ムタフカズ -MUTAFUKAZ-
MUTAFUKAZ

MOVIE
MOVIE
Dubbed
SOURCE
OTHER
RELEASE
June 13, 2017
LENGTH
90 min
DESCRIPTION

Angelino is just one of thousands of deadbeats living in Dark Meat City. But an otherwise unremarkable scooter accident caused by a beautiful, mysterious stranger is about to transform his life... into a waking nightmare! He starts seeing monstrous forms prowling around all over the city... Is Angelino losing his mind, or could an alien invasion really be happening this quietly...?
CAST

Angelino
Tsuyoshi Kusanagi
Vinz
Tokio Emoto
Luna
Sumire Uesaka
Willy
Shinnosuke Mitsushima
Mr. K
Hidekatsu Shibata
REVIEWS

Eduardochi

85/100
The hidden gem of action / noir anime that has more than it meets the eye (spoilers hidden, Summary Conclusion)
>Hello, its me again, the guy who likes to talk about random stuff and occasionally does a review, who is back for more!!
<img width='400' src='https://c.tenor.com/qA9u4ETE66MAAAAC/hello-there-kenobi.gif'>

__Why am I reviewing this one?__

Being honest is a pretty interesting movie and i find odd that there arent any reviews of it on the site, so I wanted to be the one to do it and was desiring to make a new one for a while now.

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__Disclaimer: the movie contains gore, slight sexual content, drugs  aka is not for the faint of heart!__

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__Before starting, what the actual hell is Matafukaz???__

__Matafukaz or MFKZ was originally a comic project that was created and started in 1997 by the french [Guillaume Renard](https://iffr.com/en/persons/guillaume-renard) (pen named Run or 777Run; the 777 being the number of his old apartment)__. That after some flash animations (which seem impossible to find nowadays) got a short film made by himself and the collective Semper-Fi in 2002 named "Mutafukaz: Operation Blackhead". The short won different prizes and even was shown in 2003 at the [Sundance Film Festival](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sundance_Film_Festival)  in Utah, United States.

__The 2002 short, so you guys can watch it, its a super-compressed version of the story (more than the movie) and contains spoilers of all the plot. If you want to check it, I recommend watching the movie first if you want the spoiler-free experience. But you can do the opposite if you like to go with the concepts already in your head.__
<div class='youtube' id='https://youtu.be/SCa8ZdLw_lU'></div>

After this Run tried to find a publisher for the [comic version of the franchise](https://mutafukaz.fandom.com/wiki/Mutafukaz_(bande_dessin%C3%A9e); luckily he was offered the opportunity to publish the series on [Ankama Editions](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ankama) thanks to [Anthony Roux](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm4247366/). The first volume was published in 2006 
<img width='200' src='https://i1.whakoom.com/small/3e/29/a9a94828e05a420c842c100420e2d1e3.jpg'>

The story ended in 2015 and Run continued with a spin-off called "Puta Madre".

Then in 2015 the teaser for the movie we are here for dropped, being premiered in 2017 at film festivals in France and Japan, in both countries being nationally released in 2018.
<div class='youtube' id='https://youtu.be/BHG8WON_MEQ'></div>

__As you have seen this movie has a lot of backstory behind it, with me not being specific with the festivals, the author´s professional career, companies that own the rights, releases around the world and all the stuff that happened in order to make the film version.
__

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__The Story__

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__The best way to describe the story of this film is "over the top, crude and careless".__ Our main characters Angelino and Vinz, live in Dark Meat City, located in the fictional state of New California, United States. They are short of stature, live in poor conditions, are in constant danger by multiple elements of the city like criminal gangs, disease, poverty and even the state.

<img width='500' src='https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/465649094476562447/947910199304421406/hy6h6h6h.png'>
<img width='500' src='https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/465649094476562447/947910104798355456/rg5tg5g5hhy.png'>

__But why do I describe this movie with those two adjectives?__

Well if you have watched and enjoyed movies like [Dead Leaves](https://anilist.co/anime/974/Dead-Leaves/), [Redline](https://anilist.co/anime/6675/Redline/), [Tailenders](https://anilist.co/anime/6162/Tailenders/) or series like [FLCL](https://anilist.co/anime/227/FLCL/) and [Inferno Cop](https://anilist.co/anime/16774/Inferno-Cop/). You are probably going to like this one, however Matafukaz goes for a more gruesome and unforgiving atmosphere compared to the surreal and expressive tone of Dead Leaves which is the movie with which it shares the most similarities.

