STRICT GUN- control laws and an army that revolved around self-defense helped give rise to a class of hobbyists in Japan known as military otaku. Probably into paintball, maybe into building models from kits, the myopic military geek adores the view down the sight of his air-soft automatic rifle almost as much as the smell of napalm in the morning (mostly because it has never wafted through his nostrils). But post-Sept. 11, it is possible that these types are rethinking things, what with the prime minister deciding to send real Japanese battleships and troops to Afghanistan. The 1998 Spriggan may have been conceived simply as carnage candy for such folks, but it arrives on our shores less like a stunningly animated adolescent power fantasy and more like an anxiety-ridden, headline-driven fever dream. Seventeen-year-old Yu Omine is a high school student who also happens to be a Spriggan, that is, a secret agent for a multinational company that protects you and me from the unwieldy power of ancient artifacts. Noah's ark (of all things) has turned up in the mountains of Turkey, and there is a deadly race to control the primitive but deadly technology it contains. Yu dons a strength-enhancing battle suit (about as much character development as you'll find here), heroically penetrates Turkish airspace, and exchanges socks and pows with a host of technologically modified killers and psychics created by a rogue faction inside the Pentagon (!). With Katsuhiro Otomo (creator of Akira and himself a big gun collector) acting as "general supervisor," the quality of Spriggan's animation is fantastic from start to finish. The action and set pieces, which include a smashing car chase and innumerable instances of soldiers getting pumped with Gatling gun fire, can hold their own with the very best in both anime and live action. The script (adapted from the manga published in English as Striker) doesn't add up to much, especially with lines like "The fight isn't over yet! It's only just begun! Bwah ha ha!" delivered via a dull English dub. Far more eloquent is the latent cautionary message found between the bullet-strewn frames: Be careful what you choose for escapism. You might end up getting it.

'Spriggan' plays Nov. 29-Dec. 3, Thurs.-Mon., 7:15 and 9:15 p.m. (also Sat.-Sun., 2 p.m.; Sun., 4 p.m.), Red Vic, 1727 Haight, S.F. $3-$6.50. (415) 668-3994.