NeonKazma's Blog

Anime Relations: Hi no Youjin, Tsukumo, Buki yo Saraba, Gambo, Short Peace Opening

A year ago, I reviewed a little gem called Memories, an ambitious compilation of anime shorts by 3 masters of anime including Katsuhiro Otomo himself, who also produced the compilation and it's been a while since I watched Memories. I still hold Memories as one of my favorite anime films and I would recommend anyone with a love for animation to check the film out. Now, Katsuhiro Otomo has unleashed Short Peace, another compilation of 4 different anime films by 4 different anime filmmakers and to summarize Short Peace, it is a multi-media project with Otomo handling the anime while Suda 51 (Killer 7, Lollipop Chainsaw and the No More Heroes games) handles the Short Peace game for PS3 (still no release in the West though). Short Peace also marks the 4th compilation that Otomo has produced with Robot Carnival and Neo Tokyo being the first 2 while Memories being the third compilation he worked on, something that I forgot to address badly in my Memories review. So with that being dealt off. how's Short Peace? Well, I could say it's amazing or breathtaking but the reality is that Short Peace is giant spectacle of visual imagery and breakneck storytelling that's been missing in many mainstream animated flicks before it.

Short Peace consists in 4 short films all set in Japan and with a meaning that dedicates to japanese history. The movie starts with a girl playing hide and seek with a magical white bunny while being transported to wonderful lands. This opening animation is breathtaking with it's bright rainbow neon colors, mouth-dropping designs that goes along with a calming electronic score that eases and excites for the stories to unveil in at it's glory. Basically, it's the best 3 minutes of animation I've seen and that's only the beginning with Short Peace.

1. Possessions:

Written and directed by Shurei Morita (Tokyo Ghoul), this short tells the tale of a traveler who's confronted by spirits on a strange shrine during a crazy storm. This short is really beautiful with some pretty inventive scenarios and a great message on kindness and the need to help the unfortunate, even spirits. Top it off with some great CG animation by Sunrise (who also animated all the shorts for Short Peace) that looks far superior than recent Sunrise properties (*cough* Valrave *cough*) and imaginative spirit designs with each spirit giving a unique look and charm. Possessions starts the compilation strong and steady and easily, a wonderful short that truly deserved the nomination for Best Short FIlm.... Too bad it didn't win squat.

2. Combustible:

Written and directed by Katsuhiro Otomo himself, Combustible tells the tragic love story of a firefighter and a geisha as we see their love being impossible due to laws that forbids them to be together and a wildfire that causes more harm to one another. Combustible starts off very calmly while introducing the love story of the firefighter and the geisha but certain laws or traditions forbid them to be together but during the final act of the film. a fire goes out of control and if you thought it ends on a happy, the short pulls a 180 and goes to a much darker path than you would have expect on an animated film. The art in Combustible is executed perfectly with an art style that depicts the traditional paintings of ancient myths that we see from Japan and it looks wonderful (the fire effects look phenomenal). With it's dark third act and beautiful visuals, Combustible is another phenomenal work from Otomo.

3. Gambo:

Written and directed by Hiroaki Ando (Redline), Gambo tells the story of Gambo, a white polar bear who defends a young child from a royal family against a bloodthirsty demon that wants to harvest young women to re-produce more demons by getting them pregnant. Gambo is brutal. No, I'm not kidding. By reading the synopsis, you're probably thinking it's a really dumb story but trust me, it is damn good and ends with the most bloodiest fights in anime films by far. Plus, the art in Gambo looks beautiful and the designs are top notch (the demon, in particular, looks pretty f*cking boss) and the music is heart-pounding. What can you say but GO GAMBO!!!

4. A Farewell To Weapons:

Written and directed by Hajime Takoti (mecha designer on the Gundam series) and based off a manga by Katsuhiro Otomo, it's the tale of four men hunting down robots in an apocalyptic Tokyo. Farewell To Weapons is another heart-stopping addition to Short Peace. The moment when they spot a robot, the men quickly assume their positions and start off an epic battle of life or death with every shot building up to an impactful moment that hits you right in the face and boy, did I ever love the living crap out of this. I also enjoyed the comedy banter between the 4 men that had a real feel of comradery and all of them were likable people. It also ends on a more comedic tone but it didn't bother me that much cause I had so much fun with this short that I couldn't care less if it ended sad or comedic.

