Tekkonkinkreet (Blu-ray)
Picture:
A- Sound: B+ Extras: C Film: B+
Black and
White, two street kids that walk live in the Treasure Town. Striving to just survive and live this world
finding their place, by being the street smart and toughest kids in the
neighborhood. But in an ever changing
world, things hardly stay the same, not with the town changing, Yakuzas and weirdoes
moving in, the new replacing the old. And
when push comes to shove what will Black and White do? When the gangsters start moving in, White
gets caught in the crossfire and is taken into police. How will Black go on?
Tekkonkinkreet is an amazing Animé, with surreal
digital graphics and beautiful artwork, give Treasure Town both character and
richness in details. In a rundown,
changing town, its scenery changes as the town gets renovated. But the story revolves around two street
urchins Black and White also know as the Cats. Black ever consumed by violence and fighting,
while White is filled with innocence, joy and happy thoughts, the two complement
each other, BUT when changes start to happen, can Black afford to protect White
and still be together? Things start to
get dangerous... In order to survive, Black appeals to the darker side of his
nature, but can White save Black from becoming consumed by the darkness?
While at
first I thought the character design was just abstract and weird, I was impressed
by the amount of effort put into the creation of the city and how much detail
and thought was put into the story. It
is filled with all kinds of symbolism (AKA Black and White, Yin and Yang) of
not only the characters but the change from old to new, but even if a city
changes, it's people don't change so as easy... It is interesting watching the
two main characters Black and White and the connection that they share, and the
reversal of the roles when Black begins to break down and lose himself that
White ends up saving Black from the darkness... that even in an imperfect
world, that each one has the pieces that the other is missing... the film
explores the boundaries of imagination and the human mind.
The 1080p
2.35 X 1 digital High Definition image is very impressive, with sharpness,
color richness and clarity that opens up a whole new avenue of visual
excellence in Animé presentation after years of VHS, then DVD releases that
have been one of the quietest boom markets in home video history. The image quality delivered here will stun,
please and excite Animé fans as the genre comes to Blu-ray for the first
time. The sound options are PCM 16/48
5.1 in both English and Japanese and both mixes work, though Animé fans will
enjoy both and purists the latter. The
surrounds are nicely utilized and up there with the best DTS mixes we have
heard on DVD in the genre.
Extras
include The Making of Tekkonkinkreet - Director Michael
Arias' 300 Day Diary, a conversation with director Michael Arias & British
Music Duo Plaid and filmmaker feature length audio commentary. That is much better than many Animé DVDs and
hopefully will be typical of future Sony Blu-ray Animé releases. Until then, don’t miss Tekkonkinkreet.
- Ricky Chiang
