Manie-Manie: Meikyuu Monogatari

Manie-Manie: Meikyuu Monogatari is an anthology film composed of three short films by acclaimed directors Rintaro, Yoshiaki Kawajiri, and Katsuhiro Otomo.

Labyrinth Labyrinthos
While Sachi is searching for her cat, Cicerone, they both fall through a mirror and become trapped in a mysterious, mind-bending labyrinth. They follow a clown's shadow into the distance, not knowing where it will lead them.

Running Man
Bob Stone is a reporter working on an article about racer Zack Hugh, the ten-year reigning champion of an extremely popular and deadly automobile race. By the time the two meet, Zack's body and mind are shells of what they used to be. When the next race starts, Bob observes what happens when both man and machine are pushed to their breaking point, and what it takes to be an enduring champion.

The Order to Stop Construction
Salaryman Tsutomo Sugioka is dispatched into the heart of a dangerous jungle in order to halt a construction project after the foreman's mysterious disappearance. There, he discovers the deadly and uncontrollable world created by the automated construction robots. When the chief robot is resistant to his orders, Tsutomo must figure out another way to stop the project before his company's financial losses become too great.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Sachi Main

Sugioka, Tsutomu Main

Mizushima, Yuu Japanese

Hugh, Zack Main

Ginga, Banjou Japanese

Robot 444-1 Supporting

Ootake, Hiroshi Japanese

Stone, Bob Supporting

Tsukayama, Masane Japanese

Maruyama, Masao Producer, Series Composition

Rintarou Producer, Director, Script, Series Composition, Screenplay

Otomo, Katsuhiro Director, Script, Character Design, Key Animation

Kawajiri, Yoshiaki Director, Screenplay, Character Design, Animation Director

Reviews

Nov 29, 2011

Alpharon

Recommended

Esta review también está en español.

Well, well... what do we have here...
Neo Tokyo is composed of three short films, each one directed by a giant of the anime industry. Since the works are so different from each other, I will comment them separately n_n.

Labyrinth labyrinthos (also known as Manie-Manie), by Rintaro (he participated in such things like Jungle Taitei, Astro Boy, Petshop of Horrors, X/1999 and many other renowned works).
This is the first short, and the most surreal of the three. LL introduces us to Sachi, a girl that, along her cat Cicerone, is sent to a giant maze, after crossing a clock/mirror/portal/whatever. Once in ... this new world, our protagonist will face strange experiences, and the intensity of the unusual is going to rise to uncanny levels... Fortunately, Sachi's going to find a guide: a creepy (really creepy) clown. This enigmatic character will lead her to a safer (?) place...
If after reading the previous paragraph you thought that this short was bizarre, just wait to see the characters. Just to say something, Sachi's pants are so high that they reach her armpits (in what is obviously a hidden tribute to Ed Grimley xD). All the inhabitants of the maze are weird, going from invisible beings to skeletons. The character design is almost cartoonish, being the cat the most detailed one. The rest look a bit too... "curvy" let's say. Anyway, the animation, although weird, is impeccable (this was done in 1987, but it doesn't look old at all).
The voices met the expectations. There's not much of a dialogue to begin with, but they're good. The music is quite unique, featuring classical pieces such as Gymnopédies and Toreador Song by Georges Bizet! (the guy who made Carmen).
Final comment: well, this thing is weird. Without going to the insane, surreal levels of things like Chocolate Panic Picture Show (though, of course, nothing can be that crazy xD), Labyrinth labyrinthos is a picturesque experience that vaguely remind me Alice in Wonderland. At least from my point of view, in this short you are not supposed to find a purpose, or an answer, but rather enjoy the ride. Each step Sachi and Cicerone take, there's a surprise waiting. Whether striking, bizarre or horrifying, we want to know what's next, and what's at the end of the maze. And as a final point, we could say that this short and the other two are slightly connected, despite being three separate works. You'll see why n_n.

