Before reading Tekkonkikreet, I knew very little about Taiyō Matsumoto or his work. As for the manga in question, I only knew about Treasure Town because I found it when searching for amazing anime cities. I’m happy that I chose to attend Tekkonkikreet without any prior knowledge; that’s not to suggest that it makes the experience any less enjoyable; rather, the manga captivated me with the classic allure of wanting to find out more and follow the story’s development.
Matsumoto tells stories in a way that is both straightforward and intricate; for example, Tekkonkikreet has a straightforward premise but is purposefully disjointed and indirect in its delivery. In order to establish tension, Tekkonkikreet distributes elements throughout its playing surface and then gradually allows them to come together. In the end, this gives the show a realistic and humane foundation and creates an effective medium for delivering its concepts.
Based on my reading experience, it’s best to enjoy this technique in the dark. In other words, if you haven’t read the manga, get the complete thing by picking up Tekkonkinkreet: Black & White 30th Anniversary Edition. After reading it, consider the following observations of mine.
The amount of work Matsumoto puts into establishing the characters and setting in Tekkonkikreet is his greatest asset. The two young orphans in Treasure Town are referred to as Black and White, respectively. Black is the older, more streetwise, and tougher of the two, while White is the younger, more innocent, and childlike, with a very shaky grasp of reality. Their survival on the streets, living in an abandoned car, getting into fights with thugs, and being called “cats” by the police and different gangs in Treasure Town—possibly because of their increased strength and ability to parkour around the city—are the main points of emphasis in the manga’s first seven chapters.
Everywhere they go, Black and White are always up to no good, and when they irritate the wrong people, the main storyline of Tekkonkikreet gets really interesting. In particular, Snake, the leader of “Kiddy Kastle,” wants to destroy Treasure Town and rebuild it as a massive amusement park. As they eliminate some of his troops and become into targets to be eliminated, Black and White quickly grow to be thorns in his side. The hunt intensifies after Black kills one of Snake’s elite hitmen, and in order to protect White from harm while they are being pursued, Black is forced to turn White over to police custody.
Without White in his life, Black loses his sense of reality and turns wild and alone. Without the comfort of caring for White, his survival instinct shapes him into the eerie figure known as the minotaur. He is reunited with White after taking out the assassins pursuing him, and he now has to battle his inner monster to take on the role of caregiver for White once more.
In the end, the narrative is about friendship, family, and the individuals that make us whole. People close to Black will tell him bluntly that he has a corrupted soul and that he is missing some components, but White also has a corrupted soul and knows instinctively that what he possesses equals what Black lacks. The tale revolves on this. These two stray cats may be poor and may need to battle to survive, but they have each other and support one another; Black shields White from the outside world while White preserves Black’s soul.
Even while Matsumoto does a great job of creating dynamics with slower, ordinary moments, there are instances in the early chapters and some later ones when Sawada is caring for White that feel a little bit slower than is necessary. This can lead to some literal dead air, but it also makes the story feel more grounded and realistic – as though it’s merely events taking place in the city rather than a story. There’s just some potential for reducing and streamlining, so it’s not a deal breaker for the series.
I had to get used to Matsumoto’s unusual artistic manner; while I immediately admired his sense of style, it took me a few chapters to really get into his character work. As I got to know the character art, I recognized how well the chaotic style captured the packed, dense cityscape of Treasure Town. It also matches the city quite well. The way Black and White are drawn has a frantic roughness to it; at times, it feels like they may be described as little, spry, jumpy, animalistic, tough, and melancholy cats. Matsumoto makes a good job of using the characters’ designs to convey their social status, as evidenced in the case of Black’s decline in the absence of White and the more sterile yakuza, police, and businessmen.
Regrettably, Tekkonkikreet’s panel arrangement and sequential storytelling are not the best. One advantage of its simplicity is that I never got lost in the overall plot, but I had trouble following every detail, particularly during battles or chases. With every panel, Matsumoto hops erratically between time, giving the viewer whiplash and bewilderment as they try to piece together what happened between them. It appears as though we are seeing everything via a wobbly camera, which makes sense given the boys’ manner of getting around the city. It would have worked better in the movie version than the manga, where a little more clarity in the visual storytelling would have been excellent.
All of this does not significantly detract from the manga’s overall brilliance; the plot and ideas remain strong. Since Treasure Town is a shifting place and the boys’ lives are chaotic as street cats, I would like Tekkonkikreet to be too chaotic than not chaotic enough. They exist to survive and defend “their” city, but there are moments when it’s peaceful and enjoyable. In the end, we love and care about Black and White because of the chaotic presentation of Tekkonkikreet, for better or worse. This is why their reunion is endearing, their separation is painful, and their attempts to act as if they are the city’s pseudo-guardians are compelling and potent. These are two stray cats that are up against everything; they are black and white and can only defeat a gray world together.
The manga series Tekkonkikreet by Taiyō Matsumoto is a potent work of art, distinguished by its unconventional style and poignant yet endearing topics and characters.
