Anime The Animatrix

[devilmen]

I am going to buy this weekend







[color=indigo][size=1]Whoa, are you really going to buy it?!? In the future please elaborate as to why you are going to buy something, why you think you would like it...anything more than what you wrote
~HC, your friendly neighborhood mod[/color][/size]

[Epitome]

I JUST GOT IT. Its the most amazing thing I have ever seen. I love it. All of you have to get it or at least see it. Its amazing.

[Semjaza]

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by Queen Asuka [/i]
[B][color=hotpink][size=1]Yes, here's the link to the other thread if you want to take a look. It didn't last very long, but oh well.

[url=http://www.otakuboards.com/showthread.php?threadid=20615]The Animatrix[/url][/color][/size] [/B][/QUOTE]
:bawl: Tell me about it.

I guess back when I posted that, most people didn't even know what the hell The Animatrix was. At least, I was given that impression.

Anyway, I'm in agreement with Mnemolth. I personally am one of those people who doesn't think the Matrix is as amazing as most others here (in fact, I don't think most of it even goes beyond Freshman level psychology, but whatever), but it does have many, many good points.

The Animatrix capitalizes on almost all of them. There are a few lackluster shorts in it, but it really ties together the whole universe created by the actual films. For me, it really adds to what The Matrix and Reloaded have done so far, and makes them seem much more thought provoking in a sense. There's far more to all of it than I even want to believe, to be honest. I'm in denial lol.

Anyway, I was hoping for some sort of real discussion on plots and characters and everything else... but I guess it isn't meant to be.

[Queen Asuka]

[color=hotpink][size=1]*Pats Semjaza the Former on the head* I'm sorry, but you don't find that high of an intelligence level in the Anime Lounge...

ANYWHO! I don't know if I want to get it. I was at Media Play yesterday and it was a pretty expensive DVD, more expensive than most anime DVDs, which are already outrageous. I also haven't seen Reloaded yet (and it looks like I'm never going to see that &%@/* movie!), but oh well.

How many shorts are on it? I don't want it to be a waste of money.

OH ALSO! Since it's not completely anime, you can technically start a thread about it in Music, Movies, and TV, Semmie. ^_^[/color][/size]

[Shinmaru]

There are about 9 shorts and extra stuff on the DVD. It's pretty good, but I haven't checked out the extras yet, because I got it late last night (and I'm not known for staying up really late).

[weatherlight]

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by Queen Asuka [/i]
[B][color=hotpink][size=1]
ANYWHO! I don't know if I want to get it. I was at Media Play yesterday and it was a pretty expensive DVD, more expensive than most anime DVDs, which are already outrageous.[/color][/size] [/B][/QUOTE]

the problem is that everything associated with something as big as the matrix is going to be milked for all it's worth. DAMN THOSE HOLLYWOOD EXECUTIVES!! and damn my poorly paying job...

[Semjaza]

Well, I don't know where you're shopping in general... but obviously they are just ripping you off.

You can get the original Matrix DVD for only $15, and I've seen the Animatrix as low as $16 with the soundtrack packed in. Just look around. Places like Media Play and Coconuts aren't exactly cheap heh.


Anyway... I wouldn't say it's completely anime lol. All of the shorts are made by companies known for anime, even the Aeon Flux creator's stuff. I guess I could, but at this point I don't think I want to start another thread :p

I forget the number of shorts for some reason. It's something like 10. Really, they all add up to basically the length of a feature film. It's not really a waste.

[Charles]

Charles is posting in Anime Lounge. Yeah, baby!

I picked this up yesterday, and I'm satisfied. But, there was no soundtrack with mine. >_<;;

My favorite story is [i]Beyond[/i]. If I remember correctly, it's the one where a glitch creates an illusion that resembles a haunted house. The artwork and direction are simply beautiful.

[spoiler]I'm not sure if this is [i]really[/i] a spoiler, but I don't want to risk upsetting anyone. My favorite scene in this short, is when the lead female touches a perpetually floating feather, when her cat scares a nearby pigeon. It flies in front of her face in slow motion. The music in this scene is also wonderful. And I love how everything becomes bathed in white light as she slowly falls to her side.[/spoiler]

So, that's definitely one of my favorite moments on the disc.

My second favorite short, is [i]World Record[/i]

Like most of the films, it has a very unique visual flare. And I really like how the scenes are pieced together. It's definitely one of the more creative stories in the Animatrix. Plus, for some reason, it reminded me of the direction of an Aeon Flux short. But yeah, some of the cinematography here is very sick and twisted.

