Today I’m excited to bring you my review of Summer Wars, which I finally picked up on Blu-ray yesterday. Please note: though a bit lengthy, this review does not contain spoilers. Enjoy!

Summer Wars first premiered in Japan in 2009, and was an overnight success. Since its Japanese premier, it has won several awards including the coveted 2010 Japan Academy Prize for Animation of the Year. The film is directed by Mamoru Hosoda, who is well known from his prior award-winning film “The Girl Who Leapt through Time.”

The story centers around mathematical genius Kenji and his geeky friend Takashi, who spend their time working as the maintenance “code monkeys” for the OZ virtual realm. Their friend Natsuki comes into the story when she asks Kenji if he wants a job, and subsequently drags him off to her home in Ueda (near Nagano) to pretend to be her fiancé. Once there, Kenji solves a mega math problem on his cell phone that frames him as a criminal hacker who brings chaos to the virtual space known as OZ.

There are two worlds in this film: that of the Jinnouchi clan’s homestead and greater Japan, and the virtual world known as OZ. The animation in this film is groundbreaking – and effectively transports the viewer through OZ’s explosions of brilliant color and stylized characters, to stunning portrayals of Japan’s countryside. Images of Japan’s shinkansen, train stations, city-scapes, and countryside are spot on (and give you a realistic picture of the beauty of Japan…even though this story and the virtual realm that is OZ are fiction).

Natsuki’s family live in a clan home that dates back to beyond the Tokugawa era, and this film does a great job portraying the historic Japanese homestead. When Kenji enters across the delicate tatami floors, you can see Samurai armor ceremoniously displayed in the background. There are classic hardwood and panel walls, and rooms that are open to inner baths and zen gardens. The Jinnouchi family is also a romanticized portrayal of the very close bonds that many large and traditional Japanese families possess.

In the virtual world of OZ, people sign on with ultra-colorful and unique 3D avatars. This world is one of the most fun and unique portrayals of the internet and virtual community that I’ve ever seen. All speech in OZ is universal, and people speaking any language can communicate with others through the internal translator (which automatically converts text to the native language of the user). Virtual sports and games supply endless hours of entertainment (including the ultra-cool lightsaber, lazer beam filled battle arena that holds the OZ martial arts championships.). Administrative agencies, businesses, video, the news, fun, relaxation, research – everyone and everything are online and rely upon OZ to keep life going. Imagine all the media you get in your life being delivered in an ultra-colorful, 3D virtual realm. I for one think it’s stunning and imaginative, and wouldn’t mind being planted into OZ for a day or two!

The plot isn’t just cutting-edge, it’s truly immersive – it really manages to plant you into a place where virtual reality can ultimately change our lives forever (and perhaps this future is not unlike our own). The social commentary that serves as the backdrop to this film really does speak to our over-reliance on technology. We also see the conflict and struggle to maintain balance between two worlds – one driven by the connectivity we get through the internet and one that values traditional networking, family ties, and friendly alliances.

When the cyber terrorism A.I. takes over OZ, it threatens the world by shutting down everything we rely on. Imagine everything that supports society suddenly going haywire – traffic lights, GPS, water mains, electricity, gas lines, power lines, emergency services, fire alarms, train systems, bank accounts, walk signals, cell phones, television, satellites, nuclear missiles – anything and everything that is linked to the internet! If anyone has seen Live Free or Die Hard, you’ll note that this collapse is a lot like the “Fire Sail” they discuss in that movie. This artificial intelligence, programmed to learn and seemingly unstoppable, manages to crash the entire infrastructure of Japan, and the world, in a matter of minutes.

Summer Wars should be a must-see for anime fans and for those who aren’t even really that much into anime. It has a wide appeal like many Ghibli films and I feel it could be enjoyed by just as wide an audience. With DVD and Blu-ray versions widely available now in the States (and available for rent through Netflix), I definitely suggest giving it a watch. Can Kenji, his friends, and the Jinnouchi clan stop the A.I. from destroying everything around them? Watch the movie and find out!

Enjoy this theatrical trailer from Warner Brothers and look for the DVD and Blu-ray versions on Amazon and Netflix.

This week in Anime News we have a first look at the Japanese premier of Deadman Wonderland and an announcement of the upcoming release of Eden of the East‘s post-series film, The King of Eden.

First up: Deadman Wonderland.

