When Does "The Animatrix: A Detective Story" (2003) Take Place?
"A Detective Story" is a science fiction animated short film written by Shinichiro Watanabe that released June 3rd, 2003. So when is "A Detective Story" set?
It takes place on the fictional The Matrix timeline roughly in the year:
We know this because while it is technically unplaceable it probably takes place sometime not far behind the film "The Matrix" (1999) because the character of Trinity appears and therefore it absolutely cannot be after the film "The Matrix Revolutions" (2003), which takes place in 2700 AD.
~2690s AD
We know this because while it is technically unplaceable it probably takes place sometime not far behind the film "The Matrix" (1999) because the character of Trinity appears and therefore it absolutely cannot be after the film "The Matrix Revolutions" (2003), which takes place in 2700 AD.
The timeline of the Matrix Universe is fairly unique among the largest franchises because the human characters within its fictional world (diegesis) do not themselves know what year it truly is for the duration of most of the stories.
Some things appear to be contemporaneous with the making of the work but this timeframe only applies for the characters living within the Matrix who accept the false narrative they are presented: that it is still the late 20th century. In the video game "The Matrix Online" (2005), Tic Tock explains that the calendars and clocks within the Matrix are [or maybe previous to the events of the third film, "The Matrix Revolutions" (2003) were] periodically reset to 1999 AD.
It is the fourth chronological short film in The Matrix Universe timeline. It can be watched at its timeline point, as an extended flashback after the film "The Matrix" (1999), or entirely separately.