Running Man, by Yoshiaki Kawajiri (involved in things like Legend of the Galactic Heroes: My Conquest Is the Sea of Stars, Mirai Shounen Conan, Tetsuwan Birdy and many others).
Luckily, RM is simpler to explain than LL. In a futuristic world, where races to death (kinda similar to the game Wipeout) are the favorite betting event, Zach "Grim Reaper" Hughes is the best competitor, undefeated for almost ten years, and once again is participating with the idea of destroying his rivals. Zach's secret: telekinetic powers, which he use to crush his competitors.
Well, RM is nothing like the others shorts in Neo Tokyo. Here everything is more serious, the character design is more realistic, and deaths, explosion and agony are pretty common here. Visually, is the best thing in this movie/compilation.
The sound, like in the case of LL, is good. There isn't much dialogue, or music, or anything, but that’s the way it's supposed to be.
Final comment: Although this short may sound simple, there are several things to consider. Running Man is not presented in order: is a series of flashbacks interspersed with the present. This can be quite confusing, and it may be necessary to watch it more than once to fully understand what’s happening. Not that the story is complex (quite the opposite, the idea is pretty simple), is just that is set in a disorderly way.

The Order to Stop Construction, by Katsuhiro Otomo (he did Akira. There's nothing else i should say).
In a near future, revolution (or better say, LA REVOLUCIÓN!) hits the fictional South American country of Aloana. With the change of command, a japanese construction company received the order the cessation of activities in that country. Receiving no response from the foreman of the construction, the company sends Tsutomu Sugioka, a common employee, with the mission to find what happened to his predecessor, and inform the workers (all of them robots) of the current situation. Tsutomu tries to reason with 444-1, the robot that was left in charge of the work, asking him to dismantle all the structures and machines in the most efficient way, so a big sum of money can be saved, but everything this artificial being have in mind is finish the construction. At all cost.
The Order is not as visually spectacular as Running Man, but it definitely is excellent. Featuring a great combination of nature and technology, the construction is huge and incredibly detailed. All the robots follow a similar graphic pattern, but all of them are different from each other, being the 444-1 the most detailed one, and the one that changes the most along the film. Tsutomu has buck teeth xD, but he's fine. He really looks the way he acts. He's a nerd, but he tries really hard to fulfill his mission.
The sound... well in this work, there's talking. All the robot's voices sound the same way: robotized xD. Tsutomu is an angry little man, and his seiyuu give him an irritated and sometimes high-pitched voice, so good work there. And, like in LL, we have a classical piece here: Morning Mood, by Edvard Grieg (gentleman who also did In the Hall of the Mountain King).
Final comment: I can't say that this is Neo Tokyo's best short, but it definitely is my favorite (aw, screw it, this is the best :D). Much more direct and easier to understand than the other two, the story of The Order is just great, full of intrigue and tension, and a few twists every now and then (and all that in less than 15 minutes!). Also, this is one of many works that leaves us a valuable lesson about over-reliance that we have with technology.

Final comment (the global one): Neo Tokyo is a very interesting compilation. Each short has different things to offer, so there are high chances that not everyone likes them same way, but is that variety that makes NT a production suitable for a wide range of people (instead of being just recommendable for those who likes shonens, shojo, sci fi, horror, or any specific genre).
I recommend this to... everyone reading this. For me, The Order makes all this worth it, but you, Mr. reader, you can find compelling any of the three short, it's on you.
Anyways, thx for the reading, and please give a chance to Neo Tokyo.
--------
Bueno... que es lo que tenemos aquí...
Neo Tokyo está compuesta por tres cortos, cada uno dirigido por un gigante de la industria. Dado que las historias son tan distintas, voy a tener que comentarlas por separado n_n.

Labyrinth labyrinthos (o Manie-Manie), de Rintaro (tal vez lo conozcan, participo en series como Jungle Taitei, Astro Boy, Petshop of Horrors, X/1999, y mil cosas mas...)
El primer corto, y el más surrealista de los tres. LL nos muestra a Sachi, una niña que, junto a su gato Cicerone, se internan en un laberinto luego de atravesar un reloj/espejo/portal. Una vez en el nuevo mundo, nuestros protagonistas vivirán experiencias extrañas, y la intensidad de lo raro subirá a niveles impensados... por suerte, Sachi encuentra un guía: un payaso vestido de blanco que, francamente, es bastante macabro. Como sea, este enigmático personaje los conducirá a un lugar mas... ¿seguro?
Si el planteo de este corto les parece bizarro, deberían ver a los personajes. Los pantalones de Sachi le llegan casi a las axilas, en lo que parece ser un homenaje a Ed Grimley. Todos los habitantes del laberinto son extraños, pasando desde seres invisibles a esqueletos. El diseño de personajes es bien caricaturesco, siendo el gato la excepción (se ve más detallado que el resto). Como sea, la animación, si bien rara, es impecable.
Las voces cumplen. La verdad, no hay mucho dialogo, pero no tengo quejas. La música es bien peculiar, presentando piezas clásicas como Gymnopédies y Toreador Song, de Georges Bizet! (el tipo que hizo Carmen).
Comentario final: Wow, esta cosa es rara. Sin llegar a los niveles de locura de cosas como Chocolate Panic Picture Show (aunque claro, nada llega a esos niveles de locura xD), Labyrinth labyrinthos es una experiencia pintoresca que me recuerda de forma vaga a Alicia en el país de las maravillas. Al menos desde mi punto de vista, en este corto no hay que buscar mucho sentido, o una respuesta, sino más bien disfrutar el viaje. Por que a cada paso que dan Sachi y Cicerone, hay una sorpresa esperando. Ya sea llamativa, bizarra o espeluznante, queremos saber qué es lo que sigue, y que es lo que hay al final del laberinto. Y como dato final, se podría decir que este corto y los otros dos están levemente conectados, a pesar de ser tres trabajos independientes. Ya verán porque n_n.