Short Peace is just indescribable. It's an experience of animation galore that words are useless in expressing the art and wonder that animators can pull off with either the use of hand-drawn or CG. In an age where mainstream animation films are too damn scared to do anything new, it's good to see others stepping out of their comfort zones and do something unique with animation to "WOW" us with stories and tales that exceeds the terms of imaginations and creativity all together rather than throw pretty visuals with no story at all (looking at you, Rio 2). Short Peace is a piece of magnificent art that any lover of animation must experience with their own eyes

Anime Relations: Black Lagoon, Black Lagoon: The Second Barrage

My guess is that you never heard of Black Lagoon. It's an action anime show based on a manga that it's still going in Japan, it was made by MADHOUSE and the show was compared to Cowboy Bebop, calling it a "younger sister" version of Bebop. I bought the series on DVD+Blu-Ray combo pack, watched it and it's not really like Bebop, but I can say that this show is action-packed and visually stylish all the way through the end.

The story in Black Lagoon goes like this: A guy named Rock (Don't confuse it with Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson please), lives as a business man in Japan. He is sick of being treated like shit and he then gets an opportunity to go to the beautiful and shiny South East Asia to deliver some disk there. He then gets kidnapped by Revi, Benny and Dutch, who are known as "The Black Lagoon Company". He decides that he likes being with the crew and joins the lagoon on all the crazy missions they take on. Later on, shit goes crazy, women go insanely crazy, buildings and people get blown up, and that's Black Lagoon in a nutshell.

The whole series is like a blockbuster action film with women making crazy physical feats and explosions happening in every episode. So there isn't a lot of story, but there's some interesting story-arcs like the one with Balalaika and the one with "Crazy Killer Incestial Vampire Twins". Yes, you heard me, "Crazy Killer Incestial Vampire Twins" and their names are Hansel and Gretel. The main 4 characters are fun, but the huge cast of characters in this show are incredibly strong and crazy. There are no weak characters and each have their unique personalities and moments like the crazy maid, the crazy chick with 2 guns, a crazy swordsman, a crazy mother-fucking Russian chick, a crazy Chinese chick and an old nun with a golden Desert Eagle. It's a huge cast of characters, but Balalaika is simply the best female character in anime history. She's a smart commander that uses well-planned tactics and doesn't need to sacrifice any men to complete her mission. BTW, when you see Balalaika snap then you better get the fuck out of there and run as fast as you can. You do not want to see this chick go crazy.

The animation by MADHOUSE is brutal, stylish and insanely detailed. The backgrounds of South East Asia are beautiful to look and the detail in the character models are sharp with excellent fluid movements during the action scenes. Even the CG is good and while not perfect, it looks better rendered than most animes that used CG in their shows. The soundtrack is killer, offering some heart-pounding techno tracks that fits the show's hardcore tone and the opening theme by MELL is addictive, it gets your heart-pounding for more. The dub by Geneon is excellent with very sharp performances and a surprisingly good script with more F-bombs than the guy from Hell's Kitchen could ever muster. Brad Swaile, who voiced Light Yagami from Death Note, does a great job in the role as Rock while Maryke Hendrikse was a perfect fit for Revy and she delivers a crazy over the top performance that feels natural for the character. Patricia Drake as Balalaika was pure epicness and her performance nails the fear and aggression of Balalaika.

If I have a problem with the show is that the story is mediocre at best and I wish they would have some backstories to Benny and Dutch cause they're very interesting in the show, but sadly they don't. I also don't like Rock. Sure, he can be useful at times, but he is such a dumbass and always gets Revi killed all the damn time, even Revy has enough of Rock's stupidity in one episode. Black Lagoon is not like Cowboy Bebop and it won't perfect the action genre, it's still a fun anime series with over the top stylish action, fun cast of characters, stunning animation and a kick-ass soundtrack. It could have been better on the story and the character Rock, but the stuff that's good works and it definitely worth the look.