This Spring in Japan has been full of the usual, extremely-long list of premiers that people have to really sift through to see what’s going to stand out. I’ve been going through the lists that some of my Japanese friends compiled (plus my own list) over the past couple of weeks to figure out what will be best to watch. My first must-see on the list was X Men, which is proving to get better each week, and next up is Deadman Wonderland.

After seeing the first episode, I can definitely say that someone is going to end up picking this up for US distribution. The show has got that successful balance of crazy and intriguing anime plot going on that is well received in both Japanese and international markets. My personal reception of this series is that its refusal to shy away from violence and gore, while actually conveying a deeper plot, will really make it stand out this year. It touches on themes of sci-fi, horror and suspense while providing us with an entertaining look into the supernatural, high-tech prison that is Deadman Wonderland. This fictional version of Tokyo’s future is dark and ominous!

Check out this great trailer from Kodokawa! – “Deadman Wonderland Promotion Trailer”

And now, for a review of episode one with some light spoilers (these spoilers are in all the advertising for the show so they’re not really spoilers. Feel free to read on.).

The story surrounds a boy named Ganta, who in the first few minutes of episode one sees his entire middle school class get annihilated by the “Red Man.” Before leaving the scene of his violent crime, the Red Man tosses the head of a decapitated classmate and turns to plant a large red shard in the center of Ganta’s chest. Since Ganta is the only one left alive in this horrific room of gore and debris, the police decide that all available evidence points to him as the culprit. A mysterious video showing Ganta’s “confession” of the crime also surfaces during his trial, but it is still unknown how this video came into being. (I sure do find it suspicious that Ganta’s defense lawyer in the trial seems to have some part in the operation of Deadman Wonderland, don’t you?)

After being sentenced to death, Ganta is taken to Deadman Wonderland – a privately owned amusement park that has been built up over what used to be a part of Tokyo (which was abandoned due to a devastating earthquake). In Deadman Wonderland, prisoners are sentenced to carry out their days entertaining guests in what appear to be insane-looking sideshows.  They are forced to wear taser-linked, GPS and RFID tagged collars around their necks. Prisoners can also be sentenced to death at any time by an injection of toxins through these collars. As for the owners of the prison – they’re obviously shady individuals and we are meant to be suspicious of them from the beginning. (This is no surprise. Anime writers usually don’t seem to care if you recognize right off who the villains are going to be.)

So far, I just can’t help but feel terrible for Ganta. He’s so grief-stricken over the loss of his friends, and to be blamed for their murder seems to be sending him over the deep end. There is an especially gripping scene in the courtroom where the father of Ganta’s late friend Mimi jumps over the benches and starts beating Ganta senseless – all while he pleads with him that he didn’t kill his friends. By the end of the episode, I feel like maybe Ganta is going to go on a power-hungry rampage to get revenge on the Red Man, but it’s not yet clear what direction they’re going to take for him to try to achieve this task. All we know is that he’s got a red shard in his chest that has given him some kind of special powers…and that will make this show very interesting in the episodes to come!

My overall review – I think this will turn out to be a good watch. The animation is crisp and looks great in HD, and the story does a good job of kicking in during the first episode. Fans of horror and thriller anime will want to make this a must-see for later 2011 when the show will undoubtedly get brought over.

We’ll be sure to let you know here on Big Shiny Robot as soon as we get word about the US distribution rights for Deadman Wonderland.

Next up: Eden of the East: The King of Eden.

I haven’t gotten a chance to watch The King of Eden yet because I’m just now finishing up the series (and I refuse to expose myself to the spoilers that will come from watching this movie), but I can tell you that, judging from what I’ve seen in the series, this film probably be awesome. Eden of the East has rapidly climbed my list of all-time anime favorites.

Check out this fantastic trailer from Funimation for the Complete Series:

“Nobilesse Oblige: I pray for you continuing service as a savior,” – is one of my favorite lines from the series. The concept behind the show – that a rich, anonymous individual can force 12 people to become “saviors of the world” or die by his hand – makes it one of the best series to come out in many years. Some people call it a Bourne Identity rip-off, but I say look a little closer and you’ll really enjoy this series. Look for my upcoming review of the Eden of the East series soon here on BSR.

Check out the new film, The King of Eden here on Funimation’s website. It hits shelves on April 24th.