Running Man, de Yoshiaki Kawajiri (sujeto involucrado en cosas como Legend of the Galactic Heroes: My Conquest Is the Sea of Stars, Mirai Shounen Conan, Tetsuwan Birdy, y otras muchas).
Por suerte, RM es más simple de explicar que LL. En un mundo futurista, donde las carreras a muerte (para que se hagan una idea, es muy similar al juego Wipeout) son el evento favorito de los apostadores, Zach “Grim Reaper” Huges es el mejor corredor de la historia, multi-campeón invicto por casi diez años, y está participando una vez más con la idea de destrozar a sus rivales. El secreto de Zach: poderes telequineticos, con los que destruye a la competencia.
Bueno, RM no se parece en nada a sus compañeros de Neo-Tokyo. Acá todo es más serio, el diseño de personajes es bastante realista, y se ven muertes, explosiones y agonía bastante seguido. Visualmente, es lo mejor que hay en esta película.
El sonido, al igual que con LL, cumple. No tengo nada destacable que decir al respecto.
Comentario final: a pesar de que este cortó pueda parecer sencillo por lo que escribí, hay varios detalles a tener en cuenta. Running Man no está presentada de forma cronológica: es una sucesión de flashbacks que se intercalan con el presente. Esto puede ser bastante confuso, y probablemente sea necesario ver la película más de una vez para entender bien que es lo que pasa. No es que la historia sea compleja (todo lo contrario), simplemente está planteada de forma desordenada.

The Order to Stop Construction, de Katsuhiro Otomo (el tipo hizo Akira. No hace falta embellecer más su curriculum)
En un futuro no muy lejano, en el ficticio país Sudamericano de Aloana estallo un golpe de estado. Con el cambio de mandos, una empresa de construcción japonesa recibe la orden del cese de las actividades en dicho país. Al no recibir respuestas del capataz de la obra, la empresa envía a Tsutomu Sugioka, un empleado común, con la misión de averiguar que paso con su predecesor, además de informarle a los trabajadores (todos ellos robots) de la situación actual. Tsutomu quiere razonar con 444-1, el robot que quedo a cargo de la obra, pidiéndole que desmantele todo de forma eficiente para minimizar las pérdidas económicas, pero lo único que tiene en mente este individuo artificial es terminar la construcción. A toda costa.
The Order no es tan espectacular visualmente como Running Man, pero decididamente es excelente. Presentando una muy buena combinación de naturaleza con tecnología, la obra es monumental, increíblemente grande y detallada. Los robots, aunque siguen un patrón similar, son muy distintos unos de otros, siendo el 444-1 el más detallado, y el que más varia a lo largo de la película. Tsutomu tiene dientes de conejo xD, pero por lo demás está bien. Es un nerd, pero se esfuerza en serio para cumplir con su cometido.
El sonido... bueno, a diferencia de los otros dos cortos, acá si se habla. Todos los robots suenan igual: robotizados xD. Tsutomu es un hombrecito irritado, y su seiyuu se comporto a la altura, dotándolo de una vos a veces irritante, con un ocasional timbre agudo. Y al igual que con LL, acá también tenemos una pieza clásica: Morning Mood, de Edvar Grieg (señor que también hizo In the Hall of the Mountain King).
Comentario final: No puedo decir que TOtSC sea el mejor corto de Neo Tokyo, pero decididamente es mi favorito. Mucho más directa y fácil de entender que los otros dos, la historia de The Order es simplemente genial, llena de intriga y tensión, además de los varios giros que va dando la trama (y todo eso en menos de 15 minutos!). Además, esta es otra de las tantas obras que nos deja una moraleja acerca de la dependencia excesiva que tenemos con la tecnología.