Anime Relations: Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball GT, Dragon Ball Z, Dragon Ball Kai

When it comes to movie adaptations, it is impossible to pull it off, mostly anime adaptations since anime has so much fantasy and wonder to it's source that to put in it on the big screen requires major effort and ambition for producers and writers on Hollywood. However, when it's handled by a bunch of cash-grabbing whor*s, it will end up like Dragonball Evolution. Probably one of the worst excuses of adapting an anime franchise into a film, Dragonball: Evolution became an insult of a product to Akira Toriyama's work and to all anime fans around the world, even critics despised the living f*ck out of this movie. Now to get it off the bat, I'm no fan of the Dragonball franchise, but I did see the shows and I respect them for the way they are (except for Dragon Ball GT, cause god that was sh*t). So, how did an idea of a Dragonball movie came to be? Well here's a little history development.

Originally, Fox had the rights to make the Dragonball film and it was supposed to be released in April 2005 with Stephen Chow, director of kick-ass movies like Kung Fu Hustle and Shaolin Soccer, to write and direct the film with his script that takes story elements from the Dragon Ball mangas and animes. It was a neat little idea until Stephen Chow declined on being the director and instead decided to be a producer and Fox made the mistake of giving the script to James Wong, the sh*tty director of Final Destination 1, 3 and 4 and The One, and he accepted the role as director and he rewrote the script to make a more "realistic" take on Dragonball Evolution.

By reading the word realistic, you will realize the problem of the movie in seconds. Hollywood + live action movie based anime adaptation + realistic elements = pure laziness.

I will not go deep on describing the plot cause it has nothing to do with the Dragon Ball franchise. All you need to know is that in this pile of travesty is that Goku is a teenager, he goes to high-school, he trains with Grandpa Gohan on fighting skills, he gains his saiyan powers, but in a "realistic" way, Piccolo is a bad guy and wants to destroy the world for some uninteresting reason, Goku fights Piccolo very shortly in the film and Goku defeats Piccolo, but UH-OH! The dragonballs are gone and they now must find it again for a sh*tty sequel! That's the entire plot of the film and boy, did they screw it up big time.

The characters feel and look nothing like the show, Goku is so weak in this movie and he worries too damn much that it eliminates the sense of courage and wisdom that Goku had in the series. Remember Bulma with that kick ass blue hair and cool attitude? Well, this Bulma has one line of blue hair while the rest of her hair is brown and it removes all sense of dignity to Bulma. Plus, she has no personality... AT ALL!. Master Roshi suffers the worst change in the movie. He becomes from a perverted master from the series into the cliche "I will guide you to your destiny" type of master and Piccolo becomes the lame ass villain that gets defeated easily in the final battle of the movie and did I mention that he looks like a green alien MJ in this?

The biggest problem with Evolution is that it tarnishes the excitement of the series and has absolute no connection to the franchise. There's no Cell, no Trunks, no flashy fast-paced action and excitement, no funny dialogue, all they did is just add pointless and awful looking CG sequences with no purpose at all and was just there to look cool. Sure, the fight scenes can be cool at times, but you can clearly see the wires around the action and it bothered me a lot throughout the whole damn film, although the hand to hand combat scenes were good.

The cast is a disaster and I don't blame the actors for it, I blame the dumbf*cks who casted the actors wrong for their roles. Best example is Justin Chatwin as Goku, in which he clearly tried his hardest to not disappoint the fans with the Goku character that he was forced to play as, but it fails because of the weak dialogue that the script was given to him and it removes all the charm of the Goku character. James Mardsen as Piccolo is by far the worst and I'm still surprised that he didn't even had a problem with the Piccolo character that he portrayed in the movie cause DAMN! It fails on so many levels and the rest tried with their chosen characters, but fail as well. The practical make-up were decent and I give them props for using them, but the CG is horrid as f*ck and makes the CG of Ryuk from the Japanese live-action Death Note movie look more real than this.

Overall, Dragonball Evolution is a pathetic attempt to cash in on the franchise and they should be ashamed for annihilating Akira Toriyama's work for this travesty. Forbid yourself from watching this pile of inexcusable bullsh*t. It's horrid, boring, downright offensive to it's target audience and like I said, an excuse of a movie based anime to cash-grab the audience while having nothing to do with Dragon Ball.