You can watch the Eden of the East series on Netflix streaming and pick up the DVD or Blu-ray set over here through Funimation.

Stay tuned to BSR for all your Geek News and Anime Updates!

Netflix has continued to add to its growing library of anime titles, some spectacular, some a little awful. Of course, that is the melting pot we are so fortunate to have on our Netflix-capable devices, so it’s about time to get down to what you should be watching.

The good:

Baccano! is a very Japanese take on Prohibition-era Gangster stories. In fact, the entire original series of light novels was inspired by Brian De Palma’s “The Untouchables”. What makes it different is, of course, the addition of supernatural elements such as immortality and alchemy. This blend of Mafioso gang wars and fantasy is definitely worth your time, so add this one to your favorites.

Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood

FMA is a staple series for any anime fan, and has been that way for years. So why a remake of an already wildly popular franchise? You see, the original series was produced side by side with the manga, finishing its story before the graphic novels. A few characters and storyline elements were left out of the animated companion as a result. Brotherhood attempts to bridge this gap, and does so pretty well. For fans, this edition is pretty decent, although I feel that the emotional impact of some of the more tragic scenes is lessened in the remake. I’d still recommend the original airing over this, but in no way is this version bad. The animation quality is a far step over the already impressive first run, and the action sequences are top-notch.

For the gamers:

For fans of the Halo and Dead Space series, Netflix is streaming the titles on both universes. Halo Legends is animated with multiple artists doing their own parts of a larger story as a whole, continuing the tradition of expanding on entertainment like The Matrix, or Batman. The shifts in visuals make this one easy and interesting to watch, and any Halo fan will enjoy the new insight into the background stories of the Covenant War. Included is a story of the first Arbiter who refused the covenant faith, and a non-cannon parody of the events covered in the games.

Dead Space: Downfall is actually not that great. It’s Americanized anime, so it’s not actually authentic. However the company based out of Korea is famous for its work on “The Boondocks” series on Adult Swim, and the animation is pretty decent. The story is a filler between Dead Space 1 & 2, and the cast is populated by cliched archetypes, including “F-bomb black guy” and “Tough exterior, heart of gold” heroine. These stereotypes match the somewhat cheesy dialog and story throughout.

However, it’s enjoyable in a campy horror way. It doesn’t care if you want deeper plot line, it just begs to be sat down and streamed with a few good friends and a bucket of popcorn.

Finally, a classic worth revisiting:

The complete Trigun episode collection has been uploaded to Netflix, and it’s been a real treat re-watching another anime that had an impact on the medium. Trigun has a definite American stamp on it, and here’s why; when Trigun was released in Japan in 1998, it had to run against the big boy, the legend, Cowboy Bebop. It was lost in the ratings shuffle, but managed to find a home among fans in the states.

Following the adventures of “Vash the Stanpede”, Trigun takes place in a wasteland western style world. Vash is the most wanted criminal in existence, boasting a six-billion double-dollar bounty on his head for supposedly destroying an entire town in few hours. However the Vash we see is just an unlucky, clumsy oaf who trouble just seems to follow. Despite this, he always manages to come out on top to save the day.

The world develops around the characters, and it was always exciting to get a bit more background on Vash as the plot deepened. The dialog can be hilarious at times, but a few over-the-top moments flat-lined and were more awkward then anything. This may just be a product of localization and voice-over changes, but it’s there. All in all though, this series is a gem, and more than worth your time. All 26 episodes are ready to stream, so check it out today.

That about wraps us up this week, so keeping reading Big Shiny Robot! for all your nerd news, and more anime worth your time on Netflix right here.

*(The author of this article is Pixelbot 7, and he’s trying to move out of state on a limited budget-Visit here to see how you can help)

Fans will be happy to know that High School of the Dead is getting a complete collection (full series) release on June 28th. Sometimes I feel like they make us wait an unbelievably long time to see all the episodes of a series in one place, but this release only took a few months from its “volume run.” Like many other recent anime imports, it is shortening the release gap that happens between Japan and America (especially since it originally simulcast on the Anime Network while airing in Japan). Directed by Tetsuro Araki of Deathnote and Black Lagoon fame, and based on the original manga by Daisuke Sato, this anime has become fairly popular on the North American anime scene.

