Æon Flux (1991)

***Minimal Spoilers- but spoilers nonetheless***Aeon Flux is definitely a a bit of a head trip, there's no doubt about it. It presents a tried and tested Sci-Fi Scenario - The futuristic "Dystopia and Rebels versus Oppessors" set up - and then proceeds to misbehave gloriously with it. There is no great amount of exposition, no carefully adhered to continuity and some positively trippy imagery. It's definitely not a kids cartoon. There is plenty of philosophical allusion and a lot of wordplay (one particularly self serving character is named "Onan") not to mention a goodly chunk of shameless fetish references. It also presents the marvellous conceit that Aeon herself is having an affair with her own arch enemy, Dr Goodchild. It does not spoon feed the plot to the viewer and as a result, you really have to watch it closely. This is not one to watch while you are doing the ironing! The animation quality is superb, toe-to-toe with with the Japanese produced animation of the time. Like "Sapphire and Steel", "The Prisoner" and "Twin Peaks" Aeon Flux remains a great example of "Something that no-one else was doing at the time". It's a wonderfully deep, quite intelligent - and sometimes downright kinky little series.

Like many people, I first discovered Aeon Flux in MTV's masterful Liquid Television, a compendium of cutting edge animation. The shorts stood out amongst a lofty crowd. the animation was slick, with visual influences from both Japanese anime and European sci-fi graphic novels. The plot was rather mysterious, but the whole was completely engaging.When the series came along, the intriguing nature of the shorts was expanded, although with some mixed results. We now had dialogue to help carry the story, and it was just as stylish as the visuals. Some stories were better than others, but all were at least interesting.The series was decidedly kinky, with fetish clothing and provocative behavior. It was definitely an adult cartoon, which was a welcome change. it's greatest weakness was also it's chief draw: style over substance. Given it's non-linear nature and obtuse story, the viewer was left to interpret the story for themselves. This made it challenging and interesting, but also occasionally off-putting. It could be somewhat repetitive, which is probably the chief reason it lasted only one season (aside from the cost). It stands as a monument to the end of MTV as a groundbreaking network, and is an obvious influence on cinematic work to follow, particularly the Matrix.The series is not for everyone, especially not children; but it is worth viewing for adults with an interest in animation, sci-fi, or challenging stories. The DVD makes it readily accessible and includes many fine features.

Peter Chung is definitely one of the most creative minds in animation today. This is his groundbreaking work he is best known for.Originally a recurring short for MTV's Liquid Television, Aeon Flux combined the flash of the sexy heroine and action movie violence with extremely surreal and bizarre scenarios. MTV later commissioned 10 half-hour episodes. Obviously the more high profile placement of a scheduled program lead to more network restrictions. Not quite the same surreal vision as the original shorts but definitely interesting in themselves.A lot of people saw it as some kind of anime rip off. It's nothing of the sort. While without a doubt drawing influence from Japanese animation the more apparent influences are European fantasy illustrators like moebius.I bought the TV episodes and shorts on a VHS several years ago. I'm not sure if it has made it to DVD. There's a live action movie based on the characters of the animation series coming out this winter. It's extremely doubtful they'll be able to pull off any of the weird stuff. It will probably be just another boringly ordinary Hollywood sci-fi/action movie. One of Peter Chung's ideas with his animation is to create something you can't do in live action.

Aeon Flux started as video shorts on Liquid Television. The DVD has 4 full length episodes, plus the original shorts. Each is a short story about our super sexy secret agent, and her trials and tribulations. Fun to watch, but I don't recommend purchasing. You can only watch Aeon Flux so many times before you're bored with it, as with most Mtv garbage. The anime was amazing, and the stories were clever. Aeon flux is a good 1 night rental.