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Column by Scott Green
First Teaser for Ghibli's Borrowers
Anime Nation and Manganimation have captured the teaser for Studio Ghibli's Karigurashi no Arrietty (The Borrower Arrietty). Key animator for Hayao Miyaki's Spirited Away, Howl's Moving Castle and Ponyo, Hiromasa Yonebayashi will direct the anime adaptation of Mary Norton's novel. The video showcases the movie's theme, performed by Cecile Corbel. Nausicaa has translated statistics from a recent Ghibli blog post concerning the status of the film, planned for Japanese release July 17, 2010. * Key animation: 547 cuts (32,000 pieces) completed - 55% * Animation: 375 cuts (24,000pieces) - 37% * Painting: 250 cuts - 25% * Background painting: 350 cuts - 35% * Completed cuts: 212 cuts - 21% (~19 minutes) Total running time will be a ~100 minutes. * Chief animator: Akihiko Yamashita, Ai Kagawa * Animation check: Kaori Fujii * Art director: Yoji Takeshige, Noboru Yoshida * Cinematography: Atsushi Okui * Color designer: Naomi Mori (She debuts with this film) * Sound effect and Music: Kouji Kasamatsu
A Glimpse at Live Action Gantz
Shukan Young Jump Magazine recently include a look at what to expect from the live action adaptation of Hiroya Oku's teensploitation action manga Gantz. Kazunari Ninomiya (Black in TekkonKinkreet, Letters from Iwo Jima) stars as Kei Kurono, a disgruntled teen, who upon finding himself standing next to a long separated childhood friend (Ken'ichi Matsuyama, L of Death Note) is guilted onto a subway track in an effort to save a homeless man. The would-be good deed is punished when an oncoming express graphically dispatches the two young men. Our thinks-he's-smart teenage malcontent is carbon copied in the moment before this nasty death and reconstituted with other recently resurrected in a room with a black sphere. The mystery ball gives its subject resurrectees black, skin-tight suits, sci-fi weapons and the instructions to go hunt down one species of alien or another.Manga creator Oku has declared himself a Die Hard fan, and Gantz pulls of a similar trick to that movie's concept of a person with regular vulnerability thrust into abject peril. In this case it's unprepared people being thrown into a first person shooter style urban bug hunt. Shinsuke Sato (Princess Blade) will be directing the two part adaptation, scheduled for release in the spring and winter of 2011. Dark Horse has been releasing the manga in North America. Reviews can be found at Volume 1 Volume 2 Volumes 3 and 4 Volume 5 Volume 6 Volume 7 Volume 8 Ichiro Itano (Violence Jack, also famous for the Itano Circus effect) directed a Gonzo (Afro Samurai) produced anime adaptation of the manga, release in North America by ADV Films.
North American Haruhi Season 3 Details Solidified
The first season of The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya (reviewed here) perfectly wooed anime fans, complementing them and giving them something to talk about. The second season was a bit more bewildering and/or experimental... take your pick. Specifically, it lit an online firestorm with Endless Eight, an eight episode stretch of anime covering the same summer break, reanimated with minimal variations. Anime Vice notes that Bandai Entertainment will be handling this challenging release by putting it out directly to a box set.
