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GitS Sequel and Appleseed Remake Are Coming
LocusMote writes "Masamune Shirow, the creative genius behind the manga and anime Ghost in the Shell , has a few new irons fresh from the fire. One of his earlier manga, Appleseed, already exists as a rather disappointing television quality anime. Shirow thought so too, apparently. He went back to the original manga storyline, blew off the dust, and has produced a beautiful new all-CG Appleseed which hits the Japanese theaters in April. (Quicktime required) Oh yeah, there's a Ghost in the Shell sequel in the pipeline, too, called Innocence ... w00t!" Beautiful.
The more Shirow we can get, the better. The art's gorgeous, and there's nothing like freaking out people with pictures from GitS.
Striking fear in the authors of godawful fanfiction, I am here, appearing in darkness, Tuxedo Jack!
Because everyone loves cyborg lesbians!
Hey, I know I do.
no
Um... the Ghost in the Shell sequel has been known about for quite some time now.... am I missing something here? Not really news, is it?
Nonetheless, it looks completely awesome, the trailer alone has some of the coolest 2D/3D hybrid animation I've seen.
Read Pynchon.
GitS TV was awful...... Innocence sure is pretty though.
A Ghost in the Shell sequel! I hope this one pushes back the boundaries of animation as much as the first one did! Dude, that film was revolutionary! It had guns and everything! Even James Cameron liked it!
Bow, nigger. h
Does anyone know when (or if) the GitS:Stand Alone Complex series will get released in the States? I loved the fansubs, but I'd like to buy some DVDs.
Any truth to the rumors that Innocence will focus more on Batou as the main character? And is Bandai planning on bringing that over here, or will I have to settle for fansubs on that one also?
But who is the laughing man?!?
I was a real believer in Shirow during, about, the early days of Appleseed, but he never really delivered... just degenerated into pin-ups and obsessing over types of weapon...
I guess there's always a new generation ready to look at cyborg lesbians, though
Whence? Hence. Whither? Thither.
THAT YOU'RE BEING SARCASTIC
Matrix was clearly ripped off Ghost in the Shell.. so will we soon get a new matrix sequel ripped off innocence... i wonder?
tim
If you can, get all Ghost in the Shell Stand Alone Episodes, where really GREATs, maybe the better anime you can wach. Also get the Tachikomas episodes, has a bonus.
Some people think that these episodes where BETTER than the original Film itself.
Thanks Japan Artists!
-Woof woof woof!
Rather than make a new Appleseed movie, let's focus on destroying the first one!
Whence? Hence. Whither? Thither.
This news is mostly misguided in that respect.
Shirow is only behind the manga.
GitS the movie would never have been the wonder it was without the genius that is Mamoru Oshii.
I'll go as far as saying that Mamoru Oshii gave more power to the story than Shirow ever could.
Even the anime design shouts "Mamoru Oshii team" all over it.
Kenji Kawai is part of the "Mamoru Oshii team", so, well, even though he has his detractors, I always found him to be on par with the like of Joe Hisaishi or Youko Kanno (geniuses), and sound plays a great role in the feel of Oshii's anime (like for Sergio Leone films).
Someone once told me that there was a tremendous amount of Japanese cultural reference in anime. Any input on this? Is there a reputable online source where I might learn some of this material and reattempt to enjoy these movies?
Alternatively, I begin to suspect that anime is to film what trance is to music. And again, I'm just trying to draw a framework, not just troll... Both strike me as eye/ear candy that expect the audience to be non-skeptical of the legitimacy of the plot/expression and enjoy the experience without critical analysis. But I've already admitted that I don't truly understand the culture that produces anime.
At any rate, I like films by Kubrick and Wim Wenders among others, but I'm also a fan of tacky role playing games. I've played The Crescent Hawks Inception and the first Mechwarrior to completion, so I should have some affinity for giant robot fighters, right?
