Metropolis

When I first saw this I was totally blown away by its beautiful animation and groundbreaking use of music! It really made me lyrical in a way few anime does - Rintaro and Otomo really has what it takes to make a masterpiece. The blend of charming old-fashioned technology and allusions to modern phenomenons makes it the perfect anime for the beginning of 21st century!

Metropolis is based on Tesuka Osamus first manga and later gave inspiration to his more famous "Astro Boy". Some story elements and characters from Tesukas later works are clearly inserted in Metropolis to make it work as a movie, which in this case is good... The choice of music is, in my opinion, daring and rather funny; jazzy tunes spiced with hits from the 60s (Ray Charles) sets the tone of the "optimistic atomic age". All in all, well made nostalgia...

I could go on forever with this rant, so I spare you that if you see this little animated gem! Rent it, buy it, steal it (if necessary ;) , you won't regret it!

For crying out loud, it's stylized! That's why the soundtrack is jazz and blues and stuff. That's why the character animation is "crappy".

Look at a comic book from the twenties/thirties, namely Herge's Tintin books, or Tezuka's manga (fifties actually), which this is based off of, DANG IT! The characters are designed to look like comic book character's from that era. Shinsaku looks like one of the Thompsons. Kenechi looks like a cross between Tintin and Astro Boy.

It's meant to be like a Prohibition era Chicago or something.

I am a fan of anime, so after hearing all the great acclaim this movie got, I knew I had to see it.

Visually, the movie it top-notch. The blend of computer graphics and hand-drawn animation is seamless, with incredible detail given to each. Graphically, this movie is indeed a milestone in animation, one that will definitely be referred to over and over in the future. If you are a fan of animation (Japanese or otherwise), you MUST see this movie.

As for the story and character - they were somewhat underwhelming. Occasionally each got to the point where they intrigued you and made you want to learn more - but you got no more. You learn really nothing about the youthful male protagonist or the female humanoid who he saves and takes care of. They hardly even say a word to each other! There were also some big jumps in the storyline, feeling like a lot of important information was cut out.

The movie was based on a long manga, so it's obvious that A LOT of character and story development had to be cut out so that the movie would run at an acceptable running time. I honestly think this story would have worked - it certainly would have been somewhat better - had it been done as a miniseries. Maybe the visuals wouldn't have been so stunning, but a more compelling story and more memorable characters would have made up for it.

This is another great masterpiece in anime. Also, it's very different from others, as reviewers have pointed out.

I never expected old-1930-ish-saxopohone jazz music to be playing in an anime movie. It's a great movie, and, like Akira, the Matrix, and Princess Mononoke (or, Mononoke Hime as I prefer), it gets better every time you see it.

and in the climax of the movie, you hear Ray Charles' "I Can't Stop Loving You". Puts in the same touch as how Gene Kelly's "Singin' in the Rain" was put in "A Clockwork Orange". It engraves the scene in your head, never to forget, and it does bring the scene back to your mind once you hear that song. It's happened to me lots of times after i saw Clockwork Orange.

Review: 5/5, Good Movie scale Ratings: US PG-13, UK PG, Canada PG

I have always been a fan of the 60's and 70's anime. I feel that the 80's and 90's Anime got a bit out of hand, but this film brings me back to the experimentation, the wonder, visuals and the drawing you into forgetting this is only 'anime' at all.

The story is an update of the fantastic silent film Metropolis, and at points in this telling, the story falls flat, but just watching the film drew me in and made up for those story gaffs. There isn't any one who can look at this and not be taken with its ambition. Old anime elements, new ones, stop action, realism -- you name it, its all in one nice package! I am looking forward to additional works from this team, I hope they continue on for I feel this project was a great venture and to what they are capable of. This film is really wonderful, I recommend it highly.