Metropolis 2001

Metropolis was a visual masterpiece with amazing animation and beautiful settings. It is a remake of the German expressionist classic by Fritz Lang. The film itself has great visuals with a bogged down storyline filled with too many subplots. It is a frustrating film because I enjoy the art and soundtrack.

I will not get too involved with the plots because it is a convoluted mess with not a lot of character development which was the victim of it having an ambitious screenplay. Instead, I will focus on why this film has been one of my influences.

The film itself is a masterpiece of animation with motion on the foreground and background keeping every frame alive. The amount of detail put into this film is awe-inspiring. You can literally watch this film a dozen times and find something new to focus on.

The character design of this film has always stood with me. They draw from classic manga style mixed with the late 1990's anime influences. They are characters that I always go back to when I ever I draw. I find the main plot of humans and machines learning that they must coexist a big think I drew back to when I did my R&M story which was originally published in Lush.

Metropolis' director Rintaro may have tried to squeeze too much into this film for the liking of many, but it still is a film that I recommend watching if for nothing more than the soundtrack and visuals.

And while you are at it also watch the original 1927 Metropolis which itself is a masterpiece that has influenced Star Wars and countless other movies and anime.