Although I feel that this film could have been much more than it was, I must nevertheless recommend it for a couple of reasons. The plot itself is quite thought-provoking, and for that reason alone I am glad I saw this movie. I was also very impressed with the opening scenes that explained how the central male character could function much like he probably did before the wind blew in that changed the world forever. The ending was a disappointment, but it did manage to keep me interested right up to the end, and I must confess that I continued to think about the basic premise of the film long after the credits had finished. For those of you who like to think while watching a movie, this film should prove to be an enjoyable experience.
19 Reviews
We are supposed to believe this?
blackhawk.sc7 February 2001
Most sci-fi animes are good because the elaborate ideas of their producers and writers are explained. Wind of Amnesia, however, does not do that for you. The story line is basic, a wind flows through the world around 1999 that causes everyone to forget everything, and pretty irrelevant stuff happens afterwards. You may ask why that caused this wind to exist and I can tell you that most likely you will not be satisfied by the explanation that is given. The audience is forced to sit through the film, accepting anything that the film shows you. While this may be fine to some, the viewers who prefers concreteness will be disappointed. Morally I think Wind of Amnesia tried to imitate Nausciaa of the Valley of Wind, but it wasn't successful in that attempt because, really, most would think that this Wind and other sci-fi elements of the film are simply absurd.
On a related note, the dub is the copy that I watched. It's horrible. Watching a subtitled version of this film would have given me a better opinion of this film because much of the tragedy (I certainly think the original animators were trying to emphasize the tragedy of mankind) is lost due to bad voice acting.
On a related note, the dub is the copy that I watched. It's horrible. Watching a subtitled version of this film would have given me a better opinion of this film because much of the tragedy (I certainly think the original animators were trying to emphasize the tragedy of mankind) is lost due to bad voice acting.
A post-apocalyptic road movie full of nihilistic ideology
smoothrunner30 May 2023
Narratives about the journey, to which undoubtedly belongs the film-journey "The Wind Called Amnesia", in European and world art, as a rule, carry a symbolic meaning, often being philosophical parables. "Amnesia" also claims to hold symbolic meaning. The author of the story, Kikuchi Hideyuki, borrowed the idea from the American science fiction novel of the 1930s "Rebirth" by Thomas McClary and endowed there Japanese protagonist as well as some of his own ideas. Even the names are symbolic in this anime, as well as encounters during the journey and some narrative elements that Kikuchi Hideyuki later used in his other works.
The plot of the anime is rather ominous - a mysterious wind swept over the earth and took with it all the memory of mankind. This wind was so weird that it caused not only amnesia, but also deprived people of the verbal-logical, emotional and even motor memory responsible for the interaction and control of the mechanisms created by people. In a strange way it did not deprive peopleof of that part of the motor memory which is responsible for the ability to walk or to use clothes. In general, the wind named Amnesia clearly was not a simpleton and had something specifically against the achievements of human civilization, including the ability to speak. One such memoryless person is the as-yet-unnamed anime protagonist, wandering aimlessly through post-apocalyptic America. In the process of his wanderings, our hero meets a boy Johnny, incapacitated teenager who has not lost his memory and the ability to speak. As it turned out, as a result of the experiment, Johnny's brain functioned like a computer, and therefore the wind named Amnesia did not affect Johnny's memory. With the help of a learning machine, Johnny returns to the protagonist the ability to speak and the memory of human civilization, and then teaches him to drive a car (it is not clear, however, how a thirteen-year-old boy unable to walk acquired this skill himself and passed it on to the main character), shoot a pistol, "read" stars, find edible plants and other skills necessary for survival in the post-apocalyptic world. Johnny also identified the protagonist as a Japanese, gave him the name "Wataru", which can be translated as a wanderer or a vagabond, and deceived Wataru about his age. Since Johnny was a "remnant" of human civilization, which means that he was subject to "oblivion", having completed his small educational mission, he shares the fate of civilization - he dies. But before his death, he gives Wataru instruction, saying that humanity is now reduced to its true self and that Wataru has the duty to investigate this human essence in its purest form and revive humanity.
