This unusually named film is the anime adaptation of a seinen manga, meaning it’s aimed at young adults. Also unusual is that it was directed by an American, Michael Arias, who works primarily in Japan. It’s about a pair of young orphans who run rampant in the streets of Treasure Town, a district of a large metropolis. Due to their athletic abilities and martial prowess, they are said to be the masters of the town. Consequently when the Yakuza tries to move into their territory, the duo become priority targets for their assassins.
The art style is idiosyncratic but highly appealing and manages to convey a fantastic sense of dynamism. The action scenes of the kids navigating across the cityscape are wonderfully animated. A good case might be made for arguing that it is Treasure Town itself that is the real star of the show with all of the shots of the skyline with its complex and rich architecture, all rendered to a level of detail that is frankly crazy. One of the themes of this film is even gentrification of a sort: the Yakuza boss wants to tear down the old buildings that give the district so much of its character and history and replace them with commercial developments, including a gigantic theme park.
The story of the two boys is more like typical shounen fare even if the attempt to give it a bit of philosophical weight by likening them to yin and yang is admirable. There’s also a side plot involving a young yakuza member which feels a bit odd since he hardly interacts with the boys at all. I’m guessing that this is one of the structural problems that come from picking out plot lines from a long-running manga to adapt to a one-shot film. More seriously, though this fictional world looks great, the rules by which it operates are opaque. The boys demonstrate superhuman agility and resilience but there’s no explanation of where their powers come from or what their limits are. The elite assassins that are sent after them can actually fly and clearly are superhumanly strong. It’s just weird all around.
My wife commented to me that this happens a lot in Japanese fiction as the audience is expected to simply accept the fantastic without question. I have serious problems with the lack of coherent worldbuilding however and if the situation doesn’t make sense to me, I enjoy it much less. It’s not only that the superpowers are unexplained, it’s that the scale doesn’t work at all. Why are the police doing nothing and if the Yakuza has access to superhuman agents, why aren’t they running the government, instead of being mere gangsters? Why are a couple of street children who live in an abandoned car and are armed with only sticks considered the only serious opposition to a presumably vast organization with arsenals of military weapons? This sort of disregard for details frustrates me to no end.
Anyway due to its beautiful art and its solid themes, this probably still qualifies as a above average anime that most people would enjoy. But I don’t think it’s anything particularly special.