(L) Tekkon Kinkreet 鉄コン筋クリート [Studio 4C's film based on a manga "Black and White"]

[stpehen]

I just finished watching it. Quite good, with a few reservations. I was impressed with how they took a manga with a very unorthodox look and made their own distinct but equally flavorful look for the film. It's definitely different, for better or for worse, but nothing else looks like it, outside of the studio. I saw a review on ANN which was highly critical. The dude definitely wasn't a square (I'm sure there will be plenty enough of them coming out of the woodwork to gibber about how "ugly" it looked), he was a fan of the original manga, but he had issues with the directing and the script. I can't comment on the English script because I watched it in Japanese, but the dialogue was most definitely very close to the manga dialogue. Plot/dialogue/scene-wise it was all highly faithful.

The directing though, I did feel was off at times. I honestly think the movie could have used another 10-20 minutes just to breathe more, even though at 110 minutes it's quite long for an animated feature. Certain sections - not all of them - were really hasty and expository in a bad way. It also felt a little... barren at times. If there's one thing the mangaka Taiyo Matsumoto is guilty of, it's breathing too much life into his manga, and with all the cut/dialogue/cut/dialogue/cut, it felt like they were spending too much time and effort slogging through the story.

Partly I also blame the voice actors for this. The adults were generally fine, but Kuro and Shiro left me cold. Kuro was kind of underwhelming and Shiro's voice was much too feminine and mumbly... He always struck me as the piercing loudmouth type, but here he seems too reserved to really strike the same chord. I'm always nit-picky about my voice acting, but the last really great movie I saw (TokiKake) got full marks from me in this department, so I know it can be done!

I try not to be too judgmental when watching adaptations because I like to think of myself as being a level-headed assessor, and I hate the stereotypical "manga fan" who is attuned to anything out of line regardless to whether it helps or hurts the final work, but it's really hard in this case. I've been a huge fan of Matsumoto's, and this story in particular, for years since the original Viz publication, and it really is one of those rare pieces of art that is just about perfect in every way. It would be extremely difficult to live up to the original, but the fact that they did make a film, and one even as good as this, is much more than I could have asked for. It's an instant buy the first time I see it on the shelf.

Oh yes, and Asian Kung-fu Generation was a pretty weak choice for the ending credits.

[wao]

Don't tell me stephen's the only one on this forum who's watched it and wants to say something about it...

Either way, I watched it from the perspective of someone who hasn't read the original manga at all - wanted to, but heard an animated adaptation was coming out for it and decided to read it afterwards (and boy do I want to read it now) and after reading the interviews with the staff and production notes that came with the limited edition, I'm really glad they decided to add in whatever "everyday" scenes there were. Stuff like Asa and Yoru, and the public bath and that. Because I was not so convinced by the direction of the later part of the film (it did feel a bit too rushed for me, kind of? I know they had to get the story going but at the same time it felt a little bit like a waste of all the wonderful designs and settings of the earlier part; my least favourite section, I admit, was when

Spoiler:

Kuro was in the Itachi-world and Itachi was trying to convince Kuro to come over to the other side and Shiro intervened. It was pretty and stuff, but it didn't feel substantial enough - in that compared to the rest of the film, it took me a bit more imagination on my own part to feel that Itachi was being convincing. It just didn't feel like it worked very well for me, especially the part where he was showing what Kuro could do with that power and then the montage of broken society... it just felt too straightforward? Or too blatant? Compared to the rest of the movie. Also considering that shortly after Kuro said he'll believe in Shiro. I can imagine that Kuro felt like he wanted to believe Shiro but IMHO I don't think they brought this across very well at that point of time. That's just the way I felt though.

As for voice acting, I thought some of the adults did a fantastic job (like the old guy with the bald head - what was his name), especially Nezumi (I think I like his character way too much). But I thought Shiro was kinda nice in that really offhand way. Of course, that's because I haven't read the original and I don't know what kind of impression Shiro originally had, but I really liked the Shiro they had here. I think one of my favourite scenes with Shiro, for some reason, is when he's got that insanely cute hat and gloves on and lazily puts one hand on Chocola's head; another one is when he's being dragged away into the van (that probably more for the animation than his character)

Kuro, on the other hand, did not strike me so much as a character. Maybe some of it has to do with the voice acting, I do think in some parts it just didn't feel as convincing as the other voices although I really can't judge at all when it comes to that, but I couldn't help but feel that they tried a lot harder with Shiro than with Kuro.