__Dark Meat City, its an unwelcoming place from which a lot of people want to escape but arent able for one reason or another.__ The movie has this social critique of how poor people in urban zones have to live on horrible conditions, meanwhile not being able to get out of that situation and improve their lives, which is a really present theme throughout the film (especially at the start).

Adding to that we get to witness a lot of gang violence / conflicts and organized crime in which the average civilian is subject to on a daily basis (a crude representation of todays Los Angeles, where Dark Meat City is based off). Another thing is how the movie shows the mexican influence all around the city with multiple mexican locals, civilians and ["spanglish"](https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Spanglish) dialogue. This was because I watched the dub version as it was impossible for me to find the japanese dub; however, this proved to be a big plus for the atmosphere of the movie because of how talented the voice actors were, bringing more genuinety to the dialog and setting.
<img width='500' src='https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/465649094476562447/947910201925828608/rg4g4gr4g.png'> <img width='505' src='https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/465649094476562447/947917064511848578/tg5tg55.png'>
<img width='500' src='https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/465649094476562447/947917063064801290/tg5th5h5.png'>

__Sadly, the story of the movie as a whole is really underwhelming, with it having a lot of criminally underdeveloped characters, plot holes and with the pacing consistency of an animated anthology. Sacrifices had to be made to adapt a 5 volumes / 600 pages story into a 1 hour and a half film and i think the work in the other departments is outstanding apart from how bad the story was.__

__So really dont expect a good or complex story with well written characters.__
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__Characters__

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__One of the most disappointing aspects of the movie. The main cast gets decent development, meanwhile is not great its still noticeable with Angelino and Vinz strengthening their friendship throughout the entire movie. The secondary characters are left with extremely lackluster development and even fleshing out.__

Angelino, the lead of the movie is and insecure person who wants to be someone in the world and to dont live in fear of others. He cares for his friends, even Willy who is the cunt and coward of the group. Throughout the course of the movie he starts to become more confident and discover his origins coming to terms with himself.
<img width='400' src='https://resizing.flixster.com/slWWdbyUMb95F6DMDcV7NkBUNIs=/740x380/v2/https://statcdn.fandango.com/MPX/image/NBCU_Fandango/377/226/thumb_0C13A021-B521-4D02-8493-112F9DA512F7.jpg'>

Vinz is a guy with a skeleton head which is on constant fire; he´s more reserved compared to Angelino and likes to think before acting. Being weak physically but strong mentally. He serves as Angelino´s most trusted person, helping him during the movie´s events.
<img width='400' src='https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BYzJjMTA3Y2ItYzQzNS00MDQxLTg1YjQtNGY4OWJiZTMyNjhjXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyODEwMTc2ODQ@._V1_.jpg'>

Willy is basically the cunt / coward / clown of the group with a prepotent attitude; he resembles some kind of cat or small mammal and believes in all kind of conspiracy theories, lecturing both Angelino and Vinz when he has the chance. He´s not so important for the plot but its with the two protagonists during a good part of the movie.
<img width='400' src='https://www.awn.com/sites/default/files/styles/original/public/image/featured/1047675-gkids-announces-english-language-voice-cast-mfkz.jpg?itok=zW3rWpmL'>

__The villains and other secondary characters are pretty interesting, but at the same time underdeveloped.__

Most of the opinion on this part needs spoilers, so you know the deal.

<span class='markdown_spoiler'><span>Luna being the worst character of the movie and one of the worst i´ve seen in animation. Her story is plain and basically non existent as more than a support character for Angelino (this issue is present on the comic version too)
<img width='400' src='https://content.internetvideoarchive.com/content/hdphotos/11999/011999/011999_1280x720_39174_023.jpg'>

Los Luchadores dont have any background development besides their origin story, compared to the comics where they are really prevalent, leaving their appearance in the movie as a random event from which they can act at the later half in the prison escape from the Los Machos complex of Mr. K.
<img width='300' src='https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/465649094476562447/947991618638716978/42885070_10155601967232213_7311903275630985216_n.png'>

Mr. K itself remains a mystery until the end where we dont get much answers of who he is and his porpuses beyond what he exposed. The other secondary villains are missing a lot of fleshing out and the final half of the movie lacks a lot of build-up and comes out of nowhere.
<img width='400' src='https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/465649094476562447/947910090764222515/gt5g5tgt5t5.png'>

</span></span>

__Overall, the characters for the most part are kind of lackluster and dont get much development. This caused by the need i mentioned before of adapting a long story into a film which cut a lot of the villains fleshing, worldbuilding and character´s interactions.__

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__Animation / Music__

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__If there is an aspect this movie excels at its this one. The film was made by [Studio 4°C](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Studio_4%C2%B0C) in Japan and Ankama Animations in France.__
<img width='400' src='https://c.tenor.com/OvyfYxq7DNMAAAAC/vinz-mfkz.gif'>

