Metropolis | KYOTO VIDEO

Metropolis was a high-budget passion project done in tribute of one the greatest creators of anime and manga. But nearly 20 years after its release, pop culture seems to have forgotten about it. KYOTO VIDEO explores why Rintaro's Metropolis is so great and why you should watch it.
Subscribe to KaiserBeamz for the latest episodes of KYOTO VIDEO and more: / kaiserbeamz
Donate to my Patreon: / kaiserbeamz
KB is his name and talking about old animation is his game! If you want deep analysis and history on the realm of retro anime and old animation, then you've come to the right place. Be warned though. Being a possum means he loves consuming trash, media-based or otherwise.
Follow me on Twitter: / kaiserbeamz

[@bryanc7094]

The early 2000s seem to have been the last great era of cel animated anime films and productions

[@neilworms2]

Yeah, I haven't see many anime films this ambitious lately, Masaaki Yuasa excluded.

[@yeokuokkiantan6363]

@@neilworms2 Ever heard of gothicmade?

[@INT_Based]

@@neilworms2 Redline is amazing if you haven’t seen it yet.

[@neilworms2]

@@INT_Based Yup saw it, it also was out about 10 years ago... Still recommend though.

[@j.2512]

Fun fact: Sausage Party had 10x the budget of this movie

[@Luke_Barz]

Somehow this movie landed in my family's DVD collection when I was a kid, and let me just say: the finale absolutely blew me away. All these years later and "I Can't Stop Loving You" makes me cry without fail. Metropolis' presentation is stellar on every front, the OST especially is one of my favourites of all time, and the "Zone" recurring theme has cemented itself has one of my favourites ever.

[@funkmastaC]

I can’t stop loving this movie. It feels like some plots never went anywhere and a series might have done the overall story better then a movie but, it certainly is a moving piece. Not perfect but the core message shines through. The movie itself becomes an example of its own themes.

[@redalchemy7322]

In a Blockbuster some 15 years ago, I randomly found this half worn DVD in a dollar bin for sale with no cover. Intrigued but not particularly hopeful for what I was about to see, it ended up being something special that made me rethink what could be done with animation. This abused little gem was something special lost to time. P.S. This channel feels much the same, great and insightful. That deserves greater attention than what it has.

[@jacobschaller6566]

33:40 Are we just gonna ignore the fact that Atlas is voiced by freaking Aladdin? (Scott Weinger, if you wanna know the actor's name.)

[@erichfiedler1481]

WWWWWWWWWHHHHHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAATTTTTTTTT

[@spencerblais2539]

I THOUGHT THAT VOICE SOUNDED FAMILIAR

[@dwainsimmons3447]

I’m not going to ignore it

[@occultnightingale1106]

I'm pretty sure Metropolis was the first Anime Movie I'd ever seen (it was either that or Mobile Suit Gundam Wing: Endless Waltz), rented by my older brother from a Blockbuster or something. I haven't revisited the film (yet, and I wholly intend to change that soon), but dipping my toes back into this rabbit hole has only revealed just how much influence it has on me, ranging from my deep interests in the Cyberpunk genre, Transhumanism, Existentialism, Totalitarianism, and Animation as a medium. It's such a shame it's not remembered well these days, it definitely deserved the recognition.

[@GusVIII]

I live in Japan. I've only been able to find this movie on two streaming platforms here. First is on KZbin with the quality looking like shit. The second was Amazon Prime where the quality looks exactly as it does on KZbin. I haven't been able to find an HD version of this movie, which is a shame because it would look absolutely amazing in HD. I know an HD version must exist. I remember scenes from this movie being used to show off the displays of high end TVs at Best Buy in the early 2000s. Nothing is going to beat seeing it at my local indie movie theater with my dad back when I was in high school though. Breathtaking film. Really sticks with you. I can't believe so many have forgotten it.