Our only hope for a true great movie based anime is Shane's Black adaptation of Death Note. Please hope his movie redeem itself.

Anime Relations: Astro Boy: Tetsuwan Atom, Tetsuwan Atom, Tetsuwan Atom (1980)

Originated as a manga by Osamu Tezuka, also known as "The Godfather of Manga and Anime", Astro Boy was a worldwide phenomenon around the world, including America. It had it's own show in 1963 and two more shows in 1980 and 2003. The popularity in the Astro Boy brand is totally immense and compare the popularity to FMA with Astro Boy and I can assure you, the popularity of FMA is no match for Astro Boy's enormous fan base. Henceforth, I decided to review the 2009 CGI film Astro Boy, directed by David Bowers (director of the underrated Dreamworks movie Flushed Away) and with CG animation done by IMAGI Animation Studios (the TMNT CGI 2007 movie). When the movie debuted in theaters, it bombed at the box-office and everyone that I know hated the movie, calling it " an offensive political propaganda movie that will consume children's minds with bad thoughts about human beings" or whatever BS they throw at us. Seriously, are people this incredibly stupid and uneducated nowadays?. I picked up the film, watched it all the way through and in all honesty, this is by far the better movie based anime adaptation I've seen. THIS is how you make a good movie based on an anime.

The story in Astro Boy is pretty much like the original story by Tezuka but with changes. It takes place in the futuristic world of Metro City where Dr.Tenma is Head of the Science Division in the city. Toby, Tenma's son, is just like his father. He's bright, incredibly intelligent and a good normal boy. Then fate turns for the worst when Toby is trapped with The Peacemaker, a robot than Tenma created for President Stone, blasts the shields with an explosion that caused Toby to be annihilated (in the original Toby died from a car accident). Tenma, depressed by the loss of his son, decided to make a robot replica of his son and bring him back to life by using a blue core energy for the robot's body (In the manga Astro's core was a heart energy core). When Toby wakes up, he finds out that he ha s anew body and can fly with rocket boots, have flashlights in his eyes and a lot of cool weapons at his disposal. However, when Tenma reveals to him that he's a robot and that he no longer wants him, he leaves Tenma behind to find a place that he might belong. Later in the film, he is joined by a group of kids that live with Hamegg, who takes care of the kids and he says he loves robots but in secrecy, he treats the robots like trash and uses them for fighting arenas to win money. Later on, when The Peacemaker goes out of control and grows stronger, it's up to Astro to save the city and defeat The Peacemaker.

A lot of people complained about the story in the film, cause they say it's racist and incredibly offensive to young audiences. First of all, it's not offensive and second, it's not racist. The movie's message is about finding your place among the world, even if you're a robot or a person and it deals with issues about racism (AKA the robots), the abuse of our own planet and war, just like the damn manga. For example, in the Astro Boy comics, there was a story that involved around the issue of racism where the character Hamegg treated Astro like if he was his own slave and treats Astro like junk, cause Tenma sold Astro to Hamegg in the comics. So I don't see what the whole "racism and military propaganda" crap these people are talking about. Unless.....

(checks out RT and finds the Astro Boy's film concensus)

"While it isn't terribly original and it seems to have a political agenda that may rankle some viewers, Astro Boy boasts enough visual thrills to please it's target demographic"


Wow.... I can't describe how incredibly stupid this consensus is. Just....... UGH!

Whoever wrote that on Rotten Tomatoes should be ASHAMED of himself. Or better yet, for those who never heard of Astro Boy, only watched the movie and WHINED about it cause of the moronic complaints, here's a good idea for you "cool people": Do some goddamn research about the material or better yet, hit the fucking books and read some Astro Boy comics to know more about it. I don't care if it's nerdy or uncool, books are important for us cause it allows us to read and learn more of either our culture, history of a certain place or knowing a comics source material before the movie that was based on a certain comic property gets released. Seriously, it helps and if you don't want to do any of this stuff that I told you in this paragraph... Well then, it's not my problem, that's YOUR problem. Is it so hard for you people to research on a source material before going to see the movie that is based on that certain material?.......... *sigh* let's get the review over with.

