I saw this movie a couple of days ago. I thought this one is one of the best in the recent anime films including Miyazaki's. Even satisfied more than 007.

Based on the comic by Matsumoto Taiyo (also Ping Pong), Michael Arius, who joined Animatrix production, directed the film. As he knows many Japanese old downtowns and landscapes, his way of constructing the imaginary town is so real though many Asian tastes are added, and I believe the town in the film must attract Americans too. The story is basically fights between two boys and intruders, old traditions and new. I also impressed how this Anime can express things which I have not felt in the other Anime films. Michael gathered many best creators in Japan and the world. I really recommend Tekkon to you all.

By the way, MOMA's Artforum picked up this film as #1 in 2006. http://www.artforum.com/inprint/id=12076

This will be brief because I'm not sure what to say. I don't mean that in a bad way, its just that trying to describe this film is not at all easy.

Tekkonkinkreet is the story of two kids named Black and White. They are known as the Cats and are considered by some to be the protectors of a part of the city known as Treasure Town. As a year goes by a yakuza captain returns to the city and a man named Snake appears with his eye on turning that part of the city into an amusement park.

I'm explaining it badly, forgive me, since this is a film thats better to experience than to hear about. Using a mix of 2D and 3D cgi this is a film that is vibrantly alive. There is a real sense of place that is missing from many animated films. The world bleeds off the screen. The film rarely sits still its constantly in motion as characters go from place to place or engage in battles for life and death. Its an amazing thing to watch.

The characters are very real. I watched the film with the English dub (I know boo hiss) and the choices of actors was wonderful. The voices of the kids were kids and seemed to perfectly match their personalities. The same goes for the other characters as well. What I liked was that the kids were kids. They seemed to be real kids behaving in the situations presented. Granted the film is wildly fantastical but the personalities and behaviors outside of the running and jumping and beating people up was real.

A word of warning, this is a dark film at times. There is a great deal of violence, which despite being animated is very nasty and bloody. The film also has some dark undertones as some of the characters slip into the darkness of their souls. Its disturbing enough to get an R rating.

On the down side the film takes a while to get going. I was about a third of the way in before it started to click with me. No doubt it was due in part to the very large cast of characters. (I'm certain this is going to play better on a second viewing). My other problem with the film was a shift towards the end which makes me think I may have missed something along the way. I feel as though I missed the climax of somethings. (Again this will probably be better on the next viewing) Over all worth a shot. definitely see this in widescreen since the compositions are geared to that.

Orphans Kuro and Shiro (Black and White) live in Treasure Town, a violent city where various groups vie for control. The two of them support each other with Kuro acting as the protector and Shiro the conscience. Kuro believes that he runs Treasure Town and must confront the gangs that he believes are going to ruin it; Shire meanwhile just wants to make enough money for them to move to a house by the sea. Things turn bad for the boys when a stranger arrives in town with the intention of demolishing much of the town to build a giant theme park. This stranger is quite malevolent and sets three assassins to kill Kuro and Shiro. This leads to Shiro being badly injured and the two of them being separated. Apart the two of them find life difficult; Shiro is in care and spends his time drawing and Kuro gets more and more violent until it appears he might be going insane.

The characters in this film may look a little rough at first but as we get to know them and the city they inhabit that seems to suit them. The city itself is beautifully detailed and the animation looks great especially when we see the two boys running down the city's narrow alleyways. The two protagonists are interesting characters with Kuro very much the yin to Shiro's yang. Those not familiar with anime may be surprised at the violence which is at times quite bloody; the film certainly deserves the '12' certificate the BBFC gave it. The voice work sounded good to me even though I had to rely on the subtitles to understand what was being said. If you enjoy anime or animation in general this is definitely worth checking out.