The last film [i]Matriculated[/i] (the one actually directed by the Flux guy, Chung) was probably the most artistically driven of the bunch--and that's saying a lot. This short is completely driven on imagery. Very psychedelic. I suppose the only way one could find it normal, is by getting high on drugs before watching it. Which, I kind of expected, considering the pedigree of the director.

It seemed like the longest one, which made me happy because I used to be a huge fan of [i]Aeon Flux[/i], and I like this style

[spoiler]Plus, it's interesting looking at how humans deceive machines into fighting for them. I came away with the impression that machines have the ability to feel, and are in some ways, more human than humans.[/spoiler]

Overall, if you're a fan of [i]The Matrix[/i], you should definitely buy this. [i]The Second Renaissance[/i] shorts explain the ties between humans and machines, and how the Matrix was created. So, fans of the films shouldn't pass this up.

Plus, the visual direction in most of these films is really captivating. Shorts like [i]Final Flight of the Osiris[/i] (which ties directly into [i]Reloaded[/i]) look gorgeous. I also liked visual style of [i]A Detective Story[/i]. It was perfect.

The only one I have mixed feelings about is [i]Kid's Story[/i] (which you'll also need to see to full understand one of the characters in [i]Reloaded[/i]. The visual style was strange, to say the least.

[sex with lurch]

I watched this with friends over the weekend. I agree pretty much with everything Charles had to say except I wasn't so keen on 'World Record.' And I liked the skater kid one. The Haunted House story is really beautiful but the Parts I and II of the Renaissance are amazing... lots of helpless humans begging for mercy as the machines tear them apart. It's pretty disturbing... just the idea of it... it gets you thinking... it could happen you know. One day robots will keep us for pets.
I am not that into the actual Matrix movies. I can't keep from laughing whenever I see Keanu on screen. I think the stories in Animatrix easily stand on their own. If you aren't into the Matrix, don't let that stop you from checking this disc out.

[TheShinje]

[size=1] I have seen four of the Animatrix Filmas, the downloadable versions, and I will definately be getting the DVD when it comes out.

My favorite of the four I have watched would be Program, that was quite a thriller, plus, doing the whole "bullet time" that made the movie famous and trend setting in 2D was quite well done.

I enjoyed detective story, it was quite confussing. But the artwork was well done and the gratuitous violence well portrayed.

The secon Renaissance, divided into two parts, was a real eye opener, as far as plot goes, I would say it's the most plot driven of them I have watched so far.

Yeah, I am hoping the rest will be just as good, I wanted to see Final Flight of the Osiris at the movies, but just missed out [/size]

[Queen Asuka]

[color=hotpink][size=1]Okay, I'm editing my posts. I got the Animatrix yesterday and I thoroughly enjoyed watching it, even though it did freak me out quite a bit.

My favorite is the same as Charles. [b]Beyond[/b] was just interesting the whole time I was watching it and it really made me sad at the end when [spoiler]they all went back to where the supposed Haunted House was and tried to do the things they had done again and it didn't work...and she cut her finger on the can.[/spoiler] It was just so sad...

I didn't care for [b]World Record[/b] too much. It was interesting, but I really didn't get a point.

I really liked [b]Kid's Story[/b]. The animation was so STRANGE and it was awesome whenever he was skateboarding around the school. I wasn't sure what was going to happen, but I liked the whole story.

Anyway, I may post more later, but that's all for now..[/color][/size]

[Guest MikeyP]

i love the animatrix. one of the best buy's i've had in a while.

Here's my review...i'll try and obstain from giving away any plotlines.

My favorite's are the 2nd reniceance(sp) my absolute favorite.
Maeda's technique is amazing, using references to Viet Nam, Tienimen Square, to shadow and put into perspective something that we may never see. Bring all the visuals closer to home. Very well put together, and very well thought out. I loved it. On the visual aspect the camera work was just what i expected from the man who made Blue Submarine 6. Same with the fluid CG-Cell animation was great. I left that short feeling almost sick...which is exaclty what Maeda wanted.

Final Flight of the Osiris-
It was visually pleasing, thats all. Story was alright....but what carried it was visuals.

World Record- prolly my 2nd favorite. Albiet the animation style was abstract the story held true. Sequencing was great....the entire story taking place while he was running his world record run.

Kids Story- That was really cool. The freehand animation style was really refreshing to watch.

thats all for now.

i say buy it if u havn't already

[nezzyjean]

It looks like its awesome! I'll probably get it sometime this week when i go shopping for my friends Bahtmitzvah present. Do all of you who have it already think it was worth the money? Is it good?

