Metropolis (anime)

Cafe Society
1

Just finished watching Metropolis. I thought the visuals were the most splendid I have ever seen in an animated film and among the very best in any film; the background artwork especially was sublime.
I haven’t quite made up my mind about the film as a whole; the story and characters are somewhat underdeveloped and the music doesn’t always match the mood (probably deliberately). Still the ending was quite powerful and I think the visuals alone makes this a pretty amazing film. I think there may have been a deliberate decision to underwrite the characters so as to let the pictures tell the story.

Anyone else seen it?

2

I did once, and now every time I go to Blockbuster I see if they have it, but they never do. I agree that the reason the movie was made was the visuals, and the insightful depiction of a futuristic city, and for that I loved it. In my opinion, that’s the main reason to make a mainstream movie animated, to do visuals and special effects that you would have a hard time doing with live action. But, I don’t know anything about anime, so any specific comments I have would sound really dumb, I’m sure.

3

I liked the artwork but the story ended up too anime-cliche-ridden for me to enjoy it. :frowning:

4

I have.

I think it helps to see the original Metropolis (1927) so you can really see how the anime was an homage to it. I rather enjoyed both versions, athough for different reasons. The political/social message in the anime(People worrying about losing jobs to machines) is far more timely then in the original (Labor Unions are good).

The Destruction of the Ziggeraut (Both films use a bit of Sumerian/Babylonian References) reminded me of Dr. Strangelove.

5

The comparison with the first Metropolis is interesting. I believe the director has said that he saw a poster of the film but not the film itself. It’s been a long time since I have seen it myself but I remember liking the visual style but finding the plot and especially the ending rather sentimental and crude.

In a way , though, the comparison is apt because I think what they were trying to do with the anime was similar to a silent film. There is a basic plot and there is little attempt to flesh the characters out with extended dialogue. The visuals and music are supposed to carry the film. Does it work? On the whole ,I think ,yes.

However I would probably have preferred a film with better developed characters. I would love to see what someone like Miyazaki could do with this theme and with this kind of animation technology. He addressed similar themes briefly in his excellent music video “On your mark”.

6

I can’t help but smile when I recall the scene in which the Japanese Private Detective/Bogarteseque tough guy switches off the light, & puts the smackdown on that uniformed thug. Sometimes, there’s a very special moment when the villian gets a free lesson that “good” doesn’t equal “victim”.

The man who created the manga this film is based on, also created Kimba The White Lion and Astro Boy. If I was not half asleep, I would be able to recall his name.

7

Sounds like the orginal! :smiley:

Wait a sec! Asrto Boy!?!?! That was like, the first Anime EVER!

8

That would be Osamu Tezuka. He’s also the creator of Black Jack and Hinotori comic book series. (The latter is my all-time favorite comic book series, followed by Miyazaki’s Nausicaa)

9

I love Metropolis, we have it on special edition DVD. I think the soundtrack is amazing. I think the mix of computer graphics and traditional animation make for a unique looking film. As in Akira, the special attention to detail, and animating almost every element on the screen, is what sets this movie apart from the rest. If you can get the DVD, I highly reccomend you do so, the picture clarity is insane, and the 5.1 surround really will knock your socks off.

10

Ah darn it. Now I want it even more. Excuse me. I have to go to the mall…

11

I was kinda “eh” on it. The art was nice but the plot was all cliche and the ending much too obviously a Dr. Strangelove knockoff.

Out of 10 on the my patented Anime Incomprehensibility Scale (where Grave of the Fireflies is a 0: “Perfectly comprehensible” and Akira is a 10: “Utterly Incomprehensible”) it rated a 5: “Intermittently Incomprehensible.”

12

Hello Again, you do not want to see some of the anime I have then. There are several 10s according to you.

13

What rating does Legend of the Overfiend get?

14

Haven’t seen it. Outlaw Star gets a 4 (Somewhat Comprehensible)… it was doing approx 3 (Mostly Comprehensible) until the episode “Hot Springs Planet Tenrei” which was like… um… off the charts bizarre and hilarious. Was the boss out of town or something?

Well, nice to Know the AIS is finally getting the attention it deserves.

15

“and the ending much too obviously a Dr. Strangelove knockoff.”
Only in the device of using a popular song as background music to the big finale. Otherwise the ending is different and IMO more interesting than Dr Strangelove. I think it’s the best part of the film.