The story surrounds a group of high school students who manage to escape when a zombie apocalypse comes crashing through the gates of their Fujimi campus. In the first episode it is made very clear that what the characters refer to as “Them” are meant to be almost-Romero-like zombies (but, in comparison, these are too easy to kill and certainly not capable of giving me nightmares for a week like Dawn of the Dead). It’s also apparent that some of the teens who escape the initial outbreak are a lot more likely to survive this series than others. Now, since I don’t want to give any spoilers away, I’ll just say that I’m sure the writers did this on purpose so you’d be taking bets from moment one as to who’s actually going to last through all twelve episodes (like any zombie thriller).

I can only assume that the writers have included a lot of stereotypical, high-school-drama characters in hopes of making this show somewhat comical for anyone that’s watched a lot of teen drama anime. You’ve got a badass girl who was captain of her Kendo team, a military-fanboy otaku who manages to fashion himself a nail gun to fend off zombies, a fairly average guy and girl who are set up to be the “romantic couple” right from the start, and a wide array of other characters who seem almost too much like ones we’ve seen from other series. Oh, and I forgot to mention the school’s nurse…yet another over the top occasion of fan service in anime. Could they have possibly made her breasts any larger? I don’t think so. Fair warning to all you female watchers out there…there are A LOT of unnecessary panty shots in this show.

As for the horror and action, it’s pretty decent. This series features a few occasions where I wish the characters (especially the more annoying ones) would just stop talking and fight the zombies. After living in Tokyo for some time, I can tell you that a zombie apocalypse there would be pretty terrifying. Possession of firearms is illegal in Japan for those who do not possess a special license (certain hunters, police officers and National Defense Forces can carry certain firearms depending on their situation), and therefore very few people would be armed in the event of a zombie outbreak. (I for one think it would be way more entertaining to see zombies being fought with a variety of Japanese swords, but alas those are generally only found in museums nowadays.) This lack of available firearms makes any uprising’s survival-outlook to be pretty dismal at best. That being said, the series tries to take a stab at depicting zombie chaos in Japan.

Overall, I’d say give this one a watch if you enjoy anything zombie related, but don’t expect it to follow ” Romero zombie cannon” …it breaks the “rules” and I’m okay with that. Definitely give it a watch if you feel like you’ve seen too many high-school anime and need to see some of your favorite (or least favorite) character types fight off zombies! This show has a somewhat satisfying plot and makes for a good 12 episode run.

Check out High School of the Dead on the Anime Network and, if you like it, you can find the pre-order the Blu-Ray Complete Collection for $57.99 on Amazon (or elsewhere at List Price for $69.98).

Enjoy the following clip from Episode 3! (No spoilers contained.)

I came across this at Bleeding Cool today. Coroner records has put out an album featuring metal versions of songs from the Studio Ghibli movies! Take a look at the trailer down below! If you like what you hear and want to pick it up it available on both iTunes and Amazon. I really like the songs that are in the trailer and am thinking I’m gonna check it out. The tracklist and official press release from Coroner Records will be up after the trailer:

1. Tonari No Totoro (My Neighbor Totoro) – Disarmonia Mundi feat. Sophia Aslanidou
2. Kimi Wo Nosete (Laputa：Castle In The Sky) – Disarmonia Mundi feat. Yoko Hallelujah
3. Teru No Uta (Tales From Earthsea) – Blood Stain Child feat. Ettore Rigotti
4. Gake No Ue No Ponyo (Ponyo On The Cliff) – Destrage feat. Yoko Hallelujah
5. Mononoke Hime (Princess Mononoke) – Living Corpse feat Yoko Hallelujah
6. Country Road (Whisper Of The Heart) – Disarmonia Mundi feat. Sophia Aslanidou
7. Itsumo Nandodemo (Spirited Away) – Blood Stain Child feat. Claudio Ravinale
8. Arrietty’s Song (Japanese version) (The Borrower Arrietty) – Disarmonia Mundi feat. Sophia Aslanidou
9. Yasashisa Ni Tsutsumaretanara (Kiki’s Delivery Service) – Destrage feat. Yoko Hallelujah
10. Toki niwa Mukashi no hanashio (Porco Rosso) – Disarmonia Mundi feat. Yoko Hallelujah
11. Sanpo (My Neighbor Totoro) – Living Corpse feat. Yoko Hallelujah
12. Nausicaa requiem (Nausicaa Of The Valley Of The Wind) – Neroargento feat. Yoko Hallelujah

Coroner Records is really proud to announce the upcoming release of a new album of extreme metal covers of Studio Ghibli songs entitled “Princess Ghibli”.

