{{Short description|2009 film directed by Yoshiharu Ashino}} {{update|date=October 2013}} {{Infobox film | name = First Squad: The Moment of Truth | native_name = {{Infobox Japanese|hide=no|header=none|kana=ファースト・スクワッド}} | image = First Squad poster.jpg | caption = | director = Yoshiharu Ashino<ref>[http://www.generalworks.com/databank/movie/title2/fsquad.html First Squad info] {{in lang|ja}}</ref> | producer = [[Eiko Tanaka]]<br />Aljosha Klimov<br />Misha Shprits | writer = Aljosha Klimov<br />Misha Shprits | screenplay = | studio = [[Studio 4°C]]<br />Molot Entertainment Film Company | story = | based_on = | starring = Elena Chebaturkina<br />Michael Tikhonov<br />Ludmila Shuvalova<br />Damir Eldarov<br />Irina Savina<br />Aleksandr Gruzdev<br />Sergei Aisman | narrator = | music = [[DJ Krush]]<br />The 3ug3reeder | cinematography = João da Costa Pinto<br />Sergey Akimov<br />Kumiko Sakamoto | editing = | distributor = Molot Entertainment Film Company | released = {{Film date|2009|5|13|[[2009 Cannes Film Festival|Cannes]]|2009|10|15|Russia}} | runtime = 73 minutes | country = Russia<br />Japan | language = Russian | budget = | gross = $ 292 377<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt1343712/?ref_=bo_se_r_1|title=First Squad: The Moment of Truth (2009)|website=Box Office Mojo}}</ref> }} '''''First Squad: The Moment of Truth''''' ({{langx|ja|ファーストスクワッド}} ''Fāsuto sukuwaddo'', {{langx|ru|Пе́рвый отря́д|translit=Perviy otryad}}) is a Russian-Japanese [[animation|animated film]] directed by Yoshiharu Ashino. The film is a joint animation project of Japan's [[Studio 4°C]] and Russia's Molot Entertainment. It won the ''[[Kommersant]]'' newspaper's prize.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2009-06-30/4c-first-squad-wins-award-at-moscow-intl-fim-fest|title=4°C's ''First Squad'' Wins Award at Moscow Int'l Fim Fest|date=2009-06-30|publisher=[[Anime News Network]]|access-date=2009-10-11}}</ref>

==Plot== Set during the opening days of [[World War II]] on the [[Eastern Front (World War II)|Eastern Front]] (autumn and winter of 1941/1942). Its main cast are a group of [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] teenagers with extraordinary abilities; the teenagers have been drafted to form a special unit to fight the invading [[Wehrmacht|German army]]. They are opposed by a [[Schutzstaffel]] (SS) officer who is attempting to raise from the dead a supernatural army of crusaders from the 12th-century Order of the Sacred Cross (i.e. the [[Teutonic Order|Teutonic Knights]]) and enlist them in the [[Nazi]] cause.

Most of the teenage crew die, except for the protagonist Nadya. She is taken to a secret Soviet lab that studies supernatural phenomena, especially contacts with the dead. Nadya's task is to dive into the world of the dead for reconnaissance. There, in the Gloomy Valley, she meets her dead friends and persuades them to continue fighting.

==Voice Cast== {| class="wikitable" |- ! Character !! Russian voice actor !! English voice actor |- ! Nadya | Elena Chebaturkina || [[Cassandra Lee Morris]] |- ! Leo | Michael Tikhonov || Joey Morris |- ! Zena | Ludmila Shuvalova || [[Carrie Keranen]] |- ! Marat | Damir Eldarov || [[Tony Oliver]] |- ! Valya | Irina Savina || [[Bryce Papenbrook]] |- ! General Below | Aleksandr Gruzdev || [[Michael McConnohie]] |- ! Baron Von Wolff | Sergei Aisman || Phineas |}

==History== The film is an adaptation of a music video for the song "Наша с тобой победа" ("Our victory") by Russian rap artist [[Ligalize]], which was released on May 9, 2005. The video, which depicted a battle between the Soviet [[Vladimir Lenin All-Union Pioneer Organization|Pioneers]] and Nazi armies, was directed by Daisuke Nakayama, and produced by Aljosha Klimov and Misha Shprits. The Nazis are shown to be in possession of [[mecha]] and various supernatural powers. Among the featured locations are the [[Palace of the Soviets]] and [[Mayakovskaya (Moscow Metro)|Mayakovskaya metro station]], Moscow. In 2006, the video won an award at the MTV Russian Music Awards for best hip-hop video<ref>{{Cite web |last=megafat |date=2019-01-31 |title=First Squad: The Moment of Truth (2009) – Anime Review |url=https://cultclassicanime.wordpress.com/2019/01/31/first-squad-the-moment-of-truth-2009-anime-review/ |access-date=2026-01-03 |website=Cult Classic Corner - Anime |language=en}}</ref>.

When it was released at feature-length in 2009, the film (whose expanded title is “First Squad: the Moment of Truth”) was the winner of the Kommerstandt Weekend Prize at the [[Moscow International Film Festival]], as well as the Asteroide Award at the [[Trieste Science+Fiction Festival]] in Italy<ref>{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1343712/awards/ |title=First Squad: The Moment of Truth (2009) - Awards - IMDb |language=en-US |access-date=2026-01-03 |via=m.imdb.com}}</ref>.

