mamoru oshii
TO ANNWN AND BACK: A Word With GARM WARS: THE LAST DRUID Star Melanie St. Pierre
Alas, having seen a few Ghost In The Shell films and the 2001 movie Avalon aren’t enough. Suffice it to say though, he’s a proven filmmaker and highly versatile at his craft. Moreover, it’s not everyday I get to interview a star of one of his films, and so to have the distinct pleasure of being able to communicate with actress Melanie St. Pierre and to share her perspective on her new role in Oshii’s newest CGI-hybrid sci-fi epic, Garm Wars: The Last Druid, is a rather humbling to make note of.
THE NEXT GENERATION: PATLABOR – TOKYO WAR Gets A Director's Cut And A New Trailer!
Actress Mano Erina returns along with Fukushi Seiji, Oota Rina, Chiba Shigeru and Kakei Toshio. Watch the new trailer below ahead of the film’s October 10 release!
THE NEXT GENERATION: PATLABOR – TOKYO WAR Launches Its Assault With Two Promo Spots!
The past two years have been nothing short of electric for the cast and crew behind the 12-episode roll-out of Oshii Mamoru’s live-action series, The Next Generation: Patlabor. Episodes are currently streaming online via various Otaku sites, and next month, the feature film culminating the show following its announcement in 2013 will finally release in the form of The Next Generation: Patlabor – Tokyo War.
SYNOPSIS:
At the end of the 20th century, there was a rise in crime due to the illegal use of Labors, humanoid robots specifically designed for heavy industrial work. To combat these new Labor crimes, the Metropolitan Police Department created the Special Vehicle Section 2 Patrol Labor unit.
But by the early 21st century, the decline in Labor crimes has many thinking the so-called “Patlabor” program is no longer necessary and should be discontinued due to its high cost and maintenance. As Special Vehicle Section 2 faces demobilization, a state-of-the-art combat helicopter is stolen from the Self-Defense Forces by terrorists who now threatens Tokyo and the city’s 10 million inhabitants!
Lurking 500 meters above the city and fully armed with cannons, air-to-surface rockets, missiles and the latest thermo-optical camouflage, the “Invisible Helicopter” Gray Ghost launches an attack on the Rainbow Bridge. Special Vehicle Section 2 becomes the police’s last line of defense, but will they be able to stop the violence or discover the true goal of the terrorists?
The battle between the old-fashioned police Robos and the most advanced combat helicopter begins!
Actress Mano Erina returns along with Fukushi Seiji, Oota Rina, Chiba Shigeru and Kakei Toshio. New 60-second and 30-second spots are now online featuring singer Ayaka’s title song, “Lose Control” which releases with her new album in a week. Check them out below!
H/T: ANN, Sci-Fi Japan
GHOST IN THE SHELL To Get A Limited UK Theatrical + Steelbook Release + US Blu-Ray Release
Set in the year 2029 and following World Wars III and IV, a Japanese-led Asian block dominates world affairs. The alliance maintains its international supremacy through its elite security force whose cybernetically enhanced operatives tackle an array of hi-tech terrorists and other threats to international security. These augmented agents can “ghost hack” (i.e., download their consciousness) via the now omnipresent internet into other machines and human/machine cross breeds. Major Motoko Kusanagi, a cybernetically augmented female agent, has been tracking a virtual entity known as the Puppet Master with her crack squad of security agents. The shape-shifting Puppet Master, a rogue creation of a rival agency of the security apparatus, has concluded that it is a life form in its own right, “born in sea of information,” and requested political asylum and true physical existence in defiance of its creators.
New Poster Art And Stills For THE NEXT GENERATION: PATLABOR
The upcoming episodic theatrical release of Mamoru Oshii‘s series, The Next Generation: Patlabor, is out and about again with more new promotional stills from Shochiku. The series is set to premiere on seven dates beginning on April 5, 2014 through January 1 of next year, followed by a feature film later that Spring. Reports also show that the upcoming feature film release itself will also mark the first use of Dolby ATMOS technology for a Japanese cinemas, implementing its system comprised of 64 speaker channels for a more immersive theatrical experience.
Based on the award-winning concept and original 1988 manga/anime/OVA property from Headgear, The Next Generation: Patlabor stars Toshio Kakei, Erina Mano, Seiji Fukushi, Rina Ohta and Shigeru Chiba, and will comprise of a 10-minute prequel episode (Episode 0) with twelve 48-minute episodes. Oshii is overseeing the seven-part project as its as chief director and writer with further screenwriting assistance by scribe Kei Yamamura and soundtrack composer Kenji Kawai. Episodes 2, 4 and 8 are directed by Takanori Tsujimoto with Kiyotaka Taguchi behind episodes 9 and 10, and Hiroaki Yuasa helming episodes 3, 5, and 11. International sales are being handled by Tohokushinsha Film Corporation, who are producing the series and film in association with FX studio Omnibus Japan.
SERIES DESCRIPTION:
Following the development of the humanoid work machines called Labors, technology propelled forward at a high speed, eventually resulting in the use of Labors in all facets of society.
With global warming causing the rising of sea levels around Tokyo, and the 1995 great earthquake causing mass destruction around the city,the Babylon Project was developed. It was designed with the intent of fixing the problem concerning the overwhelming lack of land, Labors from around the country were pulled into the city to begin work on the project.
With such a large number of the machines in one area, Labor crimes began to increase at an alarming rate. In order to combat this new problem, police headquarters made the call to introduce Labor into their special units. This was the birth of the Patlabor unit.
Fast forward to Tokyo, 2013. The first stage of the Babylon Project has been completed. Due to a long term recession and the amount of time and money they cost to maintain, Labors have been discarded. The First Labor Platoon of the 2nd Division has been disbanded, leaving behind the Second Labor Platoon to inherit their work. The Type 98 Ingram has been left to this new generation.
This is the story of the 2nd Division and their struggle to stay afloat. This is the story of the 3rd generation.
H/T: Sci-Fi Japan Filmbiz Asia
THE NEXT GENERATION -PATLABOR- Gets A First Full Trailer!
Following the development of the humanoid work machines called Labors, technology propelled forward at a high speed, eventually resulting in the use of Labors in all facets of society.
THE NEXT GENERATION -PATLABOR- Series Gets New Release Dates
Following earlier announcements of the upcoming live-action series reboot of the classic Japanese property for The Next Generation -Patlabor- and further announcements within the past year, Anime News Network has forwarded the latest dates for the pending seven-part series leading up to the production of the feature film by 2015. The dates are as follows, kicking off the live action series at Japan’s Shinjuku Piccadilly theater:
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