Though many of us would rather forget about 2016, it was an exemplary year for Japanese animation. While it is still early yet, 2017 shows no signs of that changing.
From the underdog story of a video game tie-in, to the latest entries
in decades-long franchises, to the pet project of some of the best
artists working in animation, you are guaranteed to find a film in this
list that will make you feel the whole spectrum of human emotions: joy,
sadness, existential dread, arousal, and maybe even all of them at the
same time.
Red Ash: Magicicada
Though it is not the only anime film based on a video game slated for a 2017 release (“
Chain Chronicle”and “
Ao Oni”
could also have filled this spot), “Red Ash” is particularly
interesting in that the anime could very well overshadow the game.
Said game “
Red Ash: The Indelible Legend” was being developed by Comcept, the game company founded by
Mega Man creator
Keiji Inafune.
“Red Ash” was set to be an open world third-person RPG, calling back to
the Mega Man Legends series. After Inafune’s lackluster first
Kickstarter project, “
Mighty No. 9,” “Red Ash” seemed as if it was doomed. While the game did fail its Kickstarter goals, the tie-in animated film “
Magicicada”
succeeded. It is currently being produced by Studio 4C, who have worked
on a number of original video animations (OVAs) and films of licensed
properties.
“Magicicada” is a treasure-hunting adventure that is being created through the
Anime Tamago 2017 young animators training program, and is the only selection for the year to feature 3D CG animation. Inafune has
stated in the past that “Legend” will still be released, and it will be interesting to see what becomes of this new branding.
Kuroko’s Basketball: Last Game
The weekly anime anthology “
Weekly Shonen Jump” has served as the launch point for a number of globally recognized franchises over the years. While “
Kuroko’s Basketball” may not have the fanbase of “
One Piece,” the staying power of sports anime cannot be ignored.
The film is set to be a direct sequel to the latest animated series
in which the all-star basketball team the Generation of Miracles—plus
characters Kuroko and Kagami—will face off against an American team.
Perhaps the most interesting part of this early information is the
prospect of seeing a North American game and American team through a
Japanese lens. This is especially considering that half of the
characters on the American team are black, which is a particular rarity
in anime.
Doraemon the Movie 2017
A trip to the Antarctic turns planet-threatening the 37th film in the
Doraemon franchise. The film is being written and directed by
Atsushi Takahashi, who in the past has worked on “Lupin the Third,” “Space Dandy,” and “Spirited Away.”
Doraemon’s color palette and animation are bright and whimsical,
evoking Mickey Mouse-meets-Hayao-Miyazaki. Though primarily targeted at a
younger audience, it does not appear that this is a movie which will
put older viewers to sleep as the sense of adventure that is created by
early promotional material has the potential to be a truly memorable
experience.
Sword Art Online: Ordinal Scale
Sword Art Online is
a franchise that outlived its original premise. For those who are
unfamiliar with it, the original story arc of the show and manga focused
the 10,000 or so people trapped in a VRMMO (Virtual Reality Massively
Multiplayer Online) game in the not too distant future. While fans of “
.Hack” and “
Log Horizon”
will find this premise familiar, “Sword Art” resonated with audiences
in a way that turned it into a sensation. That first story arc offered
“if you die in the game you die for real” stakes, which later arcs did
not have. Each proceeding arc had lower stakes than the last, reaching a
point where several episodes of the most recent were dedicated to
protagonist Kirito and his harem (of inexplicably-interested-in-him
women) doing a raid together.
“
Sword Art Online The Movie: Ordinal Scale” might be just the thing to reinvent the series. The name of the game is
augmented reality; perhaps inspired by the popularity of “
Pokemon Go,” “Ordinal Scale” is a game that maps itself over the real world using an eye-piece not unlike the head-mounted display
Google Glass.
What is and is not real becomes increasingly hard to discern (made all
the more interesting by the fact that this technology is currently being
developed in real life). And all of this is wrapped in the
well-animated package that helped bring “Sword Art” its original
fanbase.
Planetarian: Hoshi no Hito
Set in a post-apocalyptic world where humanity has nearly been wiped out by biological and nuclear weapons, “
Hoshi no Hito” is an adaption of a visual novel and a light novel from the Planetarian franchise. The visual novel, subtitled “
The Reverie of a Little Planet,”
focuses on a middle-aged man known as the junker living in a derelict
city. He comes upon a robot named Yumemi who is an attendant in an
abandoned planetarium. After he repairs her projector, she shows him
images of a star-filled sky that can no longer be seen due to pollution.
While little about the adaptation has been released so far, it is being produced by
David Production and directed by
Naokatsu Tsuda, who respectively are the company and director behind the “
Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure” animated series, which has been one of the most consistently high-quality series of the past few years.
Lupin the Third: Goemon Ishikawa’s Spray of Blood
“
Lupin the Third”
is one of the oldest manga series to spawn a franchise. First published
in 1967, it focuses on the adventures of professional thief Arsene
Lupin III and his ensemble of friends and foes. The series writer
Monkey Punch
based the character off a combination of fictional French gentleman
thief Arsene Lupin and James Bond. Through numerous reprints and
adaptations, Lupin has kept a carefree attitude in the midst of mystery
and intrigue; in fact,
Shinichiro Watanabe of “
Cowboy Bebop” and “
Samurai Champloo” fame has cited Lupin the Third’s first animated adaptation as a major influence on his work.
Said influence has come full circle in the trailer for the latest film in the franchise, “
Goemon Ishikawa’s Spray of Blood.”