[@ELEKTROSKANSEN]

HD version does exist indeed - because the movie was released on bluray. Forgive me if I'll sound patronising, but I always have trouble understanding such "dillemas" in posts like yours. Maybe it's my inner "boomer" speaking (I'm turning 40 in a few months) but... obviously, anyone can buy the disc off ebay. Are physical media THAT passe among people nowdays, that they outright refuse the idea? I understood "the bluray dillema" 10-15 years ago, because BR players weren't that common, but nowdays? Most people who are into geeky things like anime own a current gen Xbox or a Playstation and can watch blurays on them with no sweat. Hell, you can buy an old, used PS3 for a price of one new BR movie disc... Ok, let's assume you hate consoles for some reason, and you are hell bent on paying for the movie; why not pay for the YT version for clear conscience and then simply torrent the movie in HD on your PC..? Am I so out of touch, and people don't even own PCs nowdays, limiting themselves to only own a phone/tablet..? Again, forgive me if I sound like an old fart. It's just that I never have these problems with 99% of movies I want to watch. It's either buy the disc or download it for me. The only times I'm having any kind of trouble is when some movies or tv shows are so unpopular and forgotten that they never got a BR release. Like one of my favorite shows from the 90s, "Earth 2". It only came out on DVD so I'm limited to the SD version. Did you end up finding the HD version of Metropolis after all?

[@keirgomcginlay2044]

And yet another KyotoVideo topic goes on the 'I want to watch list.'

[@holitinne]

Interestingly enough, Pero was a dog in Astroboy whose brain was transplanted into a robot, his former master was Astroboy’s teacher, the template of Detective Ban. The robot’s design is similar to this film’s Pero.

[@JONNYSORENSEN_AU]

Had the good fortune to see this on release in the cinema with subtitles. There is so much in every frame on the big screen that you cant even see on a tv screen. One of best animated anythings (visually speaking) in existence.

[@silentfox139]

That framing where you can see the victim’s face reaction of being shot in the sunglasses is amazing detail 27:27

[@Pizzacat-xy8dj]

Man this was my movie back in middle school and high school 😻

[@RedAbitbol]

easily one of my favorite anime ever, I'm glad to see actual positive review on the movie on the internet. One thing I love in the movie is the melancholy of Jazz & Blues is explored through the storytelling itself. Making it the most "blues" anime ever

[@MakiraVangalis]

I remember seeing this in theaters at an obscure cinema. Good times.

[@boop0122]

I see you're on your quest to review every anime featured in the opening.

[@Enshohma]

I've just started the video but the mouthwatering 41 minute length and your wonderful research into these Kyoto Video documentaries is always a highlight to my days when they're uploaded. Please keep up the amazing work and all the best to you and your future endeavors.

[@NotOrdinaryInGames]

Fritz Lang's greatest life achievement was playing a role in Conqueror of Shambala.

[@strivingtobalance]

I was lucky enough to be living in San Francisco at 5he time and saw it at the Opera House Landmark theater. Shown in practically just a screening room, it was amazing, and it was also the only time I really saw a celebrity in the city just living life. Robin Williams and a friend of his were in line in front of us and ended up seeing Metropolis, which makes sense as he was a known anime fan. I still have the CD of the soundtrack.

[@dun0790]

Possibly my favourite movie of all time i just love the haunting timeless atmosphere and characters so perfect i would love a sequel or anime tv show but i know there is no point it was perfect accident right time right place

[@P3achyPro]

It's funny that they used St. James Infirmary in the soundtrack, being that it was also used in one of the famed collaborations between Cab Calloway and his orchestra (at least their cover of the same song) with Fleischer Studios on a few Betty Boop cartoons. Honestly outside of invoking the era that both Boop and the original Metropolis manga were from, there really isn't any other connection I just think it's neat :)

[@strayiggytv]

Metropolis certainly influenced me. It holds just a big a place in my heart as Ghibli movies. I'm always glad when anyone talks about this movie considering it's so forgotten and overlooked. I remember how shocked I was back in 2015 or so that you could get legitimate metropolis animation cells featuring main characters for as little as $25 on yahoo auctions. Heck you can still get a full set of the only figures they made from this movie for that price.

