#137: Tekkonkinkreet (2006)

Director: Michael Arias

Screenplay: Anthony Weintraub

Based on the manga by Taiyō Matsumoto

Voice Cast: Kazunari Ninomiya as Kuro (Black); Yū Aoi as Shiro (White); Yūsuke Iseya as Kimura; Kankurō Kudō as Sawada; Min Tanaka as Suzuki; Rokurō Naya as Gramps; Tomomichi Nishimura as Fujimura; Mugihito as The Boss; Nao Ōmori as Choco; Yoshinori Okada as Vanilla; Yukiko Tamaki as Dawn; Mayumi Yamaguchi as Dusk; Masahiro Motoki as Snake

Viewed in Japanese with English Subtitles

Tekkonkinkreet stands out in the Japanese animation industry as the first theatrical feature directed by a non-Japanese creator. Michael Arias, originally from the United Kingdom, had a long career before he even got to animation such as visual and digital effects in cinema, and developing and patenting Toon Shaders, rendering software to allow the integration of computer graphics imagery with cel animation, which has been used even in productions like Studio Ghibli's Princess Mononoke (1997). Here, Arias makes an important historical note as the first non-Japanese director of an anime project, adapting this adaptation of a Taiyō Matsumoto project with Studio 4°C.

Tekkonkinkreet is set in Treasure Town, an amalgamation of periods which I suspect is as much influenced by the period after World War II, considering a huge plot point being drastic redevelopment including an amusement park replacing slums and strip joints, feeling less like the bubble period of the eighties, and a scene where real film posters are decorating the wall, mostly yakuza and crime films which would've predominantly be popular between the fifties to the seventies at the latest. Personally this feels like one of the sixties yakuza films of the "Mukokuseki" (stateless) era from the likes of Nikkatsu studios, where the yakuza try to take over with a divide between the modern world and a creepy cold blooded figure named Snake, and the old honourable guard, with a super powered boy named Kuro (Black) in the middle in the way of development whilst he protects a child-like boy named Shiro (White).

This being a Studio 4°C production means this is a very idiosyncratic looking work. I cannot really pinpoint what their trademarks are, even if you ignore the Masaaki Yuasa productions, aside from the fact they have always taken risks in distinct animation and exploring unique artistic styles, sustained in commissioned work like music videos. Their work is always artistically bold, taking experimental risks and this action drama immediately shows the talent behind the production when it opens up with characters chasing each other on moving traffic, float in the air after taking leaps off buildings, and the world itself being utterly alien to our own, from its general timelessness to bars the size of cubes having giant eyes on the wallpaper. The designs are also interesting in how manga author Taiyō Matsumoto is very distinctive, exaggerated but with touches of greater realism in his character designs. This is possibly paradoxical but with a sense that when characters are meant to stand out, like the mysterious foreign assassins Snake hires to kill Black who act like aliens, they do; in contrast others such as the wife of Kimura, a yakuza who slowly starts to question his support of Snake especially when he learns he will soon become a father, look far more realistic in context of a lot of anime being very exaggerated already.

The world is openly exaggerated with this clash in tones intention, especially as this is indeed a world of the openly unnatural where super minions can fly and Kuro's spiritual side includes "The Minotaur", an evil side to himself hidden inside.  Tekkonkinkreet is surprisingly dark; the world is kinetic, with incredibly animation and a score by British electronic duo Plaid having a pop electronic buzz to it, but the film's a melancholic tale where change is inevitable to Treasure Town with no way back. Kuro is all anger and passion, whilst Shiro is a rare case of a character who is child-like who isn't annoying, who acts like he is five and likes things like his collection of weird hats, but is someone with moments of supreme wisdom with the tale continuing to the point it clearly shows he is Black's sanity in literal form. The finale act is literally a subconscious struggle in influence as Kuro by this point is insane, staggering around the town as a pure beast of violence, leading to most surreal and enigmatic sequences.

I did initially consider Tekkonkinkreet to probably a flawed film, but with time having passed, it is yet become a spectacular debut that I cannot really suggest any major flaw with, a rush of energy and imagination which does touch on some real emotion. Its darker, grimmer moments stand out, but there's also the subplot of an older gangster who believes in honour and finds the changes to the town utterly alienation, the conclusion where Kimura is forced to finally deal with him played with the male angst of a yakuza film fully and heartfelt. It is a gem, one that also had the benefit of a wider audience beyond anime circles as in the 2000s, when anime was a big trend, Sony Pictures Entertainment released this alongside Satoshi Kon's Paprika (2006) on DVD and Blu-Ray, which means that Tekkonkinkreet was probably more heavily advertised and available for people to stumble across this medium. Certainly, this is a good thing for this production. In terms of Arias' own career, he's been slow but has made more work in the medium, with the added knowledge that his cel shading software innovations would've been enough to provide a huge impact on animation in general beyond just Japan. With this film under his belt, he has an additional success, whilst Studio 4°C, who were more than likely helped by this film's accessibility alongside their growing cult audience, would just stand out as a cool and idiosyncratic company still.