Quartile rating: 7.5/10 · 1 rating
In the midst of societal conflict in the futuristic city of Metropolis, Kenichi and his uncle Shunsaku Ban set out to uncover the mystery behind the first human-like robot, Tima.
Rintaro's 2001 adaptation of Osamu Tezuka's Metropolis is a visually extraordinary achievement, blending Tezuka's retro-manga character designs with richly layered Fritz Lang-inspired Art Deco cityscapes rendered in lush digital color — a cinematographic feat that remains singular and breathtaking. Its novelty is genuine: no other anime film occupies quite this aesthetic space, fusing 1920s expressionist architecture with jazz-age American music (Ray Charles's 'I Can't Stop Loving You' over the apocalyptic climax is an audacious and unforgettable choice). The plot, while ambitious in its themes of class struggle, identity, and humanity, is somewhat unwieldy — subplots crowd the narrative and Kenichi as a protagonist is underdeveloped. Voice acting ranges from serviceable to thin, limiting emotional investment. The ending is dramatically potent and memorably staged but slightly rushed in its emotional resolution. Overall a visually and conceptually distinctive work that slightly underachieves narratively.