This isn’t the first Live Action Attack On Titan trailer, but it is the first one that includes visuals on the 3D Maneuver Gear which is the core of the defense groups arsenal, and has helped make the animation such a success. Then they did it not once, but twice. I am so ready for this production set, which will be released as a theatrical presentation (i.e. Movie) on August 1st, a short series of weekly shown TV shows covering the space between, and then the concluding Movie on September 19th. The release dates I am quoting are all for Japan, but with the world-wide excitement the original Manga and Anime have generated, I have very high hopes one of the streaming services will pick up on the TV series, and someone like American Multi-Cinema (AMC) (founded in 1920 Kansas City, Missouri, now owned by China) will carry the films. Keeping my fingers crossed, at least.
The Planetary Society had a Kickstarter goal of $200,000 to fund their LightSail Project. When they met that, they went for a stretch goal of $450,000, to use the extra money to educate scientists and engineers about how the combination of CubeSats and LightSails will change the exploration of the Solar System, making orbital observation missions to any of the planets cost about the same as buying a new car. When they met that and the money kept coming in, their next stretch goal was to educate the public about how unlimited free energy from the sun will provide CubeSat propulsion and revolutionize access to space for low-cost citizen projects. They passed that goal, and the contributions will be open for the next two days. If you haven’t already gotten in on The People’s Spacecraft, you have 2 days left to make your support known and get in on the rewards for your chosen donation level.
This week we get a whole new level of dysfunctional fantasy with Ted 2, a comedy going places the first one didn’t dare to. Ted and Tami-Lynn want to have a baby, but to qualify, Ted will have to prove he’s a person in a court of law. It is basically Heinlein’s Jerry Was A Man dressed up with outrageous gobs of raunchy humor. If you prefer your comedy a bit less raunchy you might want to check out the award winning Australian film The Little Death this weekend instead. At least I think it is a bit less raunchy, but I know it isn’t genre; and the trailer had me laughing, so I figured I should mention it here.
I couldn’t find any genre movies or TV shows this week other than re-releases, but there is a TV show that comes close. Ripper Street: Season 3 is close to being a Steampunk police procedural, and so becomes worth mentioning. An actual Steampunk police procedural, and my favorite of the type, is Murdoch Mysteries, complete with guest stars Nikola Tesla, H.G. Wells, Arthur Conan Doyle, Thomas Edison, Mark Twain, and many more. Sadly, that show is not having a new release this week. Another non-genre release worth mentioning is the Rolling Stones From the Vault: The Marquee Club Live in 1971 if you are looking for a taste of classic rock.
In Anime we do noticeably better, starting with Nyaruko: Crawling with Love!: Season 1 in a limited release. By limited I mean only one US store seems to be stocking it for its initial release, in this case RightStuf. The story of the Soul Reapers continues this week with the Bleach: Season 25 Uncut Box Set, bringing episodes 343 through 354 to the shelves. The currently streaming episode is 366, so this release finally puts us right up to date on the disc production.
Hayate the Combat Butler: Season 4 AKA Cuties is also out this week. This fantasy series (how can a Combat Butler be anything but a fantasy?) has a goodly balance of action and comedy, and if you haven’t been following it you can start from the beginning at Crunchyroll and stream your way up to the current season. Finally Origin: Spirits of the Past is coming out in a S.A.V.E. edition, allowing you to pick it up for around $12.
This time around we are going to check out a few tunes from the band Good On The Reel, who released their 7th mini album just a few weeks ago. The first track is The King that was not accustomed to Shichiyo, posted this past May, the second is from last November and their 6th mini album, while the third is from their 2013 4th mini album Marivuron of Four Seasons. Then just one more, older still, from their previous record company and released in 2011. I think this band shows a lot of promise, so I wanted to make you aware of them so you could make up your own mind.
The wonderful animated short Brain Divided was put together by Josiah Haworth, Joon Shik Song and Joon Soo Song. This looks a lot like the new Pixar film Inside Out, but according to the Brain Divided Facebook page, they were developed at the same time and totally independent of each other. Enjoy!