Blu-ray Review: Osamu Tezuka's Metropolis Steelbook

Now available on a Blu-ray + DVD Steelbook from Mill Creek Entertainment is the 2001 anime classic Osamu Tezuka's Metropolis (PG-13; 108 minutes; $34.98).

Based on the 1949 manga by the late Osamu Tezuka (Astro Boy) and loosely inspired by the 1927 German silent film "Metropolis," the anime film is set in a futuristic city where humans and robots, but not in harmony. Robots are classified by levels and if they leave their levels, then they'll be destroyed.

A powerful industrial leader, Duke Red, is creating an oversized skyscraper called the Ziggurat, which is supposed to give off a massive amount of power across the entire planet. Duke had hired a mad scientist, Dr. Laughton, to create a super human robot in the likeness of his deceased daughter, Tima. He wants Tima to be the leader of the Ziggurat.

Duke's adopted son, Rock, is the leader of the Marduk Party, a anti-robot group who will do anything to destroy all robots. Rock believes that Tima will lead to the death of his father and he vowed to kill her, along with any humans or robots that gets in his way.

A private detective Shunsaku Ban travels to Metropolis with his nephew Kenich. He's there to arrest Dr. Laughton, who is wanted for organ trafficking. Unfortunately, by the time Shunsaku locates Dr. Laughton, Rock had already left the doctor mortally wounded. The attack upon the the doctor's lab leads to Tima being activated. Eventually, Kenich befriends Tima, who doesn't know she's a robot, and becomes sort of a father figure for her.

Lost in the city, Kenich takes the responsibility of protecting Timam from Rock's wrath.

Special Features include:

Amazing High-Definition Prestation
English DTS-HD Master Audio and uncompressed Japanese audio
English SDH subtitles
The Making of Metropolis featurette
Filmmaker Interviews
Animation Comparisons
Concept Art Gallery

Final Thoughts

While I don't watch very much anime, I do remember the hype around the film when it was released to theaters in 2001 and later renting it on VHS (Remember those?). Yes, the film had some story issues, but the amazing animation visuals made it entertaining. It's one of those movies that I liked but I never felt the need to rewatch it. Well, that is until the film was recently released on Blur-ray+ DVD Steelbook from Mill Creek Entertainment.

I, for one, haven't really gotten into collecting steelbooks. Osamu Tezuka's Metropolis marks the second steelbook that I now own. (The other one is The Transformers: The Movie.) Despite my lack of knowledge of steelbooks, I am impressed with the Osamu Tezuka's Metropolis Steelbook!

It has a clear plastic slipcover with the movie's title on the frontside and the synopsis on the backside. The actual steelbook is gorgeous, featuring character artworks of Tima on the front and Rock on the back.

The picture quality and sound quality are topnotch on both the Blu-ray and DVD. The only downside to steelbook is the small amount of special features, though this might not bother some anime fans.

Overall, Mill Creek Entertainment did a fabulous job with the Osamu Tezuka's Metropolis Steelbook! Anime fans will definitely want to add this one to their collection.