Since the Summer season’s started already, details have come up on the Fall season shows! Here’s the Fall 2008 Anime lineup:
And here are the titles I’m totally looking forward to:
Gundam 00 Season 2
Kurogane no Linebarrels
TodaDora!
Clannad -After Story-
Lucky Star OAV
Casshern Sins
Nodame Cantabile - Paris Chapter
To Aru Majutsu no Index
ef - a tale of melodies
Kemeko Deluxe!
Kanagi
Tales of the Abyss
Looks like it’s going to be another solid season! Can’t wait!
News from Anime Expo via ANN confirms that the first season of Gundam 00 will be broadcast on the Sci Fi Channel starting November 17! Two episodes will air weekly.
The cast for the Gundam Meisters has just been announced as well:
Setsuna F. Seiei - Brad Swaile
Lockon Stratos - Alex Zahara
Allelujah Haptism - Richard Ian Cox
Tieria Erde - Sam Vincent
Bandai has put up the official English Gundam 00 site, which includes a trailer, check it out!
I’m really excited about this, Gundam 00’s a great show and I’m sure a lot of people will like it too.
Here’s the trailer in Youtube:
Check out this amazing AMV by someone from Nicovideo! He spliced the OP and EDs of Full Metal Alchemist and placed in characters from Final Fantasy 6! Very nostalgic. XD
Now that they’ve announced Chrono Trigger for the DS, I wonder if they’re planning to release FF6 for it too… I mean when it comes to epic oldschool RPGs Final Fantasy 6 definitely tops the list! Well, wishful thinking helps. 
As you might have noticed within the past few years, Hollywood has started to lose inspiration when it comes to coming up with new stories for it’s movies. They’ve turned into rehasing old movies, or turning comic books and video games into new movie franchises. And now, Hollywood has found a new source of inspiration for future blockbusters: Anime.
It started this year with the live-action adaptation of the well-loved classic anime, Speed Racer. The Wachowski Brothers of The Matrix fame worked their magic in turning the funky anime world of Speed Racer into reality, and from what I’ve seen it was a huge success, however the same can’t be said for ticket sales. They’ve proved though that it’s feasible to turn anime into enjoyable movies.
Over the past few months, a lot of producers and directors have announced that they’ve acquired rights into turning a lot of popular anime into movies. Here’s a list:
Akira trailer:
Magazine scan promoting the Dragon Ball live-action movie:
Although Hollywood is losing it’s creativity when it comes to making new stories, I’m pretty optimistic in their enthusiasm to adapt these anime titles to the big screen. I hope they’ll be successful enough to make the mainstream audience aware of the unique storytelling and themes explored in anime, and somehow make them want to watch the originals where these movies were adapted from.
A new show premiered this spring season called “Toshokan Sensou”
(Library Wars). I just got into this show recently and it’s really good. Production I.G. was in charge of the animation and they made everything looks crisp and somehow different than the usual anime.
Here’s the trailer:
The story takes place in near future Japan, where a Media Improvement Act is passed to crack down on items that violate civil liberties and disturb public order, and censorship is enforced by a special committee. On the other hand, another law was passed at the same time, Library Freedom Act, where libraries attached to the local government can claim jurisdiction over books and documents to protect free speech, and to do so the libraries employed their own self-defense forces. Eventually, the struggle between the two factions have escalated into armed conflicts. It might seem outrageous but in today’s world, it might actually become reality.
It’s definitely one of the best shows this season and I’d like everyone to give it a try.
I was finally able to watch the new Evangelion movie, Rebuild of Evangelion 1.0: You Are (Not) Alone, which is the first in a series of movies. It was retelling of the first few episodes of the TV series featuring new designs and updated animation. It was great how they were able to compress those episodes in 2 hours and still retain the pacing that the series had, and somehow nostalgic as well.
Trailer (featuring Utada Hikaru’s version of “Fly me to the Moon”):
Since they used the storyboards from the series, even with the updated animation it was hard to notice what was different until you watch the old episodes again. The climax of the movie was certainly the battle with the fifth (he was fourth in the series) angel, Ramiel, dubbed “Operation Yashima”. The updated design of Ramiel along with the spankin’ new animation was totally breathtaking, too bad the chances of us seeing this on the big screen is.. pretty slim.
I’ll make a more coherent review someday, after a few more rewatches. All I can say is, even if Gainax is just obviously milking the Evangelion franchise, it’s totally worth it.
Zegapain is one of the most underrated mecha series in recent years. Sunrise did an excellent character drama, and the story really makes you feel for the characters. Some got turned off by the neon mechs, but the concept was pretty unique and I enjoyed it. Anyway, here’s the beautiful ending song, Little Goodbye by Rocky Chack.
