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First Squad: The Moment of Truth
Movie

First Squad: The Moment of Truth

2009 • Animation, Action, Drama

Woke Score
3
out of 10

Plot

Set during the opening days of World War II on the Eastern Front. Its main cast are a group of Soviet teenagers with extraordinary abilities; the teenagers have been drafted to form a special unit to fight the invading 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 and enlist them in the Nazi cause.

Overall Series Review

First Squad: The Moment of Truth is a Russian-Japanese anime/animated film set on the Eastern Front during the opening days of World War II. The plot focuses on Nadya, a clairvoyant Soviet teenager, the last surviving member of a special psychic unit, who is tasked with stopping the German SS's occult division, the Ahnenerbe. The SS is attempting to change the course of the war by resurrecting Baron von Wolff and his army of undead 12th-century German crusaders, the Order of the Sacred Cross. The story is an action-driven supernatural war fantasy, pitting Soviet 'superscience' and psychic abilities against Nazi mysticism and undead Western European knights. The narrative maintains a strong focus on the defense of the Russian homeland against an external invader, and the themes remain centered on the immediate military and occult conflict.

Categorical Breakdown

Identity Politics2/10

The central conflict is a national and ideological war between Soviet Russians and Nazi Germans on the Eastern Front. Character merit is defined by extraordinary psychic abilities and military training, not immutable characteristics or race. There is no lecturing on intersectional hierarchy or vilification of whiteness outside the context of the explicit Nazi/German enemy.

Oikophobia1/10

The narrative is a story of national defense, centering on the Soviet teenagers and their allies fighting to save their country from the foreign, invading German army. The institution of the home nation is framed as a force of heroic resistance against an existential threat.

Feminism3/10

The main protagonist, Nadya, is a fourteen-year-old female medium whose unique psychic ability is the key to defeating the enemy. Her leadership is not framed by demeaning the competence of her male comrades (her fallen, resurrected squad) but by her specific, rare power. The story focuses on supernatural war and military duty, not on anti-natalism or career-vs-motherhood messaging.

LGBTQ+1/10

The movie contains no known content related to alternative sexual identities, queer theory, or the deconstruction of the nuclear family. The sexual structure is normative, and sexuality is not a component of the war-focused narrative.

Anti-Theism6/10

The primary supernatural enemy is an occult army of undead 12th-century German crusaders from the Order of the Sacred Cross, resurrected by the Nazi SS. This portrays a specific, historical Western Christian military order as the monstrous, demonic force of evil. The heroic Soviet side combats this force using 'superscience' and their own psychic abilities, positioning the conflict between a secular-occult Soviet side and a Western-spiritual-evil Nazi side.