The project called “Imaginary Flying Machines” (from the title of a short film written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki, which is exclusively shown daily at the Ghibli Museum) puts together bands from Europe and Japan (Disarmonia Mundi, Blood Stain Child, Destrage, Living Corpse and Neroargento) that reinterpret 12 very famous songs taken from the films produced by Studio Ghibli, bringing the soundtracks that have made ​​dream many fans of Miyazaki in a new musical dimension, more aggressive and faster, without ever losing the melody and the magical atmospheres typical of the original versions.

The album has been recorded, produced and mixed by Ettore Rigotti at The Metal House Studio (Disarmonia Mundi, Destrage, Slowmotion Apocalypse, Stigma, etc…) and mastered by Alessandro Vanara.

This week in Anime News: Blue Exorcist and… Mameshiba!?!

First in this week’s update: The highly anticipated Blue Exorcist is coming to you very soon! Just four days after its Japanese premier on Aniplex (delayed in release due to the Tohoku Earthquake and Tsunami), it will stream on the Viz Anime Website on Wednesday April 20th. Viz released the plot synopsis as follows, and fans will note that this will probably be a pretty close adaptation of the manga series:

The new action series (which will air subtitled since it’s only four days following its Japanese premier) follows Rin and his twin brother Yukio. Raised by an eminent priest, Rin one day discovers that things are not what they seem – his biological father is actually Satan! (Yeah, that seems like one of those things that you probably don’t want.) Rin vows to buck his fate and defeat his own father, and he enters True Cross Academy to train to become an exorcist… Can Rin fight off demons, and keep his infernal bloodline a secret? (The answer in anime is almost always “No,” so tune in for complicated consequences!) It won’t be easy, especially when drawing his father’s sword releases the demonic power within him!

After reading the synopsis, I can’t help but think about how much I really enjoyed watching Ghost Hunt. Exorcist themed anime have been pretty popular in the past few years, and I saw a few people in the Japanese cosplaying circuit as exorcist-theme characters at Layers Paradise in Tokyo last year.

Also, I’d like to bring up that Viz Anime has made a really smart decision to stream the series only four days following its Japanese premier. A few studios have been doing this a lot more lately, and honestly I think it’s a really smart decision on their part. Certainly it will cut down on illegal streaming sites at least some, and people will be more likely to go straight to the production company to watch the series. If a company only makes one season (or a few episodes) available on sites like Netflix, Hulu, and vizanime.com, they’ll be able to get the word out about their subsequent DVD and Blu Ray releases.

So go check it out on April 20^th! It’s streaming for free on www.vizanime.com and Hulu, so you have no excuse!

Second in this week’s update is something I never thought I would see go to a manga adaptation (but Japan is always surprising me…so I suppose I should learn not to be confused by strange manga and anime adaptations): Mameshiba, (the Little Bean Dog), is being made into a graphic novel by Viz Kids!

So, what are the Mameshiba, you ask?

Sometime early last year I started seeing some commercials on Japanese television that supported the eating of various types of beans. This support came packaged with what was called “irreverently funny trivia.” The trivia…to put it simply…is completely random and generally hilarious, but made more hilarious by the fact that it is delivered to unsuspecting victims by these little half bean-half dog critters. Imagine being in the middle of a delicious meal, when along comes a little bean dog to spoil your appetite by telling you “Hey! Catfish have taste-buds all over their body!”

Now, don’t ask me how they’re going to even begin turning this into a manga for kids…but I’m sure it will be ridiculous and possibly very awesome. These adorable little Mameshiba characters have become immensely popular in Japan. You can find stuffed versions of them in claw machines at arcades and all manner of character-themed goods available for purchase in pretty much any store (Tokyu Hands in Shinjuku and Toy City in Harajuku have especially impressive selections).

If nothing else, I support Mameshiba coming to the US so I can re-stock my collection of character themed pens and pencils! The release of the graphic novel is currently slated for July of this year.

Did you know? You can check out more Mameshiba trivia over at their website.

Enjoy!

Our correspondent with the Japanese connection, Miss Mecha, is back with another look at the X-Men Anime. You can read her review of the first episode here.

