KyoAni Studio Issues Statement About July 18 Fire

[Source: AnimeNewsNetwork] Kyoto Animation posted a message to "everyone around the world" in Japanese, English, Chinese, Korean, and German on Monday. The message reads:

An unprecedented atrocity has robbed many of our friends and colleagues of their bright futures and has left many deeply injured. 

News from all over the world tells us that amazingly many number of people has sent us their hearts and prayers, which are like candles in the darkness, for those of us trapped in the darkness of deepest grief. 

There are many friends and colleagues who are hospitalized and suffering, fighting for their lives. 

Please give us some time. 

We promise that Kyoto Animation will continue to create animation that help people have dreams, hope and impress them. 

Kyoto Animation will continue to make its employees and staff lead happy lives, and contribute to society and local community. 

I assure you that Kyoto Animation will not give up, we will not go quietly into the night...we will not vanish without a fight!

- Kyoto Animation Co. CEO Hideaki Hatta

Anime Viewing Schedule for August 3, 2019

A N I M A T R I X   N E T W O R K
Saturday, August 3, 2019

Fountaindale Public Library

Amazon Prime Original Series:
THE BOYS
Four ordinary men seek vengeance against
the world's mightiest superheroes - The Seven,
who happen to be the biggest villains on the planet.
Literally, the Justice League gone bad.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED



Fountaindale Public Library
300 W. Briarcliff Road
Bolingbrook, IL 60440

Board Room on Second Floor

From 11:15 AM to 5:00 PM

11:15 - 12:05   Golden Kamuy 11-12
12:05 - 12:55   Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba 9-10
12:55 - 1:20     Club Meeting / Announcements
1:20 - 2:10       Dororo 10-11
2:10 - 2:35       The Rising of the Shield Hero 9
2:35 - 4:45       A Silent Voice [Feature Presentation]

All anime presented are fan-subtitled unless otherwise noted.

 

Don't miss the exciting anime series: Dororo and Golden Kamuy

ANIME DESCRIPTIONS ARE BELOW

Voice of Minnie Mouse, Dies at 75

RUSSI TAYLOR
(May 4, 1944 – July 26, 2019)

Voice Actress for Minnie Mouse has died at 75

[Source: Yahoo!] Disney confirmed Russi Taylor’s death on Saturday with a statement from Bob Iger, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of The Walt Disney Company. Taylor, who was married to the late actor, Wayne Allwine, the voice of Mickey Mouse, died in Glendale, California, on Friday.

“Minnie Mouse lost her voice with the passing of Russi Taylor,” he said.

“For more than 30 years, Minnie and Russi worked together to entertain millions around the world — a partnership that made Minnie a global icon and Russi a Disney Legend beloved by fans everywhere,” Iger continued.

“We’re so grateful for Russi’s talent as well as the tremendous spirit and great joy she brought to everything she did. It was a privilege to have known her and an honor to have worked with her, and we take comfort in the knowledge that her work will continue to entertain and inspire for generations to come,” he shared.

“Russi will be sorely missed and our hearts go out to her family and friends, along with our deepest condolences,” Iger concluded.

Bill Farmer, the voice of Goofy and a longtime friend, also shared a statement following her death. “Russi was as close as family; as wonderful, funny, and sweet as Minnie Mouse, and as talented yet humble as you would expect,” he said. “I will deeply and dearly miss her.”

The Cambridge, Massachusetts, native voiced Minnie in many projects across platforms, including for television, theme park experiences, animated shorts and theatrical films.

Before she landed her dream role as Minnie, Taylor was a big fan of Disney since childhood, having even met Walt Disney himself.

“When I was a little girl, I was with my mom and my brother, and it was late at night at Disneyland. We had just come off the Mark Twain Riverboat and were getting some popcorn. I looked over and saw Walt sitting on a bench, so we introduced ourselves and shared our popcorn with him,” she said, according to the company. “At one point during our chat, he asked me what I wanted to do when I grow up, and I said, ‘I want to work for you!’ So he said, ‘Okay!’—and now I do!”

