The only Animatrix episode i'm really interested in is "The Last Flight of the Osiris". Unfortunately it will be used to sell the DVD. Guess i have to buy it. Damn, i hate when marketing works.

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"Do not kill. Do not rape. Do not steal. These are principles
which every man of every faith can embrace. " - Murphy MacManus

FFotO looks crappy. Sure, good animation and all, but I'm more into storyline and acting, rather than SFX. That said, The 2nd Renaissance is the most interesting one out of them all. Story, remember? Matriculated looks good as well.

The first one and this one are my favorites, although Detective Story is more 'natural' because it's not a retelling of history, but an actual story. It's the most tightly written and plotted of all the shorts thus far, IMO. FFotO was pretty decent, but not that great.

The best story is worthless when i don't like the way it is presented. i also had the impression that all the released Animatrix episodes so far totally lack the atmosphere of Matrix. They just don't feel right, especially Renaissance part one. Might be a good anime, but it's a bad Matrix incarnation for me.


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"Do not kill. Do not rape. Do not steal. These are principles
which every man of every faith can embrace. " - Murphy MacManus

I agree with Lev, the anime just doesn't feel like the Matrix to me. i'm going to buy the DVD though, but only for The Final Flight of The Osiris.

Now remember[! First you pillage and THEN you burn[!

hmm, its wierd that you guys should say you don't think anime matches the feel of the matrix, 'cos they started the matrix so they could make a live action thing with the feel of anime

Correct! the entire cinematographical concept of The Matrix is inspired by anime: obsessive micromanaging to the smallest detail. What is FFotO?



Aku. Soku. Zan. (Kill. Evil. Instantly.)

FFotO is "Final Flight of the Osiris". It's Square Pictures' (you know, Final Fantasy: Spirits Within?) CG rendered short for the Animatrix. It was attached to Dreamcatcher, and luckily a friend manages at a theater so I got to check it out for free. It's decent...not bad, but not that great. The swordfighting looked off to me, but I liked the chick's jumping around at the end.

"A Detective Story" certainly does have a different visual style from The Matrix...I just didn't really care. It's still the most complete-feeling short yet, imo, whereas the rest always left me feeling somewhat cheated.

Wait, is 'FFotO' the same short as 'Program' ?

Edit: never mind. Just did a google and found out they are 2 different movies.

this is it, right?





Aku. Soku. Zan. (Kill. Evil. Instantly.)





Edited by - Fear Factor on 06-04-2003 12:12:21

Yup.

I didn't exactly say that the anime style doesn't fit Matrix. It sure does (the elevator scene from the film comes to my mind in particular). I meant that the animatrix stories so far feel pretty detached from the "real" Matrix universe. They use the same premise and background, granted, but they just don't catch the right feel. Take the robot riots and seperate robot nation from the first episode for example. Nice idea and all, but it just ain't Matrix for me. That's what i meant when i said that i don't like the way it was presented.

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"Do not kill. Do not rape. Do not steal. These are principles
which every man of every faith can embrace. " - Murphy MacManus

Edited by - Lev Arris on 07-04-2003 01:35:15

Ah, ok. That's understandable. I get that vibe too, but I try not to pay attention.

I see what you mean: it's the story that does not fit the canon, not the fact that it's anime

But I realized something that really disturbs me.... In the 2nd Renaissance, there was the scene of AI riots, and one of those scenes feature the assault and battery and sexually molesting acts against a woman. That scene was really disturbing for me, until the second the mob ripped off her outer skin and revealed that she was a "mere" android. Then the thought "thank God, it's not a real woman, just an AI" came instantly into my mind.

Then a new realization came, and it was even more disturbing: I subconsciously "OKed" that act. I came to realize that I think the assault less inappropriate, simply because the victim was not a "real" human being. I realized that the assault was a despicable act, but only until it's revealed that she was an AI. But it does not really matter, does it? the AI was sentient and capable of emotion and was defenseless. Who am I to judge what kind of treatment she deserved, based on WHAT SHE WAS, not based on what SHE HAD DONE?

I think The 2nd Renaissance is much deeper than you may think. It addresses the ancient problem of racism by putting it in a futuristic context. It bothered me that much since I realize that deep down, I'm a potential racist...

What do you think?

Yes, Fear Factor, I think that was totally the point of 2nd Renaissance! Excellent in that regard. My only problem with it were the rather blatant references to, say, Tienemen (sp?) Square, with the tank running over the robot. Historical references are nice, but I don't think they implemented them all that tastefully. EXACT mimicry of these incidents is going too far.

But still good.