The one that gets my vote this week is Epic, an animated fantasy from the folks who did Ice Age and Rio. They did pretty good on the voice actor department to, with a cast that includes Collin Farrell, Chris O’Dowd, and Beyonce to name a few. If you’re in the mood for something darker, the no budget film No Sanctuary will also be out in at least some theaters.
Movies this week have a genre option, although Lego Batman: The Movie DC Super Heroes Unite can be considered as a commercial for the game of the same name. 2011’s An Assassin is being released in North America this week for those who enjoy Asian action, and if you prefer your action movies in English Parker is probably the way to go.
In TV True Blood: The Complete Fifth Season continues the twisted goings on around America’s favorite telepathic waitress and her never ending collection of non-human boyfriends. Saving Hope: The Complete First Season is also out this week, for those looking for something a bit more serious from their weekly dose of the supernatural. Finally, the funniest secret agent series since Get Smart is out with it’s next round: Spy: Series 2 out of the UK. Sadly, it looks like they have cancelled it before it made it into season 3.
In Anime, Gunbuster 2: Diebuster is the story of Nono, a girl who wants to be a space pilot, but ends up spending her days working the space port diner. Until the monsters attack, when she becomes key to saving the world. Also this week Lupin the 3rd: Green vs Red is an OVA series in which a hoard of Lupin imitators descend on Tokyo to become a one man crime wave.
Another OVA worth watching is Tenchi Muyo! War on Geminar, another fun entry in the Tenchi saga. This time the Princess has kidnapped Kenshi (Tenchi’s half brother) to her home planet to be trained on combat mechas and serve as her sauna attendant. If he can’t win the war he will be stuck scrubbing backs the rest of his life. It is being released in two parts of 7 OVA episodes per part, but the episodes are 45 minutes long each so they do add up to a decent story length.
Two last mentions, not Sci-Fi or Fantasy but fun shows in their own way are K-ON! The Movie, and Love <3 Love?, because you got to make room for silly fun sometimes.
I am really looking forward to the new Marvel TV series Agent of SHIELD, and this trailer just kind of helps that along. ABC signed up to carry the series this fall, adding it to the Tuesday night lineup. And Joss is doing it! TV needs more Joss!
The Locus Awards have been handed out for the last 33 years, and often predict who will end up being nominated each year for the Hugo Awards, the prime fan chosen set, and the Nebula Awards, the main industry selected prize group. I should probably also mention that the Nebula Awards will be handed out next weekend in San Jose, CA. for this year. The reason I bring this up is that Worlds Without End posted a wonderful icon/graphics-driven listing of the Locus Fantasy Awards from the beginning on. As usual with such listings, you should look through it for books and stories you might have missed, because these represent some of the best tales created in the last handful of decades.
Looks like the Daisuki streaming animation site is now live! Because, you know, I didn’t have enough online streaming services to watch anime on already, so I needed this. If, like me, you need more streaming anime in your life, sign up today and check them out. Also, starting today as part of their launch festivities, they are giving away a boatload of prizes of various sorts, you can pick one and apply to win each day.
These are just amazingly detailed works from Jason B. Thompson, an American Manga artist (yes, there is a difference between Manga, Graphics Novels, and Comics) who has put together a few tasty interpretations of some classic H.P. Lovecraft stories. The White Ship was the first one I looked at, and I knew instantly I would have to read them all. Next I hit The Doom That Came to Sarnath, and again I was sucked right in. These are from the Dream Cycle, as are all of his fully realized stories, but you can find his interpretations of other Lovecraft characters and settings in his Lovecraft Sketches section. Thanks to the folks at io9 for the heads up on this one.