Thus begins the journey of Wataru - riding his Jeep, Wataru ends up in San Francisco, where he encounters a police robot, the operator of which has long been dead, but the machine is still wandering around the city with a skeleton in the cockpit, demanding submission from people and killing them. The mysterious white-haired beauty Sophia helps Wataru to defeat the robot using telepathy to point out the weak point of the machine. Sophia is not only beautiful, but also knows how to speak, knows what she should not know, has the ability to telepathy and looks at the world in a detached and judicious way. The name Sophia is translated from Greek as "wisdom", which is also an attribute of God in Christianity and even an independent "deity" in Gnosticism. Philosophical journey is indispensable without wisdom. Therefore, having united with Wisdom, that is, with Sophia, the Wanderer (Wataru) continues his journey in order to understand humanity.
Throughout the film, one and the same idea can be traced, repeated in different "meetings" experienced by Wataru and Sofia on their journey - the hero and people in general are opposed by the achievements of human civilization, the creations of man, who have turned into oppressors of their creators. This is a police robot that demands obedience from people and kills them, a giant excavator that sacrifices people, a supercomputer that enslaves people and turns them into their weak-willed puppets. It is the "suppression and exploitation" by the civilization of the people who created it that allegedly serves as the reason that the aliens decided to "save humanity" by depriving it of memory.
Such ideas about civilization as an evil that suppresses humanity are old and uncomplicated. Of course, we are not talking about some kind of "evil / good" aliens who are supposed to "save" humanity, relieving it from the "burden" of civilization. It's about the people themselves. It was not in vain that I quoted lines from the Internationale above. There was once such a utopian socialist Léger-Marie Deschamps, who wrote that "the state of laws for us, people in a civil state, is undeniably worse than in a state of savagery ... Evil in a person takes place only thanks to the existing civil state, which infinitely contrary to his nature. There was no such evil in man in the herd state." In order to get rid of the evils of civilization and bring people to a "blissful state", according to Deschamps, not only the fine arts - poetry, painting or architecture, but also science and technology, literacy and writing, must disappear, all books must be burned, and man must be brought down to the state of livestock (after all, you can't argue that a cow peacefully chewing grass on the lawn, not knowing its fate, is happier in its own way than a person burdened with many worries and fears?).
Deschamps is echoed by the pervert old man Freud, who built his concept of the layers of the human psyche by analogy with the Maxist theory of the division and oppression of some social classes by others. He argued that layers of the psyche created under the influence of civilization suppress and exploit the "wild" layer of the psyche, which boils down to sexuality and the "principle of pleasure", and thus civilization deprives humanity of "happiness". Apparently, that's why Sophia "gives" Wataru, who has abandoned civilization, sex with her, as "the highest gift of mankind." To the music of Bach and with the background depicting Madonna with the baby Jesus, Wataru sucks the nipples of naked Sophia. Apparently, in such a simple way, imbibing "wisdom" from her breasts. This is how our Wanderer "fell in love" with Wisdom (Sophia), that is, he literally became philo (to love)-sopher (wisdom), a Wisdom Lover. And the task of the philosopher, as you know, is "anamnanesis" - the return to people of the wisdom they have forgotten, which is what our newborn Wisdom Lover is called to do. The background on which the copulation takes place, depicting the Madonna with the Christ child, apparently also should symbolize that the new "Virgin Mary" (Sophia) gives birth to the one who is called to renew humanity (Wataru). Kikuchi Hideyuki later develops this "theme" in the "Wicked City", where the culmination is the copulation of the heroes in the church, under the statue of the Virgin Mary. Just as in "Amnesia", a man here copulates with a non-human woman (a demoness), and their child is called to "save the world." At the same time, there Kikuchi goes even further, opposing the new "Madonna" - the demoness to the Virgin Mary. If Mary is immaculate, then the demoness is the embodiment of depravity - in the course of the plot, she is raped by everyone except by the lazy, and in the most perverted ways. And judging by what was shown she did enjoy it. It is from the statue of the Virgin Mary, declared an "enemy" by the old man, that a monster breaks out, attacking the protagonists. Well, the child of the demon, according to Christianity, is the Antichrist - so the viewer should not be misled by the Christian symbolism depicted in both cases - it is here desacralized and abolished with all the socialist passion of theomachism, with the proposal of new images of "salvation of mankind". The socialist ideas of Deschamps, Marx and Freud develop within the framework of neo-Freudianism and neo-Marxism. Marcuse, for example, proposes the "liberation" of the libido by getting rid of the control of the "repressive mind" and the destruction of social institutions. In contemporary art, these ideas are expressed in the fight against "repressive" and "suffocating" culture by creating anti-aesthetic things, images of garbage and excrement, designed to overcome the "discrimination" of the disgusting, liberation of the "suppressed instincts." And in "Amnesia" we have computers and machines that oppress and enslave humanity.
