Tekkon Kinkreet
Encyclopedia
is a three-volume seinen manga series by Taiyō Matsumoto
Taiyo Matsumoto
is an influential manga artist. He made his debut in Afternoon, Kodansha's monthly seinen manga magazine, but is probably best known for his works with Kodansha's rival publisher Shogakukan, including Tekkonkinkreet, Ping Pong and Number Five. He has received critical praise for his unconventional...

, which was originally serialized from 1993 to 1994 in Shogakukan
Shogakukan
is a Japanese publisher of dictionaries, literature, manga, non-fiction, DVDs, and other media in Japan.Shogakukan founded Shueisha which founded Hakusensha. These are three separate companies, but are together called the Hitotsubashi Group, one of the largest publishing groups in Japan...

's Big Comic Spirits
Big Comic Spirits
is a weekly Japanese seinen manga magazine published by Shogakukan and aimed at males 20–25 years old. It originally launched on October 14, 1980. The culture of food, sports, love relationships, and business provide the themes for its featured series, which often question conventional values...

and first published in English as Tekkonkinkreet: Black & White. It was adapted into a 2006 feature-length Japanese
Cinema of Japan
The has a history that spans more than 100 years. Japan has one of the oldest and largest film industries in the world – as of 2009 the fourth largest by number of feature films produced. Movies have been produced in Japan since 1897, when the first foreign cameramen arrived...

 anime
Anime
is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....

 film of the same name, directed by Michael Arias
Michael Arias
Michael Arias is an American-born filmmaker active primarily in Japan.Though Arias has worked variously as visual effects artist, animation software developer, and producer, he is best known for his directorial debut, the anime feature Tekkonkinkreet, which established him as the first...

 and animated by Studio 4°C
Studio 4°C
is a Japanese animation studio founded by Eiko Tanaka in 1986. The name comes from the temperature at which water is most dense.-History:STUDIO4°C has produced numerous feature films, OVAs, and shorts. Early film titles include; Memories , Spriggan and Princess Arete...

. The film Tekkonkinkreet premiered in Japan on December 23, 2006.

The story takes place in the fictional Treasure Town and centers on a pair of orphaned street kids - the tough, canny Black and the childish, innocent White, together known as the Cats - as they deal with yakuza
Yakuza
, also known as , are members of traditional organized crime syndicates in Japan. The Japanese police, and media by request of the police, call them bōryokudan , literally "violence group", while the yakuza call themselves "ninkyō dantai" , "chivalrous organizations". The yakuza are notoriously...

 attempting to take over the city of Treasure Town.

Plot

In Treasure Town, orphans Black and White rule the mean streets through violence and terror. These lost boys are direct opposites: Black being a streetwise punk who embodies everything wrong about the city, while White is an innocent dope, out of touch with the world around him. They're on the quest to prevent a yakuza plot to turn this city into an amusement park. Together, they're unstoppable as they take on petty thugs, religious fanatics and brutal yakuza. But when a corporation called "Kiddy Kastle" tries to tear down and rebuild Treasure Town to fit its own goals, the boys must save the soul of their beloved city, that is if they can save themselves from inner demons.

Cast

Character Japanese Cast English Cast**
Black/The Minotaur Kazunari Ninomiya
Kazunari Ninomiya
, often called , is a Japanese idol, singer, songwriter, actor, voice actor and radio host. He is a member of Japanese boy band Arashi and is best known to movie audiences for his portrayal as Private Saigo in the 2006 Clint Eastwood war film Letters from Iwo Jima.Ninomiya began his career in the...

Scott Menville
Scott Menville
Scott David Menville is primarily an American voice actor, actor, musician, and comedian.-Early life and career:The son of Chuck Menville, he was bassist for the Southern California rock band Boy Hits Car, which released three albums until he left the band in 2006. He was with the group since...

White Yu Aoi
Yû Aoi
is a Japanese actress and model. She made her film debut as Shiori Tsuda in Shunji Iwai's 2001 film All About Lily Chou-Chou...

Kamali Minter
Kimura Yusuke Iseya
Yusuke Iseya
is a Japanese actor.He was born in Tokyo, Japan. With his modeling career , Yūsuke is known for Loreal , Men's Nonno magazine, Prada , and Asahi Aqua Blue....

Rick Gomez
Rick Gomez
Richard Harper "Rick" Gomez is an American actor. He is known for portraying T-4. George Luz, in the HBO television miniseries Band of Brothers, and as "Endless Mike" Hellstrom in the cult hit Nickelodeon TV series The Adventures of Pete and Pete.-Movies:*Love Ranch - Tom Macy*Another Cinderella...