Goemon is a character from the regular Lupin supporting cast: a master
swordsman and martial artist who occasionally aids Lupin in his heists
to guarantee that he is the person who will one day kill the thief.
While little has been released about the story thus far, it would appear
to focus heavily on Goemon. The artwork oozes style from every shadow
and burst of colour and gives the entire returning cast a welcome
face-lift while keeping them recognizable at a glance. The music also
has a jazz coolness that previous entries in the series have become
known for.
Ancien and the Magic Tablet
The film’s official website may be hosted through
Tumblr, but the pedigree of its creative team mark this as one to keep an eye on. Directed by
Kenji Kamiyama and with music by
Yoko Shimomura (of “
Kingdom Hearts” fame), “
Ancien and the Magic Tablet” has the makings of something truly special.
Set in a not-too-distant future where our reliance on machines has
grown even further, protagonist Kokone should be studying for her high
school entrance exams. Despite this she finds herself struggling to stay
awake. Her naps are hardly restful though, as her dreams are populated
by warring machines. As her waking and dreaming hours become more
closely intertwined, so too do her past and future as family secrets
become unearthed.
Early trailers and artwork promise a visually stunning film suffused with a dream-like quality.
Digimon Adventure tri. 4: Soushitsu (Loss)
If you grew up watching “
Digimon,” then get ready for a blast from your childhood: “
Digimon Adventure tri.”
is a series of six films continuing the adventures of the original
eight characters and their monster companions. The first in the series,
subtitled “Reunion,” was released in 2015, and the fourth and most
recent entry, “Loss,” is scheduled for late February 2017.
The story takes place three years after the events of
Digimon Adventure 02,
at a time when the series original protagonists have begun to drift
apart as their lives diverge. They are reunited with each other and with
their Digimon partners when the line between our world and the digital
one begins to blur once again.
Early material suggests
the story will focus heavily on the characters Sora and Biyomon as they
attempt to rebuild their relationship after Biyomon lost her memories
in the previous film.
Black Butler: Book of the Atlantic
The
Black Butler
franchise is the story of a boy in Victorian England who is forced to
grow up too fast. After the murder of his parents, thirteen-year-old
aristocrat Ciel Phantomhive makes a Faustian bargain to maintain control
of his family’s name and holdings. Ciel acquires the services of the
demon Sebastian Michaelis, the titular butler who anticipates his
master’s every need and fulfills them with acute grace and precision. In
return, when Ciel’s life eventually does end, Sebastian will consume
his soul.
The story is a dark comedy mapped over historical and pseudo-historical events, such as the unsolved murders of
Jack the Ripper.
Ciel takes it upon himself to solve these mysteries as the head of the
Phantomhive family. “Black Butler” has been adapted to a number of
different mediums, including a video game, a musical, and both
live-action and animated films. “Book of the Atlantic” is the latest of
these, and it features Ciel and Sebastian boarding a luxury passenger
ship as they investigate illegal human experimentation. Doctor Rian
Stoker has found a way to return the dead to life, but his methods are
unknown.
This film looks to continue the franchise’s history of dark stories and striking character designs.
Fireworks, Should We See It from the Side or the Bottom?
![Anime Movies 2017 - Uchiage Hanabi, Shita Kara Miru ka? Yoko Kara Miru ka? [Fireworks, Should We See It from the Side or the Bottom?]](https://illusion.scene360.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/anime-movies-2017-16.jpg)
Slated for an August 2017 release, “Fireworks, Should We See It from
the Side or the Bottom?” (“Uchiage Hanabi, Shita Kara Miru ka? Yoko Kara
Miru ka?”) is an adaptation of director
Shunji Iwai’s live action film of the same title. The
original film first aired on TV in 1993 and netted Iwai the New Director’s Award from the Director’s Guild of Japan.
“Fireworks, Should We See It from the Side or the Bottom” is the
story of three friends, Norimichi, Yuusuke, and Junichi on summer
vacation. They make a bet about what fireworks look like from the side,
whether they are round or flat. They resolve to find the answer at the
upcoming fireworks display. While this is happening one of their
classmates, Nazuna, is dealing with her parent’s separation and sends a
note to Norimichi asking him to run away with her.
The original film was broadly praised for how well it captured the
aesthetic of growing up and the first sparks of love as they fly to life
and disappear, and the animated adaption will aim to modernize the
story while maintaining what made the original so well loved.
Title: Shingeki no Kyojin Season 3
Title: Psycho-Pass
Title: Kiseijuu: Sei no Kakuritsu
This is known as the Equivalence exchange. That means you will give
something and will get something in return. For example : You can give 1
Kg of Iron and can get 1 Kg of Gold. Isn’t that great?
The story revolves around the Vampire Alucard who is a family pet of
the Hellsing Family. Hellsing family is an organisation that protects
England from Vampires by killing them. Only a single member of that
family is now left and she is Sir Integra Wingates Fairbrook Hellsing.
Alucard is their main weapon and he will do whatever the Sir Integra
will tell him to do.
Hei is a complete badass character in this anime. He never smile and
he didn’t talk much but he always wins in a fight. He has the power to
manipulate electricity and he goes by the name “Black Reaper”. He is
constantly killing people throughout the series. There was a time when
he didn’t have these powers and he still killed many contractors that
time.
The main character in this anime is Light Yagami who one day found a
book named as “Death Note”. This book holds a great power. Any name
written in this book will die in 15 minutes. But, to kill someone by
using this book, you have to know the complete name of the person and
his face.
That time he was just an innocent kid and he hardly managed to get
back to his feet. After that, he fell in love with a girl and due to
some circumstances that girl died.