In general, it is not the insidious aliens that should be feared, but the representatives of humanity prone to nihilism. Well, the anime itself should be renamed "The Wind Called Nihilism". In addition to the primitive ideological content, "Amnesia" is also a rather long and boring anime. Pleasant except that the drawing of the "old school" of the 1980s and the musical accompaniment. And for once, the Japanese decently portrayed the young woman's breasts (Sofia), which in itself is close to uniqueness. The narrative itself, as noted above, is rather lengthy, but fans of road movies and parable films may find it meditative. And the very attempt to make anime filled with meaning (not simply imitating it), albeit with controversial, if not insane ideas, is a rather rare phenomenon now. So with all the caveats, Amnesia deserves an above-average rating.
The plot of the anime is rather ominous - a mysterious wind swept over the earth and took with it all the memory of mankind. This wind was so weird that it caused not only amnesia, but also deprived people of the verbal-logical, emotional and even motor memory responsible for the interaction and control of the mechanisms created by people. In a strange way it did not deprive peopleof of that part of the motor memory which is responsible for the ability to walk or to use clothes. In general, the wind named Amnesia clearly was not a simpleton and had something specifically against the achievements of human civilization, including the ability to speak. One such memoryless person is the as-yet-unnamed anime protagonist, wandering aimlessly through post-apocalyptic America. In the process of his wanderings, our hero meets a boy Johnny, incapacitated teenager who has not lost his memory and the ability to speak. As it turned out, as a result of the experiment, Johnny's brain functioned like a computer, and therefore the wind named Amnesia did not affect Johnny's memory. With the help of a learning machine, Johnny returns to the protagonist the ability to speak and the memory of human civilization, and then teaches him to drive a car (it is not clear, however, how a thirteen-year-old boy unable to walk acquired this skill himself and passed it on to the main character), shoot a pistol, "read" stars, find edible plants and other skills necessary for survival in the post-apocalyptic world. Johnny also identified the protagonist as a Japanese, gave him the name "Wataru", which can be translated as a wanderer or a vagabond, and deceived Wataru about his age. Since Johnny was a "remnant" of human civilization, which means that he was subject to "oblivion", having completed his small educational mission, he shares the fate of civilization - he dies. But before his death, he gives Wataru instruction, saying that humanity is now reduced to its true self and that Wataru has the duty to investigate this human essence in its purest form and revive humanity.
Thus begins the journey of Wataru - riding his Jeep, Wataru ends up in San Francisco, where he encounters a police robot, the operator of which has long been dead, but the machine is still wandering around the city with a skeleton in the cockpit, demanding submission from people and killing them. The mysterious white-haired beauty Sophia helps Wataru to defeat the robot using telepathy to point out the weak point of the machine. Sophia is not only beautiful, but also knows how to speak, knows what she should not know, has the ability to telepathy and looks at the world in a detached and judicious way. The name Sophia is translated from Greek as "wisdom", which is also an attribute of God in Christianity and even an independent "deity" in Gnosticism. Philosophical journey is indispensable without wisdom. Therefore, having united with Wisdom, that is, with Sophia, the Wanderer (Wataru) continues his journey in order to understand humanity.
