Madhouse Earns My Forgiveness With Epic New Film

I have immense respect for the prolific anime studio Madhouse, but their offering this season has been a total disappointment. Highschool of the Dead is one of the worst anime I have ever seen; a veritable ordeal to watch. If it wasn’t for my duties as chief editor of this site, I would have dropped it weeks ago. The K-ON!! finale might have been a wrenching roller-coaster of emotion, but the last episode of HOTD is what brought me to tears… tears of joy, that is. I’m so very happy that I don’t have to watch another episode of that garbage.

So, as you can imagine, I’ve been pretty disappointed in Madhouse lately… that is, until I saw this little trailer for something called Redline.

Freakin’ epic.

Seriously, this is one of the most visually stunning anime projects I have ever seen. I especially love the bits which display an aesthetic I can only describe as “LSD cyberpunk.” I think this film is worth watching for the animation alone. Madhouse, you have redeemed yourself.

You can learn more about Redline at ANN.

WTF? Panty & Stocking Trailer Revealed

Ladies and gentlemen, may I present… the official trailer for Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt.

I’m not sure what I just watched, but I know it was AWESOME. After seeing this trailer, Sheentaku on Twitter described this show as “an adult version of The Powerpuff Girls,” an assessment I agree with wholeheartedly. It appears that my earlier prediction was correct; Panty & Stocking is indeed a Gainax-style tribute to the great American cartoons of the 90s. The implications of this are clear. In my humble opinion, this is the must-watch show of the 2010 Fall anime season.

Notice the audio track may not be suitable for the work /open public environment.

Review: Shiki 01

Gastly used Mean Look!

First of all I should probably say ‘Hello again’ and ‘Sorry’, since I’ve not posted since Christmas and even then only to wish the season’s greeting. I apologise to all you fans of me out there (none of you, I suspect) and hope you enjoy this, my comeback review!

The few of you that know me may realise that the imagery present in the trailer for Shiki immediately appealed to my tastes, and unless I watched at least some of it my brain would fall out. Luckily for me, the first episode aired a few days ago and I managed to watch it. What I had been expecting was an anime packed with wonder and the Higurashi-style creepiness I love. What I had not been expecting was a documentary on a stuck-up schoolgirl and her over-inflated ego. Granted, the creepy was still there in small portions, but not nearly enough for my fix.

You can read my first impressions in full after the usual jump.

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Bandai Announces English “Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya” DVD Release

That’s right, True Believers! Bandai has released an English-subtitled trailer for The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya which promises the film will be “Coming soon to DVD.”

Mikuru looks great in that skimpy Santa outfit! *drool*

The DVD will come with both subtitles and a dub. However, if you just can’t wait to see Disappearance, it’s showing for one night only on June 24th at the Laemmel Sunset 5 cinema in Los Angles.

While you’re here, why not check out a sneak preview of the latest Ghibli film The Borrower Arrietty?

Excelsior!

Minori Chihara Sings For Haruhi Movie

We are really getting close to the cinema showing date for the up and coming film The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya and the trickle of news items is starting to increase. Minori Chihara, the voice behind Yuki Nagato, has appeared in a six minute long video of her song Yasashii Bōkyaku. While I personally find the song a bit whiny, the video depicts the scenes in Tokyo upon which the Suzumiya series were based in and around. Examples include the hill rising towards the school, the entrance area, the old clubhouse, etc.

Also, in other news Bandai Entertainment has licensed the DVD’s of the second season of Haruhi for the USA. Unfortunately, this also means another dub into English; a waste of time and effort which I frown upon. How anyone can listen and then favour the English dub over the original (and superior) Japanese casting is beyond me.

–Via ANN

Shojo Fight PV

I’m not usually into sports series, but for some reason Shojo Fight has caught my eye. Maybe it’s the character designs… in any case, I’m planning on reading the manga when I get some free time, and I’m also looking forward to the half-hour OVA that’s shipping with the sixth volume on October 23rd. The fact that Production I.G. is involved has me even more intrigued. Anyhoo, here’s the PV.

If you’re a fansubber, please translate this when it comes out!

Black Rock Shooter and Project Diva Trailers Released

The first trailer for the Hatsune Miku / Studio Ordet collaboration Black Rock Shooter has been posted on YouTube… and it looks AWESOME.

As you may recall from one of our previous posts, Black Rock Shooter is an anime project being developed by Yutaka Yamamoto’s Studio Ordet, and is based on the popular Hatsune Miku song of the same name. It is currently slated for a Spring 2010 release. The project will be directed by Shinobu Yoshioka, an episode director from Haruhi, Lucky Star and Kannagi, as well as one of the many Kyoto Animation employees who left the company in 2007 and joined Ordet.

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CGI Sci-Fi To Trailer Revealed

The second trailer for Fumihiko Sori’s To has been released, giving us a taste of what the director of the Appleseed film has in store for us now.

Kinda puts Gonzo’s CG to shame, doesn’t it? The original 90-second trailer can be viewed below.

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