Tekkon Kinkurîto (Tekkonkinkreet) (2006)

I am constantly frustrated with myself for not watching more anime, so I am pretty happy I got to see Tekkonkinkreet recently (on a big screen, no less!). It's the first major anime studio film to be directed by someone not native to Japan, which I found kind of interesting. The story revolves around young orphans Black and White, who have made the colorful district of Treasure Town their stomping grounds. They fearlessly jump all around the city and make it their business to know its dealings. When yakuza move in with intentions of quietly taking over, the boys endeavor to protect their town from an onslaught of violence and unhappiness, but they may find the gang's numbers and uncanny brute force too much to overcome.

In terms of animation and visuals, Tekkonkinkreet is stunning. The figures move impossibly fluidly through the insanely detailed and whimsical Treasure Town. Stylistically, the character design isn't my favorite (it's a little too simplified for me), but everything is so infused with color, imagination, and a will to experiment that I really didn't care. It's just consistently beautiful and interesting to watch, and there's this amazing scene toward the end done in trippy watercolor mode that's sooo cooool.

I haven't read the manga this is based on (hopefully I will soon), so I'm not sure of any plot differences, but for the most part I enjoyed the storyline. There's a large focus on the characters of Black and White and on their intense, symbiotic relationship. There's a lot of ambiguity, but I could still generally understand what was going on. I liked the numerous side characters and subplots intermingling with the boys' exploits, especially the weary yakuza leader opposed to the whole plan. As the film progresses, it becomes unexpectedly serious and a bit depressing, which I wasn't prepared for, but it's not a downer of a movie. Tekkonkinkreet combines the thrill of freerunning and fighting bad guys with an intriguing friendship and breathtaking animation.

4.5/5