Karas, the revelation - Trailer

The action filled conclusion to the epic series of direct-to-video animation series created to celebrate studio Tatsunoko's anniversary is finally coming:

Horton Hears a Who! - Trailer

From the imagination of Dr.Seuss, a new, 3d animation movie by Blue Sky studios. I'm actually looking forward to it.

Avatar season three: Book of fire

It's been a long wait. But the final season of "Avatar: The last airbender" will wrap up the story in another 20 chapters or so. I'm really excited about how this one will end.

Season Three starts September 21 2007

Heavenly Sword - Animation Prelude

A very stylish animated preview to the Heavenly Sword PS3 upcoming videogame. PLEASE try to see it in full-screen, it's totally worth it!

And it's not Youtube!

Cybersix

Cybersix was an argentinan comic that got made into animated series. I'd love to see it.

Beowulf - Trailer

The CGI Beowulf Trailer has been finally released. Believe it or not, it's all 3d animation(altough the actors look like their 3d counterparts).

Red Garden OVA: Dead girls - Preview

There's a time honored saying that goes: "If it's right, don't fix it." Gonzo animation never heard of it.

And that's why they're releasing Red Garden: Dead girls in OVA format. Because they can't just let a nice story age gracefully. Damn them to heck. I mean, look at the cover! they even added a bit of cartoon smut on there!

And I'm so sad because I am going to see it. Just for laughs, or maybe it IS actually good, but the original Red Garden was all kinds of awesome and I don't think I'll be able to swallow this thing whole. Still, coming 8/08/2007.

Youtube:

Re/Visioned Tomb raider

They'll be releasing them during the month of august. Here's some trailers and snippets to get you excited in the meantime. I hope they release this on dvd or something.

The Big O - Review

He wears black, has lots of gadgets, a butler, an awesome car, is rich...

AND HE IS NOT BATMAN!!!

Nope. He's Roger Smith, negotiator. A much needed job in the amnesiac city of Paradigm. And when negotiation turns to brawn, he commands the behemoth known as the Big O.

The story goes like this: 40 years ago, all mankind lost its memories. On that very day, civilization collapsed. In the domed city of Paradigm, standing below a grim sky; disaster is brewing as the forces of the ancient world are revealed little by little in the mysterious form of memories.

Inspired by retro shows such as batman, thunderbirds, starsky & hutch and 70's spy flicks, The Big O features a very unique (for an anime) aesthetic that combines the modern mayhem of giant robots with the sweet and elegant style of art deco. The series itself also plays like a noir/detective drama with the main character's monologues and existential angst present in every nook and cranny of the dark city of paradigm.

Retro-references run amok in this anime. Even the first season intro song is a homage to Queen's Flash Gordon song. The Big O is also very unique in the sense it was funded by an American company. The first season was left in a cliffhanger, and it looked like a second season was not going to be made. But Cartoon Network gave the money to finish it. Thumbs up for Cartoon Network.

Japanese animation is known for it's lack of respect for genres. The big O combines the art style of American shows like Batman (Many of the Japanese people that worked on the old Batman cartoon worked on The Big O) and Art Deco with the cheesy antics of giant robot anime. Add film noir to the mix, spice it up with mystery and a sprinkle of obscure biblical references, mix, stir and enjoy.

And talk about cryptic! The series really gets confusing and difficult to understand by the end. But it's not all about hard-to-understand psychological mumbo-jumbo. Heck no, The Big O has something for everyone. From the retro style to the loveable characters. From the brooding mystery to the non-stop action. The Big O is a series I recommend Thoroughly. It's one of my all-time favourites.

The Big O gets 5 out of 5 stars of retro goodness.

The usual Youtube:

Psalms of the planets Eureka Seven - Review

I guess the conception for this series was decided in a drunk-stoned frenzy. Else they wouldn't have come up with an idea so totally whacky and outrageous. I mean, it had to be thought about in some sort of booze-party, this is not just the kind of concept you have an epyphany about.

They had to be stoned, yet they actually made the Idea work.

The strangely named "Psalms of the planets Eureka seven" is a media franchise created by studio Bones. It encompasses (so far) a manga series, an anime, 3 videogames and all sorts of paraphernalia. The long-running (+50 episodes) animation series features very high quality animation, nice character designs and funky 70's references everywhere.

And the story goes something like this:

In the future, on a newly colonized planet: Renton Thurston, son of the legendary war hero, Adroick Thurston; Despairs and whines about his simple and meaningless life in a small town. Baffled with boredom and with a yearning for freedom, his future looks really grim.

That is, until Eureka drops from the sky one night. And things go helter-skelter.

Turns out Eureka is the rouge pilot of the legendary Nirvash Type-0, a sort of alien lifeform encased in a robotic body. A piece of equipment that is very valuable to the goverment forces.

And it also turns out Eureka is part of a rebellious anti-goverment terrorist group called "Gekkostate" which Renton idolizes. Also turns out Eureka is a bit weird, also turns out Renton's grandfather has a very important piece that the Nirvash needs, also turns out the leader of the rebels had a relationship with his sister, and also turns out Renton is madly in love with Eureka.

Boy, is he up for a wild ride.

But that really doesn't cover anything about the story. Not by a long shot. Heck, it's not even a proper summary, since the premise and direction changes so much during the series duration, it's one of those series that has to be seen to understand the underlying charm that runs trough every sweet piece of 20 minute cel drawn frenzy.

Now, I can't really say I'm a fan of Gigant robot anime. I mean, I do like the robots and the rampage, but there's gotta be more on it for me to appreciate this kind of anime. I'm very sensitive against cliches. And even trough Eureka Seven can be catalogued in the "Gigant robot controlled by young pilot with severe mental trauma" genre... Eureka Seven manages to spell a fresh and fruity cliche-free smell.

Heck, there's angst and personal sacrifice there as this kind of anime requires, though it's not so over-the-top that it ends up feeling cheesy. The revelations and underlying story are top-notch and the series does get very cryptic and grim near the end. (There's a bit of gore every now and then, so the faint of heart might suffer a slight distaste in watching some episodes).

Eureka Seven is a good example that with enough originality and style, you can take concepts that have been done again and again, and re-paint them again for a new generation, turning cliche into awe inspiring coolness and style.

It's like when they grind stale bread in supermarkets to make that icky-looking sweet-tastin' delicious bread. You don't remind yourself about the ingredients, you just eat it.

By no means Eureka seven is a classic. I wouldn't even say it's artistic (even trough the character designs are very pretty) But it's one hell of a series. Definitely recommended.

Eureka Seven gets 5 out of five stars of teen angst.

And you get sweet youtube love:





Oh... Did I mention the robots surf? No I didn't.

Baccano!

It is out!