Sawada Kankuru Kudo
Suzuki aka Rat Min Tanaka
Min Tanaka
is a Japanese actor and dancer. He won the award for best supporting actor at the 26th Japan Academy Prize for The Twilight Samurai.-Filmography:* The Twilight Samurai * The Hidden Blade * House of Himiko...

David Lodge
David Lodge (voice actor)
David Lodge is a voice actor who is not to be confused with the British actor of the same name. He is active in the anime and video game voice acting community, but is also very well known for his voicework in the Power Rangers franchise...

Gramps Rokuro Naya
Rokuro Naya
is a Japanese voice actor. He is the brother of voice actor Gorō Naya. A lifetime resident of Tokyo, he is affiliated with Mausu Promotion.-Anime:*Aquarius Camus in Saint Seiya*Sensui Shinobu in Yu Yu Hakusho*Enchou in Crayon Shin-chan...

Fujimura Tomomichi Nishimura
Tomomichi Nishimura
is a Japanese voice actor who works for Arts Vision. He is most known for the roles of the narrator of YuYu Hakusho, Anzai-sensei , Shibaraku Tsurugibe , and Jamitov Hymem...

Maurice LaMarche
Maurice LaMarche
Maurice LaMarche is an Emmy Award winning Canadian-American voice actor and former stand up comedian. He is best known for his voicework in Futurama as Kif Kroker, as Egon Spengler in The Real Ghostbusters, Verminous Skumm and Duke Nukem in Captain Planet and the Planeteers, Big Bob Pataki in Hey...

The Boss Mugihito
Mugihito
, better known by his stage name of is a Japanese voice and stage actor from Musashino, Tokyo. He is employed by Media Force. Mugihito was formerly credited under his birth name and also...

Choco Nao Omori
Nao Omori
is a Japanese actor, with his most notable role as Ichi in Ichi the Killer directed by Takashi Miike. He is the son of Japanese actor Akaji Maro. His older brother is the film director Tatsushi Ōmori. Nao is sometimes credited under the name Nao Ohmori...

Alex Fernandez
Alex Fernandez
Alex Fernandez may refer to:*Alex Fernandez *Alex Fernandez , played for Chicago White Sox and Florida Marlins*Álex Fernandez, football player for Real Madrid*Alex Fernandez, a member of a young detective club from the PBS show Ghostwriter...

Vanilla Yoshinori Okada
Yoshinori Okada
is a Japanese actor. He has starred several TV series such as Atsuhime and Nobuta. O Produce as well as movies such as Densha otoko . He is a high school graduate and does not have a college degree...

Quinton Flynn
Quinton Flynn
Quinton Joseph Flynn , is an American voice actor, actor and writer....

Gamer 1* Kazuko Kurosawa (Morisanchuu)
Gamer 2* Tomoko Murakami (Morisanchuu)
Gamer 3* Miyuki Oshima (Morisanchuu)
Dawn Yukiko Tamaki
Yukiko Tamaki
is a seiyū who was born in Chiba, Japan. She is part of ToriTori office.-Notable anime roles:*Beet the Vandel Buster as Zeke*Coyote Ragtime Show as May*Digimon Tamers as Hirokazu Shiota...

Yuri Lowenthal
Yuri Lowenthal
Yuri Lowenthal is a voice actor that has voiced several anime and video game characters. He also voiced Kamal for the alternate reality game I Love Bees....

Dusk Mayumi Yamaguchi
Mayumi Yamaguchi
is a Japanese voice actress from Iwate Prefecture affiliated with Accent.-Television animation:*Bleach *The Law of Ueki *Ojamajo Doremi series *Fighting Beauty Wulong...

Akutso* Harumi Asoi
Yasuda* Atsushi Imaizuma
Ocohima* Bryan Burton-Lewis
Snake Masahiro Motoki
Masahiro Motoki
Masahiro Motoki is a Japanese actor. He portrayed protagonist Daigo Kobayashi in Departures, which won the 81st Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film...

Kimura's Wife* Uncredited Kate Higgins
Kate Higgins
Catherine Davis "Kate" Higgins is an American voice actress, singer, and jazz pianist. She was born in Charlottesville, Virginia grew up in Auburn, Alabama, and currently lives in Los Angeles. She is best known as the English voice of Sakura Haruno on the hit anime series Naruto, Talho Yūki from...