The film was also adapted as a graphic novel of the same name, by creators Aljosha Klimov and Misha Shprits, alongside the acclaimed manga artist Enka Sugihara<ref>{{Cite book |last=Shprits |first=Misha |title=First Squad: the Moment of Truth |date=Oct 2020 |publisher=[[eigoMANGA]] |isbn=978-0-578-59923-6}}</ref>. It was published in October 2020 by [[eigoMANGA]].

==Production== In 2007, it was announced that a motion picture titled ''First Squad: The Moment of Truth''<ref>[http://www.first-squad.com First Squad] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180819231147/http://www.first-squad.com/ |date=2018-08-19 }} — official site</ref> was in the works. Film is produced by [[Studio 4°C]] and recently created for this purpose studio Molot Entertainment, distributed by [[Amedia]]. Directed by Studio 4&nbsp;°C director and animator Yoshiharu Ashino, cowritten and produced by Aljosha Klimov, Misha Shprits, with [[Eiko Tanaka]], featuring character development by Hirofumi Nakata, and music by Japanese musician [[DJ Krush]].

==Release==

The film has been shown at [[Cannes Film Festival]],<ref>{{cite news|title=Studio 4C Goes To War In Russia! Brand New Trailer For Russian Anime FIRST SQUAD!|url=http://twitchfilm.net/news/2009/04/studio-4c-goes-to-war-in-russia-brand-new-trailer-for-russian-anime-first-s.php|date=2009-04-29|access-date=2009-09-04|publisher=Twitch|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091001195409/http://twitchfilm.net/news/2009/04/studio-4c-goes-to-war-in-russia-brand-new-trailer-for-russian-anime-first-s.php|archive-date=2009-10-01|url-status=dead}}</ref> [[Locarno Film Festival]],<ref>{{cite news|title=FIRST SQUAD|url=http://www.pardo.ch/jahia/Jahia/home/film/cache/bypass?appid=11456_34&appparams=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pardo.ch%2Fjpwacatalog%2Fpardo%2Ffilm.do%3Fid%3D320621&resetAppSession=true|date=2009-04-29|access-date=2009-09-04|publisher=Locarno|archive-date=2009-08-28|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090828063444/http://www.pardo.ch/jahia/Jahia/home/film/cache/bypass?appid=11456_34&appparams=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pardo.ch%2Fjpwacatalog%2Fpardo%2Ffilm.do%3Fid%3D320621&resetAppSession=true|url-status=dead}}</ref> [[Fantasporto]]<ref>{{cite news|title=Lista de filmes - Fantasporto 2010|url=https://jn.sapo.pt/Dossies/dossie.aspx?content_id=1503295&dossier=Fantasporto|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100327102307/http://jn.sapo.pt/Dossies/dossie.aspx?content_id=1503295&dossier=Fantasporto|url-status=dead|archive-date=March 27, 2010|access-date=2010-02-28|publisher=Jornal de Notícias}}</ref> and Fantasia film festival.<ref>{{cite news|title=First Squad: The Moment of Truth, MONTREAL PREMIERE|url=http://www.fantasiafestival.com/2010/en/films/film_detail.php?id=11|date=2010-07-10<!--, 2010-07-13-->|access-date=2010-07-14|publisher=Fantasia Festival|archive-date=2017-08-24|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170824135659/http://www.fantasiafestival.com/2010/en/films/film_detail.php?id=11|url-status=dead}}</ref>

The film was released in North America on Blu-Ray and DVD by Anchor Bay Entertainment on January 17, 2012.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Manga & Anchor Bay to release Redline and First Squad – EclipseMagazine |url=https://eclipsemagazine.com/manga-anchor-bay-to-release-redline-and-first-squad/ |access-date=2026-01-13 |language=en-US}}</ref>

==References== {{reflist|2}}

==External links== * {{Official website|http://www.first-squad.com}} * {{IMDb title|1343712|First Squad}} * {{anime News Network|ova|10231}}

{{Studio 4°C}} {{Sony theatrical animated features}}

[[Category:2009 anime films]] [[Category:2009 films]] [[Category:Animated war films]] [[Category:Films about the Eastern Front (World War II)]] [[Category:Films set in 1941]] [[Category:Films set in 1942]] [[Category:Nazi zombie films]] [[Category:2000s speculative fiction films]] [[Category:Russian speculative fiction films]] [[Category:Japanese speculative fiction films]] [[Category:Russian animated films]] [[Category:2009 Russian films]] [[Category:2009 Russian-language films]] [[Category:Studio 4°C]] [[Category:Historical fantasy anime and manga]] [[Category:Mecha anime and manga]] [[Category:Anime and manga set in Russia]] [[Category:Animated films set in Russia]] [[Category:Russian World War II films]] [[Category:Japanese World War II films]] [[Category:Animated films set in hell]] [[Category:2009 fantasy films]] [[Category:Animated films set in the Soviet Union]] [[Category:Animated films set in the 1940s]] [[Category:Animated World War II films]]