Flag is a 13 episode
original net animation (
ONA) series that was released back in
June 2006 and is the brainchild of director
Ryosuke Takahashi, who is best known for his work on
Armored Trooper VOTOMS and for innovating in the real robot genre. This genre in case you arent familiar is all about taking mecha and applying them to the real world environment, and thus their applications are not only grounded in reality, but also treated like any other bit of machinery. As such, this is a genre that greatly interests me. Having said that, what attracted me to
Flag wasnt this aspect of the show, as interesting as it is but the unique convention that is used in order to tell its story, which happens to be told through the viewfinder, recordings and snapshots taken by the camera wielding protagonist,
Saeko Shirasu, a 25 year old war front-line photojournalist who takes an accidental photo of some civilians raising a flag in the war-torn city of Uddiyana that then becomes the catalyst for peace and a beacon of light. Things go belly up when the flag is stolen and the person who took the photograph is sent to document the retrieval of the flag.
If anything,
Flag can be described as a wholly unique show based around an interesting idea, but obviously that idea alone can only take you so far on its own. What makes the gimmick for this show work is the attention to detail displayed throughout the show. A lot of homework and research was obviously done beforehand and it really works to create an immersive world that feels so real, you could swear that the photographs being taken in the show are being developed right in front of your eyes. The whole show takes frame through a camera, and thus the protagonist is rarely seen, since shes literally holding the camera. She does on occasion hand the camera off to another character or momentarily places the camera down and walks in front of the viewfinder so you do see a bit of her throughout the 13 episodes. I felt that this was a really risky choice but worked out perfectly in the end. You really savor those moments you get to see the protagonist every once in a while. Of course due to this stylistic choice, the problem that will face many people will come in the shape of characterization or the lack thereof. This show is very leisurely in the way in which it tells its story and builds up its characters. This will in the end work for certain types of people while falling flat on its face for others. I can appreciate the flaws in this show (because it has many) while feeling accustomed to its mannerisms and its story telling conventions it adheres to. Basically, it worked well for me, but not without its faults. Your mileage may vary.
Sound design is something that I dont hear much about when it comes to anime, but the audio in
Flag was really striking. The soundtrack does an great job of capturing the moments of serenity between the firefights and loss, while the sounds of explosions and bullets really conjure up a feeling of tension when the action gets going. The audio coupled with the fantastic cinematography and composition of each shot works well in making this a striking show, one that Ill be remembering for some time. I dont have much knowledge on the man behind the music here,
Yoshihiro Ike but whatever the case he did a great job here. The show relies on a few pieces and arranges them in different manners but that helps with the familiarity of it all. The opening song,
Hope to Peace works really well in setting each episode up while the ending music,
Lights by
Eri Nobuchika caught my attention as soon as I heard it. The song is notable for being featured in the PSP video game
Lumines, and was not what I was expecting from this show in juxtaposition to the opening but I actually really liked its use in the shows ending. The audio and visuals are areas that this show shines in. Voice acting was also strong, with a decent script, and
Rena Tanaka doing a great job on the main characters voice.
Editing the show is
Seyama Takeshi, seasoned editor who his well known for his work on many
Studio Ghibli films and other landmark films such as
Akira and
Paprika. Not many people talk about the editing in shows as much as they ought to, but the editing in here is well done. Its true that theres loads of downtime in Flag, but I think thats intentional. Being in a war, taking photographs of said war is not a glamorous job. Capturing the face of a man who has killed, because of an order that he received, while capturing the beautiful vistas that surround the front-line is what Flag spends most of its time on. Everything in the viewfinder of the camera is a character, from the mountains in the background that pierce the clouds to the goats that feed on the grass that blow in the gentle wind. The tranquility of it all amidst of the chaos of war is what I feel
Flag truly captures, even it if doesnt do it perfectly. It does tend to have this issue of doing one thing or another. Focusing on the characters or the politics of it all and never both at the same time, which hurts the pace and momentum it gains through its more emotional stretches. I feel that this is where the show falls a bit flat. It tried to take on too much at times, but spreads it out unevenly which makes some episodes lull by while others are full of life and interesting ideas.
As mentioned previously,
Flag is a well-researched show, one that takes pride in its focus on cameras, and pays close attention to the realities that come with the world of photography such as shutter speed, aperture, white balance etc. Many scenes are shaky, some grainy. Whether the view youre seeing is from the protagonists camera, or the thermal vision lens situated at the front of the mech itself or the webcam on a laptop, you truly get a verity of viewfinders that capture the moments and make for a visually diverse and appealing show, while having it all make sense in world.
Is
Flag a perfect show? Far from it, and yet I found it intriguing, endearing as it aspired to be something more than the sum of its parts, and even if it doesnt reach the heights
Takahashi might have sought out to reach, I not only commend the show for its ability to think outside of the box and tackle a very real scenario with tact. It might sound like shallow praise, but its far from it. I enjoyed
Flag a lot, and the change of pace from other shows is something that I appreciate and hope to see more of.
Some aspects of the show can seem on the nose, a little too in your face, while others come across as pure, and from a good place. Thats how I felt about this show. Its not everyones cup of tea, and that sounds like a cop-out, but its truly not. It can be a slow show, one in which on the surface not much ever happens, and yet I became attached to the characters and everyone in this show. It affected me in the place that mattered, my heart and not so much in my head. Is a slice of life war show a thing? It should be. Seeing the characters struggles and day to day activities, from the chefs who cook the meals that may be the soldiers last to the photographers who capture the shots that may at least touch one person makes for an interesting atmosphere and allows you the viewer to become attached to these characters. Its the little moments that make it, the shots of a soldier running in the rain by himself after having killed people in the confinements of his mech, or the protagonist spending a day in a remote village and getting to know the people who live amidst the battlefield, and sleep under the constant rain of bullets. If thats your kind of thing, if you appreciate the little things and dont mind watching a 13 episode series that focuses on the mundane things in war, if thats such a thing, then you may enjoy this. But for anything, give it a go to see a story being told from a different lens.
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Beautiful animation, a nice if somewhat bombastic soundtrack, amazing attention to detail and a myriad of visual effects and lenses from black and white photography to thermal vision all set in a 'seen it all before' setting that doesnt really go anywhere at times, but is told in such a unique way that for many it will be engrossing enough with or without the aforementioned blemishes.
8/10 
