Review of Metropolis

Metropolis is based on a 1949 manga by Osamu Tezuka. Tezuka was a seminal figure in the manga and anime industries even before he was 20 years old. The manga was inspired by a magazine article on Fritz Lang's 1927 classic film with an image of the robot girl Maria. Tezuka Productions and Studio Madhouse put together a gifted crew to produce the visually stunning anime film. Tezuka's character designs are brought to life with magnificent computer graphics. The backgrounds and set-pieces are beautiful, with some breathtaking vistas. The score is a blend of ultra-cool jazz and heartbreaking blues. The film reveals what it is to be human, how much power we give to computers and how we try to control it, official dishonesty and corruption, abuse of power, the disaffected urban poor with not stake in society, the demonization of anyone "different", the leakage of terrorists and technology across increasingly insecure borders, and the rise of gangs. These themes remain relevant. There's a lot going on in Metropolis - and certainly not just in the detail-saturated background art.