I guess what I'm looking for is the History channel documentary on anime that will give me enough insight to appreciate what makes anime interesting, or at least the internet's version of such a thing. Any suggestions?
is from the Basement Jaxx album Kish Kash called Good Luck (feat Lisa Kekaula)
:D
In case anyone wanted to know
Finally some anime news!
Ghost in the Shell sequel! w00t! Finally an answer to the cry from all of us anime fanatics.
"Instant gratification takes too long." - Carrie Fisher
The trailer is also available as a Windows Media stream from the official Appleseed site, which also features an introduction to the film and soundtrack info.
http://www.a-seed.jp
It'll be starting on the country wide "Road Show" at a Toho Cinema theater near you. "One Piece", the pirate mange/anime, also has a movie starting at the same time. I'm hoping it'll be a double feature (in my dreams, incompatible demographics). 1700yen (US$16-17) for a regular showing is expensive. I really miss getting ripped off at American theaters. The japanese ones I've seen are generally nicer, but the snack bar prices are about double for half.
I wonder if that's how they subsidize rebuilding Tokyo everytime Godzilla attacks?
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"Common sense will be the death of us all"
I thought GitS TV was pretty cool! The beginning was kind of slow but then it got really awesome (I love the whole Laughing Man concept).
oh yes...
/ 20 03/2006/00/20060348.pdf
did you also hear about the research at toyko university dept of electro-communication?
http://csdl.computer.org/comp/proceedings/ismar
the productionig crew are quite ahead in addressing the idea of when the distinction between humans and computers have infinitely blurred... than many media forms
The perfect forumula to create a large sum of cash.
I know I'll be seeing it.
-Certified TechnoWeinie
where did all the zeppelins, "shoulder fired" super
lasers and mega portable fusion reactors go?
One may find it very interesting to read the original manga, of which Dark Horse had made quite a nice translation several years ago (with the infamous Three Lesbian Pages out, but who does really care?).
:)
First of all, Shirow began drawing Kokaku Kidoutai (the original name of GITS) back in 1989, the last years of Soviet Union. The plot is heavily based on the Soviet intrigue, not without the funniest blops, like calling an aircraft carrier Pirozhki, which means Patties. Note that the Soviets line was not featured anywhere else but the original manga, although in Standalone Complex and the following series both opening songs are in a strange Russian-English language mix and are sung by a Russian actress Olga Yakovleva.
Yeah, and the manga also features Annapuma and Unipuma "The Famous Catgirls" from the very Shirow's Dominion.
___
On Slashdot, Russians comment on YOU!
I had a look through the official site, including an interview with the director, and they never touched upon an overseas release, so I'd guess that you'll have to wait a while longer...
I'd actually agree with you on Ghost In The Shell. I thought it was visually interesting, had some good ideas, but is a little overrated in my opinion.
If you are really interested, there's about a billion fan sites on the web that can point you toward good films and series. Some may also have some historical stuff.
We're also in a time when there is a lot of anime on US television. For free (if you already have Cartoon Netowrk) try to catch some episodes of Cowboy Bebop. It's a straightforward, semi-realistic near future SF series. Takes place entirely within the Solar System. They have a form of hypersace travel, but it really just cuts interplanetary travel time down to a few hours, and requires an elaborate gate system. There's terraformed worlds. Sections of ships rotate to simulate gravity. The world is gritty. There's terrorists and crime syndicates. The Earth is a complete mess (although I won't give away why). Good stuff.
It's the first anime series I liked enough to go and buy the DVD boxed set. It also made me unable to watch Enterprise because the Enterprise crew seemed like such a pack of whiney pussies compared to the characters on Bebop. :) Enterprise has hand-wringing. Bebop has space stations dedicated entirely to casinos. :-D
--- Ban humanity.
Appleseed, in my opinion, was always a better story than Ghost in the Shell. GitS was pretty superficial, jumped around a lot, and now suffers from a massive incomprehensibility complex, not unlike one of his other manga, Orion.
Frankly, I also enjoyed his art more before he started doing this blend of CG and penciling.