Comentario final global: Neo Tokyo es un compilado muy interesante. Cada corto tiene cosas distintas que ofrecer, por lo que es probable que no todos gusten de la misma forma, pero es esa misma variedad lo que hace de Neo Tokyo una producción recomendable para un amplio espectro de personas (en lugar de ser solo recomendable para los que les gusten los shonen, o los shojo, o la ciencia ficción, el horror...).
Recomiendo esto a... todo el que me está leyendo n_n. Para mí, The Order hace que ver esto valga la pena, pero usted, señor lector, puede encontrar atrapante cualquiera de los tres cortos, está en usted.
Gracias por leer, y por favor, denle a Neo Tokyo una oportunidad! (en serio, no sé por qué tan poca gente vio esto. Será falta de publicidad? Si es por eso, acabo de contribuir a la solución del problema xD).

Reviewer’s Rating: 7

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Dec 16, 2024

FAKEANIMEGIRL

Mixed Feelings

(Check out my profile for a link to my site containing more up-to-date reviews and bonus media!)

After greatly enjoying the movie Memories I thought it a good idea to check out Neo Tokyo, a similar compilation movie that adapts three of Taku Mayumura's manga short stories. Though the author and directors are different I thought with three attempts I would at least have a chance of finding one of them particularly memorable, while admiring the variety of the movie as a whole. Sad to say, it wasn't that simple and Neo Tokyo paled in comparison to its spiritual successor.

Neo Tokyo opens with Rintaro's (Shigeyuki Hayashi) ... Labyrinth Labyrinthos. As of writing, I haven't seen anything else he's directed so I don't know what his usual style is, but this piece is a near dialogue-free psychedelic trip that stars a little girl who chases her cat into a grandfather clock that functions as a portal into a strange world. This entire short segment is simply the little girl running through the strange and morphing land. With the "young girl chasing her cat into a surreal magical world" set-up this is very obviously inspired by Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, but that book was carried by Lewis Carroll's acerbic wit as he justified all the eccentricities around Alice as natural. Labyrinth Labyrinthos is almost entirely a visual/auditory experience so it doesn't have that. What this means is the world loses its magic because there's no rhyme or reason holding all of its strange sights together. It's just a random display of sudden sights and transitions and is unimpressive because anyone could've come up with them. The skill comes in implying there actually is a direction behind the madness because it takes effort to find a pattern in something that's initially not recognizable. Perhaps another word for that is "inspiration". Labyrinth Labyrinthos looks magical but it doesn't feel magical. It's boring and not intriguing. The segment does feature some great character designs and coloring, but they end up amounting to almost nothing. The most clever thing about this segment is how it's set up as the framework for the other two.

Yoshiaki Kawajiri's Running Man follows. It suits his common serious "no humor" approach. In a bleak-looking futuristic world a reporter is hired to interview Zack Hugh, the continuous champion of a dangerous racing circuit known as the Death Circus. The reporter makes a shocking discovery about Hugh and bears witness to his bizarre final race that will never be forgotten. Running Man is the best of Neo Tokyo's segments, though it'd be more precise to say it's the one least lacking something. Again, almost no dialogue is here and the story is told visually yet is simple to infer. The high-speed racing thrills and technologically advanced backgrounds do the most justice to the movie's budget, and the western art style influence makes it a little more memorable as well. The race itself isn't very exciting to watch, but rather the strange things that happen during . Running Man has nothing mindblowing and it could be summed up in three sentences, but from a movie full of very simple stories it's the most satisfying to watch and suffers nothing from its brevity.

Last is Katsuhiro Otomo's Construction Cancellation Order. Otomo is the director of Akira, and it's very obvious through the art style. Though not set in a dystopian environment, the machinery and humans are clearly drawn by the same man who did Akira. Tsutomu Sugioka is an employee sent to the jungles of South America to order the halt of the company's construction project. Contact has been lost with the previous foreman, and upon arriving Sugioka realizes the lead robot is malfunctioning. The remaining running time is simply Sugioka's frustration with attempting to get the lead robot to listen to him. It's dull and makes Sugioka look like an idiot for not being able to fix his problem sooner in a number of possible ways. The segment has an ironic ending that feels completely out of place and undeserved. Though by far the most plot-heavy of the segments, Construction Cancellation Order's storyline has been done countless times before and there's nothing special about it in any way. The only reason it isn't the worst segment is because it at least has a hook and natural progression unlike Labyrinth Labyrinthos.

