Program is written and directed by Yoshiaki Kawajiri best known for the excellent Ninja Scroll, and Vampire Hunter D. Here the action takes place in one of the training programmes of the humans, and it's very much typical of Kawajiri's style: fabulous fighting scenes with fluttering cloaks and swishing weapons. At first when I watched World Record, written by Kawajiri and directed by Takeshi Koike, I thought it was animated by the creators of Aeon Flux. The comparison should give you some idea of the animation style. Koike has worked as a lead animator for several directors, including work on Wicked City. This story is one of the more interesting on the DVD, and shows how a world class athlete can inadvertently become aware of the Matrix because of his focus and determination.
The jewel in the crown, in my opinion, is Beyond, written and directed by Koji Morimoto, best known as the animation supervisor of the groundbreaking Akira. The piece examines how a group of children react to a glitch in the Matrix, and their world therefore takes on a magical quality. It's a simple piece, with wonderful animation and innocence. The wonder of the children is expressed beautifully, and there is no real desire on their part for explanation, but just pathos at the end that their marvellous playground has disappeared. This is truly wonderful anime.
I was disappointed by A Detective Story, which is written and directed by Watanabe. It certainly started out well, and the animation is lovely: black and white to establish the detective film noir aspect of the story. Watanabe is very familiar with the detective convention, using it extensively in Cowboy Bebop, in conjunction with a cool jazzy soundtrack. In this story, which follows a detective's attempts to discover Trinity's whereabouts, Watanabe is let down by a weak ending, which spoils what is otherwise a fine piece. Finally, there's Matriculated which is written and directed by Peter Chung of Aeon Flux fame. Here we see Chung's usual style of animation, and it looks at the interesting concept of what would happen if you brought a machine into the Matrix. It's a psychological story, and typically of Chung's work, the ending is open-ended.
Article comments
1 - Michelle
What an incident. They showed the Animatrix yesterday on German television. I didn't forget to tune in and was surprised by most of the stories. My favourite is "Kid's Story" shortly followed by "Beyond". "World Record" and expecially "Matriculate" I didn't like at all. Mostly the last was totally lacking a plot and seemed to just show of a kind a psychedelic color-boost.
However, I liked the slightly melancholic tone throughout all of the stories.
2 - Eric Olsen
Thanks Maura, very nice perspective. Welcome!
3 - Peter
Overall, I liked the Animatrix DVD. One of my favorite parts is whenever the asian looking girl repeatedly sways her realistic butt cheeks to the left and right while she ponders her attack on her boyfriend. I cannot help to notice that this girl's crotch area was repeatedly emphasized in the first film. Why was the girl, or just her body, the most obvious element of this film?
4 - Bat Boy
besides for looking alright I thought the beginning of final flight... was pointless. I very much enjoyed Matriculated for adding another dimension to the man vs machine battle. This is a cool DVD, still I found it difficult to sit and watch in one sitting.
5 - The Minus Man
The Animatrix was great.. although some of the episodes left me hungry for more, just the fact that they were made was great. I loved the renaissance episodes. It left you feeling very sympathetic to fictional characters.