Neo-Tokyo (Labyrinth Tales) (1987)

Neo-Tokyo (Labyrinth Tales) (1987) is a concise (50-minute) anime feature from 1987 that briefly hit U.S. theaters around 1993, leveraging the reputation of director Katsuhiro Otomo, who had gained significant recognition with his film AKIRA. This anthology film comprises three segments, each directed by a notable anime director: Katsuhiro Otomo, Rin Taro, and Yoshiaki Kawajiri. The film kicks off with Rin Taro's "Labyrinth," an abstract piece with minimal dialogue, chronicling the journey of a curious child and their cautious pet dog as they venture into a parallel universe and navigate a labyrinthine cityscape. This segment transitions into Yoshiaki Kawajiri's "Running Man," a more conventional narrative about a determined veteran racer participating in a perilous, high-tech car race, covered by an unremarkable reporter. The initial segments' apparent lack of purpose is somewhat offset by the inventive twists in Otomo's "The Order to Stop Construction," the longest segment at 23 minutes. This story follows a single-minded corporate employee tasked with shutting down a colossal, robot-operated industrial plant deep in a South American jungle. The narrative weaves together various opposing forces, including a new revolutionary government, corporate bureaucracy, an unstoppable technological force, and the relentless natural environment of a thriving rainforest. The theme of technology spiraling out of control, a recurring motif in Otomo's later works such as AKIRA, MEMORIES, and ROUJIN-Z, is prominently featured here. Despite its brevity, this segment would have benefited from a more extended format to fully explore its potential as a standalone feature.