Tekkonkinkreet(2007)

Name: Tekkonkinkreet
Director: Michael Arias
Genre: Action, Adventure, Animation, Crime, Drama
Released: Jul 13, 2007
Cast: Kazunari Ninomiya, Yû Aoi, Yûsuke Iseya, Kankurô Kudô, Min Tanaka

Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE)

R
Rated R for some violent and disturbing images, and brief sexuality
1h 51m

Release Date: Jul 13, 2007 | Limited

Two boys defend Treasure Town and Yakuza try to take over and clear it for new development.

Releases

Original Release | Jul 13, 2007

20th Anniversary (GKIDS) | May 31, 2026

View Advanced Data

Box Office Results

Updated as of Jun 11, 2026 11:25 AM ET

All Releases (2)
Total US & Canada:
$192,448
Total International
$36,840
Total Worldwide:
$229,288

Total US & Canada:
$6,000
Total International
$36,840
Total Worldwide:
$42,840

Current Showtimes

orround

Sat Jun 13
Sun Jun 14
Mon Jun 15
Tue Jun 16
Wed Jun 17
Thu Jun 18
Fri Jun 19

Director & Top Cast

Michael Arias
Director

Kazunari Ninomiya
Kuro, Itachi

Yû Aoi
Shiro

Yûsuke Iseya
Kimura

Kankurô Kudô
Sawada

Min Tanaka
Suzuki

Rokurô Naya

Jitcha

Tomomichi Nishimura

Fujimura

Mugihito

Kumichô

Nao Ômori

Chokora

Yoshinori Okada

Banira

Kazuko Kurosawa

Kozô

Tomoko Murakami

Kozô

Miyuki Ohshima

Kozô

Yûki Tamaki

Asa

Mayumi Yamaguchi

Yoru

Harumi Asai

Akutsu

Atsushi Imaizumi

Yasuda

Technical Specifications

Sound Mix: Dolby Digital,SDDS,DTS

Aspect Ratio: 2.35 : 1

Other Details

Country of Origin: Japan

Language: Japanese

Summaries

Plot Summary

BLACK and WHITE, two street urchins, battle an array of old-word Yakuza and alien assassins vying to rule the decaying metropolis of Treasure Town - where the moon smiles and young boys can fly.

Storyline

In Treasure Town, life can be both peaceful and violent. This is never truer than for our heroes, Black and White - two street kids who claim to traverse the urban city as if it were their own. But in this town, an undercurrent of evil exists and has its sights set on the pair of brothers, forcing them to engage in battle with an array of old-world Yakuza as well as dangerous assassins vying to rule the decaying metropolis, Treasure Town. — Trenton Thompson {trentz985@yahoo.com}

Frequently Asked Questions

Who directed Tekkonkinkreet?

What is Tekkonkinkreet based on?

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When did Tekkonkinkreet originally release?

Why is Tekkonkinkreet returning to theatres in 2026?

Will the re-release feature subtitles or dub?

Will Tekkonkinkreet be available on home video?

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Box Office: How is the Tekkonkinkreet 4K re-release being positioned?

Fun Facts

It took the director 11 years to get it made — and The Animatrix saved it. Michael Arias first created a 30-second CG test for the film in 1997, but financing collapsed. He shelved the project until the Wachowskis hired him to produce The Animatrix (2003). That gig put him in position with Studio 4°C president Eiko Tanaka, who finally greenlit the feature immediately after Animatrix wrapped. Arias later called the Matrix spin-off "fairly vital" to getting Tekkonkinkreet made.

The opening shot took three months and wasn't in the original manga. The vertiginous minute-and-a-half sequence following a crow over Treasure Town was the very first thing the team executed — Arias chose "the hardest shot first" to set the pace. It required 500 hand-drawn illustrations and two months of experimentation. The footage was entirely invented for the film; it doesn't appear in Taiyō Matsumoto's manga.

The director lived at the studio for a year and his children are in the movie. For the final year of production, Arias slept on a cot next to his desk at Studio 4°C and only went home on Sundays. His two young sons (then aged four and six) visited him on weekends and left their literal fingerprints on the production: their drawings appear as White's artwork, and their voices are used in the film.

Arias originally conceived the film as a computer-animated feature and even directed a 4-minute CG pilot in 1999. But when the project was revived, he abandoned the all-CG plan because he wanted to work with what he called "the most talented character animators on the planet" using traditional pencil and paper. CG was still used in roughly 40% of shots — mostly for vehicles and background crowds — but was deliberately hidden among hand-painted frames.