jephiachantharath This movie was introduced to me when I saw Paprika a while back,it was one of the previews before the movie. I thought it looked imaginative and interesting, but when I watched it I was somewhat disappointed. I still find it enjoyable, but it's completely different from what I thought it was about. So apparently it's about these two orphans named Black and White, who make up a gang called the cats who run the city of treasure island. With that I thought it was unconvincing that just two kids could be so dangerous, but when we get into the jumping scenes it's not all completely unbelievable, and it happens right away so that's good. Another thing to note is the animation style, it's definitely different from most anime's I've seen, luckily it's not the detriment to the film in anyway, and if anything it adds to it. The themes that this movie tries to convey is what irritates me, for them being so bluntly obvious. The characters names: Black and white, seriously? Your going to the basics of thematic righting? Black being the absence of emotions the chaos if you will, and white the purity the innocence. Even later when Black has a yin-yang on his shirt, they couldn't have made it so blatantly obvious what they're trying to say: that one can't exist without the other. I guess this wouldn't be as bad if I felt for these kids, but they're aren't that interesting. I mean white acts like a special child; which suppose to mean he sees good within the rubble, and Black is so depressing and pathetic. There are moments where I do like them, for instances when they play around and fight those other kids in the beginning of the film, they looked happy and I felt that. The supporting cast is not all that great either, there's a yakuza member who has no real point to having a story arc; although the scene with his boss is really good, which by the way the mob boss is one of the few characters I liked. The cops: pointless, the old man: why? That purple guy named snake: well he was essentially to the plot and his minions were cool in action. Finally the scene with the demon black is really pretentious, I mean it an evil inside him; hasn't that become a cliché long before this movie? Talking to Black about how he'd be so much better without white, and I already know how's this is going to end so it's watch watching at this point, and then it finally ends somehow with the two at the beach like White always wanted. So overall, this is an average anime film, but a not so great film in general. Please note I wanted to like this film; and I do to an extent, but the overall obvious thematic elements and lack of interesting characters makes this not anything special.

Tweekums Orphans Kuro and Shiro (Black and White) live in Treasure Town, a violent city where various groups vie for control. The two of them support each other with Kuro acting as the protector and Shiro the conscience. Kuro believes that he runs Treasure Town and must confront the gangs that he believes are going to ruin it; Shire meanwhile just wants to make enough money for them to move to a house by the sea. Things turn bad for the boys when a stranger arrives in town with the intention of demolishing much of the town to build a giant theme park. This stranger is quite malevolent and sets three assassins to kill Kuro and Shiro. This leads to Shiro being badly injured and the two of them being separated. Apart the two of them find life difficult; Shiro is in care and spends his time drawing and Kuro gets more and more violent until it appears he might be going insane.The characters in this film may look a little rough at first but as we get to know them and the city they inhabit that seems to suit them. The city itself is beautifully detailed and the animation looks great especially when we see the two boys running down the city's narrow alleyways. The two protagonists are interesting characters with Kuro very much the yin to Shiro's yang. Those not familiar with anime may be surprised at the violence which is at times quite bloody; the film certainly deserves the '12' certificate the BBFC gave it. The voice work sounded good to me even though I had to rely on the subtitles to understand what was being said. If you enjoy anime or animation in general this is definitely worth checking out.

Malik Moran It was incredible. its so peaceful, masterful, and calming, with a little bit of spice, of thrill and adventure!!!! If it was up to me I would give this movie the biggest movie award in the world!!! This movie made me cry twice, and I'm not easy to cry during a movie, but I did!!! Although it is rated R I think kids over the age of 13 should be allowed to experience this incredible movie. What makes this movie so incredible is its beautiful art style and storyline, but I will say you do need to have an open mind to fully enjoy this movie. Also be a little bit patient, but don't let that ruin the movie for you. One more thing, when you go see this movie see the original version with subtitles, so you won't have to deal with the horrible English Dubb. I highly recommend this movie!!!!

