Tekkonkinkreet (鉄コン筋クリート), also stylised as TEKKONKINKREET, is a 2006 theatrical anime film based on Taiyō Matsumoto’s manga of the same name. The film was adapted by Studio 4°C, and the staff credits include director Michael Arias, screenplay writer Anthony Weintraub, character designer Shōjirō Nishimi and music composed by Plaid. The film theatrically released in Japan on December 2006.
Background:
“In Treasure Town, where the moon smiles and young boys can fly, life can be both gentle and brutal. This is never truer than for our heroes, Black and White, two street urchins who watch over the city, doing battle with an array of old-world Yakuza and alien assassins vying to rule the decaying metropolis.”
Plot Synopsis via Anime Limited, February 2025.
I probably mentioned this before on my blog over the years, but I think Studio 4°C are a pretty solid animation studio with a lot of unique and overlooked titles across their catalogue. For most people, they see them as adapting Berserk with their Golden Age Trilogy and that’s about it. Their movie trilogy adaptation was pretty good but so were their other properties like Children of the Sea, Memories and Princess Arete as well as the anthology titles like The Animatrix and Genius Party. There was one other film that they animated that to me, was very distinct and stood out thanks to its character designs and storytelling and that was Tekkonkinkreet.
Now it has been well over a decade since I last watched Tekkonkinkreet but I don’t think any other anime stood out like this one did. It’s a pretty divisive film if I’m being honest but to see the film make a return for a new wave of anime fans is pretty great to see. Also worth mentioning that this film shares the unique fact of having a non-Japanese director work on the film with Michael Arias. His track record includes producing The Animatrix, directing Project Itoh: Harmony and English localisations of Taiyō Matsumoto’s manga including Ping Pong which have been licensed and published by Viz Media.
Tekkonkinkreet previously saw a UK release through Sony Pictures in 2008, whom also have distributed Studio 4°C’s First Squad, Madhouse & Satoshi Kon’s Paprika and Studio Pierrot’s Legend of the Millennium Dragon, and what’s interesting is that Aniplex was also involved with the production which I hadn’t noticed until it was rescued by Anime Limited for a release in UK, France and Germany. I own the Sony Pictures UK release but it’s nice to have a newly packaged collector’s release 17 years later.
Collector’s Edition Contents:
Anime Limited like to provide collector’s editions for films that have a cult status in the anime scene and I think Tekkonkinkreet is the perfect fit for that.
This release is presented with a rigid box containing a Scanavo case that houses the Blu-ray & DVD discs. Also included with the set is a 28-page booklet that features various production artwork and concepts from different staff members who worked on the film.
The rigid box artwork is free of any information or BBFC content and the info sheet covers the information and specification like previous Anime Limited releases. The collector’s edition Blu-ray & DVD has 1000 units printed for an SRP of £39.99, with a standard edition Blu-ray available for retailers at an SRP of £19.99.
The film was included as part of their late January 2025 early bird pre-order range on their AllTheAnime online store where I ordered from. The set was on offer for £24.99 + £3.50 postage, with the Anime Unlimited membership lowering the cost down to £22.49 + £3.50 postage (totalling £25.99). I bundled the film with another title to reach the free shipping threshold (£50).
Physical Contents:
- Rigid Box with Amaray case packaging and clean artwork
- Info sheet for specification and BBFC description
- 28-page Booklet
On-Disc Contents:
Distributor: Anime Limited
Released: 24th February 2025
The collector’s edition release for Tekkonkinkreet contains the film on a single Blu-ray disc and single DVD disc. Both discs have been authored and encoded by Com’ On Screen, the infamous French company who mainly works with Anime Limited’s French branch.
You have the option to choose between English, French & German menu text at the start and can switch back and forth without having to reset the player. The English menu option includes Japanese with English subtitles and the STUDIOPOLIS, Inc. English dub commissioned by Sony Pictures. The French menu option includes Japanese with French subtitles and the Dubbing Brothers French dub. And the German menu option includes Japanese with German subtitles and the Scalamedia GmbH German dub.
The white subtitles are locked during playback, and the Blu-ray disc is restricted to players set to B whilst the DVD disc is restricted to players set to Region 2.
Worth mentioning that as I own the previous UK Blu-ray by Sony Pictures, that all of the on-disc bonus features have carried over to this release (though the commentary is not included on the DVD).
Blu-ray Specs:
| Languages | English, French, German, Japanese |
| Audio | English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 French DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 German DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 Japanese DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 |
| Video | 1080p High Definition Native format 2.35:1 aspect ratio |
| Region | B |
| Subtitles | English, French, German |
| Locked Subtitles | Yes |
| Discs | 1 BD-50 |
DVD Specs:
| Languages | English, French, German, Japanese |
| Audio | English Dolby Digital 5.1 French Dolby Digital 5.1 German Dolby Digital 5.1 Japanese Dolby Digital 5.1 |
| Video | Standard Definition in NTSC format 2.35:1 aspect ratio |
| Region | 2 |
| Subtitles | English, French, German |
| Locked Subtitles | Yes |
| Discs | 1 |
Blu-ray On-Disc Extra Features:
- Trailer 1 (02:02 runtime)
- Trailer 2 (00:33 runtime)
- Audio Commentary with Director Michael Arias
- The Making of Tekkonkinkreet – Director Michael Arias’ 300 Day Diary (43:23 runtime)
- Conversation with Director Michael Arias and Rock Duo Plaid (11:38 runtime)
DVD On-Disc Extra Features:
- Trailer 1 (02:02 runtime)
- Trailer 2 (00:33 runtime)
- The Making of Tekkonkinkreet – Director Michael Arias’ 300 Day Diary (43:23 runtime)
- Conversation with Director Michael Arias and Rock Duo Plaid (11:38 runtime)
Unboxing Photos:
Final Notes:
Tekkonkinkreet is available to purchase on Blu-ray by Anime Limited in the UK & Ireland.
The collector’s edition Blu-ray & DVD release can be bought exclusively through the AllTheAnime Store, while the standard edition Blu-ray is available across different retailers including AllTheAnime Store, Amazon UK, and Anime-on-Line.
(Disclaimer: Amazon links are also included when available. They are affiliated so if you decide to order them, I’ll earn a small percentage if they ship which will help me with any hauls or small bills.)
The Normanic Vault 
Leave a comment