Tekkon Kinkreet

Tekkonkinkreet is a film from Studio four degrees Celsius. A studio that I have watched nothing whatsoever from but have heard of a lot of their work. I'm not sure if this is a good introduction to them or not so feel free to enlighten me about how typical of their work it is.

The story is pretty simple. Two orphaned boys, Black and White, claim control over a small town and that's when the Yakuza try to muscle their way in. It probably sounds like more happens than actually happens. The film's biggest problem is that it's tedious. Really, really tedious. There are long ... stretches where nothing of interest or relevance happens. Then there are story segments that drag on far longer than they need to and some of the worst action sequences I've ever seen. Seriously, those scenes that aren't over within seconds are padded with the characters running away from each other. The longest action sequence involves Black and White running away from a huge assassin who could've killed them both with ease if he wasn't the slowest person on the planet when it comes to unsheathing his blade. Seriously, it takes him a good minute to get around to it. There are some less pressing issues, there are some side-story plots that don't go anywhere or that receive very rushed and unsatisfying conclusions. The entire ending is rushed, for that matter, and pretty lazily done.

The characters in this are dull and one-dimensional. The villains are evil for the sake of being evil. Black and White are pretty clearly supposed to have a symbolic as well as a literal connection, but the symbolic connection is really over-stated. That type of thing just isn't interesting when they beat you over the head with it. And they're too one-dimensional to make them interesting aside from that connection so it's just unsatisfying to watch. The side characters are barely worth talking about. Most of them just represent very shallow stereotypes like the gangster seeking redemption or the elderly mentor.

The art... Well, I have to split it into two categories. The backgrounds are decently done with some good details. The characters look terrible. Their proportions are way off and not in a good, stylized way and their faces just look bizarre.

The voice acting is pretty emotionless. The actors mostly sound like they're reading the script instead of, well, acting. I'm not sure whether to blame the direction or the actors themselves for that one. Either way it doesn't sound good. The music does little to help with the tedium, generally blending into the background noise.

The yuri factor is a 1/10. There's no yuri here.

My final rating for Tekkonkinkreet is a 3/10. I really can't recommend it to anyone unless you're having trouble sleeping. I almost fell asleep several times while watching it so it just might be good for that.

I should first say that I did not like this anime. For whatever reason, this anime reminded me a lot of Paranoia Agent, which I hate with a passion. Maybe the low rating is a result of recalled trauma from that time period.

I should also state this is my first review on this site. Why do I wish to review this specific anime after all my time on here? It's one of the bigger disappointments. I had expected a top-tier anime, yet I got one of the most boring anime movies I have ever seen.

Story: 2/10
The story did not captivate me in the least. ... The whole "treasure town" aspect was sort of appealing in the beginning, but the anime quickly lost my interest. If pressed, I doubt I could give a proper plot synopsis. I only recall my friend and I blankly watching the screen hoping for it to end on an interesting note, which did not happen.

Art: 1/10
The art, while unique, was not my style. There is a fine line between creative and hideous. Gankutusou is an example of an anime that pulled off a unique artstyle. This anime, however, failed in that aspect. Terribly.

Sound: 4/10
I recall very little about the sound. Maybe my pencil tapping the desk anxiously awaiting the end of this torture blocked it out.

Character: 1/10
I am stuck on trying to figure out why Black and White are touted as interesting characters by so many. White was amongst the most annoying characters I have ever seen in an anime. Sure, I know he's supposed to be mentally deficient, but I do not see why this is an appealing factor. Black just seemed like a disturbed kid - much better anime about deranged children are out there.

Enjoyment: 1/10
In case my other thoughts did not spell it out enough, I did not enjoy this anime. At all.

Overall: 2/10
The one redeeming factor this anime has is that it's unique. I'll give it an extra point just for that. I do not see why so many love this anime. I won't judge, however, since I like many series others despise. Nevertheless, when given the choice the day I watched this anime, I wish I had chosen just about anything else.

DIRE AND DISMAL ANIME SHOCK HORROR
(contains spoilers)

I’ve been watching anime since 1970 when “Marine Boy” first came to Western audiences, so I’d like to think I have some experience to draw upon when criticizing this effort.

THE ART: Studio 4°C, who produced this anime, have a “unique style” ), say the fans - but "Tekkon" looks, to me, like one of the ugliest animes ever.
What’s so bad about the artwork?
It resembles the closeups you would see on “Ren and Stimpy”, where the POV goes up one of the MCs nostrils, showing us snot, nasal hairs, and other unsightly things you never planned on seeing.
Studio ... 4°C may have some rep for being daring, taking chances, etc, but this was my first encounter with their output, and I’m not impressed so far. By a roundabout comparison, the composer, Stockhausen, is also said to have a “unique style”, but his work is, for the most part, unlistenable cacophony... which brings us to the soundtrack, voice actors, foleys, etc:

THE SOUND: Music was OK-ish, but be warned - have a remote control to hand if you are going to sit this one out...
The second half of this OVA will have any sane person reaching for the volume control as the mentally-ill half of the two brothers gets captured, and then starts screaming - and he just doesn’t stop screaming.
FFS, Studio 4°C, the little guy was enough of an assh*le without all the screaming. The animal-like noises coming from the TV completely alienated me from what was already a horribly unlikable character.
I started rooting for the bad guys at this point, and wished they would simply euthanize him quickly and (most important of all) quietly.

For what it's worth, I never chose this to watch, my GF recorded it from TV and I was a captive audience (and she didn't like the screaming either).

SUMMARY: Avoid it like a radioactive zombie plague rat with Super-Coronavirus.