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Forget global warming. In the 24th century Earth’s cities have been ravaged by man-made space plants that escaped from a lab on the moon. Humankind is on the verge of extinction and everyone’s cancelled their Greenpeace subscriptions. In Neutral City, the arrival of a girl from the past, saucer-eyed heroine Toola (Carrie Savage in the English dub), heralds hope. Can mankind live in peace with the forest? Or will the industrial petrolheads in neighbouring city Ragna succeed in wiping out plant-life forever? Not hard to see why Japan’s Studio Gonzo doesn’t have the same kudos as Studio Ghibli: Origin’s insipid characterisation can’t touch Ghibli greats like Princess Mononoke and Spirited Away. The anime’s polished but the film’s jungle of half-baked plotting needs a good dousing of weedkiller.
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