Tekkonkinkreet, made in 2006, is visually extraordinary. The imagery is some of the best I have ever seen in an anime. It ranges from intricately detailed realism, to splashy, loose impressionism, to frightening expressionist distortions. Anime films are highly collaborative productions, and it can sometimes be difficult to know whom to credit with the look and feel of a film. Tekkonkinkreet was based on a manga written and drawn by Taiyō Matsumoto. The film was directed by Michael Arias, the first westerner to direct a major anime motion picture. The screenplay was written by Anthony Weintraub. The film itself was made by Studio 4°C, a prominent Japanese studio that would continue to produce international collaborations like Mutafukaz (2017).
