Not since The Big O has there been an anime mecha series that totally redefines the anime mecha series. Most, throughout the last10 years have been carbon copies of Neon Genesis Evangelion. But not this one.
Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann takes place in a fictional future where humans have been forced underground and live in isolated subterranean villages. They have no contact with the surface world or other villages (assuming they exist).
Giha Village is the home of Simon, a fourteen year-old digger who discovers a special drill key deep in the ground, and is recruited by an eccentric fellow orphan named Kamina into his group. Kamina dreams of the surface world, which he visited as a child with his father, but had to return home because he was too weak to survive. Read More...
Below: Opening Titles for Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann.
Lawrence Craft's life was tough enough without the wolf goddess he found in his wagon. He's a traveling merchant buying low and selling high in and around a European society just this side of medieval. The church is showing its might everywhere he looks. The old, pagan ways are being swept away in favor of the all-mighty organized religion. This could be trouble for independents. Lawrence Craft needs to watch his mouth, and keep a low profile.
That's not going to be easy with Horo in tow. She showed up just as Lawrence was leaving the village of Pascoe. They used to pray to her over there. She responded by providing them with a healthy harvest of wheat. That changed with the influx of missionaries. (New techniques of cultivation helped out as well.) Now Horo is considered nothing more than a superstition, a silly game to play around the bushels.
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When a deep space mining operation discovers a mysterious alien Marker they believe they have finally found evidence of our creators. However, the removal of the Marker from its resting place and brought on the ship unleashes a horrific alien species, which had been entombed within a remote planet, and for the crew of the USG Ishimura, life just became a living hell as a desperate fight for survival ensues.
Their screams CAN be heard in space — but only the slashers are listening. So begins Dead Space Downfall, the animated prequel for EA's upcoming third-person action horror game Dead Space being released for Xbox360 and PS3. Imagine if you will "Resident Evil", but on a spaceship with tight quarters and very little room to run. Read More...
Persepolis
Animation DVD Review by Brian Cirulnick
Persepolis, named after the ceremonial capital of the Persian Empire, tells the story of a girl growing up in Iran during the Islamic Revolution.
Based on creator Marjane Satrapi's own life - although in interviews in the special features, she is careful to say that this is not a biography, but a story - the movie follows young Marjane through the pain of her uncle's execution, her fears when she must move to Austria at age 14, her return to Iran after high school, and her realization at age 24 that she must leave again, this time forever.
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The only question to ask here is — what took them so long to get this out? I mean, duh, Afro Samurai was only *the* biggest event of last year for anime fans, and Spike TV delivered an excellent, high-octane, tour-de-force of butt-kicking awesomeness.
We can only assume this is being geared to prep us for the second TV series or the movie, but nevertheless, we're happy to have it, as the game is an excellent, high-octane, tour-de-force of butt-kicking awesomeness.
The most amazing aspect of this game is the look, which is actually more painterly and artistically styled than the anime series itself was, with an almost airbrushed, watercolor, designer-marker feel, which is quite attractive and really shows off the graphics capabilities of the Xbox360 and PS3. Giggity...
Beautiful is the only word to describe Hotel Africa. Maybe I'll throw in the adjective, superbly, right before it but the extra word would require me to use more oxygen than what I have in my lungs after Hotel knocked the breath out of me. The first few pages would ensnare you even before the story truly starts. The artwork that exists outside of the story will have you staring at it for hours. Read More...
In the Tokyo of the future, a second Japanese economic bubble has propelled the city into a feeding frenzy of desire. The epitome of this new ethos is the Roppongi Club, and elite society serving Tokyo's most privileged citizens with fantasies beyond their wildest dreams. Read More...
Super Soldier Serum. Every comic book fan worth his salt knows its potential, and its hazards. Administered properly, you get Captain America. Administered improperly, you get The Man Thing. Dr. Richard Lyndon Wymond was commissioned by the United States Government to take this idea off the comic page, and bring it to reality. He developed a nanite version of said serum at Wytech Labs. The Super Soldier Serum was a four-color fantasy. The Zetta Serum has become a hard hitting reality. Read More...
Below are a few cosplay shots from the New York Anime Festival from last month:
