Tekkonkinkreet (鉄コン筋クリート Tekkon Kinkurīto, a child's mispronunciation of "Tekkin Konkurito" (steel reinforced concrete) is a 2006 feature-length Japanese anime film, directed by Michael Arias and animated by Studio 4°C, adapted from the three-volume seinen manga series of the same name by Taiyō Matsumoto, which was originally serialized in North America between October 1998 and April 2000 in Shogakukan's Big Comic Spirits and first published in English as Tekkonkinkreet: Black & White. The film adaptation of Tekkonkinkreet premiered in Japan on December 23, 2006. The story takes place in the fictional Treasure Town and centers on a pair of orphaned street kids - the tough, canny Black and the childish, innocent White, together known as the Cats - as they deal with yakuza attempting to take over the city of Treasure Town. The manga was released in North America on October 1998 and was re-released on September 25, 2007 as a compilation of three comics in one.