Metropolis
A luminous anime fable about an artificial girl whose fragile friendship threatens the power structure of a towering robot city.
Overview
A visually stunning journey through a futuristic city where technology and humanity collide.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Brisk
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Moderate
- grand
- melancholic
- earnest
- anime film night
- science fiction marathon
What critics said
Critics broadly praised Metropolis as a remarkable technical achievement whose eye-popping animation and imaginative world-building outweigh its relatively routine story.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Metropolis separates its society across multiple levels, with the labyrinthine city structure reinforcing conflict between elites, workers, and robots.
Tima’s identity as an advanced AI robot girl becomes inseparable from her friendship, vulnerability, and place in the city.
The film’s megalopolis, mecha, and elaborate machinery create a distinctive steampunk-inflected future aesthetic.
Duke Red’s attempt to present and control Tima as an ultimate technological creation places artificial intelligence within a regime of political domination.
Films like Metropolis, and why
Akira
dystopian science fiction animation with cybernetic beings, social stratification, and visually inventive world-building
Ghost in the Shell
anime science fiction combining robotics, identity questions, urban futurism, and philosophical themes
The Iron Giant
stylized animated science fiction centered on artificial intelligence, human-machine boundaries, and emotional discovery
Steamboy
ambitious dystopian animation with mechanized spectacle, social control, and a visually elaborate future city
Movie Details
- Director
- Rintaro
- Release Date
- 2001-05-26
- Runtime
- 107 min
- Rating
- 7.2 / 10 (586)
Cast
- Yuka Imoto
- Kohki Okada
- Kosei Tomita
- Kei Kobayashi
- Rikako Aikawa
- Masashi Ebara
- Shigeru Chiba
- Taro Ishida
- Norio Wakamoto
- Junpei Takiguchi
Common questions
- What is Metropolis about?
- A luminous anime fable about an artificial girl whose fragile friendship threatens the power structure of a towering robot city.
- What is Metropolis like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Metropolis as brisk, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as layered.
- Is Metropolis violent?
- Somewhat. Ember rates the violence in Metropolis as moderate.
- What did critics think of Metropolis?
- Critics broadly praised Metropolis as a remarkable technical achievement whose eye-popping animation and imaginative world-building outweigh its relatively routine story.
- Which films are like Metropolis?
- Films with a similar feel include Akira, Ghost in the Shell, The Iron Giant, and Steamboy.
- How long is Metropolis?
- Metropolis runs 107 minutes.
