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Pages Cels Stories: Hakugei: Legend of the Moby Dick

“Best, therefore, withhold any amazement at the strangely gallied whales before us, for there is no folly of the beasts of the earth which is not infinitely outdone by the madness of men.”

Moby Dick, Herman Melville’s classic novel of revenge, hatred, and the finer details of whaling is known primarily for two reasons. The first is the way in which it examines the nature of humanity through its never-ending conflict with that which we are ultimately helpless against, told in a vibrant, meticulous style that has led to the book being considered the first Great American Novel. The second reason it’s known is because it’s very long, and much of its content has nothing to do with the actual story, but dryly goes on long tangents about boating, zoology, and everything that there was to know about whales in 1851, making the task of reading it incredibly intimidating, not to mention sluggish at times. But, because the true core of the story resonates so strongly, it’s been granted several adaptations, and so of course, we come to the one that happens to be an anime. Just the fact that, despite how well known the novel is, it never saw an anime version until 1997 says quite a bit, but if there was anyone who could have done the job, it was the late Osamu Dezaki. One of the big names from the very earliest days of anime history, Dezaki is behind a number of beloved hits, including Ashita no Joe and Rose of Versailles, encompassing a wide variety of genres and storylines, but all of them bearing a distinct visual style, reminiscent of the golden age he came from. Amongst this massive volume of titles he worked on as director are a number of anime inspired by or adapted from classic works of literature, from Treasure Island to The Tale of Genji, That he helmed so many projects of this nature reveals Dezaki to be an avid reader, but he never stayed too faithful to his sources, always letting his own artistic vision dictate the animations he created, and always to memorable results. This is most certainly the case with one of his lesser-known, but at the same time one of his most peculiar projects, Hakugei: Legend of the Moby Dick. Taking many cues from the popular adventure anime of the 90’s, Hakugei is a version of Melville’s novel that is decidedly aimed at a younger audience, and, in reworking the storyline, follows a convention that has already been well-covered in Pages Cels Stories: putting it in space.

WARNING: like always, this article is not spoiler-free.