In addition to voicing Minnie, Taylor also lent her voice to Donald Duck’s nephews, Huey, Dewey, and Louie, and their friend Webbigail Vanderquack in the original DuckTales animated series.

Next Club Meeting is August 3, 2019

 A N I M A T R I X   N E T W O R K

Dancin' our way thru Comic-Con!

Fountaindale Public Library

300 W. Briarcliff Road

Bolingbrook, IL  60440

Board Room (2nd Floor)
 

Saturday, August 3, 2019

11:15 AM - 5:00 PM
 

Our next club meeting will be at the Fountaindale Public Library, 
Board Room (Second Floor), 
from 11:15 AM to 5:00 PM.

 

A Viewing Schedule will be posted soon.

 

Hope to see you all there!

(Click below for maps)

If 'Stranger Things' was an 80's anime

STRANGER THINGS ANIME

What if 'Stranger Things' was an 80s anime? Created by animation studio Humouring the Fates, this parody fan film celebrates the popular series by taking its style and flipping it upside down.

SDCC: Best Cosplay from Comic-Con 2019

Cosplay at San Diego Comic-Con

Harley Quinn, The King in the North, Mystique and more cosplayers were spotted at San Diego Comic-Con this year.

Rutger Hauer Dies at Age 75

RUTGER HAUER

(January 23, 1944 - July 19, 2019)

Rutger Hauer Rewrote His Iconic ‘Blade Runner’
Monologue, Added ‘Tears in Rain’ Himself

[Source: Yahoo!] Rutger Hauer has died at age 75 after suffering from a short illness (via Variety), leaving behind an acting career that includes one of the most memorable monologues in science-fiction film history. Hauer starred opposite Harrison Ford in Ridley Scott’s 1982 classic “Blade Runner.” The late actor appeared as Roy Batty, a rebellious replicant who confronts Ford’s Rick Deckard. In one of the most famous “Blade Runner” scenes, Roy recites a short monologue while dying in the pouring rain.

“I’ve seen things you people wouldn’t believe,” Roy says. “Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion. I watched C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhäuser Gate. All those moments will be lost in time, like tears in rain. Time to die.”

The speech only lasts about 50 seconds, but Hauer’s introspective performance and Scott’s gorgeous close-up work are in such perfect harmony it’s no wonder why the “tears in rain” monologue became one of the defining moments of both “Blade Runner” and Hauer’s career. In an interview with Radio Times back in 2017, shortly before the release of “Blade Runner 2049,” Hauer looked back on the iconic monologue and revealed he “took a knife” to the original script and rewrote his character’s dialogue.

“I kept two lines, because I thought they were poetic,” Hauer said. “I thought they belonged to this character, because somewhere in his digital head he has poetry, and knows what it is. He feels it! And while his batteries are going, he comes up with the two lines.”

The two lines Hauer kept from the original draft of the speech were “attack ships” and “C-beams.” Hauer believed the original speech was written in a way that was too operatic, a tone he felt a replicant would never use.

“You know, I think a lot of scripts are overwritten,” Hauer said. “The overwritten stuff comes from the writer and all the executives, but the audience can feel it, and even the best actor cannot sell me with language that is overwritten. I am fucking allergic to that. OK?”

Hauer credited Scott with giving his actors the freedom to change things up based on how the actors were interpreting the characters. “Ridley gave me all the freedom, because he wanted it to be a character-driven story,” the actor said. “He’d never done a film character-driven. He said, ‘This is what I want to do – bring me anything you can come up with, and I’ll take it on if I like it.’”

Scott clearly loved what Hauer came up with for the speech’s final “tears in the rain” line. “I was hoping to come up with one line where Roy, because he understands he has very little time, expresses one bit of the DNA of life that he’s felt,” Hauer said. “How much he liked it. Only one life.”