[@Rexodiak]

really appreciate all the effort you put into these, it shows

[@user-rc3cm1zv4j]

I don't what it is but alot of anime films nowadays don't feel that cinematic for me anymore. They feel like an anime episode with a bit more budget. Not saying they are bad just not that cinematic. This film is probably one of the last ones to give me that feeling of being cinematic. No CG crowds does help

[@JONNYSORENSEN_AU]

Thats exactly what they are. There are very few true anime fims. Most are just longer run time tv shows.

[@CornishCreamtea07]

That's not a recent thing, Anime Films have always been like that, especially spin off Films to popular IPs(Dragon Ball for example). There are exceptions to the rule, but unless they are headed by a big name director you're not going to get that.

[@Principal_Behaviour]

23:29 Don't know if this was intentional or not, but it fits the mouth perfectly.

[@HolyClownFuckarus]

This movie is up there in tear jerking capacity with the greats like fire flies.

[@Kolbatsu]

Metropolis was such a great movie this was such a great video for a great movie and its such a shame it never got the recognition it deserves.

[@eattheasslikeitsgrass5113]

I’ve been watching your vids since last June, and I sincerely believe you are underrated. I love how you go in depth to a move and explore its good and bad w/o being an “angry reviewer”

[@SPIDEYMODS616]

As an Astro Boy fan ill give the movie a watch thanks for covering this

[@ChandlerVanFossen]

I’m sorry, but this is another video I watch and immediately think, “ Wow! This just discredits Bennett’s review even more!”

[@alphabloodhawk]

No disrespect to Bennett or anything, he's a cool dude, but he seems to severely misunderstand this movie in basically every single regard.

[@veggsbacon1891]

Well I'll be darned. I'm gonna check this film out. 👍🏽👍🏽

[@ELEKTROSKANSEN]

Your videos are criminally under-viewed! 😢

[@johnaquino7619]

19:00 This description reminds me a lot of what was done for the effects in the first Tron movie. Hand rendered animation, designed to look like it was computer rendered. In the case of Metropolis, the anime, it was computer rendered, and then manually painted to look like it was hand drawn. :-)

[@Allenluvable]

Yeah, I watched this movie for the first time a couple years ago, and was blown away. Loved it. The thing you said about needing to know the history is definitely true too, I have my own theory on why this movie vanished so quickly from the public eye, at least in America. And that's a certain even that happened in September 2001 just a few months after this movie came out, making it very difficult to market, given the ending of the movie.

[@electrofonickitty823]

I have been waiting for you to do this. I loved this anime for years

[@capntinwhistle]

These documentaries/analyses are fire. Keep doing what you do.

[@UnexpectedAmy]

I love this channel! The lead in to your intro was fantastic! Again just so well put together and in-depth! Only saw this movie recently, I think what put me off for so long was the trailers pushing the more 3D aspects of the movie, and that strange gold pallet. Actually watching it though, the traditional anime aspects are amazing. The detail and the colour, along with the movements of the characters is utterly spellbinding!

[@gilbertculloden87]

Great job! I particularly appreciate the way you contextualize the film in light of both Lang's and Tezuka's work. Spot on analysis as usual

[@matthewhahn1132]

I love this movie

[@Equinoctes]

Excellent. Absolutely brilliant. I subscribed a few weeks ago and this is my first video of yours since I haven’t much time. Looking forward to checking out your backlog. I love this movie and hope it gets more recognition. Shaybs, I know you’re watching. This has to be one of the top, if not the best of this week’s AniTube Digest entries.

[@jonathanredacted3245]

AW SHIT YEAH. This is like the one anime movie here I've seen many times beforehand, aside from the lupin the third money about the family that prints counterfeit money

[@Anaxagoras-qr5zn]

Fantastic video, a joy to watch.

[@JosemiBezerra]

I'm awed by this channel

[@Agpicklefeet]

Your videos verge on mini-documentaries about every film/show you talk about, seriously well done research!!