[Ayokano]

I love this.I just got it for $20 at Wal-Mart.The Final Flight of the Osiris was great,at first I thought it was live action.The Second Renaissances told alot about how the Maxtrix came to be,and I liked the styles of Kid's Story and A Detective Story.Kid's Story was something new,and A Detective Story reminds me of a black and white detective story...wait it was:p

[Transtic Nerve]

It's not bad. I wasn't terribly impressed with it, partially because of certain stories. But overall I was expecting alot and it did deliver. I saw it about a month ago (no not the downloadable episodes, although i did get them, I got an advance copy of the DVD. I actually watched it the day of the advanced showing Matrix Reloaded, which I saw later that night lol) and I bought the DVD/CD collection box set the other day. So obviously spending $25 from me means it was good cause you don't normally see me buying DVDs lol


Any true Matrix fan will pick this up simply for the story line. They really did alot with this. They specifically left out info int he movie so that you could get it from the Animatrix and the Enter the Matrix game. It's really great how interwoven they are.

*Final Flight of the Osiris: This is probably one of my favorites, not only the animation (which is like the FF movie, same people, but the plot itself. How it interacts with not only the movie but the game as well. If any story should stick out the most, this one is it.

*The Second Renassance: Everyone wanted to know how it all begun, well here it is. Simply great. The whol story line. Awesome. Although I would have liked them to be longer

*Kid's Story: I am not a fan of the squigly animation, but the plot was good. Gives the background info on the character in Reloaded. He's got to play some big part in this, I dunno what though.

Program: Awesome, no other word describes it. The Animation, the sword fights, the action. Blown away. I loved it. Too short though

World Record: Probably my least favorite of them. Didn't like the animation, didn't mind the plot all too much. Seemed out of place. Like they needed a filler.

Beyond: Excellent. Probably the more confusing of them, but great in itself. The plot is awesome. Just the whole idea of this type of place existing is bad a$s lol

A Dectective Story: Good side story on Trinity. I didn't mind it because it had alot of old overtones to it. Like a mix between the 20s and the modern world. Very unique style, plus being black and white except for a few things that stand out (ie: the flame, Red Queen, etc etc) gives it all that extra mysterious overtone.

Matriculated: Wow. I was blown away by this. Not only is the animation stupendous, the plot was great. Albeit confusing, it was very in depth and showed a side never before seen. Brilliant.

* - Directed and written by the Wachowski Brothers. Also these 4 mini-films have a direct connection to the movie.

The soundtrack is pretty bad a$s as well. Very unique put together of music.

[Guest cloricus]

I first saw a leaked "test" trailer for it a few years ago, without seeing that I simply wouldn't be into anime. I have a folder on my computer dedicated to it, I have every trailer from the first to the heavily distorted tv ads. I also have each of the four free parts, none of which have the correct file name because I was dling them as they were uploading them. ([url]www.intothematrix.com,[/url] hack it, you'll enjoy. *ahem* red *ahem*) And I intend to buy the dvd. (If I had the money I would have it already.) Though I'm not as addicted as that sounds above, it was just over a long time span and I just collected the stuff from lans and off the web. Some of the animations I don't like. Some of the story lines were a bit iffy but it was the brothers movie so I guess they can do what ever they want. I was also glade to see the equipment in the 2nd Rens carried on into the matr|x 2, it just added to the linking in of the whole thing. (I was happy that I saw the sneak peak of the final flight about ten minutes before going to see reloaded!)

And that's all I have to say on that. Second post in this forum. :P

-eps-

[Queen Asuka]

[color=hotpink][size=1]I didn't like World Record, either, Transtic. It DID seem out of place. And that was the phrase I was looking for, and you hit the nail on the head.

Ever since I got it, the soundtrack is all I'm listening to. I thought it was really awesome that they sold them together. My favorite tracks are "Who Am I", "Hands Around My Throat," and "Beauty Never Fades." ^_^[/color][/size]

[James]

[color=#335062]Well, I just got the DVD a few days ago. So, here are my thoughts on it.

[b]Final Flight of the Osiris:[/b] Not bad. Gorgeous animation, as expected. Storywise, I think it answered a very basic point (ie: how they knew that the machines were tunnelling to Zion). But other than that, it didn't include much of note.

[b]The Second Renaissance:[/b] Amazing piece. Absolutely amazing. I really loved this one. Visually beautiful, wonderful direction and some very powerful scenes. This piece was very depressing...very emotionally heavy. But so, so beautiful.

[b]Kid's Story:[/b] This piece gets kudos from me for trying something different, animation wise. Very stylized and expressive, for sure. It had an interesting background on the character from The Matrix Reloaded, which was a nice plot tie-in. Pretty good, but not absolutely amazing.