Following “Blade Runner,” Hauer would go on to star in films such as “The Hitcher,” “Sin City,” and “Hobo With a Shotgun.” The actor’s television work included roles on “True Blood” and “Channel Zero.” No matter how many projects Hauer worked on following “Blade Runner,” his “tears in rain” speech remained his defining moment of acting.

“The irony is that all I did in ‘Blade Runner’ was… and I’m not saying it’s nothing, but it’s so little,” Hauer told Radio Times.

The late actor is survived by his second wife of 50 years, Ineke ten Cate, and daughter Aysha Hauer.

SDCC: Walking Dead Season 10 Trailer

THE WALKING DEAD Returns October 6

In the fight against the Whisperers, there's no going back.

SDCC: Russo Bros making "Battle of the Planets"

BATTLE of the PLANETS

[Source: deadline] At Comic-Con, the Joe and Anthony Russo announced projects that their AGBO Studios are in development on: an adaptation of the 1978 Japanese anime series Battle of the Planets and an Amazon series based on the graphic novel Grimjack Comics. 

Battle of the Planets was originally created by Tatsuo Yoshida and Tatsunoko Studios and was arguably the first mainstream glimpse for U.S. audiences into Japanese anime during the late 1970s. In addition, it was one of the few sci-fi cartoons during that era. The series follows five young orphans who are trained from a young age to form an elite, intergalactic team known as G-Force, swearing to protect Earth and its allies from otherworldly invading forces.

Grimjack Comics is being developed at Amazon by AGBO, Halfire and being written by Kevin Murphy, the creator of Defiance, Heathers the Musical and Reefer Madness. The Grimjack Comics graphic novel was written by John Ostrander and Tim Truman, and is the story of a mercenary and his crew who are forced to dig into their own pasts when Grimjack’s estranged teenage daughter comes to him looking for help. This will take them through the insane streets of Cynosure, a mysterious city where all parallel universes intersect. There, this unlikely team fights to save not just themselves, but all the planes of existence.

Joe Russo said that they’re producing Grimjack and that they might direct Battle of the Planets. “If we were to make it, it would be a live-action film,” said Joe who as a kid would run home to watch it after school. No writer is on Battle of the Planets yet.

SDCC: Marvel Phase 4 Full Slate

All Confirmed Upcoming MCU Movies and TV Shows 

Black Widow (May 1st, 2020), Falcon and the Winter Soldier (Fall 2020), The Eternals (November 6th, 2020), Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (February 12, 2021), WandaVision (Spring 2021), Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness (May 7th, 2021), Loki (Spring 2021), What If (Summer 2021), Hawkeye (Fall 2021), and Thor: Love and Thunder (November 5th, 2021). Feige made a surprise announcement at the end saying that he didn’t have time to address where the Fantastic Four or X-Men would end up in the franchise, but that one additional project will be Blade, which will feature Mahershala Ali.

SDCC: Trailer for She-ra Season 3

She-ra Returns August 2, 2019

Adora, Glimmer, and Bow embark on a journey of discovery that leads them to the desolate Crimson Waste. Meanwhile, Hordak and Entrapta push Catra aside while they conjure up a master plan that only The Princess Alliance can stop. The journey of She-Ra and the Princesses of Power continues on Netflix August 2nd!

The hottest panels at San Diego Comic-Con 2019...

Here's the panels we’re most excited to see at SDCC 2019:
 

The Witcher

This new Netflix series is already being talked up as potentially the next Game of Thrones. Based on the bestselling fantasy series of books, it focuses on famed monster hunter Geralt of Rivia (who’ll be played in the series by Henry Cavill) and will introduce viewers to a world of humans, elves, gnomes, monsters and more. Hopefully, we’ll get a trailer as well as a release date here, though we’re still waiting to hear who the panelists will be.

