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Live-Action Anime: Casshern
Silverhammer writes "Apple Japan is hosting the trailer (Quicktime required, of course) for an upcoming movie called simply CASSHERN. There have been many attempts at so-called 'live-action anime', but this is possibly the most impressive attempt I've ever seen. Part 'Final Fantasy', part 'Brazil', with CG and green screen work that puts even 'LoTR' to shame. (Hat tip: Penny Arcade)."
The Sailor Moon Live-Action anime is one of the more humorous attempts
r vl et/showid-22841/
http://www.tvtome.com/tvtome/servlet/ShowMainSe
Or go to animesuki.com for torrents of the series.
This is the sig that says NI (again)
FYI DVD-box for the original anime version from 1973
Original anime version characters
One of original anime character designers is AMANO Yoshitaka, who is famous for original character designer of Final Fantasy.
I don't think this will be better than LOTR, and I certainly don't think it will beat it in terms of effects. There were a lot of great discoveries as a result of research and development at Weta, and although 'CASSHERN' looks aesthetically beautiful, it doesn't seem like it even comes close to the capacity of work done at Weta. It's not to say that it indefinitely isn't, but so far it doesn't seem to be as impressive. It does look beautiful though. I've really never seen this sort of aesthetic in a live action film. Again, the Japanese are a whole different culture than most of us Americans. If 'CASSHERN' had a completely CG animated character from scratch like Gollum with details like sub-surface scattering and HDRI (High-Dynamic Range Imaging) scenarios, then maybe, but from the looks of it, it seems like a lower production value.
The large version is Here! I haven't got it yet.. so go easy :p
Well really you'll always have a problem when making CG right now for one very specific reason. Current Hollywood CG uses 128-bit color (32 bits in red, green, blue, and alpha channels). The human eye can see the equivalent of about 512-bit color (128 bits per channel instead of 32). Until we have the equivalent color processing power as such to produce a variety of color that can mimic what the human eye can perceive, the creatures will always look fake for the mere fact that at some level we know the coloring's off from the real world.
I don't know if anyone knows this, but there is a movie called Casshan: Robot Hunter (anime) that is basically the story of the series, only much shorter (kinda like the Vision of Escaflowne was for Escaflowne). It was a pretty cool movie. Was the movie that got me into anime in the first place, actually.
They finally got it on to DVD a few months ago. Very cool indeed.
Hail Black King!
Why oh why didn't I take the purple pill?
Indeed they were.
Here is a detailed comparison between The Matrix and Ghost in the Shell. IMHO, page 6 is the one that shows the fact The Matrix was heavily based around Ghost in the Shell. Watermelons exploding from bullets during a marketplace chase scene? Hmmmmmm...
Founder of Mirror Moon - Tsukihime Game Trans
Oooh. This was made into a 4-episode OVA in 1993 (which got shown as a movie on the Sci-Fi channel, back when they had Saturday Anime ... which I remember seeing, and it kicked all sorts of ass when I was 13 ^_^; ), and was originally a 35-episode TV series which started in 1973.
The general plot is the usual mysterious-fighter-saves-world-from-robot-army, with twists.
it will be interesting to see this done, if only just to see how well they pull it off.
You just saw a 4 minute, 1 inch by 3 inch movie of a trailer that may possibly contain the most impressive parts of just another infantile try at the live action anime crown and you're ready to declare it victor?
:)
Lets wait for a little more information before we rush out to stand in line for tickets
There is another remake anime version in 1993, that is 4-volume OVA (image). Its character designer is the designer of Kite, UMETSU Yasuomi.
What they've gone for here that gives a good Anime 'feel' is a 'Parallax' effect of filming; something the Matrix did not employ.
The basis of this idea is that in the animated animes, the forground would be moved frame by frame in relation to the backround moving in the opposite direction. - This is effectively an easy way for animators to quickly produce the effect of the camera moving within a scene.
The effect in this film appears to be replicated by actually moving a camera with a telephoto lense across the scene.
All in all, from the trailer, the effect appears good and in combination with other anime-esque effects although I could see how it would become annoying in live-action if over-used.
The motion effects in anime nearly all stem from the animators tricks to avoid having to constantly redraw cells when they can just move them around.
Its quite an amusing transposition of techniques to watch.
Ripping an new rectum in the fabric of spacetime.
Some CG does look fake. Sometimes the materials reflect light unrealistically. Sometimes hand-animated CG objects look fake because they don't follow the laws of physics precisely enough. Sometimes CG characters not animated with motion capture move in an unrealistic way. Sometimes the lighting of the CG elements of a scene is inconsistent with the other elements. Sometimes the things depicted by CG are so fantastic that you just know they must be CG. These are all cues that the brain uses to distinguish CG from real. As CG gets better and better, people must rely more and more on the last cue instead of the others. Today with high-powered renderers using techniques like photon mapping, advanced motion capture, and physical simulation, it is possible to produce CG that is indistinguishable from real footage in almost all cases, excepting close-ups of humans, especially animated faces.
