Anime review: The Animatrix

The Animatrix is a series of short animated stories from the Matrix storyline. They are supplemental tales introduced around the same time as The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions to accommodate for the expansions to the franchise. In keeping with my review of Halo Legends, I will be providing each individual anime entry with its own rating (out of a possible five ranking), and then providing an overall rating for The Animatrix as a whole (which will be out of the standard ten-point ranking system I use). Please note that the overall rating is not an average, rather a rating based on how well the sum of the Animatrix's parts work together in delivering stories and expanding the universe of The Matrix.

Final Flight of the Osiris kicks things off with a visually pleasing 3D render of the Matrix world. There is great attention to detail throughout as the crew travels to the surface, a hauntingly beautiful place, and discovers the machines are planning to drill their way down to Zion. As soon as the Osiris is spotted, a swarm of Sentinels give chase, while one crew member plugs herself into the Matrix to warn the people of Zion of the machine's plans. It is an interesting point to explore, as it ties quite closely with the films. However, much of what is covered therein is familiar territory. Despite the fact that the introductory sequence is over-sexualized to a ridiculous degree, the animation is a saving grace as it is of a decent quality by today's standards. 3 out of 5

The Second Renaissance explains everything that led to the war with the machines and the subsequent fall of man. It draws some rather direct parallels to historical events, such as the slave labor used in constructing the Pyramids of Giza. The style in which the machines are presented makes a gradual but stark change from the friendly humanoid butler persona to the black and red tentacled bots of the films, a visualization of their change in ideals and political stance with the humans. This story of man sowing the seeds of his own destruction boasts some impressive animation for an early 2000s release. It fluctuates between the 3D and 2D combinations seen in Blue Submarine No. 6 and the borderline-obscenely stylized characters of Tekkon Kinkreet. 4 out of 5

Kid's Story revisits the first awakening from the Matrix, albeit in a much different manner than what Neo experienced in the original film. Kid is struggling in school and has dreams that are so vivid, he thinks they might be more real than his own day-to-day routine. When he seeks answers through his compute, he gets more than he bargained for, as Agents converge on his location, intent on stopping his search for the truth. This story is delivered through an animation that is heavy on sketches and watercolors, falling into an almost-impressionist category. Its surreal nature coupled with the adrenaline-rush of skateboarding action scenes and universally relatable idea will no doubt draw viewers in for the relatively short duration Kid's Story lasts. 3 out of 5

Program revisits the Training Programs briefly explored in both The Matrix Reloaded and the Enter the Matrix video game. Its animation style follows in the vein of Ghost in the Shell, and uses a rather direct and over-the-top feudal Japanese duel to train users. There is more talk than actual substance to any of the words dealt back and forth between the characters, which is rather annoying, and because of that this entry into The Animatrix feels unnecessarily long. To put it bluntly, Program is little more than a compounding of anime stereotypes, with one or two loose ties to the grander Matrix storyline. 2 out of 5

World Record explores what happens when someone tries to break free from the Matrix and fails. A track runner is trying to break his record and in the process, inadvertently sees the programming that makes up everything around him, which is a stark contradiction to all of the specific memories he recalls in the midst of his running euphoria. This entry is one of the most stylized of all the chapters of The Animatrix, fixating on the film series' cyberpunk style through color palettes that define a significant contrast between lights and darks. The character models - the Agents in particular - are very creative and captivating for the moment the bulk of World Record is encapsulated in. 5 out of 5

Beyond follows a young woman whose cat has run away from home. After asking some kids if they've seen the cat, she is led to a house the children say is haunted. As it turns out, the house is not only where the cat has run off to, but is also host to a number of strange anomalies, including irregular gravity, reconstruction of broken objects, and a door that leads to a dark, seemingly bottomless pit. The lighting and shadow effects are truly impressive for the time of The Animatrix's release. The character designs as well as the direction this vision of the Matrix took immediately evoked memories of Satoshi Kon's works - more specifically, Paranoia Agent and Paprika. The occasional shaky camera style and cel-shaded 3D animated objects truly set this entry above and beyond what most of the others in the collection manage to accomplish. 5 out of 5

A Detective Story, as its name implies, follows a detective who is hired to track down the mysterious hacker known as Trinity. The detective knows he is not the first to have been contracted to investigate her, and he is also aware of the fact that those before him ended up either dead or insane. Still, he can't argue with an $800,000 pay, even if the customer is incredibly shady. The story is delivered in a noir style that echoes the 1940s and 50s, a golden era for detective tales. The majority of the episode is animated in black, white, and shades of grey, with many backgrounds looking like they were ripped straight out of a newspaper. 4 out of 5

Matriculated is delivered through a notably American-influenced animation style. Backgrounds are comprised largely of still images that are heavy on detail, while the machines are all rendered in 3D models. The story opens with a female on the surface, decked out in some overtly cyberpunk gear, as she lures two machines into a building. Once there, she and her colleagues spring a trap to shut the machine down with the intent of repurposing it. The humans have found a method of interfacing with captured machines through a dream-like program that allows them to dupe the mechanized enemies into believing they have human qualities about themselves. The conclusion brings into question how the friendly machines might react when presented with negative emotions, and to what extent can they actually relate to being human. Interestingly, this machine is the only character who is explored to any significant degree. 3 out of 5

For the most part, The Animatrix does a wonderful job of expanding the borders of the Matrix universe. It offers many a fresh take because it is not afraid to revisit the familiar in bold new ways, ala A Detective Story, World Record, and so on. In breaking away from the Neo-centric formula of the films, the storytelling becomes much more adventurous and, in most cases, quite a bit stronger. And it certainly doesn't hurt that the animation for each is ahead of its time.The weakest moments show through when stories revisit the all-too-familiar, which are thankfully few and far between.