Throughout the film, one and the same idea can be traced, repeated in different "meetings" experienced by Wataru and Sofia on their journey - the hero and people in general are opposed by the achievements of human civilization, the creations of man, who have turned into oppressors of their creators. This is a police robot that demands obedience from people and kills them, a giant excavator that sacrifices people, a supercomputer that enslaves people and turns them into their weak-willed puppets. It is the "suppression and exploitation" by the civilization of the people who created it that allegedly serves as the reason that the aliens decided to "save humanity" by depriving it of memory.
Such ideas about civilization as an evil that suppresses humanity are old and uncomplicated. Of course, we are not talking about some kind of "evil / good" aliens who are supposed to "save" humanity, relieving it from the "burden" of civilization. It's about the people themselves. It was not in vain that I quoted lines from the Internationale above. There was once such a utopian socialist Léger-Marie Deschamps, who wrote that "the state of laws for us, people in a civil state, is undeniably worse than in a state of savagery ... Evil in a person takes place only thanks to the existing civil state, which infinitely contrary to his nature. There was no such evil in man in the herd state." In order to get rid of the evils of civilization and bring people to a "blissful state", according to Deschamps, not only the fine arts - poetry, painting or architecture, but also science and technology, literacy and writing, must disappear, all books must be burned, and man must be brought down to the state of livestock (after all, you can't argue that a cow peacefully chewing grass on the lawn, not knowing its fate, is happier in its own way than a person burdened with many worries and fears?).
Deschamps is echoed by the pervert old man Freud, who built his concept of the layers of the human psyche by analogy with the Maxist theory of the division and oppression of some social classes by others. He argued that layers of the psyche created under the influence of civilization suppress and exploit the "wild" layer of the psyche, which boils down to sexuality and the "principle of pleasure", and thus civilization deprives humanity of "happiness". Apparently, that's why Sophia "gives" Wataru, who has abandoned civilization, sex with her, as "the highest gift of mankind." To the music of Bach and with the background depicting Madonna with the baby Jesus, Wataru sucks the nipples of naked Sophia. Apparently, in such a simple way, imbibing "wisdom" from her breasts. This is how our Wanderer "fell in love" with Wisdom (Sophia), that is, he literally became philo (to love)-sopher (wisdom), a Wisdom Lover. And the task of the philosopher, as you know, is "anamnanesis" - the return to people of the wisdom they have forgotten, which is what our newborn Wisdom Lover is called to do. The background on which the copulation takes place, depicting the Madonna with the Christ child, apparently also should symbolize that the new "Virgin Mary" (Sophia) gives birth to the one who is called to renew humanity (Wataru). Kikuchi Hideyuki later develops this "theme" in the "Wicked City", where the culmination is the copulation of the heroes in the church, under the statue of the Virgin Mary. Just as in "Amnesia", a man here copulates with a non-human woman (a demoness), and their child is called to "save the world." At the same time, there Kikuchi goes even further, opposing the new "Madonna" - the demoness to the Virgin Mary. If Mary is immaculate, then the demoness is the embodiment of depravity - in the course of the plot, she is raped by everyone except by the lazy, and in the most perverted ways. And judging by what was shown she did enjoy it. It is from the statue of the Virgin Mary, declared an "enemy" by the old man, that a monster breaks out, attacking the protagonists. Well, the child of the demon, according to Christianity, is the Antichrist - so the viewer should not be misled by the Christian symbolism depicted in both cases - it is here desacralized and abolished with all the socialist passion of theomachism, with the proposal of new images of "salvation of mankind". The socialist ideas of Deschamps, Marx and Freud develop within the framework of neo-Freudianism and neo-Marxism. Marcuse, for example, proposes the "liberation" of the libido by getting rid of the control of the "repressive mind" and the destruction of social institutions. In contemporary art, these ideas are expressed in the fight against "repressive" and "suffocating" culture by creating anti-aesthetic things, images of garbage and excrement, designed to overcome the "discrimination" of the disgusting, liberation of the "suppressed instincts." And in "Amnesia" we have computers and machines that oppress and enslave humanity.