As I was saying, the story in the movie is simple yet charming with a great message that director David Bowers hid in the movie. The relationship with Astro and Tenma is the highlight of the film. We see Tenma losing his own mind over the loss of his own son and desperately makes a replica but realizes that his created robot is too good to replace his real son. In the end, Tenma learns to appreciate his creation and loving his son again, even if Astro's a robot with the memories of his real son. Astro also grows as a character throughout the film. He was just a normal kid that now resides in a metallic body with weapons and boosters that is trying to find a place where he belongs and in the end, he found it and that's with his father Tenma. That's a great father and son relationship and I applaud the writer for making a good job with Astro and Tenma's relationship in the film. The side characters don't really develop much as Astro or Tenma, but they do offer some fun comedic moments and as for the robot characters that are part of the RRF..... I only find Robotsky and the robot fridge to be the funnier ones than Sparx (Sparx is like the annoying cousin of Jar Jar Binks and every time he pops out in the movie, I had to facepalm on how unfunny that character is).

The animation by IMAGI Studios is impressive. It's no Pixar (stop comparing other CG films to Pixar! We get it, there not as good as Pixar!), but it gives the movie a very cool but futuristic look that manages to stay true to the spirit of the original art of Tezuka's creation. Astro's looks just like the original and so what if he's wearing a shirt, a jacket or pants, he is still Astro and in the final scene, they give us the iconic look of the original character. So you can't get mad fanboys! The cast for the movie is impressive to say the least. Freddie Highmore was pretty good as Astro and to be fair, he does make a good American accent for the character. Nicolas Cage as Dr.Tenma was criticized by a lot of people but for me personally, i really liked his performance and he nailed the emotion of grief and despair that the character Tenma had in the movie. Nathan Lane was OK as Hamegg but he sounded just like Timon rather than a greedy bastard and yes, Nathan Lane is the voice of Timon in The Lion King (go figure). Bill Nighy was great as Professor Elefun, Tenma's assistent and was quite humorous in the role as Robotsky. Donald Sutherland did great with his performance as President Stone, despite that the villain is very predictable and the major flaw that I had with the movie.

Astro Boy is a great movie that not only respects the source material like other movie based anime adaptations should, but it's a fun and heartwarming movie that is simple to follow and makes you wanna read the original comics of Astro Boy after watching the movie. It's such a damn shame that this movie failed on the box-office and led the closure for IMAGI Animation Studios after the failure of this movie. It's a great movie based anime adaptation better than Dragonball: Evolution and I highly recommend this title anyone who loves anime or the character Astro Boy.

My rating: 9/10

Anime Relations: Hellsing Ultimate

Werewolves became famous in the media of comics, movies, shows, and anime, that became huge and gained a cult following of monster fans all around the world. Their fame died when Twilight debuted in the books stores and with their film adaptations, turning them into wimps and shirtless dudes (-_- Jesus Christ....), but not anymore. Funimation Entertainment and new animation studio Cybergraphix Animation team up for the new anticipated werewolf anime film Guardians Of Luna and I'm here with Avi Melman as we discuss some new details for the film, talking about his favorite anime films or shows, the possibilities for more voice actors to join the assembled cast if Guardians Of Luna becomes successful enough to gain a TV series and how this film will be a much more serious approach to the werewolf genre.

1. Can you tell me more about the plot and characters of the film Guardians Of Luna? What did inspire you to do a werewolf anime?

Avi Melman: Guardians of Luna follows Carson Stone, who has arrived in the cursed metropolis of Steelhenge, looking for answers to a letter left by the father who abandoned him as a child. What he discovers is that he is a bloodline descendant of an ancient race of shape-shifters, and must defend an ancient spiritual power source along with three other werewolves.

There's Alan, who is trying to bury the pain of his past, while dealing with the monster he is in the present. Maria is a elementary school teacher of deaf children, who lives with the constant fear of putting her young students in danger just by being near them. Then there's Jake...who finds the idea of being a werewolf to be totally awesome. The three of them form a pack of sorts (albeit dysfunctional) with Carson, who discovers his own inner struggle between analysis and instinct, and together they fight against the city's unpublicized effort to siphon off the spirit energy, and tame the werewolf menace.