I hope this anime lives up to the manga. That's tough, but I already recognized parts of the story in the trailer, and it certainly looks pretty. I also hope that they get some decent voice acting for Deunan and Briareos. I have an idea of what their voices should be like in my head, and if Deunan ends up with a bimbo-y voice, and Briareos has a whiny bishonen voice, I'll be pretty sad.
http://www.filerush.com/torrents/gits_innocence_tr ailer4.mov.torrent
http://www.filerush.com/torrents/appleseed_trailer -anime.mov.torrent
...the Wachowski brothers list Serial Experiment Lain as a major influence. TechTV currently has it in their Anime Unleashed rotation. I've see both Ghost and Lain, and I'd have to agree that Lain is the clearer influence.
--- Ban humanity.
One a mildly related note, realdoll.com now has an anime doll (named Annie Mae... sheesh...) with pink hair and big blue eyes. I dunno... it just looks creepy to me. I've seen other attempts to do realistic images of big-eyed anime women, and it just gets disturbing. Although the same could be said about a Picasso. :) Some things should stay in the world of art.
--- Ban humanity.
I think it's just inevitable genre similarities, and movie makers borrow all the time. It's no big deal. In fact, there's many anime scenes where I think it would be fun to see someone try to do a live action version.
--- Ban humanity.
Did anyone else in the UK think of the Harry Enfield's hilarious "Old Gits" on seeing "GitS Sequel"?
ALF GIT: When's the funeral?
FRED GIT: Today.
ALF GIT: Good! Are they gonna burn him or bury him?
FRED GIT: Up the chimney.
ALF GIT: Yeah, that's how I'd like to go, have my ashes scattered in the old back garden - when her next door's got her washing out.
FRED GIT: Take her weeks to get you out of her knickers.
Is keeping it real the 'most' important thing? In being willing to dwell in the fantastic, one can be said to be exploring the reality of human nature.
I'm going to invoke the big one: "Neon Genesis Evangelion," and submit that sure Hideki Anno and Co. are presenting larger than life humanoid artificial life things, and man is trying to play god, but isn't that always the case? Isn't the frailty of life and the human heart the story they are trying to tell - rather than 'oh big robots! cool!'.
The first "Ghost in the Shell" was a little hard to follow seeon once, but I certainly got a lot more from it watching it again and reflecting than what you are describing above.
"Other bands play, but Manowar KILLS"
...he meant it in the sense that Plato was the shadow cast by Socrates against the cave wall?
Aw, fuck it. GearheadX is just a moron.
The very first anime I was exposed to! Late night on Sci-Fi Channel. I dind't know that Shirow did that as well!
I've been hooked since. Nothing on my television to that point had been quite as awesome or ridiculous and fascinating.
"Other bands play, but Manowar KILLS"
A Ghost in the Shell 2 trailer that is actually subtitled can be found here (~55MB, 6min, XviD video format):
s t_ in_the_Shell_-_Innocence_Trailer_(ExtendedHQ)[Koto noha].avi.torrent
http://a.scarywater.net/hawks/[haWks-DisTrO]Gho
i'm going to japan in the beginning of April, missing both the japanese release of Kill Bill and now the Appleseed remake.
hopefully GitS will still be in theaters by the time i get there.
After fifteen years of wishing for one, I'm finally getting a Guges figure. Toycom showed off some prototypes at the recent Toy Fair in NYC. Check out the gallery here.
Yes... Yes they do. But the ending and the wrap up are just too incredible to just blurt on on some discussion board (even on /.).
As not to flame-bait, I'll just say that you have seen them before (and I'm not talking that 2 min. video clip where the laughing man pulls out a gun during the news cast. The beauty of the ending is how it encompasses all of the side story lines that I though where just there to be entertaining or were just too damn slow as compaired to the rest of the episodes.
Oh... and if you didn't know, the dead-mute line was taken from "Catcher in the Rye" but slightly changed, and of course Togusa is the only one to notice. Wonder if in any past episodes there were any deaf-mutes worth mentioning? ^_^
Hit here for the Catcher in the Rye stuff: [destroy-all-monsters.com]
and you might like this, A Laughing Man logo screensaver: [bandaivisual.co.jp]
That and the starchild logo was ill...