In general, it is not the insidious aliens that should be feared, but the representatives of humanity prone to nihilism. Well, the anime itself should be renamed "The Wind Called Nihilism". In addition to the primitive ideological content, "Amnesia" is also a rather long and boring anime. Pleasant except that the drawing of the "old school" of the 1980s and the musical accompaniment. And for once, the Japanese decently portrayed the young woman's breasts (Sofia), which in itself is close to uniqueness. The narrative itself, as noted above, is rather lengthy, but fans of road movies and parable films may find it meditative. And the very attempt to make anime filled with meaning (not simply imitating it), albeit with controversial, if not insane ideas, is a rather rare phenomenon now. So with all the caveats, Amnesia deserves an above-average rating.
Excellent
haloflaminlead30 September 2001
This is by far the best anime I have ever seen. Most anime is just an excuse to show huge robots, tons of violence, and cartoon nudity, but this one is different. It has an incredibly thought provoking and interesting plotline, and if you watch it with someone else you'll have plenty of conversations concerning it. I remember the first time I watched it was out of luck. I was flipping through channels and landed on IFC. The first seen I saw was a huge robot mowing down a bunch of unarmed civilians and I thought "This is gonna be just like any other anime movie", but I was very soon afterwards drawn in by it's intriguing plotline and excellent animation. I recommend this movie to anyone who likes interesting and mysterious plotlines. Even if you don't like anime, you will still love this movie! Just one thing: I BEG OF YOU DON'T GET THE DUBBED VERSION!!! It is terrible. The subtitled version is much better.
Good premise marred by rushed ending.
jcasterline-1140621 April 2021
The pacing during the first... roughly 90% of this movie is good. The relationship between Wataru and Sophia is given nearly no development, which gives a scene towards the end no impact and a feeling of randomness. The ending, overall, would have had more impact if it wasn't done so abruptly and delivered in such a bland way. A 6/10 is all I can give this because of its rushed feeling ending. Again, it is a great premise. It just fails to deliver a satisfying story due to poor relationship development and a lackluster ending that doesn't stick the landing.
Cheesy but Charming
BCWdesign11 September 2004
Certainly not one of the best Anime films but certainly one of the most accessible to the casual viewer.The film is set in a post- apocalyptic world and the film follows the road journey across the decaying landscape of the United States meeting different characters and following different plots each of which is short and sweet and whilst not demanding many are entertaining. There are many moments which are very much based in Eastern culture and are a little difficult to comprehend as a westerner but these moments are few and far between. Sometimes the film can be very cheesy but the films overall charm and originality make it certainly worth a look.
An Anime film that depicts future commitment and love
dorlago14 August 2001
Whoever doesnt like this film does not understand the concept that this film is an essence of wonderful animation and storytelling never seen on the TV screen. This film simply is depicting what nature may do to the world someday as a punishment or a recreation for the world like a wind of amnesia, and some may have not been affected and those characters will help begin a whole new Earth. Some of the ideas may be bad, some may be good, but the people will take advantage and help the people with forgotten memories make new memories. This film also shows how the savage human is recreated for a new evolution. Through the story, Waterlu goes on a journey looking for an answer, and encounters many odd situations through the story that will reveal commitment, love, understanding, loyalty, integrity, and everything needed to start a better life, and better lives.
There are many anime gems out there...
wakemeup3618 January 2010
... and this is not one of them. I love anime, I really do. Especially deep, thought provoking ones like Perfect Blue and Monster. This anime tries to be what those anime are but pretty much fails for the most part.
Some of you reading this might be thinking that I didn't like it because of the terrible dubbing but the thing is, I always watch subs for foreign films whenever I have the option and this movie was no exception.
It starts out pretty interesting. Just about all mankind loses it's memories and thus goes to the primitive version of itself when the amnesia wind strikes. What impressed me was that, unlike in Hollywood movies, they actually forgot everything including how to speak. Mankind has now become very savage and naive. There are only a few people, who know how to speak and the value of human culture, including the main character Wataru, his deceased friend Johnny, the very mysterious Sophia and others who come later in the plot.
