Tekkonkinkreet (2006) is a landmark in the increasing cross-pollination between Japanese and American animation: Based on a manga by Taiyo Matsumoto, the film was made in Japan at Studio 4C, but directed by American Michael Arrias. The story unfolds in Treasure Town, a scabrous metropolitan slum so gritty it makes the viewer want to clean under his fingernails. Orphans White and Black share an existence at the fringes of an already marginalized subculture. White seems naive, if not learning disabled: at 11, he can't tie his shoes or dress himself. But he has an uncanny sixth sense about what's happening in Treasure Town.

Older, streetwise Black looks after White and receives the emotional support he needs in return: They're two halves of a damaged whole. The arrival of a murderous yakuza boss who wants to demolish Treasure Town and build an amusement park draws Black and White into an escalating spiral of physical and emotional violence. Although the ending of Tekkonkinkreet feels needlessly obscure, it's a striking and often powerful film from a first-time director. (Rated R: violence, grotesque imagery, brief nudity, alcohol and tobacco use) --Charles Solomon

From the creators of Animatrix comes this visually-stunning new anime film based on a popular Japanese manga written by Taiyo Matsumoto. In Treasure Town, where the moon smiles and young boys can fly, life can be both gentle and brutal. This is never truer than for our heroes, Black and White, two street urchins who watch over the city, doing battle with an array of old-world Yakuza and alien assassins vying to rule the decaying metropolis. Tekkon Kinkreet is a dynamic tale of brotherhood that addresses the faults of present day society, true love lost, and the kindness of the human heart.

A brutal elegy for our changing times as well as a tour-de-force of visual artistry, Tekkon Kinkreet is a deeply resonant story with a heart. The title Tekkon Kinkreet is a play on the Japanese words for ‘concrete,’ ‘iron,’ and ‘muscle,’ and it suggests the warring images of steel and concrete cities amassing against the powers of the imagination. Until now, at least in imports abroad, anime style has almost entirely been characterized by wide-eyed heroes, big robots, and uninspired plotting. Tekkon Kinkreet jettisons these stereotypes in favor of a more realistic, European ethos, successfully incorporating engaging child characters and a complex action plot into a poetic, engaging story.