What is this...object oriented movie making?
-L
Don't Panic.
If you think there are a lot of similarities with Ghost in the Shell, you should try watching Episode 1 of Gatekeepers. Normal people turn into black-suited, sunglasses-wearing agents to attack the main characters. Now where have I seen that before?
Here's my brief translation of the section mentioned in the parent, as well as some background from other parts of the official site. These are from the website as it was 3 weeks ago, though I doubt the plot will have changed. (This was a quick overview I did at a friend's request.)
Alternate future where a world war (WWII?) continued for over 50 years. The world ultimately divides into two sides: Asia and Europe, with Asia winning and forming the huge political entity of Eurasia. Still, the question lingers: with all the chemical, nuclear, and biological warfare (and ensuing damage) was victory really worth it? Does mankind just sit and wait for the end?
Is there no road to recovery?
There was one man who proposed a solution: Doctor (Professor?) Higashi (Azuma?). He believes he has discovered a way to create "neo-structure cells" which can regenerate any lost body parts... and has given lectures and presentations of his theory. He wants to test his theory so that he can cure his wife's terminal illness. However, the Ministry of Welfare will not authorize Higashi's research unless he gives them all rights to it. He declines. Soon afterward, they begin their own research for their own selfish, war-mongering desires.
Inevitably, a new lifeform, the neo-human is created... as man begins to play God.
However, the creation of neo-humans... which was supposed to rescue mankind instead begins to lead them into destruction...
I have Japanese friends and they say that's the case with many products you see in Japan. English words are used because it looks modern and trendy, rather than actually letting the product convey its message. (And you've seen these products) I don't know what Casshern really means, and maybe it has a phonetic translation in Japanese.
Apart from his fame from being the visual concept designer for the Final Fantasy series (including the logo for each of the games), Amano is a well-respected artist in the anime/sci-fi/fantasy world genres as well (Vampire Hunter D springs to mind...)
His website can be found at www.amanosworld.com .
I have several of his art books, some calendars, and a few prints... I feel they are all well worth the money spent on them.
Here are some plot overviews from joblo.com:
... a theory that would create a new powerful human structure and a new life body. (Casshern?)
:
:
This movie looks kick-ass. I hop it's going to have worldwide distribution, or at least worldwide DVD distribution.
Plot #1 : (Loosely Translated from the Official Site)
The great 50 year war continues, as for the world is divided into two camps: Asian federal republic and European combination.
On an end of a long fight, Asian federal republic wins control over the East Asian Eurasian continent. But the victory caused a great devastation of human nature. The actions of chemical weapons and germ weapons resulted in major chemical injuries and a large "radioactivity" virus.
Doctor Higashi, whose wife is suffering from the "radioactivity" illness, creates a "new structure cell" theory
Though dismissed by the hygienic ministry, Higashi continues his research with the help from a troop of authorized personnel (who is utilizing the theory because of their own selfish desire).
Plot #2
Made for 5 billion yen, "Casshern" tries to address the idealistic question proposed in Shakespear's "Hamlet" (Why do people fight with each other?) It is also a continuation of the Japanese animation, "Shinzou Ningen Casshern" which was broadcasted back in 1973. A riot occurs within the robots that were made to clean up environmental pollution. As a result, a professor of robotic engineering revised his "son" Casshern to calm the riot.
Plot #3
The world has taken a different path as we know it today. The great war has gone on for 50 years and the world is divided into two groups, the Republic of Asia and the European Union. After the long battle, the Republic of Asia came out as the victor and it has come to take over the Eurasian Continent. However, the only thing that came out of this was the demise of the human spirit, chemical weapons, germ warfare, viruses derived from nuclear bombs, the prognostic symptoms of radioactivity, and the razed land. Will mankind just sit there and look at the fall of its kind?
There are 01 types of people in this world. Those that understand binary, and me.
The original series
:)
The OVA
The live action movie
Hehe, ANN rocks
Try The Day of the Jackal (the 1973 version, not the crappy Bruce Willis remake), for one.
Sheez... I think you could pick a better example for comparison than that. I mean, watermelons exploding is a pretty well established meme. I'm sure that there've been dozens of films with such scenes.
|>
Here be Dragons
.. for the trailer. Translated and everything! (except for the one line I can't really decide on) 00:00:02 I'd like to present, to this body, one of our accomplishments. 00:00:13 It's name is "neo-biology." [more like "newly created bio"] 00:00:17 You've made all these already? 00:00:19 I've heard your wife is ill... 00:00:25 What are you going to do about Luna? 00:00:28 I can't stay alone in a place like this when my friends are fighting. 00:00:30 Cause unknown! 00:00:31 "Neo-biology"is still incomplete?! 00:00:38 What are you saying? 00:00:40 That the military is moving. [its forces, etc, whatever] 00:00:44 I wonder why people fight... 00:00:46 What have you done? 00:00:49 [The line I can't make heads or tails of] 00:00:53 I'm going... 00:00:57 ...to annihilate the human race.