I am happy to report that Madhouse really delivers in Episode 2 of their new X-Men anime. We see some great, fast-paced action as the X-Men really come together as a team, and the characters start to interact in more familiar ways. Furthermore, they kick ass together – an essential of any X-Men cartoon! It’s a solid episode that features new plot development around mutant hunting, the appearance of the enemy (The U-Men), and some really awesome robots. At first I expected them to be the Japanese version of Sentinels, but these robots were new…different. These have been made by the U-Men to be smart, drive motorcycles, pilot futuristic jets and be sufficiently armed to the teeth.

Let’s face it; the normal Sentinels we’ve seen in past animated series are, for the most part, pretty average at best (and at worst, some of the most poorly designed robots ever). Classic example: the very first episode of the 1990’s X-Men Cartoon, “Night of the Sentinels Part One”: those sentinels were – although capable of shooting huge laser beams – really, really stupid. “Identification error: non-living objects. Begin tracking…” Ugh, seriously? Why couldn’t you put a higher-end infrared system in those things? Or, how about when the Sentinel marches right through the front end of a mall, destroying a major portion of the building as it says to the terrified people below, “Do not be alarmed. I am here to serve and protect.” Really? Really!? (For the record though, I loved that series.)

Overall, this week’s episode was a great watch and I’m fully recommending it. My outlook on where the series is going has improved tremendously, and I can hardly wait for next week’s episode!

Want the specifics?

—–Detailed review and spoilers below!—–

The episode opens with two insane-looking scientists who are apparently in charge of the U-Men, an organization of rogue scientists who want to capture mutants in order to utilize their powers to destroy all of mutant-kind. They have advanced technology and an army of robots at their disposal. It’s no surprise to me that we find out in this episode that their labs are in an abandoned Japanese hospital…because there is always messed up sh*t going on in abandoned Japanese hospitals!

The X-Men arrive in Japan in an attempt to locate the kidnapped Hisako Ichiki, and they meet with the Ichiki family at their home in the snow-covered Tohoku region. Apparently, Hisako went missing one day when she had to take the bus to school (her parents normally drover her). Other mutant children have been going missing, as well, and that there is a lot of fear from people in the area that believe that mutants have been causing strange, dangerous accidents. “Will there ever be a day when people will understand mutant kind?” – Ichiki-san.

Wolverine, who knows a bit about the U-Men, has heard that they may have been hiding out in Japan and could be behind these mysterious circumstances. While discussing this with the Ichikis the phone rings and we learn that another young mutant has gone missing. Doesn’t this seem like convenient timing to anyone? Oh wait, “IT’S A TRAP!” Wolverine and Cyclops go to investigate, only to find out that they have been tricked by the Ichiki’s. Cyclops and Wolverine are intercepted on their way by U-Men robots – a test by the scientists to determine their power levels and abilities. Storm and Beast are also intercepted, and we see some excellent robot smashing.

The characters have really started to feel like the X-Men. Wolverine claws through any obstacle in his way while making familiarly sarcastic remarks, Storm absolutely obliterates a bunch of robots with ice, Beast’s strength and calculated intelligence are a fantastic asset, and Cyclops is showing more signs of being the leader he should be…though he is going through a lot with the loss of Jean. It seems as though Scott is still struggling somewhere between the need for revenge and the need for peace, and every thought of the innocent mutants who are suffering at the hands of the U-Men tugs at his insides. Repeatedly, Logan yells at him to get it together, because he’s “acting like a rookie,” but he also shows an admirable amount of compassion for the grieving Scott.

After the battle with the robots, the X Men travel to the abandoned hospital that has become a lab for the U-Men. It is immediately apparent that there is some serious mad-scientist, crazy-work going on here. Green lights illuminate a series of doors in a creepy hallway (which, by the way, looks nothing like an abandoned hospital anymore…more like an abandoned insane asylum with technology exploding down its hallways). From the shadows, the missing boy mutant appears and completely loses control. In an Akira-like explosion of flesh and mutation, the boy changes beyond any recognition of his former self, and the X Men are forced to destroy him.

Cliffhanger of the week: Hisako Ichiki and Emma Frost are found alive in the lab. Next week on X Men: “Armor – Awakening!”

Overall verdict: This show is getting to be pretty awesome. I can’t wait for more!

