Stream It Or Skip It: ‘Spriggan’ on Netflix, An Anime That Reminds Us Of ‘Ancient Aliens’

What if an ancient civilization left all their secrets behind for modern humans to find? Spriggan explores this reality in an action-packed throwback of a series that finds an organization named ARCAM fighting to collect a series of artifacts called OOPArts and seal them away from those who wish to wield them for evil. It’s a globetrotting adventure that’s got action, intrigue, and plenty of weirdness to go around. It’s another one of Netflix’s better anime offerings, and it expands upon the original movie from the late ’90s in several meaningful ways.

SPRIGGAN: STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?

Opening Shot: We get a close-up look at a perfectly spherical object seemingly from an advanced ancient civilization. A military group is observing the sphere as a major looks into the sphere incredulously and it rises into the air. It opens up to reveal what appears to be a map before the scene shifts to what seems to be some sort of rescue operation.

The Gist: Long before humans existed, an ancient civilization lived out their days on Earth. Their knowledge and scientific advancements were much more powerful than what anything modern man has accomplished. These individuals hid the power they unlocked in relics from that civilization and scattered them around the world. As the world began to advance after the early Earthlings died out and the empire of modern humanity arose, satellites around the world revealed the locations of these artifacts.

Once in the public eye, powers from each nation began fighting to wrest control of each relic, known as OOPArts (out of place artifacts) from one another. Unfortunately, that doesn’t mean only those who would do good things with the relics can get their hands on them. That’s when an organization called ARCAM is formed, which works to seal away the ancient artifacts before they can fall into the wrong hands.

The members of ARCAM, known as Spriggans, work to complete this heady task, and Yuu Ominae is one such secret agent who lives a double life as a high school student. Spriggan follows Ominae and the others at ARCAM as they work to retrieve these artifacts and keep them out of harm’s way.

What Shows Will It Remind You Of? Spriggan has a lot in common with the other ’90s-style anime released around the same time this property’s original ’98 film. It brings to mind several series like s-CRY-ed or Read or Die, both of which involve shadowy organizations and protagonists looking to cleanse the world of those who would harm it. There’s a general humor that permeates all three series that make you want to seek them out, but plenty of action to sit up and pay attention to as well.

Our Take: Spriggan doesn’t force its characters to exist in a fantasy world they appeared in when they died. It doesn’t introduce a harem of cute girls and one confused man who doesn’t understand they all want to date him. What it excels at is combining an obviously evil set of individuals and pairing them with an organization that wants to take them down at any cost. Then you have the teenagers’ lives who hang precariously in the balance. There’s a very human element to a story that didn’t actually need one – but it thrives from that very storyline. And because of that, Spriggan is saved from being an uninspired mishmash of action and ancient civilization talk.

Sex and Skin: None to speak of during this episode, but you will want to pace yourself if you’re not into violence. There’s plenty of that in full force here, and likely throughout the remainder of the series.

Parting Shot: The episode draws to a close with a conversation about how the Fuji civilization could have found itself trapped under the lava that ultimately killed them. If they were so advanced, wonders Director Yamamoto, why couldn’t they have controlled the volcanic activity? Yuu reminds him that while science can be amazing, there’s nothing that can stand up to the power of nature — not even gods, a line he delivers with a smirk. The camera zooms out to a minimalistic portrait of lush greenery surrounding a volcano.

Sleeper Star: Veteran voice actor Greg Chun brings his agreeable, comforting voice to Director Yamamoto, and proves that he can handle just about any role he gets, from protagonist to supporting characters. He imbues Yamamoto with a personable affect that ensures you trust him just as much as you do the rest of ARCAM.

Most Pilot-y Line: “Don’t worry. No one’s gonna lay a hand on you as long as I’m around.” The young Spriggan comforts 16-year-old professor Rie after saving her from an attempted kidnapping, which sets the tone for the rest of the series. We know that, no matter what kind of artifacts ARCAM uncovers, the real story is going to surround Yuu and this young woman, who’s clearly majorly important to him.

Our Call: STREAM IT. Spriggan is a beautifully-animated throwback that’ll scratch that late-’90s itch you might be feeling after so many isekai have flooded the modern market. It combines well-written characters with an unpredictable narrative that makes it easy to devour each episode in one setting (there are only six, unfortunately). This is the kind of anime that can appeal to just about anyone, and hopefully this means the beginning of many more heading to Netflix in the near future.

Brittany Vincent has been covering video games and tech for over a decade for publications like G4, Popular Science, Playboy, Variety, IGN, GamesRadar, Polygon, Kotaku, Maxim, GameSpot, and more. When she’s not writing or gaming, she’s collecting retro consoles and tech. Follow her on Twitter: @MolotovCupcake.