Meikyû monogatari (1987)

A trilogy of separate stories. In "Labyrinth labyrinthos", a girl and her cat enter a strange world. In "Running Man", a racer takes on the ultimate opponent. In "Construction Cancellation Order", a man must shut down worker robots.

Directors:

Yoshiaki Kawajiri, Rintaro (as Rintarô)

Writers:

Taku Mayumura (short stories), Rintaro (screenplay) (as Rintarô)

Stars:

Hideko Yoshida, Masane Tsukayama, Yû Mizushima

Cast

Credited cast:
Hideko Yoshida	...	Shôjo Sachi (segment "Labyrinth*labyrinthos") (voice)
Masane Tsukayama	...	Bob Stone (segment "Hashiru otoko") (voice)
Yû Mizushima	...	Sugioka Tsutomu (segment "Kôji chûshi meirei") (voice)
Iemasa Kayumi	...	Buchô (segment "Kôji chûshi meirei") (voice)
Jôji Yanami	...	(segment "Kôji chûshi meirei") (voice)
Hiroshi Ôtake	...	Robot 444 no 1-gô (segment "Kôji chûshi meirei") (voice)
Banjô Ginga	...	Zach Hugh (segment "Hashiru otoko") (voice)
Yûsaku Yara	...	(segment "Kôji chûshi meirei") (voice)
Kazumi Tanaka	...	(segment "Kôji chûshi meirei") (voice)
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Robert Axelrod	...	Tsutomu Sugioka (segment "The Order to Stop Construction") (voice)
Cheryl Chase	...	Sachi (segment "Labyrinth") (voice)
Barbara Goodson	...	Mother (segment "Labyrinth") (voice)
Steve Kramer	...	Chief Technician / Walla (segment "Running Man") / Boat Pilot / Chalkboard (segment The Order to Stop Construction") (voice)
Michael McConnohie	...	Reporter (segment "Running Man") / Announcer (segment The Order to Stop Construction") (voice)
Jeff Winkless	...	Zach Hugh / Walla (segment "Running Man") / Robot 444-1 / Boat Crew (segment "The Order to Stop Construction") (voice)

Storyline

In "Labyrinth labyrinthos", a little girl and her cat find within the old longcase clock in her house a doorway to a strange supernatural world. Is it real or just a figment of her vivid imagination? In "Running Man", the champion of a popular deadly racing championship, where racers usually get themselves or each other killed, takes on the ultimate opponent. A reporter is there to witness the supernatural event. In "Construction Cancellation Order", a man is ordered to shut down robotic construction workers who are building some new facility for the government. Since the robots are all programmed to finish their work no matter what, they refuse to be shut down. A deadly game of cat and mouse begins between the man and the machines. However, the game was rigged from the start.

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Plot Keywords:

swamp | robot | reporter | race car | race car crash | 

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Taglines:

It's not just a city... It's a state of mind

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Genres:

Animation | Adventure | Fantasy | Horror | Sci-Fi

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Details

Official Sites:

Kadokawa Pictures [Japan] Yoshiaki Kawajiri Official site - Archive: Neo Tokyo [Japan]

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Release Date:

20 November 1992 (USA)

Also Known As:

Labyrinth

Company Credits

Production Co:

Project Team Argos,Madhouse,Kadokawa Shoten Publishing Co.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

50 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

After premiering in 1987 the film had its first wide release in its native Japan on video, on October 10 that year. It was only after the success of Akira (1988) that Tôhô gave it a general theatrical release, on April 15, 1989.

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Connections

Featured in Liquid Television: Episode #2.5 (1992)

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Soundtracks

Gymnopédies
Written by Erik Satie
Played during Labyrinth Labyrinthos

User Reviews

brilliant, but even better as a double feature with Heavy Metal!

So here's what you wanna do: get about ten people together and rent Heavy Metal and this. now your friends will have already seen Heavy Metal, but it's a safe bet they haven't seen Neo Tokyo. watch Heavy Metal first, it'll get them in the mood, and the right frame of mind for the second course. pop in Neo Tokyo and just watch as their jaws drop! it's a one-two punch that they'll not soon forget!

one friend I did this double feature with hadn't seen either. needless to say, he's been catatonic since ;)