The Doctor* Uncredited Steven Jay Blum
The Alien Assassins Uncredited

"*" - Minor Role
"**" - Not credited on the DVD

Manga

Tekkonkinkreet is a three-volume seinen manga series by Taiyō Matsumoto
Taiyo Matsumoto
is an influential manga artist. He made his debut in Afternoon, Kodansha's monthly seinen manga magazine, but is probably best known for his works with Kodansha's rival publisher Shogakukan, including Tekkonkinkreet, Ping Pong and Number Five. He has received critical praise for his unconventional...

, which was originally serialized in North America between October 1998 and April 2000 in Shogakukan
Shogakukan
is a Japanese publisher of dictionaries, literature, manga, non-fiction, DVDs, and other media in Japan.Shogakukan founded Shueisha which founded Hakusensha. These are three separate companies, but are together called the Hitotsubashi Group, one of the largest publishing groups in Japan...

's Big Comic Spirits
Big Comic Spirits
is a weekly Japanese seinen manga magazine published by Shogakukan and aimed at males 20–25 years old. It originally launched on October 14, 1980. The culture of food, sports, love relationships, and business provide the themes for its featured series, which often question conventional values...

and first published in English as Tekkonkinkreet: Black & White. The manga was released in North America on October 1998 and was re-released on September 25, 2007 as a compilation of three comics in one.

Film

The manga was adapted into a 2006 feature-length Japanese
Cinema of Japan
The has a history that spans more than 100 years. Japan has one of the oldest and largest film industries in the world – as of 2009 the fourth largest by number of feature films produced. Movies have been produced in Japan since 1897, when the first foreign cameramen arrived...

 anime
Anime
is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....

 film of the same name, directed by Michael Arias
Michael Arias
Michael Arias is an American-born filmmaker active primarily in Japan.Though Arias has worked variously as visual effects artist, animation software developer, and producer, he is best known for his directorial debut, the anime feature Tekkonkinkreet, which established him as the first...

 and animated by Studio 4°C
Studio 4°C
is a Japanese animation studio founded by Eiko Tanaka in 1986. The name comes from the temperature at which water is most dense.-History:STUDIO4°C has produced numerous feature films, OVAs, and shorts. Early film titles include; Memories , Spriggan and Princess Arete...

. The film Tekkonkinkreet premiered in Japan on December 23, 2006.

Reception

Joseph Luster felt that the brotherly bond between the protective Black and the endearing White was the heart of the manga.
"While it may not be what anime fans have come to expect for a traditional film, the end result is something that while predictable is surprisingly engaging." — Chris Beveridge, Mania.
"Regardless of how much you watch this one, though, this is a film that no serious anime fan should miss." — Chris Johnston, Newtype USA.
"It's a vanity project by a computer artist, and consequently, it's entertaining only as a CG demo." — Justin Sevakis, Anime News Network
Anime News Network
Anime News Network is an anime industry news website that reports on the status of anime, manga, Japanese popular music and other otaku-related culture within North America, Australia and Japan. Additionally, it sometimes features similar happenings throughout the Anglosphere and elsewhere in the...

.

Awards

The manga won the 2008 Eisner Award
Eisner Award
The Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, commonly shortened to the Eisner Awards, and sometimes referred to as the Oscar Awards of the Comics Industry, are prizes given for creative achievement in American comic books. The Eisner Awards were first conferred in 1988, created in response to the...

 for "Best U.S. Edition of International Material—Japan".
Tekkonkinkreet won the prestigious Best Film Award at the 2006 Mainichi Film Awards
Mainichi Film Awards
The Mainichi Film Awards are a series of annual film awards, sponsored by Mainichi Shinbun , one of the largest newspaper companies in Japan, since 1946.-Animation awards:...

. It was also named Barbara London's top film of 2006 in the annual "Best of" roundup by the New York Museum of Modern Art
Museum of Modern Art
The Museum of Modern Art is an art museum in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, on 53rd Street, between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It has been important in developing and collecting modernist art, and is often identified as the most influential museum of modern art in the world...

's Artforum
Artforum
Artforum is an international monthly magazine specializing in contemporary art.-Publication:The magazine is published ten times a year, September through May, along with an annual summer issue...

magazine. In 2008, it received 'best original story' and 'best art direction' from the Tokyo International Anime Fair
Tokyo International Anime Fair
The Tokyo International Anime Fair also known as Tokyo International Animation Fair is one of the largest anime trade fairs in the world, held annually in Japan. The first event was held in 2002 as "Tokyo International Anime Fair 21". The event is held at Tokyo Big Sight, a convention and...

.
It won the 2008 Japan Academy Prize for Animation of the Year
Japan Academy Prize for Animation of the Year
The of the Japan Academy Prize is one of the annual Awards given by the Nippon Academy-sho association .-History:...

.

External links

Tekkonkinkreet official site
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