Watching TekkonKinkreet is kind of like being hit by a speeding bus full of people drawn by someone on crack and awesome city-scapes.
TekkonKinkreet is a 2006 film that focuses on the lives of two homeless orphans Kuro and Shiro, or Black and White. Black and White live in a Japanese city, Treasure Town, and are known as "Cats". They sort of run the streets. That is until a group of yakuza that are major bad news show up and start making trouble. Black is determined to save Treasure Town while he tries his best to protect White.
At first, I wasn't sure if I liked the movie. I was so stressed the entire time I felt like my heart was going to pop and I told my sister that very same thing. I felt this way until probably the last four minutes of the (to my great joy) 1 hr. 50 min. movie, which is longer than many stand alone anime movies. It is quite a shame when a movie feels rushed or the characters are not developed enough due to it's short duration.
Black and White are both incredibly intriguing and rather whacked, not to mention, they have some mad skills.
There is quite a bit of subtle humor mixed in with the stress and action, however. Probably to make it easier to swallow, like a syrup coating. Mary Poppins, anyone?
The English dub is executed quite expertly. This isn't just some people stuffed in a sound booth saying some random lines. This is solid acting. I can still hear the astonishing delivery of some of the lines playing in my head. The translation is not awkward with lame jokes, as is the case with some dubs. Everything makes sense and flows smoothly.
Also, the inanimate things like buildings, cars, giant elephant gods and such, were so detailed compared to the relatively simple people. Don't get me wrong. White and Black have some pretty kickin' threads, but the proportions are all weird. Crazy skinny elbows and pot-bellies, while cute, are not quite normal.
The music does a wonderful job capturing the constant suspense. Also, the movie's ornate musical wrapping is topped off with a truely unique and rockin' Asian Kung-Fu Generation song during the credits.
After seeing it twice, once with my sister and then the day after with my mother, we decided to buy it. It is definitely a movie that no matter how many times you watch it, you'll catch more things every time.
I would love to go into a deeper analysis of the plot and characters for you, but I would much rather have you all be pleasantly surprised as I highly recommend that you go rent it right now. If you do not have NetFlix or your local movie shop doesn't have TekkonKinreet, then do whatever is in your means to locate it. It really is that good. Just don't steal anything.