The things that bother me about this film are many. Firstly, the animation is not very stellar and the visuals are pretty dull. I know it's a pretty old movie and the budget was probably low but films released at about the same time or even much earlier had better animation and visuals. Take Akira or Street Fighter as examples. Other than that, the action scenes are, for the most part, quite repetitive, long and boring. The romance element is pretty dumb as there is almost no connection or chemistry between Wataru and Sophia. Also, the nudity shown the anime has no point at all. There is also a sex scene which was pretty random and had nothing whatsoever to do with the plot. Plus, the ending is pretty inconclusive (a problem with a lot of anime) and we have almost no idea why the wind occurred. The answer to the question that Wataru was searching for throughout the film was left completely unresolved and for a very retarded reason too. The revelation as to who was behind the wind has no surprising impact at all as it was done so suddenly without any kind of build up or approach.
What else can I say, other than the general plot this is a pretty weak anime. The execution is really mediocre, and if it weren't for the fact that this is an anime, my favourite form of visual entertainment, I would've been much harsher on it. There are many many better anime out there.
Some of you reading this might be thinking that I didn't like it because of the terrible dubbing but the thing is, I always watch subs for foreign films whenever I have the option and this movie was no exception.
It starts out pretty interesting. Just about all mankind loses it's memories and thus goes to the primitive version of itself when the amnesia wind strikes. What impressed me was that, unlike in Hollywood movies, they actually forgot everything including how to speak. Mankind has now become very savage and naive. There are only a few people, who know how to speak and the value of human culture, including the main character Wataru, his deceased friend Johnny, the very mysterious Sophia and others who come later in the plot.
The things that bother me about this film are many. Firstly, the animation is not very stellar and the visuals are pretty dull. I know it's a pretty old movie and the budget was probably low but films released at about the same time or even much earlier had better animation and visuals. Take Akira or Street Fighter as examples. Other than that, the action scenes are, for the most part, quite repetitive, long and boring. The romance element is pretty dumb as there is almost no connection or chemistry between Wataru and Sophia. Also, the nudity shown the anime has no point at all. There is also a sex scene which was pretty random and had nothing whatsoever to do with the plot. Plus, the ending is pretty inconclusive (a problem with a lot of anime) and we have almost no idea why the wind occurred. The answer to the question that Wataru was searching for throughout the film was left completely unresolved and for a very retarded reason too. The revelation as to who was behind the wind has no surprising impact at all as it was done so suddenly without any kind of build up or approach.
What else can I say, other than the general plot this is a pretty weak anime. The execution is really mediocre, and if it weren't for the fact that this is an anime, my favourite form of visual entertainment, I would've been much harsher on it. There are many many better anime out there.
An impressive anime
NomadBoy19 November 2000
It takes a good Japanese animation to impress me. And this is one of my favorites.
A strange amnesia has swept over the entire world. People have forgotten who they are, how to speak, how to do anything of their past lives. Chaos runs all over. But a young man tries to figure out what the mystery is, and along the way, we see some touches of lessons in humanity.
Some people who watch this movie, however, may think to deep in to it, and think that it's trying to send out all kinds of social messages and not understand that that's not what films like this are made for. Look at the premise, understand it's basic value, and enjoy the film. Thats what it was meant for. To dissect it means your over-thinking it.
Very different from the average action anime, I recommend this not only to the anime fan, but to the casual viewer as well.
A strange amnesia has swept over the entire world. People have forgotten who they are, how to speak, how to do anything of their past lives. Chaos runs all over. But a young man tries to figure out what the mystery is, and along the way, we see some touches of lessons in humanity.
Some people who watch this movie, however, may think to deep in to it, and think that it's trying to send out all kinds of social messages and not understand that that's not what films like this are made for. Look at the premise, understand it's basic value, and enjoy the film. Thats what it was meant for. To dissect it means your over-thinking it.
Very different from the average action anime, I recommend this not only to the anime fan, but to the casual viewer as well.
Complete Waste of Time
Frick22 October 1998
This is one film which lacks any of the qualities which traditionally make an anime movie (or any other movie for that matter) great. This tries to be a socially relevant film about what would happen if man became savage again. However, it flies way off the mark and comes off hokey, demeaning to your intellience, and just plain boring.
Is humanity really the sum of someone's memories?
sheng-long9 May 2006
Warning: Spoilers
Wind Of Amnesia offers a rather unique outlook on humanity...
