"Future War Stories From the East: The Arcadia of My Youth" Topic

"In the inky blackness of space there are those that seek freedom and adventure far from the control and laws of governments. They wish for the peace and simpler times among the goodness of nature. That is the call of the utopia of nature called by the Greeks as "Arcadia" and serves as a powerful concept for artists, thinkers, dreamers, and creators. This concept was applied to one of the most famous science fiction anime/manga character of all time: Captain Harlock. Brainchild of anime founding fathers Leiji Matsumoto, this character has been kicking around the anime/manga scene on both shores since the 1970's and it was in the 1982 animated film "The Arcadia of My Youth", that Harlock finally got a story that was worthy of his eye patch and laser-sword. In this installment of Future War Stories from the East, we will be examining one of my favorite anime films of all time and trying to support why I believe it is the finest work that Harlock as ever been a part of.

Who is Captain Phantom F. Harlock The short answer? A badass space pirate and one of the most awesome early anime anti-heroes of all time. For many early Western fans of anime, he (and maybe GoGo 13) was the symbol of the uber-cool anime characters. Many of my friends that were into early anime, loved Harlock…but, we knew little about him and his adventures in the seas of stars at the helm of the Arcadia. When asked about the origins of Harlock, his creator Leiji Matsumoto said that he was based on his cool friend from school that did everything right, and Leiji said he felt like Tochiro. Harlock was first developed by Leiji back in junior high as a classic English pirate and went by the name of "Captain Kingston". He would first appear in 1956 and then in other manga until finally making the jump into anime in 1978 with his own series…"
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