[@puxtbuck6731]

Another really informative video. I saw this when I was a kid and didn’t really love it but I really need to rewatch it

[@sinvector8020]

Your channel definitely needs to be bigger!

[@3typo370]

Wonderful video ❤️❤️

[@piplup223]

Enjoyed this vid so much! I love documentary style vids and learning about the history of a movie. Really Idk how this vid doesn’t have 100000 views 😭

[@KaiserBeamz]

Glad you enjoyed it! And if you really want this channel to grow, you can really help by sharing this video around.

[@TastyBusiness]

Well stated. I've got my DVD copy on my shelf, as it's been a favorite of mine for years.

[@MHDebidour]

Wonderfull video for a wonderfull movie, thank you

[@ogto]

Metropolis was my first ever anime anything i think, caught it by accident on HBO when i was very very young. Talk about an amazing introduction to the medium. Flawed, beautiful movie. I've got a special edition DVD with some very neat extras (that aren't on youtube).

[@StoneCresent]

Rock's color scheme and design reminds me of Protoman from the Megaman games. Rock's name simultaneously shares his name with Megaman himself via Megaman's pre-localized name. I'm not sure if these similarities were coincidences or just a sign of Megaman's art style being influenced by the works of Tezuka.

[@gilbertculloden87]

An interesting layer to this film that I've never seen discussed is the film's use of Babylonian mythology. Marduk was a Babylonian god who killed the goddess Tiamat, from whose corpse the world was made. The way Tima is shot by the leader of the Marduks appears to be a clear reference to the myth (and the myth is itself a form of the scapegoat motif). Additionally, the Babylonian Ziggurats served as temples to Marduk.

[@moonschanle]

my first and fave anime movie ever helllll yesss, great vid!!

[@VaingloriousAJJP]

great job

[@jasonblalock4429]

18:19 I would LOVE to see you cover GE999 someday.

[@filmsonsong]

I haven’t seen Metropolis in years but I adored it when I was a teenager. I now have a blu ray coming in the mail :) ALSO, I love this channel. Great stuff. Please consider more Tenchi, namely the OVAs. >>

[@DreamedLint]

Really enjoyed this as kid and I was afraid of revisiting it in case it didn't hold up, but it seems like I needn't worry. Not knowing either legacy at the time, I'd argue folks can find a lot to enjoy. Though your added context makes it all the more appealing!

[@mmmghool]

Great vid and movie

[@DSheartlady]

METROPOLIS IS AWSOME WHEN I SAW IT IT BLEW ME AWAY IT STILL DOES 🙂🙂🙂🙂🙂🙂🙂🙂🙂🙂

[@Lexi_Zone]

"Automation making things _harder_ for workers? Unbelievable."

[@thompayne6368]

Awesome content! Would love to see 3x3 eyes

[@Whichhatte-perso]

I saw the last half of Metropolis on TV once that climax scene man.

[@knghtbrd]

Another one I remember … When I saw this one it was on Cartoon Network. I don't remember if Toonami (oldskool Toonami) or Adult Swim now … it definitely has some themes I don't think the kids would get. Not knowing the inspirations for this one, I thought it was weird, but being a big fan of cyberpunk in general I really appreciated a unique and uniquely elegant take on the questions of humanity and at what point a machine becomes deserving of those things we call human rights. I had no idea when I first saw it that this one had such a tragic ending. I came away wondering if humanity really is destined to create machines to be used and exploited that are greater than the sum of their programming, and then simply consider it a bug. It's such a common trope that obviously it's something many humans have thought about. But at the same time, I've seen how people behave collectively. Most go through life in a distracted fog, others are simply indifferent, and still others actively malicious toward anything or anyone different than them. If we ever accomplished the creation of an independently evolving intelligence, truly self-aware AI, would enough people work to avoid the mistakes of cyberbunk tropes to counteract the rest? Somehow, the outlook on that doesn't look good.