It begins with a young man trying to stop a berserk mecha unit, left without any coherent commands, which is attacking people in a town. He is asked, by the mysterious and enigmatic Sophia, to take her across country to a rendezvous with someone.
As they travel, They discover that, rather than humanity being totally destroyed, it still exists, in the sense of duty and honor that they find the people they meet have to themselves and others. They may not know who they are, but there will be those that know duty and honor, and they will organize what they can out of the savage majority.
It's a interesting ending, in that Wataru means Traveller... and that is all he will do, since it's his new life, with it's new past, it's new present and it's new future... He might meet Sophia or her kind again, or he might not, but he will find others who he can help...
It begins with a young man trying to stop a berserk mecha unit, left without any coherent commands, which is attacking people in a town. He is asked, by the mysterious and enigmatic Sophia, to take her across country to a rendezvous with someone.
As they travel, They discover that, rather than humanity being totally destroyed, it still exists, in the sense of duty and honor that they find the people they meet have to themselves and others. They may not know who they are, but there will be those that know duty and honor, and they will organize what they can out of the savage majority.
It's a interesting ending, in that Wataru means Traveller... and that is all he will do, since it's his new life, with it's new past, it's new present and it's new future... He might meet Sophia or her kind again, or he might not, but he will find others who he can help...
An underrated gem
JeffG.21 April 1999
fascinating
Till-623 July 1999
Watching one of the very few Japanese Animation which has been available in German dub-version for a long time I felt deeply moved and impressed. Imagine almost all people in the world are made to forget everything they have known before. They don't know who they are, they don't know where they are, they even lose the ability to speak and forget about their families. This leads the world into chaos and desperation, a few modern computers take the power of the big cities. This nightmare comes true in Wind of Amnesia. Only a very few people have gone away without losing their memory. This is the story about a man who searches the reason for the Wind of Amnesia. General speaking, this is an Action movie with a big philosophical touch, far away from the normal action-anime. Even though the situation is almost unsolvable, the movie becomes a great appeal for the value of human existence and the beauty of our planet. Winds of Amnesia - an extraordinary, fascinating movie !
A Wind Worth Watching
silentcheesedude4 May 2009
In describing what I found impressive with A Wind Named Amnesia, I must first get out of the way what wasn't good. The art and animation has an old look and feel to it, older even then it's 1993 standard. Several times I had found where it almost seemed that there was a bit of laziness on the addition of frames. Some of the dialog was a bit silly (even sillier in the voice dubbed version) and it's not exactly the most original story. Memory loss, an apparent apocalyptic Earth ravaged by war? It's been done before. Mecha units? Check. Naked anime babes? Here!
But the movie didn't stop there. What seemed to start as a simple story turns out to be epic. Our protagonist, Wataru, is educated by an intelligent experimental boy who survived the world-attacking amnesia. Wataru surly isn't perfect, as he stumbles from place to place, but he's not dumb. His morals are there. The people he encounters range from animalistic humans, which only know to eat and kill, to a mysterious and beautiful woman who seems to know more then she lets on. To add to it, something is following him, meaning to kill him.
I think the negative comments I have seen were induced by a feeling that the movie should, for some reason, give much more then what it has. The simple fact is, it doesn't have to. It's neither boring or stupid, as some imply, as it gives exact reasons as to why things occurred the way they did, and the action is steady and interesting.
I highly recommend it to anyone who like action, sci-fi, and post-apocalyptic movies with a twist.
But the movie didn't stop there. What seemed to start as a simple story turns out to be epic. Our protagonist, Wataru, is educated by an intelligent experimental boy who survived the world-attacking amnesia. Wataru surly isn't perfect, as he stumbles from place to place, but he's not dumb. His morals are there. The people he encounters range from animalistic humans, which only know to eat and kill, to a mysterious and beautiful woman who seems to know more then she lets on. To add to it, something is following him, meaning to kill him.
I think the negative comments I have seen were induced by a feeling that the movie should, for some reason, give much more then what it has. The simple fact is, it doesn't have to. It's neither boring or stupid, as some imply, as it gives exact reasons as to why things occurred the way they did, and the action is steady and interesting.