I’d like to introduce you to our newest robot, Miss Mecha! She’s going to be covering mainly the anime beat, so please, welcome her and check out her stuff.  Without further ado:

American viewers will either Love…or Hate the new X Men Anime

Greetings BSR readers! Allow me to introduce myself as Miss Mecha, here to bring you anime news from Japan. Nippon has been my second home since 2006. I’ve lived in Tokyo and Saitama and spent many days wandering through the streets of Akihabara and the lesser known Nakano Broadway. Though I’m currently living in the United States, my job allows me to travel back and forth between the US and Japan so I’m lucky enough to venture back to my favorite places in Tokyo every now and again.

I’m here today to tell you about the new X Men Anime on Japan’s Animax satellite network. I managed to get a hold of the first episode that premiered on April 1st and decided to give it a go. I want to let you know going into this article that I tried to watch it with as open a mind as possible. Why do I need an open mind for this? Well, let me explain.

I’ve been an X Men fan since I was about six or seven years old. I started watching the 90s cartoon and reading the comics when I was very young, and my subsequent love of comics and geeky things in general probably directly stemmed from my early watching of X Men (along with heavy influence from Star Wars and the Power Rangers, of course).

Since I really care about the characters, I knew it would be really important to go into this with an open mind, because I suspected they would really take regional liberties with the characters to make them more appealing in the Japanese market. Honestly, I couldn’t have been more spot on with my guess. It’s a decent conversion to anime, but fans of the original comic and characters (especially those who don’t like anime) will probably want to steer clear of this series. G4’s Attack of the Blog reports that they’ll be airing the series later this year (presumably with their own subtitling or dubbing). I’m thinking, however, that they may want to reconsider their decision to bring the series over later this year if enough people catch wind of just how regionalized the series is. Honestly, I don’t think the US ratings would be that good.

Here’s why:

DETAILED SPOILERS BELOW!!!

The episode opens with your fairly typical anime scene of gripping action and excitement. Brilliant colors and sharp stylization that are characteristic of any anime are very apparent. In general, Madhouse animation company has produced some absolutely stunning series and films, so I wasn’t surprised that the quality of animation is great. The screen pans up and across the faces of our newly anime-ized X Men….and Wolverine looks like a complete psycho, might I add. He looks a little too strange and different from the Logan I prefer…but it works for this series. The women have shining eyes and huge breasts – again, this is no different from what you’d expect in any anime (and to be fair, Jim Lee had em drawn pretty big back in the day as well, so this is not really a “change” per se).

Pan further up and there’s Jean Grey turned into The Phoenix and ready to explode everything in her path. She starts flinging objects at our heroes and Wolverine slices through a big chunk of rock – so far pretty typical showcasing of the X Men Powers, but with that slightly shiny “glow around the edges” that you see in many action anime series.

Professor X fails to make contact with Jean, and explains that this must be the work of Mastermind. Scott, who loves Jean in any universe, jumps in to risk his life in an attempt to save her. Here’s where we have the first really obvious sign of Japanese influence. The scene cuts to the clouds, where an “innocent” Jean pleads with Scott to kill her before she hurts anyone else. Here we see the inner innocence of Jean, which is a common element associated with blue sky and clouds in anime. As expected, it’s too late to save her, and Scott must suffer as he watches his love be torn away from him. Now, this is ridiculous, but I honestly can’t help but laugh during this scene because Cyclops looks like a pretty-boy, muscly, Japanese-cool-guy while he’s obviously supposed to be suffering and making me sad. His shiny hair flicks back as he cries out, “I LOVE YOU!”

Okay, so here is where I’ve probably lost any of you that don’t enjoy anime, and to be honest, I totally understand why you wouldn’t be crazy about this. It’s very much the kind of show that will do well in Japan…which means that it might not do very well with the masses in the US. The dialogue is especially rough for those who aren’t used to Japanese speech patterns. It’s fun to translate from a “learning Japanese point of view,” but American fans will miss the things that you’d get from prior, established X Men cartoons. Familiar phrases and coined trademarks of the X Men franchise will not be found in these scripts, because the slang and emotion need to be conveyed in a way that makes them accessible and enjoyable to a Japanese audience – AKA: tons of their slang, none of ours. Alas, no “Hey Bub!” from Wolverine here. Admittedly though, the writers do make him a bit snarky in their own way. At one point he sarcastically asks Cyclops if he’s renewed his license since he hasn’t flown the X-jet in a year…and this feels like a truly Wolverine moment. Cyclops assures him that he’s always been a more stable pilot, anyways. After that scene I felt a bit more assured that they’re trying to keep the inner core of these characters intact.