We originally decided we wanted to produce a werewolf story, and looked at various styles of animation. Werewolves are a western myth, and so they don’t have a lot of exposure in anime...and when they do, its almost always (with a few exceptions) done in comical fashion. This is a chance to bring a serious werewolf story to fans in Japan as well as worldwide in the exciting anime style, and make something very unique.

2. Do you plan to cast more voice actors like Steve Blum, Johnny Yong Bosch or Maxy Whitehead, if Guardians Of Luna becomes successful?

Avi Melman: In the current cast, we have worked hard to fill out our line-up with talented voice actors in the industry, like Kyle Hebert, Yuri Lowenthal and Robbie Rist. They really help to balance out our star talent, and I would definitely expect the trend to continue as we move on to additional Guardians of Luna episodes/games/etc.

3. Will the film be extremely hardcore and bloody for werewolf fans?

Avi Melman: We took a long time to weigh where we wanted to land Guardians of Luna, both in terms of story intensity and in terms of our target audience. The end result is not particularly bloody or gory, but I’ll be the first to drop the hint that some characters don’t make it out of the film alive. And we are playing around with alternate versions of scenes and sequences, so that we have the option for a little more gore ala Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker’s original release vs. the grittier “uncut” version.

4. What is your favorite anime film or show you ever watched in your life?

Avi Melman: I’ve got a few favorites, and its really hard for me to nail one down. Favorite films boil down to a top three: Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence, Redline and (of course) Akira. Favorite series would be Karas (OAV series) and C (TV series). The latter really struck me for its interesting storyline...Pokemon + Economics 101...I don’t believe its ever been done before, and I’m glad it was handled so well.

5. There's a werewolf comic made by Robert Kurtzman called The Astounding Wolf-Man, ever read it and if you did, will you ask the creator to let you adapt it into a show?

Avi Melman: I’ve never actually read it, though I did just Wiki it. (sorry, Rob!) I’m not sure I’d necessarily take on another werewolf project so soon (for fear of being labeled “That werewolf anime producer guy who keeps making werewolf anime!”)...but if I were asked to be involved, how could I refuse?

6. There been some backlash on casting Xzibit in the film and it pissed some people off. Is there a reason that you wanted to cast him to the show?

Avi Melman: Xzibit has a genuine personality that initially drew us to approach him to play Alan. Alan is a character with a great deal of complexity, and also a lot of serious baggage, and in choosing an actor who could handle all of the complex nuances in Alan's character, we immediately thought of Xzibit. As voice-over casting people first and foremost, we're completely dedicated to the most powerful performances in our cast, and we think that this is an amazing ensemble cast that is going to blow everyone away.

7. Any other projects that your studio Cybergraphix Animations are interested in doing?

Avi Melman: Right now we’re currently working on another project called Moksha, which features the voice talents of Maulik Pancholy from “30 Rock” and “Phineas and Ferb”, comic book legend Stan Lee and “Futurama’s” Lauren Tom. Its got a great story to it, and the animation is looking great! I’ve also got a few projects that I’m developing for both the anime treatment as well as more western style animation. As for projects we’re interested in doing, I’m not sure. Most of the projects I would have had interest in have already been picked up. But if the right one comes along...

8. When will the film debut on DVD and Blu-Ray?

Avi Melman: We will be announcing more details about the debut closer to summer, but for now I have to be tight-lipped about it. But we're as ready to announce as you are. I hope.

9. I just noticed that TRON and TRON Legacy actor Bruce Boxleitner, Jaleel White, and John Noble are in the film as well. Who are the characters that these actors are gonna be voicing and why they might be important to the plot in Guardians Of Luna?

Avi Melman: Bruce Boxleitner and Jaleel White play Kurru and Kahn, respectively. These are our two main Gurrn spirit characters: Kurru is the old shaman, who is the spiritual leader of the Gurrn tribe, while Kahn is the brash warrior chief. It is Kahn's job to lead the tribe, even though Kurru is often sought out the voice of wisdom and leadership. When the Gurrn fought against humanity, it was Kahn who led the battle, and he has never forgiven mankind for the destruction of his people. So this deep-seated hatred of man, simmered over an eon or so (as the Gurrn spirits spent this time bound to the earth), ends up directed at Carson. I don't want to give away too much, but Kurru and Kahn both have their secrets...and Carson is going to have to sort things out if he's going to keep himself and his allies alive.

