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Anyone seen the new "Metropolis"?

Posted by: Nos4a2 (MENTALSCREW)

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I was lucky enough to have the time to catch the new Metropolis anime down at my local theatre here in Chicago. Has anyone else seen this amazing film?

While it does take some basic ideas from the 1927 silent film, the basis of the plot is taken from the 1949 manga by Osamu Tezuka (who was responsible for "Kimba the White Lion" ("Jangaru Taitei") the basis of a critically acclaimed Disney film you might have heard of called "The Lion King")

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Like the original silent film, you have the tension between the caste system of the world's greatest city and a plot the centralizes around a female robot designed to set some nefarious plots in motion due to the current political party determined to take ultimate control. However all connections stop there, and what you end up with is a wonderful storyline about human connection, social belonging and of course the ultimately good vs. evil in the hearts of men.

The animation is breathtaking from the opening scene until the heart-wrenching climax. The city scenes are absolutely awe-inspiring in their depth and detail utilizing a mixture of classic animation and CGI. I was left several times with my jaw agape at the beauty of the animation, from the overall shots of the city, its lower levels and from atop the heaven reaching Ziggurat, the new structure and focus of much of the film's political momentum. Rintaro (Hino Tori, X) does an amazing job of bringing this all to screen with the help a screenplay by Katsuhiro Otomo (writer of the Akira manga and director of the film version), and art direction by Shuichi Hirata (Ghost in the Shell, X).

Surely there is some points in the film where the writing is something to wish for but you are kept graciously loving every moment of this film with the wonderful eye-candy... even if they did rely too strongly on this point and not enough on the story writing at times. All in all though i would heavily suggest this to any anime lover out there, or anyone who hasn't been subject this wonderful genre.... go, go, go.. NOW..

Unfortunately, unless you live in several of the locations this film is being shown (LA, San Francisco/San Jose, New York, Chicago, Honolulu, Boston, D.C., Seattle, Toronto or Vancouver) you might have to wait until March 12 to catch it on DVD. I will be right there ready to buy my copy to add to my collection. The DVD will be a two disc set featuring the movie in widescreen, standard in Japanese, English and French. The second mini-disc will offer a featurette on the making of the film, an interview with the director, Rintaro, as well as a biography on Tezuka, a photo gallery, and history of the original comic book. buy, buy, buy.. NOW.. er, well THEN rather.

- Nos4a2 (MENTALSCREW)

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