Compare the numbers of people watching LoTR who've read the books, with the numbers of people watching GiTS who've read the manga.
I'd bet a fair sum that the figure will be much higher in the first case.
Given the themes of Oshii's subsequent work (eg: Avalon), one can hardly take the Urusei Yatsura movie to be representative of his work.
Innocence official US site at Go Fish Pictures (subsidiary of DreamWorks)
Far less impressive site though, compared to Japanese official site. I doubt their promotion - at least they should spend enough amount of money for web design, as it should cost not so much as "real" PR. Isn't internet for such virtual advertisement?
Now Japanese official site has gorgeous final trailers in wmv, small/medium/large.
The theme song, "Follow Me" is by Kimiko Itoh, and the new version of her 1989 jazz hit (English profile here).
Just see this Innocence final Japanese trailer, as there are no such big-eyed characters (pity for you if you can't watch wmv), small [innocence-movie.jp]/medium [innocence-movie.jp]/large
Like others have pointed out - the news about GITS:Innocence is anything but new.
I'm surprised that few are aware that GITS: Stand Alone Complex can be had in DVD with crumby English.
What surprises me more is that no one seems to be aware that a second season of GITS: Stand Alone Complex started in the end of January on Japanese TV.
...but the movie just didn't do much for me. It suffered from the usual problems of adapting a (presumably) sprawling manga into a film. There's no hope of adapting a plotline into the limited space, so they fall back on a shot at noirish, nihilistic plotlessness, hoping that they can get by on being evocative. Akira is another example of this problem. As is Blood: the Last Vampire. All have fascinating universes and mind-blowing art, but suffer from a serious lack of plot.
I'll take comparatively artless films (although still great) Ninja Scroll and Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust over hyper-stylized and inscrutable films like GitS anyday.
that link to the Laughing Man Logo Screensaver doesnt work... any others?
I was one of the lucky few to catch Ghost in the Shell in the theatre (Washington, DC) during its very short-lived film debut in the US. This had to be the best way to see this film, on a hugmongous screen, right when the movie first hits american soil. IMO, Anyone looking to get the DVD should settle for nothing less than wide formatting with Japanese Dialouge, as the TV formatting does it no justice.
So, does anyone out there know if Innocence might see a theatre-film debut?
...GitS: Innocence and the recent manga (published in the US by Dark Horse), GitS: Fan Serv-- errr, GitS: Man-Machine Interface?
Watch Cowboy Bebop, and you'll realize anime is an art form up with all the rest. Anime is like any other media; there's complete, utter crap(One Piece, Dragonball Z), and then fantastic stuff(Spirited Away for example). The Japanese take anime -very- seriously as an art form. I have not met a single person who hasn't liked Cowboy Bebop(as long as they got beyond the "anime is a cartoon" misconception), and it is widely considered one of the best series ever made; it's currently ranked #4 on Animenfo.com out of series, OVAs(miniseries, very high quality production) and movies. The movie was also excellent, but should be watched before you finish the series....I think early 20's is where you're supposed to watch it.
Bebop has probably 4-6 HOURS of soundtrack music for a 13 hour show...by one of the greatest anime soundtrack producers ever(Yoko Kanno). There are something like 7 soundtrack CDs released(although there was a lot of duplication between them). CB has everything- jazz, funk, classical, opera(Ave Maria, absolutely beautifully done btw), even a heavy metal song or two.
I've watched a great deal of anime over the years, and Bebop is still solidly at #1 on my list; nothing else compares; overall plot, each episode's strength on its own, character design, animation, and of course the soundtrack. Sure, it's the future- but there's very little use of technology for plot-fixing. There is an overall running plot to the whole series, but you never knew what to expect from the next episode. The show plays tribute to many American cultural references(for example, many eps are titled after American songs- Hard Luck Woman is one example) and they snuck in numerous cameos and recurring characters to watch for; you never know who's going to walk by in the background of that marketplace shot.
