¡°Human Lost,¡± the latest computer-animated flick from the folks at Polygon Pictures (¡°Godzilla: Planet of the Monsters¡°), is being touted as a futuristic update of the classic Osamu Dazai novel ¡°No Longer Human.¡± To say certain liberties have been taken with the material is an understatement: I¡¯ve been over my copy a few times now, and I can¡¯t seem to find the part where people transform into giant human-eating monsters.
¡°Human Lost¡± takes place in a dystopian future Tokyo where a computerized system called SHELL (which stands for Sound Health Everlasting Long Life, if you must know) helps keep people from dying well into their 100s. However, it can¡¯t prevent some folks from getting ¡°lost¡± ¡ª losing their humanity and transforming into gruesome creatures out for a bite of their fellow citizens.
Thankfully, there¡¯s a crack team to deal with these monsters called HILAM (Human Intelligence, Laboratory, Mechanist), who take one down in the film¡¯s opening sequence, set on the mean streets of future Takadanobaba. One wonders if college students still get drunk there.
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