Orphans Kuro and Shiro (Black and White) live in Treasure Town, a violent city where various groups vie for control. The two of them support each other with Kuro acting as the protector and Shiro the conscience. Kuro believes that he runs Treasure Town and must confront the gangs that he believes are going to ruin it; Shire meanwhile just wants to make enough money for them to move to a house by the sea. Things turn bad for the boys when a stranger arrives in town with the intention of demolishing much of the town to build a giant theme park. This stranger is quite malevolent and sets three assassins to kill Kuro and Shiro. This leads to Shiro being badly injured and the two of them being separated. Apart the two of them find life difficult; Shiro is in care and spends his time drawing and Kuro gets more and more violent until it appears he might be going insane.
The characters in this film may look a little rough at first but as we get to know them and the city they inhabit that seems to suit them. The city itself is beautifully detailed and the animation looks great especially when we see the two boys running down the city's narrow alleyways. The two protagonists are interesting characters with Kuro very much the yin to Shiro's yang. Those not familiar with anime may be surprised at the violence which is at times quite bloody; the film certainly deserves the '12' certificate the BBFC gave it. The voice work sounded good to me even though I had to rely on the subtitles to understand what was being said. If you enjoy anime or animation in general this is definitely worth checking out.
The characters in this film may look a little rough at first but as we get to know them and the city they inhabit that seems to suit them. The city itself is beautifully detailed and the animation looks great especially when we see the two boys running down the city's narrow alleyways. The two protagonists are interesting characters with Kuro very much the yin to Shiro's yang. Those not familiar with anime may be surprised at the violence which is at times quite bloody; the film certainly deserves the '12' certificate the BBFC gave it. The voice work sounded good to me even though I had to rely on the subtitles to understand what was being said. If you enjoy anime or animation in general this is definitely worth checking out.