A few months ago, I happened to attend a screening of Time of Eve (Eve no Jikan in Japan). It's an anime movie, originally from a short series, that focuses on the perception of androids by humans. The movie itself is pieced from the series, with some scenes removed and a few new added in to improve the pacing. If you've seen one, you've basically seen the other.

Imagine a close future, close to our current world, but where many families have android helpers. These look fully human and act as such, with only two differences: they have a glowing halo over their heads, indicating their operating status, and they've got a subservient personality toward all humans. Their primary purpose is to help with chores in and out of home, and you'll frequently run into them while shopping or simply walking down the streets. As they're holding the status of servants for all means and purposes, many people feel contempt toward them.

Now, imagine the following: what if they couldn't be distinguished from humans anymore (no more glowing halos), and they cast aside that low-key personality to act much like how humans do? How do you expect people to react? Would they be happy that those artificial beings can use their intelligence to assert some individuality, or would they claim that the household helpers should limit themselves to their chores?

That's the kind of questions that the movie asks, while it spends time looking at the point of view of each character (both humans and androids). There's about no action, as it's more of a thought-provoking process than anything else. I, for one, enjoyed it a lot. It's got an interesting theme that many of us have already encountered (humans vs reploids in the Mega Man series), the drawing style is nice, and the idea doesn't sound that far-fetched considering how people can already get attached to inanimate objects.

Has anyone else seen this? I recommend you look it up, I think it's worth your time.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Measure_of_a_Man_(Star_Trek:_The_Next_Generation)

Hmm?


Edited by Daveris on May 2, 2012 at 2:16:33

Edited by Daveris on May 2, 2012 at 2:16:44