[b]Program:[/b] Visually gorgeous. But not much else. It did explain something interesting, with regard to the story...but I felt that this was the most "filler-like" piece in The Animatrix. Having said that, it touched on a couple of important issues [spoiler]such as the reaction that one would have when tempted with the idea of rejoining The Matrix and whether or not reality is better than what The Matrix offers[/spoiler].

[b]World Record:[/b] This was a pretty good piece. The animation was quite bizarre, in terms of how certain things were represented (ie: the agents). Having said that, it was also a very experimental piece. And I think it illustrated something [i]very[/i] interesting. [spoiler]The runner reached such heights of exhilaration when running, that he began to "wake up" from his sleep almost automatically, which is why the agents tried to hold him back and keep him in "the real world". Even at the end, when he was in the asylum...he still had some sense that he wasn't free. Very interesting and quite sad, too.[/spoiler]

[b]Beyond:[/b] Wow. That's the one word I can use to describe this one. Absolutely stunning piece. Beautiful in every sense. There was a surreal sense of peace when [spoiler]the kids were manipulating The Matrix from within the courtyard[/spoiler]. Fantastic piece, which illustrated the whole [spoiler]angels, ghosts and such being a glitch in The Matrix[/spoiler].

[b]Detective Story:[/b] This was also a visually stunning piece. Very film noir. It felt like a "classic" anime, in terms of the music and direction...I don't know if that's the right way to describe it, but it's the feeling I had. It was interesting, though I don't think it was quite as relevant as some of the other stories.

[b]Matriculated:[/b] This piece was also right up there. It was visually superb, but the story it told was really mind-bending stuff. [spoiler]The way that the humans tried to show the machine that mankind is a benevolent force...that machines can have safety with humans...it was very cool. The techniques used to "trick" the machine were great, too. And the ending was also pretty amazing -- the techniques used worked [i]too[/i] well. Maybe the humans can never win, because of their greedy and arrogant motives?[/spoiler]

[/color]

[ARTommy]

i thought that the animatrix was awesome. it was great how they had all the different artists.

i like a KIDS STORY alot because for some odd reason i fely like i related. that dosent mean i'm gonna go jumpin off some bulidings but hey.

the one with the haunted house was cool., was the house a glitch in the matrix? i thought the animation was the best in that because it was so smoothe

[Heaven's Cloud]

[COLOR=INDIGO] I rented this on iNdemand yesterday (mainly because I am very poor right now and it is cheaper for me to rent and tape then to buy) and boy was I impressed. Although every short film was good (the animation in Program and World Record was stunning) I was really impressed with these three stories:

[b]Matriculated[/b]: It not only captured the duality of man, but it gave the machines that same charicteristic...the need to strive for peace through war and the charecteristic of destroying what you create. It helped to lend humanity to the machines in the Matrix

[b]Kids Story[/b]: The artwork in this story impressed me. It reminds me of so many comic book illustarors that I enjoy, everything looked rough, grity, and incomplete. I thought that sense of incompleteness carried over to the story line...

[b]Detective Story[/b]: This was my favorite story. I liked its darkness, like James said, very "film noir". The end was so fascinating, especially when the agents attempted to take over the detectives body and he tried to fight them...[/color]

[Queen Asuka]

[color=hotpink][size=1]You know, speaking of the Second Renaissance, I had the most horrible dream the other night. I dreamt that those robots were coming to the place where I lived and we were going to try to fight back, but we were going to end up getting slaughtered anyway. We had no way to really save ourselves because we couldn't escape the house because the neighborhood we were in was surrounded by machines all around who lived there. Yes, it was weird...but it made me wary of watching the Animatrix again anytime soon.

Alot of people seem to not care for Matriculated that much. I think it was neat.[/color][/size]

[James]

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by Queen Asuka [/i]
[B][color=hotpink][size=1]
Alot of people seem to not care for Matriculated that much. I think it was neat.[/color][/size] [/B][/QUOTE]

[color=#707875]Yes! Matriculated was probably the most "deep" of the shorts. I'm surprised that so few people can appreciate its beauty.

It was really fascinating. The ending was so bittersweet...it was kind of tragic. [/color]

[Queen Asuka]

[color=hotpink][size=1]I think that alot of people just do not understand exactly what was going on. It's definately something that you have to think about. I liked that aspect of it, though...[/color][/size]

[Turkey]

While I understood the meaning of Matriculated (the ending was my favorite part), I found it to be a little too long during the main segment.

Oh, and The Second Renaissance has made me feel really ashamed of our species. I really hope that we don't behave like the humans in the video, if that situation were to happen to us.

[Naru]

I liked the animatrix but it was kind of hard to relate it to the movies. some parts were not very good (atleast to me). if you liked the movie i'm sorry if i offended you