My rating: 8.25 (out of 10)

Anime review: Halo Legends

Halo Legends is a series of short animated stories from the Halo storyline, and reaches beyond the constraints of the games. The episodes visit planets and characters explored in the books and comics, while others are completely new to the franchise. Since this is the first review I have done of this sort of collection, I will be providing each individual anime entry with its own rating (out of a possible five ranking), and then providing an overall rating for Halo Legends as a whole (which will be out of the standard ten-point ranking system I use). Please note that the overall rating is not an average, rather a rating based on how well the sum of the Halo Legends's parts work together in delivering stories and expanding the Halo universe.

Origins serves as a quick recap of the events of the original Halo trilogy, and is divided into two parts. The first half, drawn in a style akin to that of American comic books, tells the story of the Forerunners and struggle with the Flood. This covers everything from their first encounter with one another, to the Forerunner’s construction of the Halo array and subsequent demise.

Part two does the same, except for the subject is that of the Humans. This is presented through a much more detailed and gritty animation style, with many of the background images something of a blur between painting and photography. Cortana explains how humanity acted throughout their history on Earth, and though they sought prosperity among the stars, ultimately carried their destructive, militaristic nature into space. Despite this humanity unites under the threat of the Covenant, and the two unite in turn under the returning threat of the Flood. It’s all visually pleasing, but is only going to be eye-opening for anyone who is jumping feet-first into Halo: Legends with little knowledge of what happens in the games. For the rest, it’s recycled information.
3 out of 5

The Duel explores the tale of one of the former Arbiters and his fall from the graces of the Covenant hierarchs. His dissent arises from concerns over the well-being of his home planet of Sanghelios. The pride of the Elites is used as very direct comparison to the honor code of the Samurai, which is made even more evident through the Shogun-inspired armor donned by Covenant forces and the watercolor animation present for the entire episode. It’s an interesting look into how the role of Arbiter went from ‘honored right hand of the prophets’ to ‘branded with the mark of death’. But the Japanese style is so forced that it draws away from the story.
2 out of 5

Homecoming follows a Spartan named Daisy, who wears the CQB armor variant. The episode is presented as a parallel of two stories - her present-day mission in a Covenant-occupied city, and her experiences as a young inductee to Dr. Halsey's program. In the present, Daisy puts her life on the line to escort Marines to an extraction zone so they can escape, while the past has her running away from Halsey and coming face-to-face with the flash clone that has become her replacement in the civilian world. Both present and past storylines build up a great deal of tension, but in different ways. The animation style is an interesting hybrid between that of the American cartoon/comic book and early digitally colored anime, like Gundam SEED.
4 out of 5


Odd One Out is the most directly comedic entry into the collection, and features Spartan 1337 as its protagonist. After this new Spartan falls out of the back of his Pelican, Master Chief and Cortana assure the crew that 1337 is capable of taking care of himself. At the same time, the prophets send a biological experiment named Pluton to fight 1337, believing him to be Master Chief. What ensues is a ridiculous parody of Dragonball Z and Halo that manages to balance its humor with a halfway-decent, if not bonkers, storyline.
3 out of 5

Prototype utilizes a very pleasing animation style, heavy on glow lighting in sparks and gunfire, while still paying attention to finer details. There is a nice utilization of smoke and mist effects, and the episode is surprisingly colorful for having an overall dark, industrial color palette. Beneath this layer of visual goodies lies the story of a group of Marines trying to provide cover fire for escaping civilian transports. When the Marines become pinned down, their squad leader, Ghost, activates a prototype Spartan suit that is more mechanized than the armor worn by Master Chief or most others. Though he is defying orders, Ghost states that he will destroy the suit and all of its data once his squad has safely escaped. The fight sequences snowball into one continuous adrenaline rush, akin to Gundam Unicorn, and utilize a number of interesting and varied camera angles. The story of Ghost as an individual is also explored, specifically his belief that he is responsible for the death of his entire former squad.
5 out of 5

The Babysitter follows an ODST squad on a mission to assassinate a prophet. Their camaraderie takes center stage as some of the sqaud members have trouble accepting a Spartan along on their mission. Along the way, some other minor points are touched on, such as the dangers of the drop pods (or 'helljumping', as the ODSTs refer to it), and Forerunner structures. The animation is something of a cross between Cyborg 009 and Gundam 00, with characters having slightly exaggerated facial features and bright color palettes. The lighting effects are top-notch, and breathe life into the forested planet the ODSTs have been sent to.
4 out of 5


The only pick of the bunch to be fully rendered in 3D animation, The Package follows one of Master Chief's missions between the Halo novels and games. Dr. Halsey has been taken prisoner by the Covenant, and it's up to Chief and four other Spartans to fly to her rescue, mounted on booster frames that bear more than just a passing glance resemblance to Gundam 0083's Dendrobium. The space sequences are phenomenal, evoking a Star Wars feel, while the occasional shift to first-person view during the on-foot sequences inside the Covenant ship is a mildly amusing, nostalgic nod to the Halo video games. There are some slow-mo action scenes, though these are used sparingly. The inclusion of Fred and Linda will be a treat for those familiar with the novels. For those who aren't, it will make the narrative that more interesting, with more than just Chief's perspective presented.
5 out of 5

Halo Legends is an interesting collection of short episodes that expand upon the sci-fi universe introduced through the games. The first few episodes aren't the best start to the collection, but it gradually picks itself up, pressing forward on its own two feet by the final episode. There are a few characters from outside of the original trilogy that make appearances, and though most of their roles are relatively minor in the grand scheme of things, fans of Halo 3: ODST, Halo Wars, and the various novels will enjoy connecting the dots.

My rating: 8.0 (out of 10)