From a DVD standpoint this is a pretty good package. All films are presented in 2.35:1 aspect ratio and all have Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtracks. Animation always looks good on DVD and The Animatrix is no exception. Extra's wise there is directors commentary on certain films and making of's for all films. There is also a trailer for Enter the Matrix.

Best of all though is a 20ish minute feature called "Scroll to Screen: The History and Culture of Anime". This excellent feature documents the rise of Anime from the end of WW2 right up to present day. It has input form leading Anime directors and scholars of the genre. Also giving input are Todd McFarlane and aintitcool's Harry Knowles. It's an interesting feature and a worthy extra.

Onto the films -

The Final Flight of the Osirus.

The only non-traditional animated short on the disc is a CGI creation by Square USA, who brought us the pretty but ultimately vacant Final Fantasy: The Spirit's Within. The quality of the CGI here is nothing short of amazing, certain shots look photo realistic and the characters move excellently.

The story of the short involves the Osirus hovercraft, which witnesses the machines starting to dig down to Zion. They face a race against time to jack into the matrix and drop a video of the attack to warn the rest of humanity. This is the video that Ghost & Niobe have to retrieve in the first level of Enter the Matrix and then give the briefing on to the captains in Matrix Reloaded (Keeping up?).

It's an effective introduction to The Animatrix as the story is grounded in the current mythos. The opening scene in a training dojo with blindfolded swordplay is impressive, but the nudity felt a little tacked on. Kind of more like showing of the cool skin textures rather for any story merit. It's a good short and is essential viewing if you wish to know the whole story of the new Matrix films. - 7/10

The Second Renaissance Parts I & II.

These two shorts serve to flesh out the story of how the machines take over the planet. This is traditional Anime style animation, but it is every bit as breathtaking as the film by Square.

Like a lot of Anime, this film has a lot of harrowing images. Human skulls being crushed, what appears to be a human woman being mugged, but turns out to be a robot. The final scenes of humanities demise are particularly disturbing.

This was probably my favourite Animatrix short as I love traditional Anime style animation. I also liked the documentary style taken for the direction. It's something I've never seen in animation before and I really appreciated it. The way sometimes it looks like a handheld camera is being used, wavering in and out of focus, some nice touches. - 9/10.

Kid's Story.

You remember that really irritating kid who kept pestering Neo in Reloaded? Remember how he keeps thanking Neo for "saving him"? Well, in this short you get to find out how Neo saved him and it's not quite as you would think.

At first glance the style of this film appears to be traditional style Anime. However the drawing is more haphazard, it's not 'messy', it's just not as clean as you would expect. It's hard to explain, but it makes for an impressive sight as the kid skates down a hall being chased by some agents.

I liked Kid's Story a lot, it raises some interesting questions that may well be answered in Revolutions come November. Keannu Reeves voices Neo in this one. - 9/10.

Program.

This short is set in a training program that is mocked up to resemble feudal Japan. What we essentially get is an extended action sequence which has a surprising pay off. It's also the only short to utilise 'bullet time' as we see it in the movies and game.

Again we are in traditional Anime country for the animation, but it is a distinctive film because of the broad use of colour. Lots of black, white and red in the training construct and later in the film the more familiar greens come into play. A good short. - 7/10.

World Record.

This is my least favourite short from The Animatrix. The story follows a 100m sprinter who is being watched by agents. If he breaks the world record for the distance he may somehow break free and leave the Matrix.

The animation on this short is superb, but I didn't like the story as much as the other shorts. The final few shots are amazing though as are a couple in the middle. Interesting, but not up to the calibre of the rest. - 6/10.

Beyond.

In Matrix Reloaded, The Oracle tells Neo that when you hear of a ghost or a werewolf that it was a rogue program malfunctioning. Well, this short pays off on that promise. A house is malfunctioning in the Matrix and the local kids think it's a haunted house. They go in and play around doing slo-mo jumps, breaking bottles and putting them back together and other cool stuff. 

The style for Beyond is again classic Anime. I really liked this short a lot, the kids come of as charming and when the agents show up to replace the house you feel the sadness of the kids. One of the best shorts on the disc. - 9/10.

A Detective Story.

Along with Kid's Story, this is one of the most distinctive looking shorts on The Animatrix. It's a black and white film which gives it a kind of film noir quality to match it's gumshoe style storyline.

A private investigator is hired by agents to track down a hacker called Trinity. The PI tracks her down and arranges a meeting. Of all the shorts I think I liked the look of this film the best, it's something completely different to what you think Anime to be, yet it is still Anime. Carrie-Ann Moss voices Trinity as you would expect. - 9/10.

Matriculated.

The final film is the most 'out there' by a long shot. The story follows a group of humans who live on the surface. They capture machines and plug them into their own machine Matrix.

What follows is an impeccably beautiful film that is incredibly surreal. The inside of the computer Matrix is a weird place indeed and it takes some effort to get your head round it. The film ends with an unexpected, but nice pay off. - 7/10.

Overall you have an excellent collection of animated shorts. If you are a Matrix fan then you will want this disc to get the complete Matrix story. If you are a fan of Anime then there is much here to admire. Some of Japan's greatest living animator's have worked on this collection and the quality of the work is never anything short of outstanding. Some questionable story choices aside this is a must have disc for Matrix fans and Anime fans alike