I highly recommend it to anyone who like action, sci-fi, and post-apocalyptic movies with a twist.
Almost unknown, but definitely a classic
Fallen_angel_kizmet8 January 2007
Let me be down to earth. I hate Anime. I almost hate every thing about it from cheesy plots to cheesy overused plots. But this movie is like none of that. It deals with every human on the face of the Earth being drained of their memories and turning them into cavemen. The story starts with a man named Wataru who meets some woman that still has her memories and was not affected by the wind that drained away everyones thoughts. Mainly they have them trying to reach New York City while this machine which was meant for dealing with riots in urban settings trying to kill them. Since everyone is in a caveman state of mind, naturally their unorthodox behavior has made them targets. But besides the whole machine attacking them, it's like the Terminator movies. The way how the settings were made out, and mainly how the plot kept going, it makes this movie very much worth watching. It's been about 5 years since I last saw it, but if you ever get a chance to see it, do yourself a favor and buy it. You will not be disappointed.
Good, but lacking due to time issues
culwin3 April 2010
Great concept for a film, this really makes you think. What if you lost your memory of everything you've known since you were a baby? What if everyone did? This is a good movie, but it should have been developed more and spread out into 2 or even 3 parts. There is lots of room for further story and character development, but by the time that starts to happen, the story is over. The ending is also left open, and doesn't really resolve very much. I understand that the makers have to work within time and budget constraints, but with some more work this could have been a great 2-parter rather than just a good movie. The art is good, but not phenomenal for 1993.
Very different concept done well
jimvandemoter-5023613 April 2020
I first discovered this film when I was first getting into anime, and I'm glad I did. Up until this all I'd seen was the same style of cartoonish films that emphasized action over story. I was ready to give up until I found this, the "Dagger of Kamui," and ""Nausica." This movie made me think about what we as humans really are. Are we just mindless beasts at heart or is there more to us that we realize? I recommend, if you look for this try to get the original Japanese version with subtitles instead of the dubbed version, but I say that with almost all foreign movies, get the original language because the dubbing is mostly bad. I could say more, but I don't want to give anything away. I'll just say, if you want to see something different that might make you think, give this a try.
Best underrated anime film I have seen!
Irishchatter12 August 2016
Warning: Spoilers
I saw this anime on Youtube and I have to say, I was ultimately blown away by it! It really has an interesting tale that the wind is main culprit of making people forget who they were or where they came from. This pretty much is like the film "2012" but way better. Although I have to say it was sad that the character Wataru's companion Johnny died of a illness that couldn't be treated. I honestly wish I knew what the illness was so I can understand why Johnny died. This movie makes you wonder of where Wataru's parents are and why did the aliens not give the people their minds back? I found that very strange yknow for an 90's anime film which I haven't heard of before!
It was very sweet that the human alien Sophia and Wataru fell in love in the near end but sad also that she had to say goodbye to him in order to go back where she belonged! The animation, the story line and the characters were great. I'm very surprised that I never gotten around to seeing this anime film before. I think this film is the best underrated anime gold out there and I give this a 9/10 :)
It was very sweet that the human alien Sophia and Wataru fell in love in the near end but sad also that she had to say goodbye to him in order to go back where she belonged! The animation, the story line and the characters were great. I'm very surprised that I never gotten around to seeing this anime film before. I think this film is the best underrated anime gold out there and I give this a 9/10 :)
true Anime' classic
jimvandemoter16 September 2022
I rented this movie when it first came out. I was just beginning to get into Anime' and I had no idea what to expect. I've always been a science fiction fan and I also love a great story. I also like to see stories that make me think. This movie has all those elements. Are we all just untamed animals at heart or are we more? Can we survive if we lose all technology? There are so many questions this movie poses and leaves a lot of those questions unanswered. You need to ask yourself those questions and find the answers yourself. Granted, the style of animation, by today's standard looks a little dated, the English voice actors do leave something to be desired (I prefer the original Japanese, I don't mind subtitles) but all in all this is an Anime' classic. If you're building an Anime' library this is a must have.
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