[Snoop']

Originally Posted by wao

Don't tell me stephen's the only one on this forum who's watched it and wants to say something about it...

Hey, I bumped the thread a month ago !

Originally Posted by wao

Spoiler:

Kuro was in the Itachi-world and Itachi was trying to convince Kuro to come over to the other side and Shiro intervened. It was pretty and stuff, but it didn't feel substantial enough - in that compared to the rest of the film, it took me a bit more imagination on my own part to feel that Itachi was being convincing. It just didn't feel like it worked very well for me, especially the part where he was showing what Kuro could do with that power and then the montage of broken society... it just felt too straightforward? Or too blatant? Compared to the rest of the movie. Also considering that shortly after Kuro said he'll believe in Shiro. I can imagine that Kuro felt like he wanted to believe Shiro but IMHO I don't think they brought this across very well at that point of time. That's just the way I felt though.

Yes, that part felt weird to me as well ; maybe I wasn't paying enough attention, but the Itachi stuff came too suddenly and it was too blatant. I don't know... Both the lava landscape depicting Kuro's mind and the Itachi's sermon.

I recall Shiro's voice very well (awww, I just love it when he makes his daily reports from planet Earth) and the seiyuu did a great job with it. On the other hand, Kuro doesn't speak too much and he never raises his voice, so perhaps that's why he sounds less memorable...


French DVD release in November, yay !

[wao]

Well, I'm bumping it again. ;_; I like talking about shows on animesuki but out of all the raw watchers out there why isn't anyone even trying to see this... then again, it was a bit hard to understand raw (that's prolly because my Japanese is awful) and I suppose most of the people interested in this show would rather watch it with subtitles.

But anyway - mods, shouldn't this go under "Licensed"? It's got a Sony site in English and I'm just wondering if this means a license.

[gianna]

Originally Posted by wao

Well, I'm bumping it again. ;_; I like talking about shows on animesuki but out of all the raw watchers out there why isn't anyone even trying to see this... then again, it was a bit hard to understand raw (that's prolly because my Japanese is awful) and I suppose most of the people interested in this show would rather watch it with subtitles.

But anyway - mods, shouldn't this go under "Licensed"? It's got a Sony site in English and I'm just wondering if this means a license.

Yeah I've been holding off on watching until subbed but man I'm slow -- I remember it was shown at MoMA (didn't get a chance to see it) but didn't realize that it was licensed -- Now I see that it IT'S PLAYING AT THE QUAD STARTING TOMORROW! Hopefully it does well enough and is still playing when I can go in August

[aorta]

9/25/07 is the release date for the DVD in the US.

Originally Posted by animeondvd.com

Tuesday, July 17th, 2007

Sony Picutres New Title Solicitation (08:05 PM EDT): Though listed on their site for awhile, the formal solicitation has been sent out to media outlets today for their next upcoming anime release:


Tekkon Kinkreet - 111 minutes - $38.95 - 09/25/2007 [blu-ray]
Tekkon Kinkreet - 111 minutes - $26.96 - 09/25/2007 [dvd]

[wao]

Blu-ray


I should've torn my hair out.
I'll console myself by looking at the pretty animation book or something... crap, all those amazing backgroudns in Blu-ray.

Crap.


Oh well, off this goes to the Licensed forum.

[MrProphet]

Originally Posted by wao

Don't tell me stephen's the only one on this forum who's watched it and wants to say something about it...

People are waiting for subs, it's as simple as that.

It's a constant problem with most avantgarde works. Even if the mainstream fan would be interested in watching something different, he or she won't go out of their way to see it as soon as it hits the intrawebs. Add to that the fact that Tekkon Kinkreet isn't really high on the agenda, wasn't promoted heavily and Michael Arias is not a household name even among people who appreciate and know avantgarde anime.

