Heat Seeker -This Destined Hit Leaves Us Troubled

THIS DESTINED HIT LEAVES US TROUBLED
No...no...no.  What's in the box!?  What's in the box!? No! Really, please tell us what's in the box!
Fullmetal Alchemist: Milos no Sei-Naru Hoshi which is slated to open in July 2, 2011 in Japan is giving us sleepless nights.  This new film being directed by Kzuya Murata and scripted by Yuichi Shinbo was the last thing we expected when the FMA: Brotherhood series finished airing last year.  The series just tied up all the loose ends perfectly...and more importantly, it was faithful to the manga ending. (The manga was written and drawn by Hiromu Arakawa)

Looking at all the online speculation surrounding this anime feature film, a lot of people seem to have a lot of doubts about the quality of the storyline. And since this anime is no longer dependent on Arakawa's original plot, it gets a 50-50 chance of being well-received by die hard fans.

Like a lot of the other FMA fans, we're also passengers of the "anime-must-stick-to-the-original-manga-plot" train of thought.  What is Studio Bones basing the film's storyline on?  We have no idea. 

So, if you know what's in the box, kindly give us a hint.

Randomimity - Derezzed To Kill

DEREZZED TO KILL
Tron: Legacy may not have lived up to our expectations in terms of thrills and spills but it still rocked the nostalgia boat all the way to the end credits. Seeing Jeff Bridges and Bruce Boxlietner reprise their roles after 29 years was enough to do that. (Yes, we were old enough to appreciate the first Tron movie when it came out in 1982.)

But what really caught our attention in this CG-on-'roids sequal, aside from Quorra, was the musical score. It was done by French electronic duo, Daft Punk. Both Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo just blew us away with their music. Since we got hold of the soundtrack two weeks ago, it's been pretty ugly. Imagine us with headphones on, listening to Derezzed wide-eyed with dots for irises--and saliva dripping from our mouths.

Daft Punk just takes you on a total ride with their signature sound--which was beefed up with a couple of surprising orchestral scores.  If you find the chance, get your hands on the original OST  pronto! It makes for great driving music.

What else can we say? The two Interstella 5555 anime vets can still kill the audience with their robot rock.

Heat Seeker - Shinkai Trailer Causes Whiplash

SHINKAI TRAILER CAUSES WHIPLASH

It happened two months ago.  It was past midnight and I was peacefully surfing on my laptop when I came upon a 30 second Youtube video trailer of director Makoto Shinkai’s Children Who Chase Lost Voices Deep Below.  My jaw dropped so hard it broke my keyboard.

You see, I was a bit detached from all the Shinkai buzz for several months.

Besides, after 5 Centimeters Per Second, I wasn’t expecting his next opus to come out so soon.
(Only because I thought he’d have a hard time topping his 5 Centimeters Per Second)

 

Now, enough excuses.  So, Shinkai’s new trailer ended up on my laptop screen. As I played the video, the first thing I saw was his trademark backgrounds—rich with emotion-inducing detail.  In the first few seconds, I was able to pick up that the protagonist was a little girl in search of someone…oh wait, I read all that in the subtitles.  Anyway, with stunning scenes and the dramatic score, it simply felt like Makoto Shinkai all the way.  That was until the video hit 17 seconds on the counter.  And then it happened. 

The scene of a man with glasses talking to a woman surrounded by mystical waves came up.  A second later, I saw a scene of an armored man slashing armored giants with a blade.  After that, it was the heroin in a free-fall inside, what seemed to be, the ruins of a castle or fortress. As the shockwave of these images hit me, my neck muscles gave an involuntary and powerful jerk.  This caused my whiplash.  I was rendered unconscious for days. 

All that really happened.  It really did…in my mind, anyway. 

Fine, so I did do a double take. 

And that was only because Makoto Shinkai has been known for being the master of melancholy.  His stories have always played around the themes of unrequited love and of the pain vast distances bring to relationships.  He has executed all these themes in both slice-of-life and sci-fi settings. So, seeing the fantasy elements in the Shinkai trailer was indeed something new.

I’ve also come across some trailer reviews online where the plot is mentioned.  But even with their sources and speculations, I’m not quite sure what to make of Children Who Chase Lost Voices Deep Below.

Fantasy or not, one thing’s for sure. This film’s gonna hurt so good.

--Mori

MORI & NITO'S FOLDED POSTCARD

Why is it faded and full of folds? We've been planning on doing the Anime Institute blog for the past two years. We always knew we'd officially start in 2011. So, we made this postcard early on--lost it in some pile and found it again.  Shabby as this card may seem, it bears a lot of meaning. Every new crease, fold and stain shows us that we can find new things in the old. That's one way of looking at the world this 2011.

Ah...that sounded cool but the truth is we needed to come up with a quick New Year greeting that matched this blog's theme.

You can do a lot in an hour and a half.

Happy New Year, folks!

Kindly bear with us while we finish setting up this blog. We are still finalizing the podcast schedule and the special features for the year. Thank you.

MOST AWAITED ANIME TO LIVE ACTION MOVIE 2010

Are we there yet? Are we there yet? Are we there yet?

Planet Iscandar may still be far, far away but the Space Battleship Yamato
live action movie is finally here. Well, in Japan at least. It was released in theaters December 1, 2010.  The film was directed by Takashi Yamazaki under Toho studios.

Space Battleship Yamato

Extended clips for your viewing pleasure


Sure there are reviews circulating the net about the film but resist the temptation.  DO NOT READ THEM.  The Space Battleship Yamato is such an iconic anime series, it deserves our respect.

We first caught a glimpe of the anime version in the late 70s, which ran through to the early 80s.  Of course, what aired in our neck of the woods was the dubbed US version called Starblazers.

The anime was written and directed by Leiji Matsumoto--the man responsible for Captain Harlock and Galaxy Express 999.

We do hope the movie sticks to the orginal plot. 

We'd love to give a brief summary about the anime series but we rather you guys listen to the opening English dub theme song.  Just click play on the clip below.

Starblazers opening sequence


Star Blazers anime lyrics!  Make sure you're alone or
bring your laptop with  you and hide.  Play the clip and sing along!

We're off to outer space
We're leaving Mother Earth
To save the human race
Our Star Blazers

Searching for a distant star
Heading off to Iscandar
Leaving all we love behind
Who knows what dangers we'll find

We must be strong and brave
Our home we've got to save
If we don't in just one year
Mother Earth will disappear

Fighting with the Gamilons
We won't stop until we've won
Then we'll return and when we arrive
The Earth will survive

With our Star Blazers