Finally, Netflix has announced a release date for its long awaited live-action Cowboy Bebop series, and it’s November 19, 2021. Developed by André Nemec and written by Christopher Yost, the series stars John Cho (Spike Spiegel), Mustafa Shakir, Daniella Pineda (Faye Valentine), Elena Satine (Julia), and Alex Hassell (Vicious). This reboot was actually teased back in 2017 before being picked up by Netflix a year later, so the 10-episode series could be expanded further, depending on its reception. Read more to see the opening credits and scene shots.
Revealed at Anime Expo Lite this past weekend, the “Star Wars: Visions” anthology is set to be released on September 22nd for Disney+ subscribers. Seven of the top Japanese anime studios collaborated with Lucasfilm for the short films, each expressing their own rendering of “Star Wars” universe with unique animation and storytelling styles. From the very first film, stories told in Star Wars galaxy have counted Japanese mythology and the films of Akira Kurosawa among their many influences. Read more for a video and additional information.
First, there was this life-sized Gundam in Yokohama, Japan. Now, Shanghai has gotten its own version that can be found at Mitsui Shopping Park’s LaLaport in the Pudong New Area. Standing 59-feet-tall, it was built to celebrate the launch of the Gundam Base gunpla store opening. The cornerstone-laying event was held on Monday, while the opening ceremony will be held on May 28 for the public as well as being live streamed on Bilibili. Read more for two videos and additional information.
For those who don’t follow manga, Demon Slayer: Kimetsu No Yaiba is basically a series that follows Tanjiro Kamado, a young boy who wants to become a demon slayer after his family is slaughtered and his younger sister Nezuko is turned into a demon. Since it was released in 2016, the series has become one of the best-selling manga series ever, so Lenovo partnered with publisher Shueisha to create a gaming chair. Read more for another picture and additional information.
Photo credit: 7Shine7
Japan already has a 60-foot-tall Gundam robot, and now, they’re following up with a life-sized Godzilla theme park attraction on Awaji Island’s Nijigen no Mori theme park. When completed, it will become the world’s first permanent, to-scale replica of Godzilla, measuring 65 feet tall, 82 feet wide, and 180 feet long. However, the character’s lower body will be “hidden” underground and house several games as well as attractions. Read more for additional pictures and information.
Researchers from several Chinese universities have developed a machine learning framework, called AnimeGAN: A Novel Lightweight GAN for Photo Animation, that turns normal photographs into anime-style backgrounds. This AI-powered network combines neural style transfer and generative adversarial networks (GANs) to achieve fast and high-quality results with a light framework, thus helping artists save time when creating the lines, textures, colors, and shadows. Read more for two videos and additional information.
Photo credit: BigSkyCastle
Studio Ghibli is best known for its animated feature films, television commercials, and video game collaborations, but what if they teamed up with Nintendo for a The Legend of Zelda game? Since that partnership has not happened yet, one fan decided to take things into their own hands by creating a Breath of the Wild poster drawn in the style of the Hayao Miyazaki films. Read more for a video and additional information.
Director of Bandai Namco Holdings Inc. Yasuo Miyakawa, whose subsidiary owns the Gundam company, always wanted to build a life-sized robot that actually moved. Fast forward to this July, and his dream has become a reality at the Gundam Factory Yokohama. The mecha is based on the RX-78-2 Gundam from the anime series. Read more for a video taking its first steps and additional information.
The all-new OPPO Ace2 x EVA Limited Edition smartphone has just been released, and is modeled after the anime series Neon Genesis Evangelion, complete with a unique white capsule-like box. It features a 6.5-inch (1080×2400 pixels) full-HD+ AMOLED display, Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 processor, 12GB of RAM, 256GB of internal storage, a quad camera setup (48MP main camera with f/1.7 aperture; 8MP ultra-wide with f/2.2 aperture; 2MP portrait; 2MP monochrome lens with f/2.4 aperture), and a front-facing 16-megapixel selfie camera with f/2.4 aperture. Read more for two videos, including a hands-on look, and additional information.
Netflix and Hasbro have teamed up with Rooster Teeth to bring War For Cybertron to fans around the world in an all-new original series to launch in 2020 – complete with a new animation look and style that presents the robots like you’ve never seen them before. It begins in the final hours of the civil war between the Autobots and Decepticons, which has torn apart their home planet of Cybertron. Read more for the trailer and additional information.