Tekkon Kinkreet (2007)

Thank You

I seriously appreciate that this was processed and sent on time. And the product itself is wonderful! October 31, 2008

Pretty great single disc~

I gotta say, for a single disc release, it's got loads of useful and interesting information for those interested in animation.

The 300-day Diary with director Michael Arias was the most interesting of the features, in my opinion. His road to completing this film was such a bumpy one, that one can only appreciate it even more. His struggle with some of the animation sequences, and solutions... my only wish was to have dedicated a short period of time on how they went about the work with the voice actors, which I thought was great.

There's also a small sneak peek at how Plaid worked on the music for the film.

Also appreciated, the various tracks of subtitles and audio tracks! October 6, 2008

Amazing images, so-so plot

Even though I loved this director first American feature in the Animatrix I have to say I was rather dissapointed with the overall feeling of this movie. Great scenarios and control of the camera but sometimes the overall sluggish look of the characters got annoying. Also, even though this is an anime the movie was moving utterly slow. August 30, 2008

Thin Storyline, Good Theme, Nice Artwork

Tekkon Kinkreet
This was based on the Manga Black and White. I have to say I was a little disappointed in this one. I enjoyed in, but it left a gaping whole where I wanted closure. The art style is unique to say the least. The action is brutal, yet subtle. The story is barely even a major factor. This movie is more based off the relationship between Black and White. It obviously is a symbolic representation of Yin and Yang; you must have both to function correctly.

Black and White are kids known as the Cats on the streets of Treasure Town. Treasure Town is an extremely undeveloped town, run mostly by the Yakuza. Black and White usually cause havoc while trying to protect their territory and there town. Black is a serious warrior. He develops well throughout the course of our story. At first he is fighting to protect White, but soon we see he has his own demons. White is a slow child. White doesn't do much except act weird. For some reason, he has "all the screws Black needs." You will find out what that means through the course of the movie.

A new boss takes his place at the top of the Yakuza. He demands that Treasure Town be reborn in his image. He wants amusement parks, casinos, and other moneymaking machines to flood Treasure Town. Obviously, this does not sit well with our ally dwellers, Black and White. Black causes chaos for the Yakuza, which causes them to sent giant super-human type men after them. White is almost killed by one of them and eventually taking away from Black. Black oddly enough, falls to his demons and allows for White to leave. I will leave the rest of the plot to your observational skills.

The plot may sound thick, but it isn't as deep as one might think. There is another whole side-story with a man named Rat, a Yakuza member, being caught up in the new plan for the city. He hates it, but knows he can do nothing about it. That story plays a less significant role though. The main picture is more of a man VS himself type plot. Black needs White to keep him in balance. Can Black defeat his demons and return to White? That is the basic concept of the entire movie. I like this idea, but a dense story in the background didn't help this movie out.

The art in this movie is great. Everything looks very detailed, except for the actual people. The people have a styles all of their own. They are less detailed, but have a certain appeal to them. This was probably one of my favorite art styles I have seen so far.

The extras on this one are a commentary track and a few other small things. There is nothing that I really felt was worth looking at. The film has a great theme, that you need to keep yourself balanced, but a thin story brings this one down for me. The Yakuza wasn't even really part of the main plot, so their existence felt almost meaningless to me. August 19, 2008

From here you can see everything...

Based on a Japanese manga and created by a Japanese studio, yet written and directed by Americans, this movie still doesn't lack authenticity like I was worried that it might. The story it tells is fairly universal, focusing on the bond of brotherhood.

The 2 main characters, White and Black (friendS? brothers? the movie never really makes it clear) live in Treasure Town, a very vibrant city that's easily one of the most amazing things I've seen in animation. Yet this city, despite looking like a huge playground, is actually a bit of a wreck, where gangs fight for control and where crime is rampant. The first half of the story focuses on Black and White's bonds and their life as the Cats, the gang that owns the city. The second half features a new mob boss entering and attempting to gain control with his alien cohorts who seem nearly invincible.

The movie does lose a bit of interest as it beings to verge into the supernatural (those alien things really didn't fit in at all, I didn't think,) and the resolution, involving, like many anime's, a trip inside of the head of the main character, may leave mixed feelings on some viewers. The pacing's a little off as well...the first half may be too slow for some while the 2nd half doesn't ever really stop with the action and the chase scenes, which may wear some down. Still, we have a great anime here where the city's the star of the show. Somehow my favorite scene in the movie takes place during the second half of the credits, where you simply see shots of the city as a song from the Asian Kung-Fu Generation plays in the background. It's an amazing setting and even though it was only made for 5 million dollars, it looks, to me, much better than most hundred-million+ CG movies made today. It's not perfect (Despite the R-rating it seems to play it a bit safe at times...Black never seems to kill his rival gangsters even though the script and direction seems to act like he does,) but it's definitely a movie worth seeing. The first half hour in particular is just stunning.

Note; there IS an option for an English dub on the disc. The director (in interviews) has actually recommended the English dub, and while I don't agree with him, I will say that it's much better than the dubs you find in most anime. That said, though, a lot of the dialogue (especially White's) seems extremely corny when spoken aloud in English...and overall it does dampen the story a bit, so I'd recommend the Japanese language with subtitles. If you MUST hear it in English, at least you can be assured that the performances are good and it actually fits fairly well. July 13, 2008

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