I knew little about this film but when I saw that it was going to be on television I decided to watch it; there is so little non-Ghibli anime on TV one has to take what one can get. When it started I knew this was going to be different; most of the characters didn't look like anime characters, they looked more like characters from western cartoons of the 1930s. This fitted in with the feel of the whole film which was a 1920s/1930s view of the future reminiscent of Fritz Lang's film of the same name.
Set in the city state of Metropolis where the robot underclass must stay in their designated areas and a scientist is building a robot that looks like a girl but is destined to run a new skyscraper known as the Ziggurat. Into this city comes a Japanese private detective and his nephew Kenichi who are seeking to arrest the scientist for organ trafficking. The state's de facto leader Duke Red's adopted son Rock is determined to destroy the robot thinking his father is replacing him. Rock starts a fire in the lab. During this the robot is activated and escapes with Kenichi although neither know that she isn't human. Rock continues to hunt them as the flee through the various layers of the city to a climax in the mysterious Ziggurat.
I loved the retro feel to the animation along with a sound track that also felt like it was from that time. The use of the song "I Can't Stop Loving You" during the climactic scene was inspired. Even if you don't normally like animation this is worth watching as it is a good story which is well told.
These comments are based on watching the film in Japanese with English subtitles.
