Tekkonkinkreet

“When the sky turns black… Why do I feel so blue?”

Welcome to town, Treasure Town. A city that has a certain je ne sais quoi; a never-never land if you will. Part gritty urban fable, part kaleidoscopic fever dream, Tekkonkinkreet follows Black and White – two orphaned boys who prowl the streets of Treasure Town, a surreal asphalt jungle and pan-Asian hybrid stitched together from Tokyo, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Bombay, and beyond. Black is sharp, dangerous, and never backs down. Street royalty in the making. White is a wandering innocent, unscathed by this armpit of a city. Together, they call themselves “The Cats”, an inseparable force ruling over back alleys and rooftops. That is… until yakuza schemes, corporate vultures, and their own inner demons threaten to tear both their bond and the city apart. As the seasons pass by, violence escalates, chaos reigns, and Black descends into madness. Is Treasure Town ripe to devour itself?

Michael Arias, who started out as a VFX artist inspired by Douglas Trumbull, became the first non-Japanese filmmaker to direct a major anime. And boy, did he come in swinging! Based on Taiyo Matsumoto’s manga, Tekkonkinkreet is a hustling-‘n-bustling coming-of-ager that wears the tag “chaos” proud on its sleeve. Arias incorporates live-action camera techniques (like handheld framing and long tracking shots) and mixes them with Studio 4°C’s trademark experimentation, fusing traditional 2D with innovated 3D CGI animation. This result is a dazzling sensory overload that channels Masaaki Yuasa, Moebius, and street art into an emotional hymn (and a warning) for the modern metropolis. Tekkonkinkreet is an orgy of images that will likely impress newcomers to anime as well as the seasoned geek. As far as city trips go, this might be the wildest ever, and you don’t even have to leave your seat for it.