Two clips from Taiyo Matsumoto’s “Tekkonkinkreet”
“Tekkonkinkreet” is the newest cinematic anime from Japan to get the American arthouse tour. It’s opening in New York and Los Angeles tomorrow and presumably more places in the weeks to come.
The story, based on the Taiyo Matsumoto manga “Black and White”, is about hyperviolent kid thug Black and his calmer friend White as they run around Treasure City and beat the crap out of anyone that bothers them. As corporations try to put an end to their mad reign of the streets, things get a little bit … weird. I’m sure Viz Comics is putting out a reprint sometime soon to tie in with the movie. It’s definitely worth tracking down.
The movie looks stunningly detailed and stylized, not too surprising considering Studio 4°C (“Genius Party”, “The Animatrix”) is doing the animation. Interestingly, it’s directed by a French American director, Michael Arias. IMDB has him as an accomplished visual effects guy and producer but this is his first directing gig. Can’t wait for this to show up in Boston soon.
Here are two clips from the movie, including one fine chase scene and a more meditative look at Treasure City. And a trailer for good measure.
(spotted on Ain’t It Cool News)
– Patrick
Hidden Cinema 
Small thing, but the reviews I’ve read (and Wikipedia, for what it’s worth) have Michael Arias listed as an American who’s lived and worked in Japan for a number of years.
Yup, you’re right, Alex. Actually, thanks to this film, Arias is the first American to direct a Japanese animated film. I’ve read some good interviews with him and Studio 4C recently – I should look them up.
[…] Tekkon Kinkrete Interviews As a follow-up to the news that Tekkon Kinkrete is finally getting some showings on our side of the pond, I thought that I’d post some other info about it that I’ve come […]
More Tekkon Kinkrete Interviews « Hidden Cinema said this on July 21, 2007 at 5:17 pm