[@MazinGo-1972]

I bought the DVD back in the early 2000's and loved it and then got the soundtrack. I was bummed that the CD didn't include Ray Charles' song. I was also reading the Astro Boy manga and was amused at how many characters I recognized from the film. While Roger Ebert loved it, fellow critic Richard Roeper called it Speed Racer, the show, garbage. He of course praised Spirited Away and the subsequent Miyazaki films.

[@Skull_Gun]

40:06 hold up; is that Mario & Luigi at the top?

[@mariic2]

Holy crap, it _does_ look like them!

[@TBoneTony]

23:50 Considering this villain of this story is just a normal business man who never wanted to enter politics as long as the people in charge are doing their job to keep their people happy. And considering this was made in the early 2000s, not pointing out the obvious here but I think for both good and evil has similar desires that they don't often go into that sort of business until they were pushed into it.

[@rainfire2457]

Omg I wanted to watch Metropolis cuz of Otomo, but now I know that it’s a homage to Osamu Tezuka and now I wanna watch it so much more now 😂👍 Awesome video!!!!!

[@jewofmalta]

Desperately want “Decopunk” to become a thing now.

[@ShanaReviews]

you ever wonder what would happen if Miyazaki was ever interested in making a film based on a work by Osamu Tezuka?

[@starlantzer]

I love Metropolis. One of the first anime I showed my boyfriend..now husband. Nice job on this video. So much was learned.

[@Krysnha]

I rremember when i watch it in HBO, it said, the anouncer, a reflectio about ourselfs, amaizing movie no doubt

[@cvatvbizarreadventure]

No I have never heard of that song before please explain NH

[@Lori_P89]

When Tima asks the question at the end, somehow my eyes begin to leak a liquid substance..

[@rickifriki]

Insta like!

[@yohannbiimu]

I felt with all of the grandness of this film's visuals, they took precedence over the story and character development. Really, there wasn't much of any character development, but rather character demolishment. With the exception of the two main human protagonists, I was left with the feeling that the main message of the film is that humanity doesn't exist beyond a piddling, ineffective minority, while the rest are driven either by tyrannical political power or a brutal collective hivemind. I couldn't really identify with anyone in this movie, because the protagonists were clearly self-insert, basically perfect people, their antagonists were polar opposites, and I am neither. All that was left were the programmed machines that were identified with pet names and were seen as scapegoats by everyone who had a complaint for their own failures in life. I suppose the closest character I could identify with was "Pero," a robot that's last functioning act was asking why a mob is burning and destroying their community, rather than being productive, humane people. Besides this, I also found the extreme retro character designs very distracting. Seeing these cute, rounded characters moving around with realistic animation was very jarring to me. And, "I Can't Stop Loving You" bursting out of nowhere, while everything in sight is seemingly going to hell was just WAY too ridiculously over-the-top, IMHO. I also found the elements of this coinciding with Fritz Lang's Metropolis distasteful to me, especially with this movie's unsettled, tragic ending. Lang's 1927 classic film should have been the farthest thing from the minds of the makers of this "Metropolis" film. So, all in all, I was pretty disappointed with this Tezuka-inspired Metropolis movie. It was visually stunning, and I am in awe of how much physical work had to go into making it, but in my opinion, all of its visual brilliance worked against it telling a compelling, comprehensive story Too much thought was put into making every scene filled with motion and imaginative BG layouts, and what it needed more than anything was identifiable human characterizations and characteristics, which I found badly lacking.

[@teddyfurstman1997]

These Anime movies of the 2000s are a gem. Wish I watch Metropolis Anime more. Edit: We saw Metropolis 1927 with a live Organ Score at Lincoln Center and it still holds up.

[@tallgeese3w]

I fucking love this film its incredible. Have the blu ray too.

[@P3achyPro]

*opens subs* Oh nice new Kyoto Video! I really like Metropolis I wonder what- 40 MINUTES LET’S GOOOOOOOOOOOOO

[@TBoneTony]

When it comes to anime series that were made after Tezuka passed away, how would you rate the early 2000s Phoenix series? I think it delved into the stories of the original manga really well taking 2 stories from the future and 2 stories of the distant past as well as one episode story that goes into a eternal time loop.