16

I’d hate to see what Hello Again would rate Digicharat at. He’d probably have to stretch the upper end to 100 or so (“Brain Sliding Out of Skull”)…

17

I just got an e-mail last night from Netflix.com letting me know Metropolis is on its way <shivers with anticipation>

Last summer I really wanted to get into anime in a big way. I even started a thread asking for advice on where to begin. Several months later, Joel and I have rented a lot of anime. Hollywood Video stores actually have a halfway decent selection. There are 4 Hollywood Videos in Salem, and not only do they each have fairly large anime sections, each store has stuff that the 3 don’t have. We’ve seen quite a bit of really good stuff, a lot of mediocre stuff, and some real stinkers. We’re full to bursting with giant-robo-mecha-ancient-alien-spirit-warrior-ninja-fan-service goodness :slight_smile:

If we’d had Hello Again’s incomprehensibility scale, in the beginning most videos would have rated a solid 10. But the more we watched, the more familiar it all became. I’ve learned to stop worrying about whether or not it makes sense, because by the end it usually does. Tell me again what’s supposed to be mind blowing about Akira? :wink:

18

I think I remember your thread. .So what have you liked so far? I started watching anime in 2002 myself. I hope you can post your comments about Metropolis after you see it.

19

Well, visuals mean a lot to me because, IMHO, what’s the point of watching animation if the animation sucks? That’d be like going to the ugly painting museum, or something. But, at the same time, if the story is engaging, I can be very forgiving of less-than-perfect animation. With that said, here’re a few of my favorites:

Spirited Away: This is the first animé I’ve seen on the big screen and it was wonderful! I love this movie so much! It had better be on DVD in time for my birthday :slight_smile:

El-Hazard: What is the plural of series? There are 4 El-Hazard series, two of which are OAV’s (El-Hazard: The Magnificent World, and El-Hazard 2), and two that are TV series (El-Hazard: The Wanderers, and El-Hazard: The Alternative World). I’ve seen parts of the first OAV and all of the 2nd OAV and TV series. These series are by the same people that created the Tenchi Muyo series, but, while some of the elements are similar (magical girls fighting over a relatively clueless guy, cute kitty-like creature with shapeshifting abilities, the TV series goes back and retells the story of the OAV with a whole new origin), El-Hazard takes place in a much richer fantasy world. And the visuals are gorgeous! The colors are sharp and vibrant, the characters are all handsomely rendered, and it’s actually a much nicer series to look at than Tenchi. I think Tenchi is more fun, though, with more likable characters. It’s really hard to say which I like better. I guess I like them about the same, but for different reasons.

Blue Seed and Inuyasha: I’m lumping them together because, let’s face it, they’re the same story. They’re both made for TV so the production values are relatively low and the visuals suffer for it. But they both have the same fairy tale/soap opera story: modern girl finds out that she’s the reincarnation of an ancient priestess, demons chase girl because she’s inherited something from her ancestor that they want, half-man/half-demon creature saves her so he can use her for his own purposes, then falls in love with her. But is he in love with her for herself or because she reminds him of the ancestor (or twin sister [Blue Seed]) that he loved? Meanwhile, she also falls in love with him, but they are too busy bickering to admit they have feelings for each other. And dead former lover has to show up to throw a monkey wrench into the works, too. All this while fighting different monsters every episode, leading up to a battle royale with the head evil monster (which I haven’t seen in either series yet, but I trust is coming). See? Same story. Still, I like them both. But I like Blue Seed maybe a little better because Kusanagi isn’t as mean to Momiji as Inuyasha is to Kagome.

This is already starting to run long, so here’s a quick round of up other videos I’d put in my top 10, if I had such a list: Akira, Perfect Blue (I’d think people who weren’t animé fans, but liked whodunits or psychological thrillers would enjoy this one, too), Roujin-Z (check out the scene towards the end where the nurse climbs the pile of trash the mecha has become-if that’s not rotoscoped, then that right there is probably the best animated sequence I’ve ever seen in my entire life! It actually looks like a person climbing on a pile of trash. I can’t explain it, but it gives me chills when I remember how realistic it looked), PatLabor the Movie 1 & 2, Ninja Scroll (the scene where Kagero offers herself up to Jubei Kibagami-yes, I’m looking these names up, there’s no way I could remember them all-and he just holds her, God, that makes me swoon), Neon Genesis Evangelion (haven’t seen the whole series yet, but I enjoy it even though Joel only gives it a C), Robot Carnival, Battle Angel, Vampire Princess Miyo, and a whole bunch more.

I’m not going to go into all the mediocre ones because there’s just way, way too many, but the videos that sucked so much big green donkey dick that they need to be mentioned are: Golgo 13, A.D. Police, Angel Cop, Roots Search, Genocyber, Suikoden: Demon Century. Ick. These videos have no redeeming qualities that I can think of. None. Absolutely none. Ick.

And I’m going to give it one more plug: Netflix.com is so cool, because now I can sit on my butt and rent all the animé DVD’s I want without leaving my house. It rules.

20

Okay I just bought Metropolis on DVD from Best Buy. And it’s exam week. Life is full of hard decisions. Maybe I’ll just watch the firefighting scene. I love those little robots.