And yes, the film is amazing, I attest to that. 8)

By the way, I hear tha the Black and White manga (upon which this movie is based) is really popular in France. As usual, the French are far ahead of most of us as far as anime outside of Asia is concerned. Did you see what they did with the French Paprika blu-ray release?!?!

[wao]

I thought there'd be more raw-watchers who enjoy Studio 4C on this forum. Oh well.

And please don't tell us about what the damned French have with their damned blu-ray releases or I'm going to feel like smashing something. I'm so jealous of them (also, pet peeve: they got a bloody AKINO ARAI CONCERT there! What would I DO for one in SEA! Not like it's happening though) I actually think they're 'ahead' of most of Asia for that matter, really - definitely ahead of most of China, of the whole of South-east Asia, South Asia... everything except Japan, and maybe Taiwan and Hong Kong.


Speaking of which, I had watched Paprika at the Picturehouse cinema here the other day, and it actually had much better subtitles than TokiKake which was released on a much larger scale. I hope TK can get aired at the Picturehouse and not only just at a festival (I kinda think TK is actually more accessible than Paprika) and also get decent subs...

[gianna]

Oh good more of a date then just -Fall- for DVD release -- I'll just buy that because the showings in NY are already over! I really wanted to see it in a theater...

France does license some good series - especially some older ones that will most likely never be licensed in the US Mexico picks up some of the more obscure mangas too

Blu-ray huh (sorry wao) So tell me about the french release of Paprika

[MrProphet]

Originally Posted by gianna

Blu-ray huh (sorry wao) So tell me about the french release of Paprika

http://animeondvd.com/forum/showtopic.php?tid/22056/

BTW, here's some info on the American release of Tekkon Kinkreet (blu-ray version).

* Japanese 5.1 PCM Language
* Japanese Dolby Digital 5.1 Language
* English Dolby Digital 5.1 Language
* English Subtitles
* Spanish Subtitles
* French Subtitles
* Portuguese Subtitles
* Conversation with Director Michael Arias and British Rock Band Plaid
* Filmmaker Commentary
* The Making of Tekkon - Director Michael Arias' 300 Day Diary

http://www.animeondvd.com/reviews2/d...views/6632.php

[MrProphet]

Well, I finally got around to watching the final version of the movie and here's my not so humble opinion.

It's easier to list all the things that I did not like about the movie, rather than the opposite, since the opposite is pretty much summed up as: "And the rest is Fucking Brilliant!"

OK, here are things I thought were weaker than they should have been:

Spoiler for cristicisms:

- Snake's role is very ambiguous. Who is he? Why is he there? What does he want with the boys? Why does he need Kimura? Why did he need to get rid of the Rat?

Some of the answers to those questions are simply implied, but not established clearly enough. It's fairly obvious that Snake is more of a symbolic figure, a force of capitalistic modernity creeping up on the more primal concrete jungle of Treasure Town, turning simple playgrounds into commercial Playgounds (tm).

But how hard was it to spell it out clearly? How hard was it to establish Snake as a more credible, grounded antagonist? For all the evilness that he supposedly presents, Snake is very much a non-entity, not much more engaging that his superpowered Rent-A-Goons. When he says that he can just call up the company and replace his defeated soldiers like worn-out spare parts, that's pretty much a verdict on himself. In the end, Snake doesn't come out as a credible opponent. He is menacing, but goes out not with a bang, but with a whimper.

And I am completely oblivious as to why he needed to get Kimura on his side and why he needed to get rid of the Rat. Hell, Kimura was good for nothing other than to put Snake out of his misery. Even non-coocoo Black took care of him. Same goes for Rat. Other than to have an emotional scene between Kimura and Rat, what was the point? It wasn't like the Rat was threatening anyone or anything.

It was also rather weird that they've spend so little time to establish the main characters. I really wanted to know... Who are they? Where do they come from? Are they related? How did they meet? What's up with the Minotaur? Did Black know that he has a monstrous beast lurking in the depths of his psyche? Did White know beforehand that he "has all of Black's screws"? What made Black go coocoo, other than the guilt of betraying White?