The second season of Code Geass started 2 weeks ago, replacing Gundam 00 in it’s Sunday timeslot. As expected, it started with a bang, continuing where the previous season left off, and then some. Lelouch seemed to have forgotten what happened, and life went back to normal as it seems, but with a few twists, such as suddenly having a character named Rolo. Apparently the remnants of the Order of the Black Knights either got executed or jailed, but some of them made it into China (including C.C.), and they went back to Japan to hatch a plan to unseal Lelouch’s Geass powers and return him to his real identity, Zero.
I really like the plot progression during the first season, with epic twists every episode that keeps you guessing what’s going to happen next. It’s also great that the violence and themes didn’t get toned down any bit, since it’s move from a Saturday to a Sunday timeslot kept fans wondering if the show will get tuned down. So far I’ve seen 2 episodes and it’s great to see how the characters from the last season have progressed.
Oh and Suzaku’s still a f*ggot. That’s all.
The first episode of the Macross Frontier premiered last week in Japan! Macross Frontier is the third TV series in the Macross saga, celebrating the 25th anniversary of the original Super Dimensional Fortress Macross series. This new show features the U.N Spacy’s newest variable fighter VF-25, as well as the exploratory fleet dubbed the Macross Frontier en-route to the galactic center. The story will revolve around the pilot trainee Alto Saotome, a schoolgirl named Ranka Lee and the galaxy’s premiere pop idol, Sheryl Nome. The first episode was great, with some tributes to the first series such as Alto piloting an abandoned VF-25 in “gerwalk” form, as well as setting up the eventual love triangle between the main characters. Also of note is the opening song “Triangular”, which features Maaya Sakamoto and composer Yoko Kanno’s reunion. Here’s the OP from Youtube:
So far Macross Frontier series seems to be as enjoyable as the past Macross anime. I can’t wait to see the second episode!
Plot Summary from AnimeNewsNetwork:
It is the year A.D. 2307. Fossil fuels on Earth have been depleted entirely, with mankind turning to the next available power source: solar energy. During this time, 3 orbital elevators with solar power generation systems are built, each under control by the Union of Solar Energy and Free Nations (formerly United States of America), the Human Reform League (Russia, China and India) and the Advanced European Union. However, not all countries are able to enjoy the benefits of this system, leading to widespread resentment and war. Arising out of the conflict, a mysterious military organization known as Celestial Being appears, dedicated to end all warfare using Mobile Suits called Gundam. This begins the stories of Gundam Meisters (pilots) Setsuna F. Seiei, Lockon Stratos, Allelujah Haptism and Tiera Erde as they are thrown into conflict between the 3 superpowers and the various other factions.
Gundam 00 Trailer:
The first season of Mobile Suit Gundam 00, the latest installment of Sunrise’s long-running franchise, ended last week with episode 25, and season 2 will be continued on October 2007. Gundam 00 is the first Gundam series to be set in the AD, the ‘real’ timeline, whereas the other shows took place on alternate timelines (Universal Century, etc). The series is about a mysterious organization called “Celestial Being” who appears and proclaims to the world that they will end all conflict using superior technology and powerful mecha called “Gundam”, and unite the world. The absurdity of ending conflict with conflict, bringing about change in the world with superior technology, and finding out a reason for fighting and existing were themes that the first season explored, and did wonderfully well.
Honestly, at first I didn’t enjoy it as much, I found the first few episodes a bit generic. Thankfully though the pace picked up halfway and it just kept getting better ever since. Another decision I wasn’t too keen of when it started was their decision to set it in the AD timeline, but seeing how effectively they integrated a lot of modern day politics and events into the show, I think the writers did an awesome job. The mecha designs were really topnotch, especially the mass-produced “grunt” units, and how it reflected real-world war vehicles, like how the Union’s “Flag” Mobile Suits were reminiscent of US Air Force jets. The titular “Gundam” units were also wonderfully designed, and they really emanated that “powerful” presence every time they were onscreen.
Though “Gundam” shows were mostly made to sell and advertise merchandise, they also feature excellent character drama and writing. And Gundam 00 didn’t disappoint. Having characters from all factions and sides really gave the show a lot of depth, as you can see how the world reacts to the actions of Celestial Being, as well as how they begin to see why the world needs change.
Sunrise has always been making consistently excellent animation in their shows, and Gundam 00 as the first “Gundam” show to be presented in High Definition, was excellently done. The score was on an epic scale as well, my favorite being “Intervention”, the theme that plays when the Gundams show up. The OP and ED songs didn’t seem to fit very much, but the second ED, “Friends” by Stephanie, is probably my favorite.
Gundam 00 Season 1 has been an awesome ride. With amazing animation, characters, writing and mecha designs, I believe that it achieved being the “Gundam of the new generation”, the title that the previous series “Gundam Seed” was trying to claim. I can’t for the next season!