Details: Friday, July 19, from 2:15 till 3:15 p.m. (Hall H)

 

Star Trek

There’s so much going on within the Star Trek franchise today that a 1.5-hour panel may barely be enough to cover it all. Patrick Stewart will be among the guests for this panel, which will include cast and producers of the hit CBS All Access series Star Trek: Discovery, as well as give audience members some updates about two new Star Trek projects. They include the new Star Trek: Picard series starring Stewart, as well as the animated series Star Trek: Lower Decks. 

Details: Saturday, July 20, from 11:30 a.m. till 1 p.m. (Hall H)

 

Terminator: Dark Fate

Linda Hamilton is making a comeback as Sarah Connor in the forthcoming Terminator: Dark Fate movie from Paramount, in which she’ll team up with a new cyborg (played with a steely ferocity by Mackenzie Davis) to protect a young girl from a new Terminator. Reportedly, guests for this panel will include Hamilton, as well as Davis, Gabriel Luna and Arnold Schwarzenegger. Also, some new footage will be shown off.

Details: Thursday, July 18, from 11:00 a.m. till noon (Hall H)

 

His Dark Materials

James McAvoy and Lin-Manuel Miranda both play key roles in HBO’s upcoming adaptation of author Philip Pullman’s award-winning series of His Dark Materials books, and they’ll also be on hand for this panel discussion moderated by Entertainment Weekly editor-in-chief JD Heyman. We expect to hear news about the premiere, and maybe even a trailer. The story’s plot focuses on a young and presumably ordinary girl named Lyra who goes on a search for a kidnapped friend and ends up discovering a scheme involving stolen children as well as learning about a mysterious phenomenon called Dust.

Details: Thursday, July 18, from 4:45 p.m. till 5:45 p.m. (Hall H)

 

Game of Thrones

HBO didn’t have anything new to promote about Game of Thrones last year, but there’s certainly a ton to talk about now, especially with the show taking its final bow a few months ago and just scooping up a record-setting number of Emmy nominations. This panel will serve as a goodbye to the series that evolved over eight seasons into one of the most talked-about, exciting, lavish and watched TV series in recent memory. The panel will include a discussion as well as time for Q&A, and guests on hand will include some prominent names: Jacob Anderson (Grey Worm), John Bradley (Samwell Tarly), Nikolaj Coster-Waldau (Jaime Lannister), Liam Cunningham (Davos Seaworth), Conleth Hill (Varys), Maisie Williams (Arya Stark) and Isaac Hempstead Wright (Bran Stark). 

Interestingly, showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss (who just got Emmy nominations for ‘outstanding writing for a drama series’) were originally scheduled to likewise be on hand. But they’ve since backed out. We wonder why!

Details: Friday, July 19, from 5:30 p.m. till 6:30 p.m. (Hall H)

 

Marvel

This one will no doubt be the can’t-miss panel for many convention-goers, and for good reason. Not only will we hear about the future of the MCU, but we may likely get a taste of what’s to come with everything from The Eternals to the upcoming Black Widow movie, plus who knows what other surprises, along with exciting mystery guests. And all of it presided over by Marvel Studios’ head honcho himself, Kevin Feige.

Details: Saturday, July 20, from 5:15 till 6:45 p.m. (Hall H)

Sad News Breaks from Japan

Arson Attack at Kyoto Animation Studio

Source: sfgate] TOKYO (AP) — A man screaming "You die!" burst into an animation studio in Kyoto, doused it with a flammable liquid and set it on fire Thursday, killing 33 people in an attack that shocked the country and brought an outpouring of grief from anime fans.

Thirty-six others were injured, some of them critically, in a blaze that sent people scrambling up the stairs toward the roof in a desperate — and futile — attempt to escape what proved to be Japan's deadliest fire in nearly two decades. Others emerged bleeding, blackened and barefoot.