I think that for a film that is almost 2 hours long, it's not much to ask to establish these rather basic points.

I love the character development in the movie, especially the chemistry between Kimura and Suzuki (he's got to be the nicest criminal overlord ever!) but I don't like the fact that characters seemingly develop out of the void. It's obvious that there is much that connects them. Rat, Kimura, Black, White... They know each other. There is a story there. How hard was it to tell at least a little bit of that story in passing? It would have greatly enhanced my understanding of the plot at little or no cost to the other aspects of the film.

I don't know if those are directing errors, but if you are of the mind that the director is responsible for every fuck-up and those are very obvious scripting errors, then yes, Arias is not perfect. The pace of the movie flows quite nicely and these things don't really annoy you that much as you watch the film, but as soon as you step back to think everything through, serious omissions like these really jump at you.

I still enjoyed the film immensely. As I've mentioned before, apart from these omissions, the film is just a treat. If I had to name 3 best things in the movie, they would be:

- Shinji Kimura's art direction.
- Art direction by Shinji Kimura.
- General godliness of of one Kimura, Shinji.

Oh, man, I knew this would be a Studio 4C work, and I expected a certain level of innovation, but the unforgettable Temptation of Black was just beyond anything that I have ever imagined. It was simply like nothing else. Absolutely out of this world. I dare you to name a scene anywhere as emotionally powerful and as breathtakingly creative and as stunningly artistic as the one where the Minotaur tempts Black with demonic power.

Michael Arias definitely has places to go, but now I actually want to, no, need to see him go to these amazing places, be something more than he was in the helm of Tekkon Kinkreet. Because he can! Because now I believe in him, and in Eiko Tanaka, and in Shinji Kimura, and in Shojiro Nishimi more than ever.

Because, if this is their second or third best, then I cannot wait to experience Arias an Co. at their absolute perfection. It would be something worth living for.

Over and out!

[MrProphet]

And for those who thought "tl;dr", here's the rundown:

- Art direction: godly.
- Animation: typical medium-to-high budget feature range
- Style: avant-garde, but accessible to general anime public.
- Script: weaker than it should be, too many continuity problems, but generally enjoyable.
- Sound/music: Very nice, atmospheric soundtrack, thought the sound editing was fairly standard for a feature film.
- Voice acting: Some good, some great, some simply ok. No colossal failures, although I couldn't say that anyone other than White and the Rat really stood out either.

Must watch for everyone's general animation education.

Interestingly enough, this is probably the most straight-forward of Studio 4C films. If you ever wanted to check one of their features out, but were afraid of all the acid trip rumors about their other films, then Tekkon Kinkreet is the place to start. It's fun, it's fairly simple, it will not make you feel uncomfortable.

[aorta]

Why is this in Unaired? The DVD came out in the US on Sept 25th.

For those interested the manga was also reissued as one volume.

[wao]

I have to concur that the part of the film that I keep coming back to again and again are the backgrounds. I can't get them out of my head. I'm so torn between buying the 3502940294 other things I need to buy and saving up for the (rather expensive) Tekkon Kinkreet artbooks. It's a very good example of how the BGs themselves say so much about the atmosphere without having to have a story. I guess that's why despite whatever problems there were in continuity and story I could still enjoy it tremendously (well, those problems usually don't bother me as much as uninspired production, so...)

I so deeply regret not getting the Blu-ray version, but I'll just be content with the fact that I have that book of interviews with various key staff other than Arias... orz

[MrProphet]

It's not just the BGs, but the general style and composition of shots. The layered feel of background textures, the manner in which the whole of the city is designed has this distinctly Kimura-ish thing going for it.

I love how the city sometimes felt like it was some kind of multidimensional cardboard castle that has been set-up with CGI and filled with all these 2D people and moving objects.

If you've seen that little ANI-KURI short Shinji Kimura did, you'll notice how similar the styling was, so this made me think that he has had a tremendous impact as the art director on pitching in the visual ideas for the movie and later bringing them to life.

[ginko51]

Very cool.