There was a specific kind of magic in the late ’90s and early 2000s. Cyberpunk wasn’t just an aesthetic; it felt like a looming promise (or threat). Right at the center of that digital zeitgeist was The Matrix. But while everyone remembers the leather trench coats, the bullet-time, and the massive box office numbers of the live-action trilogy, there’s a quiet masterpiece sitting in the shadow of the monolith.

I’m talking about The Animatrix (2003).