The suspect, identified only a 41-year-old man who did not work for the studio, was injured and taken to a hospital. Police gave no details on the motive, but a witness told Japanese TV that the attacker angrily complained that something of his had been stolen, possibly by the company.

Most of the victims were employees of Kyoto Animation, which does work on movies and TV productions but is best known for its mega-hit stories featuring high school girls. The tales are so popular that fans make pilgrimages to some of the places depicted.

Residents of the densely populated Fushimi Ward neighborhood, responding to the terrified screams and pleas for help, assisted in the rescue of victims, many of whom emerged singed, shoe-less and bleeding -- some leaving bloody footprints on the sidewalk.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe expressed his condolences to the victims of the blaze in a tweet, calling it an "arson murder spree." 

"I'm speechless," Abe said. "I pray for the souls of those who have passed away. I would like to express my condolences to all of the injured and wish them a speedy recovery."

Work to recover the dead and wounded from the building was slowed by the instability of the badly damaged structure.

The suspect was burned on his feet, hands and chest, and collapsed nearby while attempting to flee, officials said. As he was treated for the non-life-threatening injuries, police said he confessed would remain in custody. Police said multiple knives were also discovered at the scene.

Police did not give a motive, but a witness told Japanese TV that the attacker complained that something of his had been stolen, possibly by the company, the Associated Press reported.

"He sounded he had a grudge against the society, and he was talking angrily to the policemen, too, though he was struggling with pain," she told Kyodo News. "He also sounded he had a grudge against Kyoto Animation." 

A total of 67 employees were on duty, police said. Of those, 10 were discovered in a state of cardiac arrest on the second floor. One victim was quickly declared dead and ten others sustained serious injuries, while 26 others escaped with light injuries. 

The incident occurred around 10:35 a.m. local time, at Kyoto Animation's No. 1 studio. An expert interviewed by CBS News partner network TBS TV said the compactness of the approximately 7,500-sq. foot structure and the fact that there was only one exit made it especially vulnerable to an attack on the building's entrance. The perpetrator apparently went to great lengths to plan the crime and obtain gasoline, the sale of which is tightly controlled in Japan; it is not sold in containers.

Fans from around the world took to Twitter to urge donations and to express disbelief, horror and sadness. "Kyoto Animation are a rarity in the anime business," wrote Twitter user Mike Toole. "They treat their people well, they strive to own part of their works, and their creations are constantly excellent, at the very least on a technical level."

A user named AalalasesPen said, "To think it was only a few nights ago that my friends and I gathered…to watch A Silent Voice. I'm at a loss for words."

Devin Howard wrote simply, "Why the hell would somebody do this???"

Some speculated that the suspect might be a disgruntled "otaku," a Japanese word referring to socially awkward "nerds" who obsess over anime and manga comic books. In recent years, reclusive obsessives have been blamed for committing sensational crimes -- a charge anime fans say unfairly and inaccurately characterizes both those who enjoy cartoons, and the estimated 1 million or so "hikkikomori," or social recluses.

"It's not 'otaku commits crime,' but the criminal happened to be a consumer of anime," a 20-something female anime fan was quoted as saying in the Business Journal publication. Anime and manga are so pervasive throughout Japanese society, she said, that it is unfair to accuse the pop culture of fostering criminal minds.

IF 'GAME OF THRONES' WAS AN ANIME

It could happen...

Anime Viewing Schedule for July 20, 2019

A N I M A T R I X   N E T W O R K
Saturday, July 20, 2019

Fountaindale Public Library

Fountaindale Public Library
300 W. Briarcliff Road
Bolingbrook, IL 60440

Board Room on Second Floor

From 11:15 AM to 5:00 PM

11:15 - 12:05   Golden Kamuy 9-10
12:05 - 12:55   Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba 7-8
12:55 - 1:20     Club Meeting / Announcements
1:20 - 2:10       Dororo 8-9
2:10 - 3:00       The Rising of the Shield Hero 7-8
3:00 - 3:50       Cop Craft 1-2
3:50 - 4:40       Fire Force 1-2

All anime presented are fan-subtitled unless otherwise noted.