Neo Tokyo closes on the conclusion of Labyrinth Labyrinthos. A clown the little girl meets dances around and summons a bunch of friendly monsters. The girl, her cat, the clown, and the monsters all party while countless fireworks go off. This is by far better than the first half of this segment because it'll actually make you feel a tiny bit good. Then it's over.

And that last line kind of sums up Neo Tokyo as a whole. It's mildly weird and pretty enough to be worth 50 minutes, but it lacks the detailed storylines and superior animation of something like Memories. The most I'll take from the movie is its main theme song, which is actually kind of beautiful. Neo Tokyo actually feels like a compilation movie in a bad way. It's a set of three unfulfilling snacks that are supposed to amount to a whole meal, whereas Memories had three well-rounded meals that amounted to something more when had in progression. I've seen much more uninteresting anime but I don't think Neo Tokyo is something I'll recommend anyone.

Reviewer’s Rating: 6

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Oct 16, 2019

ktulu007

Not Recommended

Manie-Manie: Meikyuu Monogatari is a Madhouse production from the tail end of the 80s. It features three different segments, each from a different director. It's no secret that my history with Madhouse is heavily mixed. On one hand, they're the studio behind rubbish like Bio Hunter and the X-men anime. So nice of them to royally mistreat one of my favourite super hero teams. But they've also been behind such excellent anime as Monster & Petshop of Horrors. So, any time I see the studio attached to something, I don't know whether to expect garbage, mediocrity or something amazing. 

Story:

The segments aren't really connected. So, I'll ... go through each one as its own thing. 

Our first segment involves a young girl and her cat entering a mirror world and encountering all manner of strange things. Including the one person who liked Hollywood's Jem film and English cuisine that isn't hideous. 

The second segment involves a futuristic race where competitors risk their lives. We get to see a particularly disastrous race. You might think health and safety proponents would never allow such a deadly race to exist, but as all the racers are Frank Miller fans, no one actually cares. 

The third segment is about a young man who gets sent to the jungle to shut down a building operation after the old foreman went silent. He finds the robots working on the project to be less than responsive has to figure out how to stop their activities. He could ask them to calculate pi to the last digit, but he doesn't want to completely destroy their circuits. 

The big problem that every segment shares is that they all value spectacle over substance. The first and second segments both have very little story. We get a parade of odd images in the first and a big, overblown sequence of crashes and cars getting torn apart in the second.

The best segment is the third because it, at least, has something of a narrative. And even then it's a bit lacklustre. While I will credit the people involved with having a strong premise, there just isn't enough time to give it proper build up and its climax basically devolves into a big, over the top sequence.

Characters:

There isn't much character to speak of. Even in the last segment, what we get is very basic and simple. It's hints of personality without anything properly fleshed out. You could make the argument that these are sixteen minute segments and they can't really develop the characters, but Yami Shibai came closer to having fleshed out characters in under five minutes. Or, in the case of the final segment, it equalled the characterisation.

Art:

The artwork is quite nicely detailed and well animated. The biggest issue is that the second segment has a lot of bizarre shading and a lot of it looks a bit shit as a result. Like, we're talking a urine coloured filter over everything. Which isn't what you want from something that relies heavily on the spectacle. Give the first segment some credit, it may look like someone's illicit drug trip but at least it's interesting to look at. 

Sound:

The acting is passable. There aren't any amazing performances that will stick with you, but there also aren't any bad ones. The music is fine. 

Ho-yay:

Romantic dynamics are as lacking in this as strong interactions between characters in general. 

Areas of Improvement:

Give us some characterisation. Honestly, each of these segments lasts about fifteen minutes. And each one would benefit from taking a bit of a break from the spectacle in order to flesh out their characters a bit. 
Some basic narrative for the first two segments. Like I said, the third segment is, hands down, the best because it puts some effort into a narrative. 
Good art for the second segment. Lose the over-shaded, piss filter look. It's pretty awful. 

Final Thoughts:

If you're someone who likes to watch fifty minutes worth of spectacle without substance, you may enjoy Manie-Manie. For me, style over substance doesn't do a whole lot. The last segment certainly had potential but it needed more time to expand on it. That being said, I didn't think this was awful. Well, maybe the second segment was. It was mostly serviceable at what it's trying to do. I'm going to give it a 4/10. 

Reviewer’s Rating: 4

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