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Escaflowne & Metropolis Hit US Big Screens Friday
darketernal writes "Escaflowne is appearing in theaters nationwide on the 25th, depending on your location. Rated PG-13. Here is a Yahoo! Review."
If you've seen Escaflowne in japanese, you probably know that
its a pretty cool show, and while its not one of my all time favorites,
if the big screen release gets anywhere near me, I'll be there.
Perhaps even bigger news is that
the mega anime film hit
Metropolis is
being release at the same time.
New York, Chicago, and a couple of west coast cities isn't really nationwide, is it?
- A.P.
"Remember when the U.S. had a drug problem, and then we declared a War On Drugs, and now you can't buy drugs anymore?"
Since when was "Metropolis" an Anime film?
I admit that I'm not deeply into Anime, but I've seen my fair share, including Bastard, Tyler, Utena, and other random stuff. Therefore, I feel comfortable with saying that the only well-known MOVIE called "Metropolis" isn't animated. It's still incredible, even in black and white, and it's definitely highly rated.
But if slashdot (which pretends to be a news outlet of some kind) actually wants to make any sense even to the people who read it, a footnote is in order here explaining what "Metropolis" is for the vast majority of us who only know about the much more well-known movie by the same name.
pb Reply or e-mail; don't vaguely moderate.
1.25.2002 Los Angeles GCC Galleria Cinema 3rd Level of the Mall,
1815 Hawthorne Blvd. Redondo Beach,
CA 90278, (310)777-FILM
1.25.2002 New York AMC Empire 25 on 42nd Street, 234 West
42nd Street New York, NY 10036, (212)398-3939
1.25.2002 San Francisco
1.25.2002 Chicago GCC City North Cinema , 2600 N Western Ave
Chicago, IL 60647, (773)394-1601
1.25.2002 Pasadena AMC Old Town Pasadena 8, Union at Fair Oaks
Pasadena, CA 91103, (626)585-8900
1.25.2002 Vancouver
CANADA Cinemark's Tinseltown, 88 W. Pender,
#3000 Int'l Village, Vancouver, B.C.
V6B 6N9, (604) 806-0799
Computational Madness in a round package.
Yeah I know the movie starts with a bunch of terrorists blowing up a Martian colony, but everyone who's seen the fansub that's floating around says it kicks ass, and the series is certainly one of the best anime series I've seen. It's easily in Evangelion and Lain's league.
Besides, you can't NOT like CowBe...it's got Radical Edward!!!
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Slashdot (to MPAA): You fucking fascists. We hate you.
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Slashdot: Oooh! How much?
Disclaimer: I used to be--and mostly remain--very much not an anime fan, due mostly to the art style of most animes. However, I've been 'turned on' through friends to a few abolutely stunning stories that happen to be conveyed using anime as a medium.
:o) The story is huge, complicated, and very deep, but for those who have no idea what the anime is about, perhaps reading this post will help.
Vision of Escaflowne comes in two flavors: series and movie. I'll talk mostly about the series, since I don't want to give out any spoilers.
Escaflowne tells the story of a 15 year old named Hitomi, a athletic Japanese highschool student who also happens to have a strange talent for 'hunches.' This comes out in her skill at foretelling the future using ordinary tarot cards. One day, when trying to break her speed record in the 100 yard dash, she has a strange vision that ends up dragging her into a strange alternate world called Gaea. Gaea is a land somewhere 'in space' out beyond the earth and the moon that has something to do with the sunken kingdom of Atlantis (to say more would ruin it). It is populated mostly by humans, along with many types of half-human-half-beast people. Although Gaea is by and large peaceful, when Hitomi arrives the entire land is plunged into brutal war, country by country, by a Gaean realm called the Zaibach Empire. The results of this war will determine the fate of Gaea.
From here, Hitomi is thrown into a series of adventures that change her outlook on life and most importantly teaches her much about herself. The entire time, she misses her home and wants to go back (Earth is known in Gaea as the 'Mystic Moon') but begins to care about the people she meets. In addition, her fortunetelling skills are mysteriously enhanced and become a major part of her life.
Unfortunately, to say much more about the story would ruin it for the newcomer. The plotline is very deep, and digs into several 'human' concepts such as destiny, fate, and luck. Family and chivalry are also very important and the source of some major themes. In addition, the mystery of lost Atlantis is somehow involved.
Battles in Gaea are fought by huge robots (think Mechwarrior with swords) called 'Guymelefs,' even though the tech level of Gaea is supposedly stea-engine level. These 'guymelefs' are for the most part huge robot samuri, and are very interesting. Although there isn't really 'magic' in Gaea (at least not in the D&D magic-missle-everything style), there is a lot of unexplained natural phenomenon that are harnessed by the locals, such as rocks that levitate--'wandering earth.'
Escaflowne tells an amazing story and is a good introduction to good anime. I won't say much more about the plot (don't want to give too much away), but it will hook you and drag you along for a fantastic ride. The series is 26 episodes long, and basically continues one story.
Other animes you might want to watch if you liked Escaflowne, or don't know if you want to rent/download it and watch it are Cowboy Bebop and Lain. Bebop is the best anime I've ever seen and one of the best stories I've been told in a long time. Lain is disturbing, but brilliant. Still, I would say that Escaflowne is a great place to start in on anime and definitely worth your time. Although it starts slow (at the begining, I wanted to throttle most of the characters), the character development is fantastic, and the story is truly haunting.
- - - - - - - -
Don't worry, being eaten by a crocodile is just like going to sleep in a giant blender.
Perhaps even bigger news is that the mega anime film hit Metropolis is being release at the same time
Oh, for Christ's sake, that's not the real Metropolis. This is the real Metropolis.
<sigh> All you young pups, just wanting your talkies, their 3 FPS scantily-clad cartoon characters with their monolithic teeth.
Fire and Meat. Yummy.
http://www.apple.com/trailers/independent/escaflo
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