benjamin_lappin "Tekkonkinkreet", literally translated as reinforced concrete, is an hypnotic experience set upon the kaleidoscopic drop of some truly gorgeous drawings which tells the tale of two street urchins as they do battle with an array of colourful characters in order to defend their city from being taken over. Adapted from the three volume manga series by Taiyo Matsumoto, the film doesn't usually carry the infuriating hallmarks of a manga-to-anime switch over, which can often make the film an unenjoyable experience as the viewer struggles to come to terms with the story and characters and in the process miss the film. In this instance, any preconceptions are staved as "Tekkonkinkreet" absorbs the viewer all but instantly in a cacophony of animation, sound and, perhaps surprisingly, emotion.Tekkonkinkreets original manga form is what is known as a "seinen" manga, which is a subset of the animated genre which targets males, usually, from between the ages of eighteen and thirty, and as a twenty-four year old male myself, I perhaps enjoyed it more than others outside my demographic bracket. Ostensibly, it is a boys film as the premise bases itself on gangster films as our two street urchin protagonists, the aptly named "Black" and "White" find themselves coming into contact with an ever escalating array of Yakuza as they try to take over the ridiculously sublime "Treasure Town". There is a great deal of violence within the film (which while in my eyes completely justifies the progression of the film is incredibly misleading when you look at the UK Film Certificate Branding of a mere 12) as the battles waged become more intense, more bloody and more important to the survival of our two heroes. Tekkonkinkreet also utilises a much more avant-garde style of animation which we are currently beginning to see more of in the western world as an increasing acceptance of things which are outside of the "norm" are filtering through, and it is certainly befitting of the style. Tekkonkinkreet successfully delivers on appeasing any and all who are looking for high quality hand drawn animation which surpasses the eternally vapid conveyor belt of repetitiveness that is Pixar, but it also delivers on being more than just a "fighting" film.The intrinsic parts of Tekkonkinkreet prove in being the messages the director and original creator are wishing to convey to their audiences, of which there are two major points. Firstly, we have the ying and yang nature of Black and White, how their coexistence is precisely that, how they are mirror images of each other, how in essence they are two parts of the same hole and that you could be forgiven for thinking someone spliced a singular entity at birth to form two. "Black" is the streetwise member of the "Cats", as they are known within the city, as he has a savvy and cunning which has enabled he and white to be high on the Treasure Town food chain. As expected for being orphaned children, each have their issues, and with Black it is the impression that he is only one bad day away from total insanity and mental breakdown, while with "White" the issue is if he were to have a mental breakdown it wouldn't have much to break. White is stated as being eleven within the film yet quite clearly finds it difficult keeping a grasp on reality and his surroundings as his mental age is quite obviously, less than that. However, it is not merely how much White relies on Black for survival with the treacherous confines, but it is also how much Black relies on White, as the director twists the uses of Black and White and indeed Good and Evil as roles interchange in all quarters. Secondly, we have yet again another confrontation, another coming together of two forces yet this time it is more theory based. Treasure Town is a gloriously colourful island sitting sedately in the centre of a river yet its buildings and inhabitants for all their grandeur seem incredibly outdated. Treasure Town isn't exactly a time warp but you could be forgiven for thinking so, it is a place contented in its own time, but for the Yakuza this is not acceptable as they wish to bring Treasure Town forward into the 21st Century, to update the scenery, to turn it into a money making venture of epic proportions . This second theme resonates with a fear of old replacing new, yet the new not being perhaps as grand as everyone believes it to be, it is a fear of traditions being eradicated by a machine which has no need for sentiment, and this feeling, from both points of view, is embedded within characters on all sides of the battle. Tekkonkinkreet is a highly charged emotional film, which looks at characters interactions and dependence on each other the yings and yangs within the city itself, the coming together of old and new and more evidently, people's desire for power. The phrase "my city" is uttered on numerous occasions as individuals all attempt to lay claim to the treasured turf, yet none truly understanding what the phrase means or why they are saying it. Tekkonkinkreet is a highly successful anime, which blends together elements of crime, violence, humour and fantasy creating a cerebral journey for the senses as director Michael Arias superbly transcribes this moralistic tale with an energetic style of directing which perhaps possesses some of the best and "coolest" "reveal" shots in recent times. Tekkkonkinkreet is an absorbing adventure which transcends genres and blurs styles in a hot pot of beautiful angst and proves itself to be worth a watch for any who allows themselves to be enveloped by a world which is never told in black and white.