10. Can you tell me more about the "Gurrn" tribe, like what are they and what does the word "Gurrn" mean for them?

Avi Melman: The Gurrn are an ancient race of shape-shifters who inhabited the mid-western part of North America, living alongside early indigenous tribes. They were relatively small in population, but word of their fierce battle prowess and mysterious abilities helped to keep them safe. When nomadic explorers stumbled upon the tribe, Kahn stirred the warriors into an offensive frenzy, and the resulting battle against a human enemy they knew nothing about decimated the tribe. Their spirits became bound to the land, and the entire village settled into a spiritual limbo for over 1000 years.

The word Gurrn is a gutteral name, resembling a growling sound. It is the name of the tribe and its people, symbolic of their strength and power. Even in the afterlife, they cling to this name as a reminder of past pride and glory.

11. I also wanna say huge props for getting Gargoyles and Batman: TAS writer Michael Reeves and After School Nightmare writer Mallory Reeves for the film. Are you familiar with their works and how did you get them on board for Guardians Of Luna?

Avi Melman: I am very familiar with Michael and Mallory's works, and I've actually been working with Michael for about a decade on various other projects. Since I was already in cahoots with Michael (is it even legal to use that word anymore?), it was a natural decision to team with him again for a project that was right up his alley. It was Michael who brought his daughter, Mallory, into the mix. The two of them collaborated on the climactic third act of the screenplay.

12. Todd McFarlane is working on a new Spawn animated series, which is the second time that Spawn is getting a new animated series and the first animated series was released in HBO years ago. If Todd asks you to join him for the new Spawn series, how would you react?

Avi Melman: I remember that series. How old cool is that?! Actually, I'm not sure. It would definitely be an interesting proposition, but I wonder what I could bring to Spawn, as it is very much Todd's brainchild? I would be flattered and excited, definitely, and I would even be willing to sign a legal document promising not to re-write Spawn as a pre-school program. Though, come to think of it, that could show promise. You'd better figure out the pattern, kids, or you're going straight to hell!are to find out when and where...so you'll know the moment we can say it! I hope.

Thanks for reading my interview and if you have your own questions for Avi Melman to answer, go to his page RedHotYamada and send him a message with your questions if you want. I'm NeonKazma from Tyrocasts signing out! Be sure to check out their official website for more news about Guardians Of Luna: Official Guardians Of Luna Website.

Anime Relations: Iron Man, Iron Man: Rise of Technovore

Let me just say this: I didn't like the MARVEL/MADHOUSE collaboration project. MARVEL wasted a lot of MADHOUSE'S effort on this terrible adaptations and it's sad since it had so much potential to be something incredible but instead, it became another project of MARVEL to cash in on the anime popularity. Now MARVEL is back to work with MADHOUSE to make "Iron Man The Movie: Rise Of Technovore" with Hiroshi Hamasaki (Shigurui: Death Frenzy, Steins; Gate, Texhnolyze) to direct the movie and Brandon Auman (The Avenger: Earth's Mightiest Heroes, Iron Man: Armored Adventures) to write the screenplay for the film. Here's the plot for the Iron Man anime film:

"The film explores a confrontation between Iron Man and the villainous Ezekiel Stane, who develops new bio-technology that seemingly outclasses the Iron Man armor. After Stane unleashes a terrorist attack and sets Tony up to take the fall, Iron Man must evade S.H.I.E.L.D.'s man hunt and find a way to clear his name."

MARVEL will reveal more information about this film and debut the trailer at the New York Comic Con 2012, but from what I see in the poster, it will include popular characters like War Machine, Black Widow, Hawkeye, Nick Fury and The Punisher and these characters might play a major role into the story. All I want from this to be better than the series or MARVEL will get kicked in the balls again.

Link source: http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2012-10-08/madhouse-marvel-team-up-again-for-new-iron-man/rise-of-technovore-film