__The film posses great ambientation / scenery filled with details and even easter eggs of all types everywhere. You certainly can feel the unwelcoming yet culturally diverse atmosphere of Dark Meat City and his inhabitants.__
<img width='400' src='https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/465649094476562447/947917063412924446/5th5y6hy6h.png'>
<img width='400' src='https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/465649094476562447/947917064214024232/g5th5h5.png'>
<img width='400' src='https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/465649094476562447/947910104303431680/5g5tg5t5.png'>
<img width='400' src='https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/465649094476562447/947910104022417498/ff4g4gf44.png'>

On the references department, there is this thug who looks identical to  [Cesar](https://gta.fandom.com/wiki/Cesar_Vialpando) from the famous [GTA San Andreas](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Theft_Auto:_San_Andreas). Even in some dialogs the characters make allusions to the game franchise. I could even say that the movie evokes the game a lot, with one of the gangs who appear, look exactly has members of the  [Ballas Gang](https://gta.fandom.com/wiki/Ballas_(3D_Universe) from San Andreas too.
<img width='400' src='https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/465649094476562447/947910103745572894/3fr4f44fr.png'>
<img width='400' src='https://i.ytimg.com/vi/GFeL7YrzG_E/maxresdefault.jpg'>

__Now lets talk about the cream of the crop of the movie, the action. In general, the film has amazing animation, fluent with a lot of facial expressions and movements. Being an action movie, this is an essential thing to have and oh boy did Studio 4°C alongside Ankama Animations nail this aspect. By far the best in the movie, from tense tailings on the streets to high octane chases and shootings in which our main characters get involved.__
<img width='315' src='https://media4.giphy.com/media/8AgIqRFdvXO8X7FpVG/giphy.gif'> <img width='325' src='https://64.media.tumblr.com/f5bf28192521304067936b35abdbc14f/tumblr_po0dkrzlNX1vbt0zqo3_540.gifv'>

__This movie will keep you entertained and waiting to see what comes next. Is a full-blown visual spectacle from start to finish.__

The music is another gem of this movie, there are tracks of multiple genres like:

__Electro / Retro__

__Under Siege by [The Toxic Avenger](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Toxic_Avenger_(musician)__

<div class='youtube' id='https://youtu.be/Uhk5BMcBqnE'></div>

__Palm Hill Rules by The Toxic Avenger__

<div class='youtube' id='https://youtu.be/mk2Hv9XWAs4'></div>

__Reggaeton__

__Acelera by Angel Miro Romero__

<div class='youtube' id='https://youtu.be/Upa4BzNjHw4'></div>

__Pop__

__Rios Rosas by Guillaume Houzé__

<div class='youtube' id='https://youtu.be/TLFSpYBROq0'></div>

As you can hear the movie has a decent plethora of songs that alongside the animation and great scenery immerse you really quickly into the movie and setting. The songs complement the atmosphere in a way few films that i´ve watched have achieved, making the movie a better experience by far. As a side note, this is one of the extremely few times i´ve enjoyed listening to reggaeton as it is a musical genre I despise. But that sadly, has become the standard of what latinoamerican music is for the world.

On a technical level, the movie is a masterpiece in all the right, nailing the representation of a multicultural city in decadence filled with all kinds of dangers and peculiarities from the eyes of three underdogs that suffer, oppressed by their environment.

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__Conclusions__

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__Matafukaz is certainly an experience. Meanwhile, the story misses a lot of the character development and consistency present in the comics in favor of action and an emphasis on Angelino / Vinz relationship. The sole existence of the film is a miracle in all the ways possible and I am grateful I was able to experience it in a good quality. Getting to know an obscure franchise that it has been in development since 1997, which was able to pull off a collaboration between two studios in two different countries. Creating in the process a flawed hidden gem of action animation with a crude / unforgiving representation of what it is like to live on the low stratus of society with some incredible and wacky overarching plot about a hidden enemy that threats all humanity. Its not the best by any means, but oh boy its a great fun!!!__

Adding to that, the author is planning a sequel to the comic story (and maybe a sequel to this movie). If you want to explore more about this world i suggest you to check out the comic series and his spin-offs as they dont have the fundamental flaws i talked about in this version.

<img width='800' src='https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/465649094476562447/947910128554889216/r3g4g4tg5t5g.png'>
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__If you want to:__

-Give suggestions to improve my reviews or mini "reviews"
-Point out stuff i missed
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__Leave me a comment. I will gladly hear it out!!!
__

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__Have a great week, everyone!!!__
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