The Animatrix: The KPC Reviews. SPOILERS.

[KungPaoChicken]

So I had a look-see at all the Animatrix shorts. How, you ask? The usual sources. Anyway, I was right about Bulletproof Monk a month before its release, so I'm right about this. Animatrix, in general, is pretty cool.

Final Flight of the Osiris

Saw this in the theaters, before that Dream-Duddits picture, but seeing this on TV was pretty impressive, too. Of course, there's still something about CG that still isnt real enough, but it serves its purpose well enough. Tells a story that happens directly in correlation with the events in the movies. Done by Square. Pretty good.

The Second Renaissance Parts I and II

Saw Part I when it was released online back in Feb, but not the second part. Tells the story of how the machines revolted and ultimately took control. Pretty awesome to see just how the humans "scorched the sky" and how the machines experimented with making humans into "copper-tops" (batteries). Done by the same person who did designs for Evangelion and Blue Submarine No. 6. Good stuff.

Program

Also saw this in March, released online. Pretty good side story, about how a lady has to choose between living a truth, alone, or going back to the lie, with her man. Done by the guy who did Vampire Hunter D. Pretty cool.

World Record

Who was the crack monkey who drew this one? Stylistically charged (I guess), this short talks about how a runner is able to escape the Matrix through sheer determination. Cool stuff; I wonder if he was the first One. They never say.

Kid's Story

The style of this particular short was pretty interesting. The characters looked like moving pencil sketchs. A story about a kid whose ponderings of realities leads him to Neo and ultimately a confrontation with agents. Guest appearances: Neo and Trinity's voices. Not bad.

A Detective Story

More style in this short; black and white and grainy. Tells the story of a private investigator commissioned by agents to track down Trinity. Not bad, either.

Beyond

The crapfest begins. Done by what appears to be the same geniuses that spawned Lain, this short talks about a house in the Matrix that contains a glitch. Built on the premise of a girl who stumbles onto it looking for her cat, it anti-climatically ends with agents coming in and patching up the glitch. If I'm missing something let me know. Yawn.

Matriculation

It had a cool summary, then they got the people who did Aeon Flux to screw this one up. The short details a group of people who capture machines and reprogram them. One, in particular, they take on an acid trip, which results in the machine becoming attracted to one of the females. Yay. Everyone dies, the girl doesn't put out. Cue the credits, shoot me with a shotgun. Uber-boring.

If Animatrix taught me anything, it's that anime can be cool in the hands of people who know what the heck they are doing, i.e. the Wachowski Bros.; and can become utter crap when in the hands of idiots, i.e. Aeon Flux.

It's really your choice to buy it when it comes out on DVD, I think I might just do so, cuz I probably can't get it anywhere else. My DVD player doesn't read VCDs on CD-Rs. Man, that's crap.

[MorningSon]

My response to matriculation:

*eye-twitch**eye-twitch* wtf was that shit? was there supposed to be no fucking dialouge? wtf nothing happened, people died. . . goddam aeon flux arse hole. . .

[MorningSon]

also i thought you were too hard on it, overall it was very good and worth the purchase of the DVD.