 

Don't miss the exciting anime series: Dororo and Golden Kamuy

ANIME DESCRIPTIONS ARE BELOW

50th Anniversary of the US Moon Landing

50 Years Ago, We Landed on the Moon...

National Geographic teamed up with "World News Tonight" to share some rare images of that momentous event.

Call Of Duty – Operation Apocalypse Z Trailer

Operation Apocalypse Z

Zombies and the apocalypse go together like peanut butter and jelly. Play as The Reaper [with some updated Blackout maps] in the new “Call of Duty Black Ops 4 – Operation Apocalypse Z”…

Next Club Meeting is Saturday, July 20, 2019

 A N I M A T R I X   N E T W O R K

Don't miss the next portal to the anime club meeting!

Fountaindale Public Library

300 W. Briarcliff Road

Bolingbrook, IL  60440

Board Room (2nd Floor)
 

Saturday, July 20, 2019

11:15 AM - 5:00 PM
 

Our next club meeting will be at the Fountaindale Public Library, 
Board Room (Second Floor), 
from 11:15 AM to 5:00 PM.

 

A Viewing Schedule will be posted soon.

 

Hope to see you all there!

(Click below for maps)

LUPIN III THE FIRST (2019) Trailer

LUPIN the 3RD goes 3D

[Source: AnimeSuperhero] What is the world’s sneakiest thief, Lupin the 3rd, up to now? And how will Inspector Zenigata catch him now that he has a Z-axis?

A new Lupin the 3rd movie was just announced by Toho Animation, called Lupin III: The First. For the first time, it renders Lupin and his allies / frenemies in CGI, and though that might make you apprehensive at first, they’ve actually made it work. The transition between dimensions was pretty seamless here; everyone looks and moves as they should.

Gunman Jigen, swordsman Goemon, flirtatious Fujiko Mine, and the man himself all appear in the minute’s worth of clips we get; there is plenty of action, death-defying leaps, frustration and/or humiliation on the part of Zenigata, and Lupin’s iconic yellow car.

Lupin’s movie career has been an exercise in extremes. Nothing could truly top Lupin the Third: The Castle of Cagliostro, the first feature from animation legend Hayao Miyazaki.

Lupin III: The First will be out December 6 in Japan; a US release has not been announced yet. Lupin’s creator, Kazuhiko Kato aka “Monkey Punch,” died last April.

Disney's Live-Action 'MULAN'

Disney's   M  U  L  A  N

When the Emperor of China issues a decree that one man per family must serve in the Imperial Army to defend the country from Northern invaders, Hua Mulan, the eldest daughter of an honored warrior, steps in to take the place of her ailing father. Masquerading as a man, Hua Jun, she is tested every step of the way and must harness her inner-strength and embrace her true potential. It is an epic journey that will transform her into an honored warrior and earn her the respect of a grateful nation…and a proud father. “Mulan” features a celebrated international cast that includes: Yifei Liu as Mulan; Donnie Yen as Commander Tung; Jason Scott Lee as Böri Khan; Yoson An as Cheng Honghui; with Gong Li as Xianniang and Jet Li as the Emperor. The film is directed by Niki Caro from a screenplay by Rick Jaffa & Amanda Silver and Elizabeth Martin & Lauren Hynek based on the narrative poem “The Ballad of Mulan.”

The Best Moment on 'Stranger Things' Season 3...

Haven't seen Stranger Things Season 3 yet? Look away now. Spoilers ahead!

♪♫♬ Neverending Story! ♪♫♬

Still here? Good. In episode 8, just when all seems lost, and everyone is about to die, the Mind Flayer is chasing the kids, while Joyce, Hopper, and Bald Eagle are trying to stop the Russians in their secret lair, this crazy moment happens...