The Animatrix

The anthology to trump all anime anthologies. The Animatrix is without a doubt, the greatest thing to come out of The Matrix trilogy. (that 4th one isn't real.) The Matrix itself has a pretty spotty track record. From the masterpiece original, to the flawed, but awesome second, to the forgettable third. The Animatrix cuts all the fat and gives you what the series always should've been. As much as I like all the existential cerebral thinkpiece essays mouthed off in the movies, Animatrix strips itself to the bare essentials of the plot and concept of the Matrix. The animation varies in quality, (from great, to excellent) due toits episodic format of utilizing a different studio and director for each part. They pulled out every ace in their pockets for this. The minds and animators behind some of the greatest anime of all time give their talents to this anthology, from Ninja Scroll and Blue Submarine No. 6. (The latter being one of the best ever) All the way to Aeon Flux and Akira. It truly is an amazing lineup of the all time greats. It also works as a time capsule for the best era of anime, the early to mid 2000's. The compilation covers how the whole idea of the Matrix began, to the people living in and around it, to the industrial dystopian aftermath of the rise of the machines. It's a heady, abrasive, and electric showcase of a re-industrialized world thrown in chaos. I'm sucking this hard, but for a good reason. Talented animators and artists collaborating with a single goal in mind. Expand an already riveting world, and getting the freedom to bend it to their will.

Rate:8 (very Good) English Dubbed Hard not to like this anime. For those not aware you have an animation sequel to the popular film The Matrix. It has 9 stories. Each story is very different from each other. Likes: Like i said among the 9 stories the plot and art differed quite a bit. The artists did a wonderful job in blending the art to a way that best matches the story. For example, if you think of a detective movie. I mean a real good one. what comes to kind other than the trench coat? Black and white. Which is what they did and more. Sure, they matchedthe story but they did not drop from character. The ride presented within each story was a virtual roller coaster ride that placed you in the seat of the action. Never once tilted you too far out of your seat. To make matters better even though the stories were different they all came back to the anime's origin.

SHORT 1 - Final Flight of Osiris (dir. Andy Jones and prod. SQUARE USA) So, this short only really exists to set up Matrix Reloaded as well as Enter the Matrix (greeeaaaattt), and in spite of a well choreographed opening fight scene, it quickly devolves into gray mush with muzzle flashes. It suffers slightly from Star Wars prequel-itis, yes it is tying directly into events of the film I like and yes I do recognise the iconography, but the reason these shorts exist is to expand the universe beyond what was seen before. FFoO meanwhile does very little to expand the universe, stylistically ressembles a Matrixthemed Second Life server, and is a boring slog to begin with. This short should've been called The Blue Pill because it sure as hell put me to sleep. 2/10 SHORT 2 - The Second Renaissance Parts 1 & 2 (dir. Mahir Maeda and prod. Studio4oC) Now this is where we should have started, detailing the conception and subsequent rise of machines, it's an interesting expansion of this world. The visuals are interesting with overall fine designs, the main focus are the machines and they look great, but the humans all look very bland bar a few close up shots with some interesting shots with a portrayal of them being extremely animalistic. It's also one of the more intense and mature execution of the robot uprising idea, with neither the message of "human bad" nor "technology bad" it shows the conflict without bias with both sides being given a part to flesh (or metal) out their motives. 7/10 SHORT 3 - Kid's Story (dir. Shinichiro Watanabe and prod. Studio4oc) Whilst The Second Renaissance showed a larger conflict as whole, this short shows the personal stakes of a Neo-like character living in the Matrix whilst questioning his reality. The sketchy visuals with the fluid almost jittery movements is an amazing portrayal of the characters perception of the Matrix. Although an extremely simple short it's effective in its execution with a brilliant soundtrack to couple some interesting animation and it really does a good job at justifying this collection's existence as a whole since it and the previous short have already displayed the diversity of Matrix as an IP. 9/10 SHORT 4 - Program (dir. Yoshiaki Kawajiri and prod. Madhouse) Kid's Story was more about animation in motion, meanwhile Program is extremely picturesque and beautiful with a further exploration of small scale conflicts found within the resistance groups, it was extremely effective in both tying familiar iconography with unique ideas, the use of paper doors as an obstacle was a cool moment, the simulations bleeding code was very nice, and overall the samurai setting is a brilliant set up that gives this short its own identity. 8/10 SHORT 5 - World Record (dir. Yoshiaki Kawajiri and prod. Madhouse) And it's a sports anime now, no but seriously as expected from Madhouse it's got some amazing animation, my main description would be "Redline - except my car broke down" and you can really see those aesthetics in this short almost 4 years prior. It's an interesting addition to this collection and also a very unique spin on a sports story like this, I probably would've preferred if Matrix Reloaded was about this guy instead. My only real complaint is it's placement, we just got a Kawajiri/ Madhouse short, so it somewhat nullifies the complete variety displayed prior, that being said the style is still different enough with more exaggerated faces as well as a larger emphasis on movement and a more naturalistic environment that breaks into some unique visuals in the sequence with the Smiths (Agents, not Morissey). 7/10 SHORT 6 - Beyond (dir. Kouji Morimoto and prod. Studio4oC) It wasn't at all surprising when I checked Morimoto's page and spotted Tekkon Kinkreet inhabiting his body of work, this is definitely my second favourite stylistically and in motion it's an absolute treat. I see why Thor: Dark World directly ripped this scene into their movie (yeah Marvel, I fucking noticed). There isn't really much else to analyse with this short, I adore the aesthetic, it fully utilises it's format as a short to tell a concise yet realised story. 10/10 SHORT 7 - A Detective Story (dir. Shinichiro Watanabe and prod. Studio4oC) Watanabe is back and hey look, it's my favourite! I love how it blends the Matrix universe with a film noir/ manga aesthetic, it was definitely a smart choice putting this towards the end seeing as it seems to tie directly into the films somewhat with the appearance of main character (okay, yeah Neo and Trinity showed up in Kid's Story, but Trinity is like the central focus). The writing is sharp, the soundtrack is amazing and the mystery while small is still very fun. My only complaint is it seems t be cut a tad short, but when my complaint is that I want more, that's not really a complaint. I would love to see Watanabe do a detective series sometime since this style very much suits him. 10/10 SHORT 8 -Matriculated (dir. Peter Chung and prod. DNA) I was awaiting a short to explore the spirituality of Matrix, sadly they saved it for last, conceptually the short has interesting themes with the humans somewhat reprogramming a machine by making it feel like a human almost. Aesthetically in its backgrounds it is gorgeous and the sequence wherein they explore this weird space within the machine is rife with Buddhist imagery and interesting ways of bending the reality. Aside from that, this short is ugly as sin, the awful proportions, the nauseating use of CGI that just doesn't meld well with the rest of the scene and good lord the outside world is so mind-numbingly dull, sadly we visit there often. 5/10 IN CONCLUSION: If the first and last shorts were cut, this would be amazing, but with those two bad apples I would say this is just pretty great, I still wouldn't hesitate to recommend this to just about anyone, but not without a "skip the first short and the last short, they kinda suck" prefacing it. Definitely a perfect companion for the Matrix and a much preferable addition to the series than Reloaded or Revolution.

