The Gundam Fever Project created a simulated Gundam visit to a Tokyo office building and played it for the unsuspecting office workers. They say this is just the first in a series of such pranks. Thanks to Otaku USA Magazine for the heads up on this one.
Her opened in very limited release back in December, this week it goes into wide release, after winning a number of awards. The Legend of Hercules also comes out this Friday, and it looks like they took some pains to keep it close to the original story line.
In somewhat more limited release is EVANGELION: 3.0 – You Can (Not) Redo; mostly it will only be playing for one day in each theater, but there are a bunch of US and Canadian theaters on the list. Two of the theaters are within driving distance for me, I can’t wait to see the latest chapter in the rebuild of the franchise on the big screen.
The world just can’t seem to have enough Gundam, and the next series to launch is GunPla Builder, a tribute to all who build and fight the Gundam Plastic Model class of Bots. It is coming to TV Tokyo this October. Thanks to Danny Choo for the heads up on this one.
If you fly into Tokyo’s Haneda Airport, pretty soon you will be greeted by a life size Gundam as you land; the footage here is from the Odaiba Gundam, also life size, which has been up and running all summer. The amazing videos are put together by DarwinFish, who has some great gear and a wonderful grasp of time lapse photography techniques. To see more of his work be sure to hit his You Tube portal, and thanks for the heads up on this one go to Crunchyroll.
Epic is a fun animated adventure from the team that does the Ice Ages franchise. I missed it in the theaters and am looking forward to finally seeing it. Scary Movie 5 is the latest from that series. By now you must know if you like those or not; I always consider them silly fun.
I didn’t find anything that caught my attention in TV this week, but there are a goodly collection of Anime coming out. Being a long time cyberpunk fan, I am excited that Ghost in the Shell: Arise will be out, but not on the shelves. It is only available as a Limited Edition Import from Japan, rather than licensing it to an American distributor to manufacture and release. Add to that the fact that this Blue-Ray is limited to only 2,400 copies in the US plus is the Japanese Collectors Edition, and you wind up with a very expensive 58 minute program. It is still tempting, but I am going to have to wait for a more cost effective release, probably in 6 months to a year.
Also out this week High School DxD doesn’t have anything to do with Dungeons and Dragons, but rather Demons and Devils, one of which is apparently fallen angels while the other is not. It is also from the studio that made Ikki Tousen, so expect some sex and violence. As an example, it starts with our male protagonist going on his first date, only to have said date turn into a monster and kill him. Mobile Suit Gundam UC comes in Part 1 and Part 2, each running about 2 hours, and I am having a hard time when I try to visualize the Unicorn Gundam. For me the words Unicorn and Gundam do not have a lot to do with each other. I am sure I will understand when I get to watch the video.
Nura: Rise of the Yokai Clan continues that epic spiritual battle, now against the 88 Demons of Shikoku. In The Legend of the Legendary Heroes, available as a single boxed set for the first time, Ferris and Ryner face an entire countryside filled with their enemies, all armed with mystical weapons. Finally, in Tsuritama, the new kid in school is an alien. Who would have suspected that in an Anime?
And remember: When tanks are outlawed, only outlaws will have tanks! Yes, they are re-releasing Masamune Shirow’s New Dominion Tank Police, an absolute classic in the collateral damage mayhem category.