Throughout the episode, characters are introduced in a jumbling manner that is a bit rushed. Again, I have seen this before in so many anime. This haphazard-speedy-introduction of characters is something I always complain about when I watch the first couple of episodes of an anime, so I’m going to give the show a few more chances to prove itself. Beast is thus far my favorite in this version of X Men. He teaches a squid to communicate with humans..and it’s kind of neat.

The weakest character so far – Storm. They just haven’t made her a strong, second-in-command type like they have in other series. New to the series we’ll see Hisako Ichiki, a young Japanese girl from the Tohoku region of Japan. The X Men need to save her from mysterious kidnappers, and her mutant powers have not yet been revealed.

In the end, my assessment of the show is that it’s pretty average so far. It does have some cool action sequences, and the plot shows promise as they begin to talk about “mutant hunting” but I have to admit I’m a bit skeptical about the outlook of this show. Come on Madhouse animation company! Don’t let me down!

You can see the trailer here:

For more info, stay tuned. I’ll be watching each week as more episodes are released.

There have been some concerns of AKIRA fans that a live-action adaptation may never make it to the big screen, but it looks like the project is still moving forward and looking to start production this August!

According to Deadline, director Albert Hughes (The Book of Eli) has received a freshly rewritten script from Steve Kloves (Harry Potter films) and this script has been sent out to a short-list of actors the studio wants in the lead roles.

The story takes place in the rebuilt New Manhattan where a leader of a biker gang saves his friend from a medical experiment. There are two major roles, and I’m told that for Tetsuo, Robert Pattinson, Andrew Garfield and James McAvoy have been given the new script. For the role of Kaneda, the script has been given to Garrett Hedlund, Michael Fassbender, Chris Pine, Justin Timberlake and Joaquin Phoenix. The two leads are expected to come from that group of actors.

Now, in the interest of full disclosure, I am not a huge fan of anime/manga/whatever it’s technically called, but I do recognize the fan base this particular title has and the importance it seems to have in the genre. I have only seen AKIRA once, and that was about ten years ago – I didn’t much care for it. Perhaps a re-watching is in order as I just watched the Cowboy Bebop movie last night and quite enjoyed it. I suppose my point is, I don’t really have strong feelings one way or another about this list of actors. To me, it seems to be a pretty talented group, but I’m not close enough to the source material to make a strong statement one way or the other.

So, all of you Big Shiny Robot readers who are fans of AKIRA, I’m leaving it up to you! Sound off in the comments below and share your thoughts on what you think of this list of actors the studio is looking to tap for Tetsuo and Kaneda!

Famed anime studio Madhouse has the rights to make anime based on various Marvel properties. Iron Man and Wolverine have already been previewed at various cons and on G4TV, which will be airing them in the US. Now, they’ve released character designs for the upcoming X-Men anime, along with a cast list. I am not the anime fan I was in my teenage years, so the cast list doesn’t mean much to me, but here it is for your perusal.

Cyclops: Toshiyuki Morikawa
Wolverine: Rikiya Koyama
Professor X: Katsunosuke Hori
Storm: Aya Hisakawa
Emma Frost: Kaori Yamagata
Jean Grey: Yurika Hino
Hisako Ichiki: Yukari Tamura
Beast: Hideyuki Tanaka

As you can see in the image, notably absent from the cast picture is Jean Grey and Emma Frost. It can be surmised that Grey’s absence is due to the fact that she is deceased as the show begins. Seeing as it’s Jean Grey, and she does have a voice actor, I’d speculate that this won’t be the case for long. The designs themselves are evocative of John Cassaday’s designs from the Astonishing X-Men comics, which is prudent, since Hisako Ichiki (aka Armor) is also from that book. I like the designs, but personally, I think the cleavage window they gave Cyclops make him look a bit… off. At any rate, as seen in the clip below that may just be his “street clothes” as he look more like the Cyclops we know in love in action.

The show is set to premiere in Japan at the beginning of April, with an American showing on G4TV later in the year.

Via Anime News Network.