It is most -definitely- not for children. It's violent at times, and has very serious undertones despite the fun-loving characters on the surface. In fact, the first episode is shockingly tragic- but like I said, episodes run the gamut from serious to goofy(like the one where everyone eats psychedelic mushrooms by mistake, or the space-alien episode). Stick with it- you'll gain a new appreciation.
GITS Stand Alone Complex wins on my list for some similar reasons- it also has a soundtrack by Yoko Kanno, and episodes vary; there's a very serious episode about a criminal who records murder victim's vision+hearing while he kills them, but there's also an heartwarming episode about one of the AI-equipped tanks(Tachikomas- think of a tank with the personality of a little kid and curiosity of a cat- weird combo for, well, a tank :)...which sneaks out on a trip exploring the city one day when nobody's looking, and meets a little girl looking for her lost dog...
Please help metamoderate.
How far did you read? I found by the time it got into book 4, Shirow had descended into bullshit politico-speak, seemingly in the hopes of sounding as though he had something important to say.
All I cared about were Deunan and Bri and what would happen in their lives, but the story slipped away from that, and they seemed to lose their spark. Shirow got lost in the world building and forgot that the average reader doesn't care AT ALL about the back-room gear-workings of his environment. It's the difference between reading the "Lord of the Rings" and the "Silmarilion." --Except that the Silmarilion wasn't a half-assed mess.
Perhaps if Shirow focused more on developing the souls of his characters and his world rather than on illustrating a bunch of poster-girls, he'd have become a real story teller. As it is, he's just an exhibitionist who probably knows deep in the night just how much he sucks.
-FL
2. Studio Ghibli. Look them up, watch their movies. "It's so good, it's no longer Anime." Disney distributes their works.
3. Perspective. When you're a highschool kid there's something very exciting about the kinds of stories and the lives of the characters presented in Anime. Role models in the West are idiotic and depressing. "Friends" "Survivor" "Britney Spears". Limiting garbage. Anime, by contrast, presents entire worlds, and whole fleets of characters exploring every issue under the sun, and all from a Saturday Morning Cartoon level of maturity, which is entirely appealing and appropriate for young teens, who are by definition, immature. Think Saturday Morning Cartoons but cubed, done with a budget by people who can actually draw, and zero breakfast cereal tie-ins. I'd have loved to have had access to that when I was 10! Best I got was G-Force and Macross, both of which were awesome at the time, but don't hold anything useful for me as an adult.
Honestly? Anime has its place. If you don't immediately 'get it', then you probably never will and probably aren't supposed to. If that's the case, then Studio Ghibli will serve you just fine.
-FL
I heard ages ago that there was supposed to be a GITS TV show. A bit of googling seems to indicate that season 1 was made & shown in japan. Is that true? Has another season been made? Is season 1 available on DVD?
Dear Slashdot: next time you want to mess with the site, add a rich-text editor for comments.
http://www.apple.com/jp/quicktime/trailers/applese ed_large.mov -Mind the space.
This movie will change everything about anime. Mark my words.
Moved to tears!
Anime should be driven by people who can draw. Cool pictures are something I can't make; it's a skill. Cool pictures to me and most people are a sort of magic which enthralls and excites. They have spark! By contrast, I or anybody else can sit down at a PC and with half an effort make our own "Red v.s. Blue" stuff. Poof! The instant you can make the magic yourself, the magic is no longer magic.
Welcome to the world of souless video game cut scenes. If you can afford the graphics card, then you too can make movies. Hooray.
Let me dig up a quote here, from "Thieves and Kings" guy, Mark Oakley's website here where he uses a 'Matrix-ism' which stuck in my mind to get his point across. (He was griping about exactly this stuff, though regarding Disney's move in the same 3D direction. His editorial is still up. Oakley's work is scorchingly good, but he's bloody slow! I can't tell if he's got actual talent or if he just gets there by taking his time.) Anyways:
Shirow's work always seemed kind of souless to me, so maybe this move is appropriate.
