assisted by former Japan Self-Defense Forces Major General Iwano Masataka, the film's music was performed by the New Japan Philharmonic, and the film's costumes were designed by French fashion designer André Courrèges. Production cost a total of approximately 600 million yen.^[4]

Controversy

In February 1981, Toei Animation's

Future War 198X was controversial in Japan due to its depictions of nuclear war and the aftermath of war, and it was argued that the film glorified warfare, was right-wing propaganda, or was otherwise unsuitable for children to watch. The film was boycotted and protested by Toei Animation's labor union, joined by approximately 38 organizations, including the Japan Association for the Protection of Children, the Mothers Association of Japan, the Japan Teachers Union in Tokyo, and even the formation of a dedicated protest movement by these organizations called "Group Against 198X".^[4][7] On May 25, 1981, a physical protest against the film's release was held at the Japan Education Center in Tokyo.^[4][7] The goals of each organization reportedly differed: parent–teacher associations complained that war was being promoted in a positive light, while labor unions argued the Soviet Union was portrayed too negatively and criticized how Toei's animators were required to work on a film they ideologically disagreed with.^[3] This controversy was timely, as Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone was perceived to be staunchly militaristic and supportive of a Japanese nuclear weapons program, and over the years after the Future War 198X controversy the anime industry's labor unions continued to lobby against Nakasone's policies.^[3]

The April 1982 issue of Animage covered the controversy in an article by Koichi Kato, in which several Future War 198X staff members, including Toei managing director Akinori Watanabe, provided details on the film's development and responded to criticisms, interspersed with commentary from parent–teacher association members and labor union officials.^[4][3] Watanabe denied that the film was pro-war or promoted right-wing beliefs, instead positioning the film as a "moving Guernica" and stating "showing the audience what would happen if World War III broke out is a true suggestion for peace."^[4] Animation director Tomoharu Katsumada also stated he would never make a pro-war film, having himself lived through World War II as a child.^[4] Both notably criticized the idea that the film was intended for youth to begin with, and lambasted the anime industry's standard of pandering to the toy and figurine industry to market to children (the film featured real weapons that were not toys, making marketing this way difficult).^[4][3]

In the May 1982 issue of Animage, the Future War 198X staff's response was criticized by Gundam animator and character designer Yoshikazu Yasuhiko in his monthly column in the magazine.^[8][3] Yasuhiko criticized Watanabe's response as "reeking of hypocrisy", opined the film did not deserve its high budget, and argued the medium of anime was "unsuitable for a serious consideration of war".^[8] Yasuhiko had made a statement on that topic in the April 1982 issue, opining it was better to not touch upon war and politics if one was unable to handle that subject matter correctly;^[9] in this context, Yasuhiko believed Future War 198X did not have a serious grasp on war and politics and would be unable to properly communicate its messages to an audience.^[3]

In response to the controversy, director Toshio Masuda rewrote the film to take on a strong anti-war theme by its release.^[10]

Release

Future War 198X was initially intended to be screened at the Cannes Film Festival, but this never happened.^[3]

A German dub was released in West and East Germany. The German dub removed particularly bloody and violent scenes, reducing the film's runtime by approximately 10 minutes. The film was reportedly also released in

An English version of the film was released on VHS in Australia by Wizard Video. This version was not a full English dub, but instead retained the original Japanese dialogue while providing an English voiceover that summarized the events of each scene. It featured music by Tangerine Dream, Asia, and Rush. Scenes relating to Japan's involvement in the war were also removed, and the character Wataru Mikumo was renamed "Robert Manning". This English cut was only 90 minutes long, compared to the original Japanese version's length of 125 minutes long, and the German cut's length of 115 minutes.^[2][11][12]

From March 30 to March 31, 2018, Sony Interactive Entertainment Japan Asia distributed Future War 198X through PlayStation Video in Japan only, marking the first and only time the film had been officially distributed in a digital format.^[13]

Reception

Matteowatz, reviewing Future War 198X in an article about it in Animétudes, described the film as "pretty bad". His criticism particularly centered on the film's supposed stance that, per Watanabe, "there are no good guys"—which he noted was not true, with the film instead presenting the United States as ultimately saving the world from a crisis started by the Soviet Union. He also noted the film placed a significant focus on Japan and the country's military capabilities, with a Japanese protagonist ultimately saving humanity, placing the Japanese perspective at the forefront.^[3]

Sean O'Mara, writing in Zimmerit, criticized the film as being "drawn-out" and "ugly". He greatly criticized the anti-war theming as "tacked on" and "unconvincing", arguing the ending sent the message that nuclear war can be won and that "as much as war sucks, having the best technology is still the most important thing". He also compared the film to the stronger anti-war messages of 1983's WarGames and The Day After, describing Future War 198X in comparison as "exploitive; reveling in the imagery of the war without much consideration for the potential outcome." However, he did praise Ohrai's artwork for the film, but still argued it was "befitting of a much more interesting film".^[6]

anime-games.co.uk noted Ohrai's artwork did not accurately reflect the content of the film, which they described as "mostly talking" and lacking much footage of the effects of the nuclear exchange or the actual war itself. They greatly criticized the film's ending as drastically downplaying the effects of global nuclear war (Earth and the survivors recover unusually quickly, and all of humanity bonds together for peace), describing it as "completely implausable and undercut[ting] the drama of everything that came before it".^[2]

Reviewing the English version of the film, Vintagecoats criticized the unusual narration style, sound design, and rock music score as detracting from the dramatic experience and "drain[ing] all the potential color from the world of this film".^[11]

Anime historian David Merrill was quoted as describing Future War 198X as "a big, tedious sludge of a picture".^[6]

Novelization

A novelization of Future War 198X was published by Jitsugyo no Nihon Sha in 1982, written by Masataka Iwano, who also worked on the film as a planning coordinator.

References