First Squad

First Squad: The Moment of Truth
Japanese ファースト・スクワッド
Directed by Yoshiharu Ashino[1]
Produced by Eiko Tanaka
Aljosha Klimov
Misha Shprits
Written by Aljosha Klimov
Misha Shprits
Starring Elena Chebaturkina
Michael Tikhonov
Ludmila Shuvalova
Damir Eldarov
Irina Savina
Aleksandr Gruzdev
Sergei Aisman
Music by DJ Krush
The 3ug3reeder
Cinematography João da Costa Pinto
Sergey Akimov
Kumiko Sakamoto
Production
company
Studio 4°C
Molot Entertainment Film Company
GKIDS
Distributed by Molot Entertainment Film Company
Release date
  • May 13, 2009 (2009-05-13) (Cannes)
  • October 15, 2009 (2009-10-15) (Russia)
Running time
 73 minutes
Country Russia
Japan
Language Russian
English
Japanese

First Squad (Japanese: ファーストスクワッド Fāsuto sukuwaddo, Russian: Пе́рвый отря́д, translit. Perviy otryad) is a joint animation project of Japan's Studio 4°C and Russia's Molot Entertainment. It won the Kommersant newspaper's prize.[2]

Plot

Set during the opening days of World War II on the Eastern Front (autumn and winter of 1941/1942). Its main cast are a group of Soviet teenagers with extraordinary abilities; the teenagers have been drafted to form a special unit to fight the invading German army. They are opposed by a Schutzstaffel (SS) officer who is attempting to raise from the dead a supernatural army of crusaders from the 12th-century Order of the Sacred Cross (i.e. the Teutonic Knights) and enlist them in the Nazi cause. Most of the teenage crew die, except for the protagonist Nadya. She is taken to a secret Soviet lab that studies supernatural phenomena, especially contacts with the dead. Nadya's task is to dive into the world of the dead for reconnaissance. There, in the Gloomy Valley, she meets her dead friends and persuades them to continue fighting.

Characters and voice cast

CharacterRussian voice actorEnglish voice actor
Nadya Elena ChebaturkinaCassandra Lee
Leo Michael TikhonovJoey Morris
Zena Ludmila ShuvalovaCarrie Keranen
Marat Damir EldarovTony Oliver
Valya Irina SavinaBryce Papenbrook
General Below Aleksandr GruzdevMichael McConnohie
Baron Von Wolff Sergei AismanPhineas

Ligalize's video clip

On the eve of May 9, 2005, a video clip was released, based on the track "Наша с тобой победа" ("Our victory") by Russian rap artist Ligalize. The clip was directed by Daisuke Nakayama, produced by Aljosha Klimov and Misha Shprits and depicted an epic fight between Soviet Pioneers and Nazi soldiers, with the German side in possession of mecha and various supernatural soldiers. Among the featured locations are the Palace of Soviets and Mayakovskaya metro station, Moscow.

Motion picture

In 2007, it was announced that a motion picture titled First Squad: The Moment of Truth[3] was in the works. Film is produced by Studio 4°C and recently created for this purpose studio Molot Entertainment, distributed by Amedia. Directed by Studio 4 °C director and animator Yoshiharu Ashino, cowritten and produced by Aljosha Klimov, Misha Shprits, with Eiko Tanaka, featuring character development by Hirofumi Nakata, and music by Japanese musician DJ Krush. The film has been shown at Cannes Film Festival,[4] Locarno Film Festival,[5] Fantasporto[6] and Fantasia film festival.[7] On June 8, 2010, Anchor Bay Entertainment announced that they will distribute the film in the United States through Manga Entertainment and L.A. based XYZ Films.[8]

Released

GKIDS will release the film in U.S. theaters in Spring 2019.

References

  1. ↑ First Squad info (in Japanese)
  2. ↑ "4°C's First Squad Wins Award at Moscow Int'l Fim Fest". Anime News Network. 2009-06-30. Retrieved 2009-10-11.
  3. ↑ First Squad — official site
  4. ↑ "Studio 4C Goes To War In Russia! Brand New Trailer For Russian Anime FIRST SQUAD!". Twitch. 2009-04-29. Retrieved 2009-09-04.
  5. ↑ "FIRST SQUAD". Locarno. 2009-04-29. Retrieved 2009-09-04.
  6. ↑ "Lista de filmes - Fantasporto 2010". Jornal de Notícias. Retrieved 2010-02-28.
  7. ↑ "First Squad: The Moment of Truth, MONTREAL PREMIERE". Fantasia Festival. 2010-07-10. Retrieved 2010-07-14.
  8. ↑ "First Squad Moment Truth Acquired By Anchor Bay". Mania.com. 2010-06-08.
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