Miyazaki’s underrated anime series is beautiful, heart warming and essential.
75/100
Original Release: 1978
Director: Hayao Miyazaki
Cast: Norika Ohara, Mieko Nobusawa, Kazuyo Aoki
Favourite Quote:
“You still do these sorts of things? Holding and waving around guns and such? Did you learn nothing from the great Disaster! That way of thinking destroyed the world! Don't you see that!?”
“You should talk! You were the adults then; you started the war! We were still children! We children went through many painful experiences in order to survive! Do you understand? You have no right to talk big; you're one of the irresponsible adults. . . who triggered off the war and have been reduced to savages!”
Favourite Shot:
Conan, the titular character of Hayao Miyazaki’s Future Boy Conan, can: hold his breathe underwater for a seemingly unending amount of time; lift an obscene amount of weight above his head; use his toes basically as hands (which comes in handy when pushed off the top of a skyscraper); run faster than anyone; defeat any human or animal that stands in his way (a shark in the first episode is the least of his troubles); and do all this while being a child no older than 12.
You would expect a character like Conan to also be mature in mind and a maybe a little arrogant. But the best thing about Conan isn’t any of his physical strengths, it is the way that, despite everything he has seen and goes through, he still remains a child inside.
Future Boy Conan is set in a future world where mankind is almost extinct. A terrible war fought with ultra magnetic weapons caused earthquakes and tsunamis and shifted the Earth off of its axis. The continents were ripped apart and sunk below the sea. And the survivors were left to live off of this leftover land.
The first episode begins with Conan and his grandfather believing they may be the only two humans left. And then a girl named Lana is found washed up on their beach.
She tells stories of two other islands full of people. Her island, High Harbor, is a utopian society that have developed themselves in close contact with nature. And the other island, Industria, is full of the same greedy and power hungry humans that caused all the problems in the first place.
The rest of the 24 episode series follows Conan and Lana as they attempt to bring the people of both islands together so that the world can begin again in harmony with each other and nature.
The show is mainly concerned with juxtaposing the innocence and purity of children and the closed mindedness and cruelness of adults. Miyazaki often places importance on how the children of the show think differently to the adults surrounding them.
Future Boy Conan is mainly concerned with illustrating that these perspectives are often ignored and ridiculed despite coming from a place that adults simply cannot access anymore.
A highlight episode is when Conan first meets the other child character of Jimsy. Conan arrives on Jimsy’s island and they begin competing against each other in tests such as running races and other physical competitions. After finishing all of these they sit down next to each other, both out of breath and decide to become best friends. And that is one whole episode of Conan.
Conan, and Miyazaki in my opinion, is at its best when it has these episodes with very little plot. The show can, at times, get bogged down by all the different plot ideas and threads. And it's simple episodes like these that can communicate so much with so little.
There is a stretch of episodes near the middle of the show where Conan, Jimsy and Lana all settle at High Harbor. They work, play in the beautiful nature surrounding them and eat delicious food. Peaceful moments before the inevitable final battle, but some of the greatest episodes of the show.
They truly communicate the peaceful and fulfilling lives humans could be living if they only could gain peace with themselves and the world around them. The animation, particularly in these parts, is just full of joy and passion for the world around us, and it is a pleasure to watch.
The adult characters in Conan are all complex and multi faceted. Captain Dyce, Monsley and Grandpa Lao all show different sides of themselves. It is clear Miyazaki refuses to make characters that are completely one sided. But the child characters are always the highlights.
Despite dragging a little, Future Boy Conan is a solid anime show that often makes you feel warm and fuzzy inside. There are certainly some top tier Miyazaki moments within it and it features all of the familiar Miyazaki themes.
But most important of all it wants its older audience to learn that the innocence and purity of a child, and their own inner child, is a valuable asset and one that is vital to the continued existence of humanity.
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