I found this video amazing; it is an explanation of how they used a real person to create a game character, and in the process invented the combination of technology needed to allow that person to act in real time in the game. Which means that anyone with deep enough pockets (which would have to be very deep, at this point) could schedule time to get themselves scanned and processed, buy the gear including the head mounted camera system, and do the same thing. It allows you to be fully immersed in the 360 VR game environment as yourself, with everyone able to see and hear you, right down to your current facial expression. Of course, it will be a decade or so before the price comes down enough that the rest of us get to try this out, but its good to know it is on the way.
We get two animated western films this week, with The Secret Life of Pets being my vote for the best choice. Mind, Lego Star Wars: Freemaker Adventures is probably also a good option, but since I haven’t seen it yet I have to go with the one I have seen and know I like. The Lego Star Wars set is the first season, totally 13 episode, 22 minutes long each.
Anime starts out with the Live Action Attack on Titan The Movie: Part 2, but I am sad to report I have seen no mention of the Live Action TV show that accompanied the movies. By all reports it wasn’t very good, but being a completest I would still like to see it. Rurouni Kenshin Part II: Kyoto Inferno is also the second Live Action film in a series that started life as a Manga, then an Anime, although this one will have a total of 3 films in the set, the third one being released in January.
Bikini Warriors: The Complete Series is actual Anime, with the emphasis on Fan Service and a premise so silly this definitely qualifies as Comedy. Speaking of Comedy, Fairy Tail: Part 22 has episodes 253 through 265 and all the magical collateral damage we have all come to expect from this series. Little Busters Ex is an OVA spin off of the Little Busters! Ecstasy variation of this anime based on a lite graphical novel that is sometimes a game. Ninja Slayer kicks reason to the curb, and includes some animation that looks like it was done by pre-teens drinking way too much coffee. I am unclear who the target audience is for that one, I only know it does not include me.
Seiyu’s Life: The Complete Series is based on the Doujinshi by voice actress Masumi Asano, and its all about (surprise!) Voice Acting! In fact Seiyu is the Japanese word for a Voice Actor, and there are a number of big-time voice actors doing cameos in this series. If you ever wanted to get an insiders eye view of what it takes to become a successful voice actor in the world of Anime, you need to watch this series.
Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine has been one of my favorite X-Men characters from the beginning, so when we hit March 3rd I will be in the theaters to see Logan, the third film in the set. Pretty much the only thing I didn’t like about any of the movies was the poorly thought out decision to sew Deadpool’s lips shut in the second one. I suppose the had to do that though or risk the characters outrageous dialog pulling attention away from the protagonist and the story they were trying to tell.
This week brings Star Trek Beyond, yet another excellent episode from the rebooted Federation universe. There are all kinds of options on this release including multiple collectors sets with one or more different spaceship models, getting all three rebooted movies in one box set, and various exclusive bonus content add ins combined with cards and artwork, depending on who you decide to pick it up from. It looks like a whole lot of shopping outlets have jumped all over the Star Trek 50th celebration. Nine Lives is a family fantasy with Kevin Spacey as the cat and Christopher Walken as the guy who put him there. The 2016 animation Batman: Return of the Caped Crusaders is based on the 60s TV show and features Adam West, Burt Ward, and Julie Newmar doing the voices for their characters from that series.
In Anime, Snow White with the Red Hair is about an herbalist with unique relationships with the royalty of two countries, and yes this is a medieval fantasy. Psychic School Wars is a 2012 movie about a time traveler awakening psychic abilities in students in the hope of avoiding a future disaster, but he may end up causing one in the present. To Love Ru Darkness 2 is season 4 of that franchise, with devil dolls and alien girls taking over the school.
I am going to be seriously disappointed if this one never gets made, if only for the excellent cartoon versions of each of the characters Stephen Byrne managed to create. That can’t be too much of a surprise, since he is one of the artists actually doing the Serenity comic book with Joss Whedon. I don’t seem to be alone in that opinion; as Grasshopper said in the YouTube comments: If this isn’t real so help me I will hunt you down and MAKE YOU MAKE IT!!! Another good clue might be that Nathan Fillion immediately started following him when this video was posted; we might actually get some new stories out of this!
NPR’s Science Friday is once more honoring Inventor Hedy Lamarr and has posted the segment of their show online for those who missed it. They are speaking with Pulitzer Prize winning author Richard Rhodes about his book, Hedy’s Folly: The Life And Breakthrough Inventions of Hedy Lamarr. And yes, she was also an actress, but one of her inventions helped hid Allied communications from the Nazi’s and is still used today in blue tooth and wifi networks: Spread Spectrum broadcasting with frequency hopping.