00:01:03 Code 2-0-6!
00:01:04 Hurry! DO IT!
00:01:13 I will save you.
00:01:17 Who the hell are you?
00:01:22 I'm not human anymore!!
00:01:35 One life, cast aside
00:01:39 and reborn with an invulnerable body
00:01:41 will strike and destroy the iron demons.
00:01:45 If Casshern doesn't do it,
00:01:47 who will?
00:00:02 I'd like to present, to this body, one of our accomplishments.
00:00:13 It's name is "neo-biology." [more like "newly created bio"]
00:00:17 You've made all these already?
00:00:19 I've heard your wife is ill...
00:00:25 What are you going to do about Luna?
00:00:28 I can't stay alone in a place like this when my friends are fighting.
00:00:30 Cause unknown!
00:00:31 "Neo-biology"is still incomplete?!
00:00:38 What are you saying?
00:00:40 That the military is moving. [its forces, etc, whatever]
00:00:44 I wonder why people fight...
00:00:46 What have you done?
00:00:49 [Beats me]
00:00:53 I'm going...
00:00:57
00:01:03 Code 2-0-6!
00:01:04 Hurry! DO IT!
00:01:13 I will save you.
00:01:17 Who the hell are you?
00:01:22 I'm not human anymore!!
00:01:35 One life, cast aside
00:01:39 and reborn with an invulnerable body
00:01:41 will strike and destroy the iron demons.
00:01:45 If Casshern doesn't do it,
00:01:47 who will?
I dont know if they put this up after you looked, but there is an english version of the story on the Casshern site after the Japanese version:
An alternate world with an alternate history.
The entire planet was divided between two opposing alliances.
After fifty years of bitter warfare,
the Greater Eastern Federation triumphs over
the forces of Europa and gains dominion over the Eurasian continent.
However, this is an empty victory.
Years of chemical, biological and nuclear war have poisoned the land and
left an exhausted population at the mercy of every pestilence and newly-mutated disease.
It seems that there's little hope for humanity's future.
Debate rages over the chances of finding some way to stave off
the seemingly-inevitable decline of civilization.
One man comes forward with a possible solution.
Dr. Azuma is a geneticist who proposes a "neo-cell" treatment that
can rejuvenate the body and regenerate humankind.
He's driven in his studies by a desire to save his beloved wife, Midori,
from the ravages of pollution-related disease.
He appeals for funding to the government
but the politicians in the Health Ministry turn him down,
fearing that the new technology will threaten their entrenched powers.
However, a sinister faction in the powerful military makes
a secret offer to provide the support he needs to further his research.
When an incident occurs in the lab that sends
the Professor's "neo-cell" cloning experiment haywire,
a race of mutant human beings (Shinzo Ningen) is unleashed upon the world.
Instead of being the savior of mankind,
the Professor's miraculous technology looks set to threaten its very existence...
Q.
The phonetic equivalent, romanized, is "kyasshan."
I'm no expert, as I will soon prove without question, but to my eyes "kyasshan" may be either a corruption of a compound word, an actual compound word that I've never heard, or simply just a made-up word. I'm thinking it's the latter, since that kind of name DOES date back to the trendy made-up quasi-Western words that were prominent in '70s anime titles.
Now if you asked me if it could mean some kind of exotic-sounding compound word that makes sense, I'd say the word "kyasshan" may have come from the English word "catch" ("kyacchi"), combined with the Chinese reading of one of the characters for "person," "sha" (the same "sha" that forms part of the word "ninja"), ended with an "n" to modernize the sound of the word and make it sound cool (not to mention differentiate from "catcher" or "cashier"). Casshern is a man-turned-android who is an android hunter, so "person catcher" or "manhunter" might make a little bit of sense, if you use a little imagination.
It's interesting, but it's hardly new. It seems to be a big-budget form of the "tokusatsu" Japanese special-effects film genre--the same genre that brought us Power Rangers.
If you're interested in checking out what the original version of some of the Power Rangers shows look like, or in looking into the more mature Kamen Rider series, there are quite a few digital fansubbers out there who have started putting the series out--for instance, TV Nihon, which has a lot of stuff up on BitTorrent. Also, there are badly-subtitled pirate DVD sets selling on eBay...
Editor Emeritus and Senior Writer, TeleRead.org
An non-official English translation of the trailer can be found here.