Neo Tokyo (1987)

Neo Tokyo arrives with an unusual structure even by the standards of anthology animation. Released in 1987 and running to a brisk fifty minutes, it is a three-part omnibus film produced by Project Team Argos, Madhouse and KADOKAWA Shoten, with each segment handed to a different director working entirely independently. The result is less a unified film than a sampler reel, a format that was reasonably fashionable in Japanese animation at the time and that places the whole enterprise somewhere between a short-film showcase and a feature. The tagline ("It's not just a city... It's a state of mind") hints at the kind of mood-driven, conceptual ambition each of the three filmmakers was encouraged to bring, though how well each of them pulls that off is, as you might expect, another matter entirely.

The three directors represent a genuinely interesting cross-section of late-1980s anime talent. Rintaro had already built a reputation across television and theatrical animation going back to the 1960s, making him something of an elder statesman among the trio. Yoshiaki Kawajiri was, by this point, establishing the kinetic, hyper-stylised visual language he would become known for throughout the following decade. The third segment belongs to Katsuhiro Otomo, who was, in 1987, already deep in production on Akira, a film that would redefine international perceptions of Japanese animation entirely. The fact that Otomo contributed to Neo Tokyo at all, given the pressure he was under at the time, makes his segment something of a curiosity piece in his filmography. For viewers who enjoy Japanese animation from this era, it is worth also having a look at some of the other work from the country reviewed here, including The Snow Woman (1968) and, from more recent years, Mononoke the Movie: The Phantom in the Rain (2024), which both give a sense of how varied Japanese visual storytelling can be across different eras and genres.

Voice cast credits for the film include Banjo Ginga, Masane Tsukayama, Hideko Yoshida, Iemasa Kayumi and Hiroshi Otake, though because each segment operates as its own self-contained story, the cast effectively rotates through three separate casts of characters rather than playing recurring roles. The production is a polished but unremarkable artefact of its moment, the kind of collaborative showcase that prioritises individual directorial expression over cohesion. Whether that trade-off pays off is the central question, and it is one worth approaching with adjusted expectations. For context on just how feverish the science fiction imagination of the 1980s could get more broadly, it is also worth glancing at Re-Animator (1985), reviewed elsewhere on the site, and the anthology format itself echoes the kind of tonal variety you encounter in Homework (1989), another production from the same general decade that plays with structure in interesting ways.

Neo Tokyo (1987) is a classic case of anthology unevenness. A sci-fi triptych where ambition outpaces consistency. The first segment, Rintaro's "Labyrinth Labyrinthos," tests patience: a girl and her cat tumble into a surreal, dialogue-light dreamscape that feels less imaginative than inert. The pacing drags, the symbolism floats untethered, and it's easy to see why many viewers (myself included) nearly abandon ship before the credits roll on part one. Yoshiaki Kawajiri's "The Running Man" revives momentum with blistering animation, fluid, hyper-stylized racing sequences that showcase anime's kinetic potential in the late '80s. But the story itself is thin: a racer chasing immortality against a cosmic opponent plays out with little emotional or thematic depth. Style over substance, beautifully rendered but ultimately one-note. The redemption comes with Katsuhiro Otomo's "Construction Cancellation Order," a masterclass in quiet dread. A lone inspector arrives to decommission a sentient AI overseeing a vast construction project, only to find the machine eerily malfunctioning, chillingly sticking to it's role, a direct spiritual cousin to 2001's HAL 9000. The tension builds through dialogue and atmosphere rather than action, and the payoff lingers with philosophical unease. It's so compelling you're left wishing Otomo had expanded it into a feature. An uneven but historically interesting showcase of late-'80s anime talent. Two segments falter under pretension or simplicity; the third soars. Worth watching for Otomo's contribution alone, but temper expectations for the full package.

So where does that leave Neo Tokyo as a recommendation? For me, it sits in that slightly frustrating category of films you are glad you watched but would hesitate to press on a friend without a significant caveat or two. Otomo's segment alone is worth the fifty-minute investment, and there is genuine historical value in seeing these three voices in the same room, so to speak, at such a pivotal moment in anime history. But this is not a film you put on for a relaxed evening in. It is one for the patient and the curious, and perhaps best consumed with the knowledge that the highs are genuinely high and the lows are, well, there. Sometimes a fascinating footnote is still a footnote.

Rating: ★★★  | Year: 1987  | Watched: 2026-03-23

View on Letterboxd →

Where to watch

Watch in the UK
Stream: Crunchyroll · Crunchyroll Amazon Channel
Physical: Amazon UK · Zavvi

Watch in the US
Stream: Crunchyroll · Crunchyroll Amazon Channel
Physical: Amazon US

Affiliate disclosure: Movies With Macca may earn a small commission on purchases or subscriptions started via these links. It costs you nothing extra.

Related on Movies With Macca

More from Japan: Mononoke the Movie: The Phantom in the Rain (2024) · Mononoke the Movie: Chapter II - The Ashes of Rage (2025) · Blue (1993) · The Ghost of Yotsuya (1959)
More from the 1980s: Nightmare City (1980) · A Better Tomorrow (1986) · Style Wars (1983) · Garlic Is as Good as Ten Mothers (1980)
More science fiction: Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956) · Fantastic Planet (1973) · Nightmare City (1980) · The Long Walk (2025)
More animation: Fantastic Planet (1973) · Alice in Wonderland (1951) · Mononoke the Movie: The Phantom in the Rain (2024) · Mononoke the Movie: Chapter II - The Ashes of Rage (2025)