-FL
it is supposed to be spelled masta killah
...
-rw-r--r-- 1 18MB Jan 4 19:42 GitS_Innocence_Trailer.avi
...
-rw-r--r-- 1 15MB Feb 15 19:30 Appleseed_2004_Trailer.avi
...
They are *so* going to kill me for this (the /.ing), but here's some links (.avi / XViD/DivX encoded, IIRC). I have 3 GitS trailers on various CDs, but I can't find the .torrents...
Appleseed
Innocence
I mod down anyone who says "I will be modded down for this", regardless of the rest of their comment
If you can afford the graphics card, then you too can make movies.
If you can afford the pencils and paper, you can make your own hand drawn anime.
Maybe you DO have a "skill" for drawing 2D cartoons. Maybe you DO like 2D animation better. In that case, more power to you; keep watching and/or making your 2D anime.
I, on the other hand, have (some) skill for creating and animating 3D models. I like most 3-D animated movies, and I feel that Pixar's animation is much better than Disney's, for example. I also think that Appleseed looks absolutely gorgeous - better than your average anime, though I do enjoy 2-D anime as well.
Just because you dislike 3-D animation doesn't mean that it's "soulless." Just because one specific scene couldn't be done in 3-D animation (I doubt that fact, but haven't seen RR so will assume for the purposes of this post that you're right) doesn't mean 3-D animation sucks. I can name a list of things that would be pretty much impossible with traditional animation that 3-D animation accomplishes effortlessly. (Or, I could just link you to the Appleseed trailer.) Stop trolling, grow up, and realize that not everyone in the world has the same tastes as you.
With the scenes in that movie, I really saw that a Goku movie could be done. Really, the scenes go from mr bean humor, to captain subasa football to dragon ball Z football and it's totally freaking fun.
We are Turing O-Machines. The Oracle is out there.
Also useful might be watching with English dub and with English subtitles, and take whichever one sounds best for the moment. Wouldn't be good for everything tho... wouldn't pass up original audio for Trigun, for instance.
The preview calls it "another beauty and the beast", among other things it says.
It has its place, as all things do, but I cannot get very excited by the prospect of 3D eating up all the funding and the talent which was once reserved for 2D works. --Not when the change is to increase the superficial elements at the expense of flexibility and imagination. Technically, a 2D animator can do anything a 3D animator can do. The reverse isn't true, though. Think about that! And this has an effect upon the viewer as well. Watch enough of 3D stuff, think in 3D enough, and certain possibilities begin to fade from one's awareness. Fading possibilities is a scary thing to me. It's not so much about taste as it is about limiting our ways of seeing and thinking!
Now, I admit, I don't really have any stake in the matter as it sounds as though you may, so I'm just shooting my mouth off whereas for you it probably means your livelihood. But that doesn't change the fact. And the fact is that after having grown up watching animations which were not limited, I do not like viewing something which makes me feel so suddenly contained. It always feels as though something is missing, not added with 3D.
Perhaps the answer can be found in a hybrid of the two. I've seen some movies which incorporate the strengths of both. Those seem to work. But pure 'Pixar'. . ? Fine. Whatever. It is what it is. But it isn't a replacement for a proper animation.
Appleseed, the first book anyway, was a cool comic with a wonderful feel. The 'video game' version, from looking at the trailer, looks like pure surface to me. Cold.
-FL
It makes me cry, and then I have to turn it off. Never been able to make it all the way thru.
Yay me!
Thanks for the link. I don't suppose there'se a way to see that site in English? I don't know the Appleseed backstory, and I'd be interested to find out.
The trailer is exciting. A lot of stunning images.
gay, fag you're I think.
I've seen concrete pillars get shot in movies before there was a Matrix. Not everything is a reference to everything else.
--- Ban humanity.
Sorry the Bandai link was dead, my server is going to hate me for this one...
www.stupidmammal.net/_tmp/thelaughingman.zip
-A30N