On Your Mark

(Music Video 1995 - Studio Ghibli)

3 reviews - 14.5 total score (Explanation of the rating system)
avg. score: (4.8)

3. Cross Scars

On Your Mark is one of those rare anime music videos occasionally put out by a particular studio. In this case it comes from Studio Ghibli and Japan's probable no.1 animation director, Hayao Miyazaki. This seven-minute video tells the story of the discovery of a winged girl by two police officers during a raid on a religious group. The girl is then taken away by scientists and later the police officers decide they should try and rescue her from their experiments.

Despite there being no spoken words through this short video it achieves a remarkable amount. From just the actions and gestures of the two police officers we get to feel as though we know them and what the video actually conveys is another interesting matter. Although there is the message of hope Miyazaki also puts in signs towards his usual concern for the environment and maybe even human development in the future. Further, although the girl is indeed winged people speculate whether or not she is in fact an angel based on Miyazaki's religious beliefs, this shows the varied issues that this skilled director throws up in such a short time. The animation for this video is also extremely well done and the whole thing looks brilliant even though it was made seven years ago.

On Your Mark is something a little different to the usual works done by Miyazaki but the quality of it remains as high in all his other famous works and this short video is exceptional for the amount it manages to convey in such a short time. Chage and Aska's song of course perfectly compliments the video and enhances the atmosphere but it's Miyazaki's brilliant direction that makes this video as good as it is.

2. Dreamer

On Your Mark is a 6 minute music video directed by Hayao Miyazaki and produced by Studio Ghibli. Set in the future, this video tells the story of 2 soldiers who have found an angel (well, I am saying so because she's a girl with two wings). They found her when they were raiding a place, and luckily she was alive. The video carries on with the aftermaths of their finding. As can be expected from a studio of a high caliber, the picture quality and animation are top-notch with high details and vivid colors. There is some nice CG also. As for the song, performed by Chage & Aska; it is somewhat okay, not superb and not bad, but it suits the theme of the show very well. The story is so nice that it can have its own movie.

1. Tempy

On Your Mark is unique in that it's a 6 minutes and 40 seconds running music video for the popular duo Chage & Aska's song of the same name. It's set in the future where people live underground because of the polluted earth. During a police raid on a religious cult, two policemen (alter egos of Chage & Aska) discover a winged girl who is subsequently whisked away by special scientific units. Realizing that the girl isn't better off now, the two policemen set off to rescue her and to set her free in the outside world. On Your Mark is quite a beautiful piece of work with hope as its main theme, although the images and music gives more than enough material for the audience to make up his or her own analysis. The designs are typical Studio Ghibli with some elements resembling Nausicaa a lot, which isn't surprising since it was written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki.