Neo Tokyo (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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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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Alternate Versions

The "Running Man" segment had a different English dub, narrated by Rafael Ferrer instead of Michael McConnohie, when aired on MTV's Liquid Television program than the Streamline or ADV home video versions.

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Connections

Featured in Liquid Television: Episode #2.5 (1992)

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Soundtracks

Peer Gynt's Morning Mood
Written by Edvard Grieg
Played during Construction Cancellation Order

User Reviews

Good but Uneven

Neo Tokyo is an interesting, often surreal work of anime. It covers two rather dark science fiction pieces through the framework of a young girl's imaginings. Each piece was made by a different filmmaker, making for very different animation styles and narrative approaches.

The first piece "Labyrinth-Labyrinthos" is frankly surreal, and follows the daydreams of a young girl and her cat as they look into a mirror. The short is very imaginative, with borderline psychedelic imagery. Overall, it's a good piece, though the animation is at times headache inducing.

The second short, "The Running Man," has a much more obvious narrative structure, although very little dialogue. Following the story of a futuristic race car driver with some interesting abilities, it represents a 180 degree turn from Labyrinth. The animation is excellent, with very realistic and at times disturbing renderings of car accidents. However, the lack of dialogue in this short makes it somewhat difficult to follow, a matter compounded by the fact that parts of the film are dream sequences.

The third, and best, piece is "Order to Cancel Construction," which follows the attempt of an executive to shut down a robotic construction site. The robots, which have been programmed to follow a rigid schedule, defy the executive. What makes this piece good is the subtle irony that the executive ultimately becomes as single-minded in his task as the robots are in theirs.

Ultimately, this film is good, although not great, and worth a rent.

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