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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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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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 Anime Abandon: Wicked City (2012)

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Soundtracks

Gymnopédies
Written by Erik Satie
Played during Labyrinth Labyrinthos

User Reviews

Poetic, snappy, and so much better than Robot Carnival

I really enjoyed this. It had everything that Robot Carnival did not – vibrancy, humour, charm, originality, and something interesting to offer. It also does not make the mistake of being too long. Though I wouldn't really call the majority of this OAV "experimental", this style of films, with quirky, avant-garde direction tend to get boring and repetitive over time. The three shorts that make up this collection keep it snappy, and sacrifice none of their brilliance for doing so.

The opening feature, directed by the infamous Rintaro, sets the scene for a child's fantasy, only to twist in a morbid direction near the end to present the following two, darker tales.

What is it about cats and anime/manga? They must surely be the most common animal/sidekick. The fat black example in this piece reminds me of the bad-ass star of the Legend of the Galactic Pirates, not to mention the brilliant What's Michael manga by Makoto Kobayashi. The piece presents a dreamy neko-fantasy world of childhood imagination and modern art. I was reminded of more of Rintaro and Madhouse's work, for example Doomed Megalopolis or CLAMP's Tokyo Babylon. I liked it a lot, though it did almost seem out of place in light of the second two episodes.

The middle piece is easily the weakest, though not without it's charm. A well-used scenario in manga and anime forms the basis of Yoshiaki Kawajiri's (The Cockpit, Barefoot Gen) effort – high-speed, deadly races. Think Battle Angel Alita/Ashen Victor, Venus Wars, etc. It is good, however. In fact it is almost terrifying in places. The plot revolves around a seasoned pilot of superstar status. He has stayed alive longer than most, and suffers terrible stress as a result. He also just happens to have extraordinary mental abilities. The idea is stupid and the plot is tired, but bear in mind that this is more than 20 years old now, and the scenery designs are poetic Japanese visions of the future at their best. Characters resemble the best aspects of The Legend of the Four Kings or Golgo 13, and the music is fitting, and good.

Katsuhiro Ōtomo's short finishes the OAV. A lot of people go mental about this film from what I've read. It is indeed good, but comments like "a shorter Akira!!!" are wrong. The only real similarities are in the designs, and that's what happens when an anime director makes two films, dumbass.

The Order to Stop Construction, as it is called, concerns another well used concept in Japanese media – the tool becoming independent. Robots are employed to construct an immense complex in inhospitable climes, but someone gets their wires crossed (get it?) and the robotic interpretation of commands is not up for negotiation. Again, the scenery designs are fantastic – intricate and gritty in typical Ōtomo style, and the characters and robots also carry his trademark blocky look. Scenes of rainforest are not often featured in Ōtomo's work, preferring as he does visions of the concrete jungle, but here they are beautiful, and sit comfortably with the huge structures of the project as the endless process of growth and regrowth characterized by the dumb robots as well. So beautiful, in fact, that I'm reminded of Kunihiko Yuyama's awesome Windaria. No small praise indeed.

I was reminded of the existence of Neo Tokyo whilst researching Robot Carnival. Both are supposed to be "experimental anime" of a similar variety. That is wrong. The only thing the two anthologies have in common is the involvement of Katsuhiro Ōtomo. Robot Carnival sucks.

Something else which Neo Tokyo achieves which Robot Carnival cannot, is that it hasn't aged. Whilst Robot Carnival had a soundtrack of 80s disco and designs of frumpy 80s Japan, Neo Tokyo has managed to avoid such rubbish, despite being made before the former. One thing it didn't get right, or rather we in the West didn't, was the dubbing. It's bloody awful, and I was thankful for the dual-language file. The acting is bad, and the actors are miscast. Douchebags.