Tekkon Kinkreet

You'd think a day that only comes once every four years would feel a little more apocalyptic.

Anyway, Tekkon Kinkreet is an anime notable for its innovative camera techniques and Americans involved with the production. Michael Arias worked on The Animatrix, and directed this film. Sometimes you see cooperation between Japanese and American studios, but putting foreigners in charge of a film is rare. If Arias is responsible for some of Tekkon's more creative compositions, then maybe they should try it more often.

I don't personally find Tekkon's art very appealing, and the animation itself is less than smooth at times, but the film visually makes up for it with imaginative background designs, flashy style during action sequences, and liberal use of faked real-life camera techniques to make it feel more real than most animation ever does. Handheld shakiness, changing focus, and uncommon framing give it a special flare worth watching. Regardless of the content, it should be seen by anyone with an appreciation for animation techniques.

Speaking of content, I felt a little mixed on that front. Some of the characters are interesting, there are a few genuinely memorable scenes, and the action parts drip with coolness. It's visually unique and sometimes funny, but in general it seems just a little bit boring. It probably would have benefited greatly from 20 minutes or so getting cut. The pacing is just off; nothing in Tekkon feels particularly bad, it just takes too long getting places and it's a little unfocused. Maybe the subplot about the yakuza with a pregnant girlfriend getting dropped would have helped. It wasn't bad, it just stretched everything out. A little more focus on the relationship between Black and White and an actual confrontation with the villain would have made it stronger. I did enjoy it, but it was mostly because the style was so strong, not the substance.