The first thing I'd
like to say while writing this review is that the film version of
this manga should never have been called ‘Osamu Tezuka’s
Metropolis’ as it is called in the English language release
for the simple reason that it is not Osamu Tezuka’s
Metropolis, in fact it is a lot closer to the Fritz Lang original
than the manga is.
There are characters that are missing completely from film here and
many of the characters that are present have different names, different
personalities, and vastly different motivations to their animated
counterparts.
There are a few similarities but the massive amount of differences
screams at you at the top of its lungs. So I am going to issue this
piece of advice to anyone trying to read Metropolis: don't think too
much about the movie when reading this comic, read it for it’s
own plot and characters.
First off the main character in the movie, Tima, is very, very different,
not only is she called Michi here; she isn’t even a girl! Michi
is genderless in the manga but for the most part takes on the appearance
of a male child with a feminine face, and though Michi does take on
female appearance it is only in a small percentage of the panels in
the entire book. The Kenichi-Tima romance that appears in anime is
also eliminated. There is no struggle between the downtrodden working
class and the social elite in the manga, the rebellion is taken by
the robots of Duke Red against all humanity.
Another thing to point out is that Michi is obsessed with finding
his parents that, unknown to him, do not exist, and this replaces
the anime's plotline of Tima’s obsession with Kenichi. Also
Michi has powers which Tima does not have, powers like flight, super
strength, underwater survival and the ability to switch between male
and female form.
Duke Red is quite different too, rather than a political leader who
is admired by many in Metropolis he is a much feared terrorist in
the manga, there is no Ziggurat either and the sun spots are created
by a substance called Omothenium. So if you read the manga try not
to think of the movie at the same time, otherwise you’re in
for a headache.
8-9/10 A very good story but it can be confusing as hell if
you think about the movie too much!
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