Bagi - The 1984 anime film
Bagi, the monster of powerful nature (大自然の魔獣 バギ, Daishizen no Majū Bagi) is a Japanese animated film (anime) premiered on the Nippon Television Network on August 19 1984. It was written by Osamu Tezuka as a criticism of the Japanese government for approving recombinant DNA research that year.
History
Deep in the South American jungle, a 20-year-old Japanese hunter named Ryosuke (“Ryo” for short) and a local boy named Chico, chase a monster that has terrorized the local countryside. Ryosuke, however, is somewhat familiar with this beast and the story goes back to his childhood.
Five years ago, XNUMX-year-old Ryosuke Ishigami, the delinquent son of a criminal reporter and geneticist, dated a motorcycle gang when they meet a mysterious woman. Some of the more rude members of the gang approach her, and she turns out to be anything but normal, landing the gang with severe injuries. The gang leader returns to the woman's hiding place to take revenge, but the gang members are torn apart, with the exception of Ryosuke.
The woman, named Bagi, turns out to be a "cat-woman" - a cross between a human and a mountain lion. She recognizes Ryosuke as the boy who saved her and raised her as a kitten when she was 6 years old. As Bagi grew up and people became suspicious of the precocious "cat", which was able to walk on its hind legs and even learned to spell its name and speak, it escaped and grew to adulthood on its own and they are nine years passed until she met Ryosuke again.
After their reunion, Ryosuke and Bagi join forces to uncover the truth about his origins. Ryosuke's own mother is believed to be responsible for creating Bagi - Bagi is a product of recombinant DNA research between human cells and mountain lions.
They then follow Ryosuke's mother to South America to confront her about the reason for Bagi's existence, but they find a much greater danger. The officials in charge of the labs are creating a rice strain that has the potential to destroy humanity.
Ryosuke's mother sacrifices her life to have Bagi destroy the "Rice Ball" and Ryosuke mistakenly blames Bagi, vowing revenge.
Meanwhile, Bagi is rapidly losing his human traits and becomes extremely ferocious, attacking all humans who come close. Ryosuke reaches for her and stabs her when she attacks, but then finds a handwritten note held in a medallion around her neck.
He reads his mother's last words, expressing remorse for being both a bad scientist and a bad mother, and Ryosuke realizes his mistake and is filled with regret.
Return to the site the next morning to find Bagi's missing body, a series of footprints leading to distant mountains, meaning Bagi survived the stabbing and escaped. Pray that Bagi will live in solitude, away from humanity.
Characters
Ryo / Ryosuke Ishigami
A young Japanese is the main protagonist. His father is a crime reporter and his mother, prof. Ishigami, he works in a lab without mentioning much that he doesn't come home often.
Believing he doesn't have much to live for, he joins a gang of bikers. He is reunited with Bagi on his 15th birthday and becomes a hunter five years later. Bagi was her "pet" when she was not yet fully grown.
Chiko / Chico
A Mexican boy who suspects Bagi killed his father and seeks revenge. He meets Ryo and helps him track down Bagi in the nearby desert. He wears a sombrero and is skilled in the use of bolas.
For
A creature genetically modified to contain both human and feline DNA (its specific origins are not revealed in the story). Bagi and her mother were the only survivors of an animal outbreak at the SuperLife Center, although her mother was eventually hunted down.
Bagi wandered like a kitten until he met Ryo and became his "pet cat". As she grew and developed human characteristics and intelligence, she was forced to leave and disguised herself as a human girl, searching for others of her own kind until she meets Ryo again.
Prof. Yoko Ishigami
Ryo's mother is a leading research professor at the SuperLife Center. He believes that everything can be improved with science. She is responsible for creating Bagi and others like her.
After the president forces her to mass-produce poisonous "rice balls", she is overcome with guilt and arranges for Bagi to destroy the rice balls.
She is killed in the trial and Ryo wrongly blames Bagi. His last letter to Ryo expresses remorse for being a bad scientist and a bad mother.
The boss
The man in charge of the SuperLife Center, who is astute and ambitious. He is short, almost comical (probably from dwarfism) with long hair that stands on end similar to that of Albert Einstein and a mustache similar to that of Adolf Hitler. She explains Bagi's origins after she and Ryo infiltrate the Center, then he is hypnotized into arranging transportation for them to South America to meet Professor Ishigami.
Colonel Sado
The leader of Monica's Imperial Guards. Swap Ryo and a chauffeur for rebels after Ryo and Bagi hijack a circus truck. After making Bagi jump across a XNUMX-meter flaming reel (under threat of execution), he knocks Bagi and Ryo out of action and takes them to Cucaracha's research lab without their knowledge.
He was seen again with the president as he and Professor Ishigami discuss the change in GM rice before discovering that it contained a strong poison. When Ryo tried to escape, Sado attempted to start a sword fight with him.
This leads to doing it on a couple of bicycles. Sado meets his possible end when he falls from the Research Lab tower. It is also possible that he survived.
Monica's President
The wicked president of the South American country where the Cucaracha Research Lab is located is rather stocky and wears gaudy clothes, including a robe that appears to be made of dyed animal tails.
He comes to inspect the work done at the Research Lab, and then comes up with the idea of using poisonous rice genetically created there to eliminate guerrilla rebels who have opposed his government for years, as well as anyone else who opposes him.
When Prof. Ishigami refuses to cooperate with her plan, he has her attack dogs killed her. His plans are ultimately defeated thanks to Bagi and Ryo, Bagi escapes the laboratory with the only rice samples while Ryo destroys the laboratory.
Cemen Bond
The man responsible for keeping Ryo in custody at the Cucaracha Research Laboratory, known for his extraordinary shooting prowess. Its decisions depend solely on the toss of the coin.
After Ryo escapes from the research lab, he is fired and then agrees to teach the boy everything he knows about shooting. It appears to be a loose parody of James Bond, evidenced by his surname and the music he plays during most of his appearances.
Technical data
Anime TV movie
Author Osamu Tezuka
Film script Seiji Miyamoto, Setsuko Ishizu
Char. design Hiroshi Nishimura, Osamu Tezuka
Music Kentaro Haneda
Studio Tezuka Productions
Network Nippon television
1st TV August 19th, 1984
Episodes unique
Episode duration 90 min.
Italian publisher Yamato Videos
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/