I’m not a big fan of The Matrix trilogy, one of the more mainstream science fiction spectacles of the past twenty years. When I was a kid, I loved it. It was my first R-rated movie, it was dark and edgy like any kid is bound to like, and it had neat martial arts action. But as I grew older I finally watched the second and third films and began to hate the series. Anymore, probably thirteen or so years after watching The Matrix for the first time, I think it’s overrated and I can’t see the appeal. It hasn’t aged well and that, ontop of pretty bad storytelling as the movies continued, led me to neglect the series for years… Until now. I never watched the Animatrix, I don’t think I had any intention to after Revolutions. So now, years later, allow me to break down the pieces that comprise the Animatrix and tell you which are good and which are bad. Final Flight of the Osiris-Written by the Wachowski brothers and animated by Square, this nine minute segment looks like the opening cutscene of a PS2 game. It starts with an entirely pointless fight where two characters cut the clothes off each other. They are suddenly pulled out of the simulation as Sentinels are chasing down their ship in the real world. What follows is a six minute sequence ending in a climax that isn’t satisfying, nor really matters. This entire short is nothing more than an introduction to the style of The Matrix rather than pulling us in early on. The writing is lame, the CG is very dated, and you’ll find nothing of value here. The Second Renaissance Part I-The second short details events before The Matrix, namely the divide between humans and machines. What you’ll find here is an interesting background story about humans and machines having a schism that leads to animosity and violence. The machines build their own nation, wind up creating better technologies and having more valuable currency, which doesn’t make humanity happy at all. This is all visualized stunningly, with many disturbing images as well as copies of real life historical moments such as the tank running a robot down a la Tienanmen Square. A fan of the movies will enjoy this history lesson. The Second Renaissance Part II-While containing some of the fantastic visuals of part one, part two is a lot less compelling. The humans put a dome around the Earth so the machines can’t operate on solar power leading to a war that ends with the machines realizing they can harvest energy from human brains. Thus the Matrix was born. This part was pretty stupid. While the first part set up the idea of a smart science fiction story, the second reveals how ridiculous the plot of the series really is and how much the Wachowski’s love to ruin good ideas with nonsense. If you watched the first part, watch the second, but be forewarned, it’s stupid. Kid’s Story-The first visually appealing short from an artistic standpoint, Kid’s Story is directed by my biggest adversary in the directing world, Shinichiro Watanabe. A high school kid realizes he’s inside of the Matrix, leading to agents coming after him while Neo guides him toward escape. While not the most impressive in plot, the animation is gorgeous. For style alone, I’d suggest this segment. It’s the best of the bunch. Program-A shorter piece, this one is another visual feast that concentrates on two people fighting over ideologies in a feudal Japanese setting. The action here is crisp, the dialogue is pretty smart, but it, penultimately, doesn’t matter. I feel that to have a good short here, you need a beginning, middle, and end, not just a singular idea that doesn’t go anywhere. Program is nice, but I still don’t see how this is enriching me any further in the world of The Matrix. World Record-Here is the story of an Olympic racer who runs so fast he breaks the Matrix while some agents go after him to keep him locked within the program. That’s it. The animation isn’t that great, the story isn’t exciting, and I think this may have been the weakest segment so far. Beyond-A pretty good short about a group of kids discovering a glitchy area in their town and exploiting the glitches for fun. While again not telling a compelling story this one does give us an idea of the process that is gone through to repair problems in the Matrix. It has good animation and ideas, but it’s an otherwise unremarkable piece. A Detective Story-Another piece from Shinichiro Watanabe, this one is a noir adventure about a detective who is recruited to track down the hacker known as Trinity. From the outset you can see and hear the style (of course, very typical of Watanabe). This one’s a good short with an actual plot, neat design, and it ties into the movies, making it feel more relevant. Natriculated-This one is made by the people who gave us Aeon Flux and is another eh on my part. It’s got the trademark style of Flux but I wasn’t impressed by the story nor did I find it to be exciting in any regard. As a finale, it’s weak. The Animatrix is a very mixed bag. There are a couple of notable segments but it’s just about as underwhelming as the actual Matrix movies. If you’re a fan of the movie series, then you’ll find some enjoyment here, but if not it’s an lame grab bag of great talents producing mostly half-assed shorts.