Blood+
| The 2000 short movie Blood was so awesome that it 1) made Quentin Tarantino hire its animators, Production I.G, for Kill Bill’s equally violent animation sequence, and 2) made the eternal tale of schoolgirls fighting vampires seem new again. This long-awaited TV series is not necessarily a sequel, but it does star the original movie’s heroine, Saya (with a makeover and amnesia), and plenty of monstrous vampires, called Chiropterans, for her to slay with her trusty katana sword, natch. Sony picked up the rights to the TV series but hasn’t yet announced an American-TV release date. |
Ergo Proxy
| In a utopian yet exceedingly dark future, Ergo Proxy star Real Mayor hangs with an android to try and solve a supposedly impossible murder mystery, which leads to a rather gothic conspiracy. Evanescence lead singer Amy Lee isn’t trying to solve a murder — but you’d be forgiven for thinking so, since the be-gothed vocalist looks just like Mayor. Hey, Radiohead dug the cartoon enough to make their song “Paranoid Android” its closing theme. Although nothing has been signed, this series seems bound for Adult Swim. |
Nana
| Two girls named Nana happen upon each other on their first night in Tokyo and decide to move in together. One Nana is a high-strung, naive, impossible romantic; the other Nana, a badass rock star in the making. Sure, it’s a sexy Odd Couple, but calling it that doesn’t do justice to the funny, accurate, and shockingly entertaining tale of two friends trying to deal with relationships — awful and otherwise — in modern Tokyo. The original manga series is so popular in Japan that it spawned not only this cartoon, but also two live-action movies. |
Bleach
| Bleach is kin to Naruto in that they both appear in Japan’s mega-popular weekly comic anthology Shonen Jump. High-school student Ichigo is irritated by his ability to see ghosts — and he grows more irritated when he suddenly gets drafted as a warrior to fight evil spirits called Hollows. Like Naruto, there’s a constant influx of new drama, new baddies, and new powers to fight with which to fight them. Bleach is set to debut on Adult Swim in September. |
Afro Samurai
| The title says it all: one man, one Afro, and one sword travel a violent but hip trail to avenge a father’s death. Probably. On the way, he’ll most likely fight bizarre bad guys, including a sword-wielding dude in a bear costume, possibly some giant mutants, and definitely hordes and hordes of doomed samurai fodder. A truly international-minded anime, Samuel Jackson will provide the voice for Afro in this cartoon and star as the titular badass in a live-action adaptation slated for the future. The cartoon will air this fall on Spike TV. |
Robert Bricken is the editor of Anime Insider magazine.
Anime Boston 2006 | May 26–28 | Hynes Convention Center | 900 Boylston Street, Boston
On the Web
Anime Boston: http://www.animeboston.com/
Naruto:http://www.naruto.com/
Fullmetal Alchemist:http://www.fullmetalalchemist.com/
Samurai 7: http://www.samurai7.tv/
Zatch Bell:http://www.zatch-bell.com/index2.html
Chrono Crusade:www.advfilms.com/titles/chronocrusade/
Blood+: http://www.blood.tv/
Ego Proxy: http://www.ergoproxy.com/
Nana: http://www.ntv.co.jp/nana/
Bleach: http://www.tv-tokyo.co.jp/anime/bleach/
Afro Samurai: http://www.afrosamurai.com/
Email the author
Robert Bricken: Rbricken@wizarduniverse.com
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