[@jtfbreedlove]

If you can find it worth a watch.

[@phibian00]

When Metropolis was first released, I tried to enjoy it at the time but found it unsatisfying, maybe because I thought it didn't do justice to its source material: neither the manga nor the movie. thanks to this I will be able to appreciate it more as a tribute to Osamu Tezuka. I appreciate your depth of knowledge and criticism.

[@candidgamera]

I haven't seen the anime, but I have seen the Lang film.. I wondered how close an adaptation this was of that.

[@SerifSansSerif]

I watched both and yes, they are extremely different. I know of the original metropolis because it was mentioned (though never shown) in German class, and Fritz Lange is an incredibly influential film director. How much so? Metropolis was so influential that Adolph Hitler saw it and wanted him to do propaganda films for the Nazis. Lange immediately fled to the US. Oddly enough, this is represented in the Fullmetal Alchemist 2003 movie Conquerer of Shambala. The original Metropolis is also part of the Criterion collection, and easily available. It MAY also be on KZbin.

[@silentfox139]

Kusai skunk showing up as the military/police can’t be good

[@dwainsimmons3447]

You gotta do Junger emperor Leo!

[@user-bj3wn4fj7e]

will you make video on Uchida Shungichu no Noroi no One-Piece?

[@NotOrdinaryInGames]

Full disclosure: I already seen Metropolis, TWICE. I own it on Blu-Ray (I have one of the UK BD/DVD releases, with the pink cover which is beautiful). I just want to see what you have to say. My perspective on the movie will not change. P.S.(a): There is no perfect super crisp version of the movie, due to how it was copied back to film tape (generational loss).

[@TAGanimation]

BTW, did you have to buy the metropolis manga online, or did you found it for free somewhere online?

[@KaiserBeamz]

Yeah, I "found" a copy *wink*

[@melelconquistador]

I forgot the name of your opening song and I'm craving it. Anyone remember what it was.

[@derBene]

👆 this

[@2packrm781]

Does anybody kniw where I can watch this anime, please?

[@soldierbreed]

Lol who ever thought technology can't make labor harder has clearly never heard of 9f the cotton gin.

[@Ming1975]

Metropolis? Oh, that's just some legendary grand daddy of cyberpunk dystopian greatest movie ever made. But I never knew anything about the anime version.

[@MrPrinceofSaiyans]

But like. Where do I watch?

[@abloogywoogywoo]

Fantastic and insightful review. Keep uploading such content with your critical eye, until you overcome the automated nightmare of the KZbin Algorithm that snubs you.

[@Acesahn]

This channel's taste in anime is so close to my own but because of that I end up stopping the video early on so I can watch what he's talking about myself first lol. Its a good channel for scouting though.

[@memematicproductions3192]

9:37 Actually that was a different movie: SOMEBODY ONCE TOLD ME THE WORLD IS GONNA ROLL ME

[@RhinoStew]

Fuckin excellent

[@RhinoStew]

Also, the whole “gender swap” thing that Michi has in the original manga was actually inspired by the Takarazuka theater company! (From tezuka’s hometown). They are an all female drag revue but it’s non sexual drag. It was inspired as a reverse take on Kabuki and was heavily influential on Princess Knight. Also, holy crap, I have one of the frames that are in this video.

[@Spookyjordan]

29:22 I'm going to assume you didn't just imply that being anti-marxist makes you a nazi. Though the connection has probably been established in alot of your viewers minds. I'm going to assume that wasn't on purpose.

[@otaking3582]

Wait, this movie has an English dub?! Since when?!

[@KaiserBeamz]

Since 2001

[@otaking3582]

@@KaiserBeamz That's strange, I could've sworn the DVD only had Japanese audio. Maybe my memory's playing tricks on me...

[@elementofnaivity]

I think I just randomly rented Metropolis (01') in 05' at my local library along with the Cowboy Bebop movie. Ahh, to be a young weeb...