rigoberto78 - 2017-01-07 23:49:44

When it comes to short anthologies, the 3 pieces here are very different from the other. We have a surrealist mood piece, a science fiction noir and a Kafkaesque comedy each from 3 directors at the peak of their powers. There are flaws here and there, but each story is told with such confidence that it’s easy to recommend these 3 journeys.

mbosco - 2014-12-09 00:58:09

Having watched the triple-feature "Memories" a while back, I decided to move onto another, titled "Short Peace". "Memories" featured some great content, but it was mainly held up by a single part of it. "Short Peace" went for completely different genres and styles and threw them all together, bringing a more inconsistent feel that made the whole idea of packaging of them together a bit meaningless. Manie-Manie: Meikyuu Monogatari or "Neo Tokyo", on the other hand, is more of a package deal in that each part aids in the enjoyment of the entire threesome. All of these parts are memorable and all are engaging. From what I've seen from three-parters so far, this is certainly the most successful in its execution by having a consistent dark and ominous theme that stands out throughout.

Towards all three parts, the art and design is phenomenal, the first in particular containing some of the best in anime. The first part, titled "Labyrinth Labyrinthos", is a lot like "Cat Soup" for those who've seen it. It features wildly imaginative scenery and imagery. It also relates itself to a constant darker theme with plenty of psychological visuals. There's some fabulous animation in this piece and those who want a good experience, or to appreciate under-the-influence animation, should definitely come here for the great start. The sound is also fantastic and builds an engaging atmosphere that will take all focus and attention. There wasn't really any music besides a bit of carnival noise, but the sound design is again some of the best. However, this part doesn't come without flaws or without the potential to have been better. I found "Cat Soup" to be more of a masterpiece, even though the visuals here are a bit better quality, because there seemed to be more variation in the possible meaning it carried. Labyrinth Labrinthos didn't appear to carry much of anything to me, personally, and felt more like somewhat of a transition material to continue with the next two parts. As I appreciate illogical experiences a lot, it comes with a feeling that, without a story, meaning can still fill that missing sensation that would be felt without either. With barely anything to fill that gap, Labyrinth Labrinthos feels incomplete. Even so, it was a masterpiece of directing and design. There's also a lot of creepy clown imagery for those who can't handle it, but it would really take a lot for anime to scare.

After the first part, I feared that the rest of this collection wouldn't succeed to the same level as the first piece. The second part now transitioned into something with a tad more plot and story to it. It would still be untrue to say that the second piece, titled "Running Man", was less of an experience though. Infact, Running Man held about as much of an impactful experience as Labyrinth Labrinthos did. It took its own style of art and animation, while still keeping the dark look. It also did perfected sound work to match the depth of the atmosphere of the first, also coming up with a premise that had a bit of literal understanding to it. In that way Running Man part-way filled the gap Labyrinth Labrinthos couldn't with a bit of story, but it still didn't feel entirely satisfying in how it was carried out. The setting itself was nice and really fit the title of "Neo Tokyo" well. It takes a futuristic, deadly race setting and mixes a stylish amount of noir fashion in its inhabitants along with some detailed design-work in the technology. The art is good too, but not quite to the level of the first piece. While there is a lot of impressive moments, there are quite a bit of repetitive scenes and moments that will re-use frames. I usually wouldn't mention things of that nature, but it felt a tad too common here when considering the time length and the amount of body shaking going on (which reuses frames) and more still shots. Even so, the repetitive nature of it does increase the emotion of the experience in making it one of the most intense anime I've witnessed. However, this is a bit more of an experience than the first part, as how it is designed isn't too re-watch friendly. It's more of a one-timer, with maybe a bit of enjoyment from a re-watch after some time. That is mainly due to the issues again with the story. There is definitely a premise and something is knowingly happening in Running Man (being the race), but there is also some supernatural elements going on that really are what's taking the front of attention. These elements aren't explained in the slightest, only leaving one to try and guess at what could have happened. It felt that there might have been some meaning involved while watching it, but it really just felt more like visual art with the goal of creating a unique atmosphere (much like the first part). So, again the story and explanation is the cripple from feeling justified in giving this part the acclaim it could have received.

The third part, titled "The Order to Stop Construction", then moves in carrying the greatest focus on story of the bunch, with still some attention to atmosphere. The first thing that will likely come to one's mind when it starts is the animation style, making one know without-a-doubt who the art director was. That would be Katsuhiro Otomo, the man behind Akira. This looks exactly the same as that, down to the movements of the technology (which again make this piece fit with the title of "Neo Tokyo") and just about everything to the characters. There is some really interesting direction with music and visuals here, with a more superior handling of repetition to build the atmosphere. There isn't as much reusing of cels, but more rebuilding the cels and creating new, while still similar, scenes. The story was understandable this time around, and the main character had a purpose and a personality. The setting was still interesting, but a tad too unbelievable to take the story too seriously. Even though it is hard to take it completely seriously, the atmosphere isn't hampered too much by that. The environment creates something that appears like a technological jungle where the machines are living and growing off of themselves. The main character is done well and his reactions and emotions to what is occurring around him develop in an interesting way, him slowly turning mad along with the illogical and surreal technological environment he is forced to work in. One small gripe to being entirely satisfied with the story though would be the ending. It does present the character's madness well in a way that can make the viewer understand the ending, but a bit more time added to showing it would've helped in making the end not feel as blunt. Overall, The Order to Stop Construction definitely fits along Otomo's other works.

Of the three parts of Neo Tokyo, The Order to Stop Construction felt as the most complete experience with the most amount of time put into the atmosphere, direction, and the story. However, as the main aspect of Neo Tokyo seemed to be its visuals, Labyrinth Labyrinthos will be the most memorable of the bunch. That would be due to its excelling imagination and intriguing style. The director who I haven't heard of 'til now, Rintaro, is someone to keep attention on and I'll be prioritizing viewing his other works. Neo Tokyo has heavy strengths in its visuals and sound that create some captivating experiences, but its weakness is its lack of meaning and logical understanding. Its goal is to be seen as an art-house, and that should be the main expectation when deciding to view this. For the short length of forty minutes total, there shouldn't be much excuse to not wanting to see this though. It's a recommended viewing for just about everyone in the anime community that has some patience or attention to atmosphere, but it isn't quite a masterpiece. It would be great to have more stuff like this created in present time, but experience-heavy content like this seems to be becoming less popular. Even so, there's plenty of stuff that already exists out there that can be viewed for those types of people. Also, as a final note, it's recommended to watch Neo Tokyo in a dark room with not too many distractions. That will bring the most enjoyment.