Next Club Meeting:October 17, 2026,at the Fountaindale Public Library in Bolingbrook from 11:00 am - 5:00 pm
The Animatrix Network is an anime & manga fan club located in the Southwest suburbs of Chicago, Illinois. We usually meet on the third Saturday of each month (except when holidays or conventions coincide). The meetings are free and open to the public. Join us for a day filled with anime.
This site provides news, reviews, commentaries, and previews of the world of anime and everything it inspires in today's pop culture, such as live-action films, comics, music, art, and other weird things to enjoy and contemplate.
"The Skywalkers serves as the first long-form anime episode born from the Star Wars comedy shorts I have been posting over the past couple months. Brought to you with help from loads of talented people! This fan project is intended to strictly be taken as a parody of the incredible galaxy George Lucas created."
Dive into the enchanting world of “Forgotten Island,” a DreamWorks film that beautifully adapts Philippine mythology into a vibrant story of friendship and folklore. Directors Januel Mercado and Joel Crawford blend authentic myths with creative storytelling, bringing to life fantastical creatures like the manananggal, batibat, and sarimanok while preserving the deep cultural roots and darker themes that make these tales unforgettable. From the winged, vampiric Manang to the protective Batiba and the mischievous duwende, the film stays true to its source material while making it accessible for a family audience. Alongside human characters Jo and Raissa, “Forgotten Island” explores themes of memory, separation, and trust, transforming traditional stories into a heartfelt coming-of-age adventure.
Popular esport DARK MACHINE captivates people all over the world and has transformed the economy of Japan, where there is an exclusive economic zone called "Golden Valley." Ajima is the seventh "Senki" — a title given to the game's strongest player — and effectively controls the region through DARK MACHINE.
Protagonist Kairi arrives in Golden Valley with his late grandfather's final words in mind: "Find Senki." He then happens upon a young girl named Rudora, who is being pursued by Ajima's subordinate. Kairi becomes a DARK MACHINE player after connecting with Rudora, and his talent blooms with each fierce battle.
Will Kairi be able to hold his own against Senki and carve out his own destiny? His battle to reach the pinnacle of DARK MACHINE starts now.
* Players who download the game during this period will continue to be
able to download and play it after the promotion has ended.
Castlevania is a gothic horror action game first released in Japan in 1986, followed by its international debut on the Nintendo Entertainment System in 1987. Beloved by players around the world, the franchise has grown to include more than 30 titles over the years. On September 26, 2026, the Castlevania series will celebrate its 40th anniversary. To commemorate this milestone, we are making the original Nintendo Entertainment System version of Castlevania available for free for a limited time on the App Store and Google Play. As a token of our gratitude to all the players who have supported the series over the years, we are delighted to share the game that started it all and hope you will enjoy experiencing the beginning of the Castlevania saga as part of this special 40th anniversary celebration.
Academy Award winner Brad Bird, the visionary director of The Incredibles, Ratatouille, and The Iron Giant, brings you a whole new world to investigate…
In Metropia, a gigantic city in an alternate future as seen from 1939, private eye Raymond Gunn (Sam Rockwell) is drawn into a case involving aliens, murder and a multimedia star named Venus Nova (Scarlett Johansson).
Watch Ray Gunn - in select theaters December 4 and on Netflix December 18.
Terrence has secluded himself in an emotionless world.
He goes through his daily teenager life apathetically… with one exception! The simple sight of a flame plunges him into a world of fear, an awaken version of his nightmares – for, every time he falls asleep, he helplessly relieves the tragic event, thus rekindling his pyrophobia. Until that one night he can’t bear it anymore and stops running away from the devilish flames. Little does he know that, by doing so, he overcame his greatest fear and became a Traveler: a very special kind of Dreamer, able to explore Dreamland, the dimension born from mankind’s dreams… and nightmares!
As a child Tatsuhiko dreamed of being an animator but gave up that dream after relentless teasing from his classmates. His friends later started a band and music became his new passion. The band eventually breaks up pushing Tatsuhiko to become cynical and double down on his view of dreams being useless. However, while demeaning a friend's dreams, an unknown drunk woman calls him out on this cynical outlook, angrily yelling at him in the streets. This chance encounter revives Tatsuhiko's childhood passion for animation, and he begins again by uploading a short two minute animation online. He is then contacted by Nico, an independent artist he has long been a huge fan of, who wishes to work with him to create an animated music video for her latest song. To his horror, when finally meeting the artist, he learns that she is the same drunk woman who had berated him about dreams before. She appears to not remember their previous encounter and the two agree to work together. They begin to growing closer, encouraging each other throughout the process.
Nico is eventually contacted by a major record label to have her sign on with them. This unfortunately puts her project with Tatsuhiko on hold since the label will hold the rights to her song. Tatsu instead works on creating a different animation for a local contest and also befriends a couple other aspiring animators at his college.
Nico is shocked when the record label has to put her debut on hold due to an influx of artists from another label that had to close down. Nico asks if in the meantime she could write and compose songs. She submits a song to a competition which may lead to a collaboration with a popular pop artist Miyu. Nico's song is chosen but she discovers that Miyu is her childhood best friend, Miu, who shared Nico's passion for music. The two had a falling out and drifted apart after Nico gave up on music. At first Miyu pretends she does not know Nico, but later pulls Nico into another room demanding an answer for why Nico initially gave up on music.
Pia Rockwell is a minor villainess in the game Caroline and the Rainbow Magic Sweets. At the end of the game, she's destined to be judged at her graduation party, see her engagement broken off, and be banished from the kingdom. Realizing she's doomed, Pia offers to end her engagement with Rufus Stan…but this only inspires the proud chancellor’s son to make a bet with her about their future!
Hikaru Shidou, Umi Ryuuzaki, and Fuu Hououji aren't from Cephiro. While on a school field trip to the Tokyo Tower, the three girls' minds are on anything but different worlds filled with magic and wonder. That is, until Princess Emeraude, the Pillar of Cephiro, cries out for the Magic Knights to save her world--and that just happens to be those three!
Originally serialized in Weekly Shonen Jump (published by Shueisha) from 2008 to 2010, PSYREN is a psychic action battle manga by Toshiaki Iwashiro. Nearly 15 years after its conclusion, the series continues to enjoy enduring popularity, having been nominated three times for the "MANGA WE WANT TO SEE ANIMATED" poll.
Now, the long-awaited TV anime adaptation has officially been announced!
One day, high schooler Ageha Yoshina picks up a mysterious "red phone card" left behind in a public telephone booth.
A few days later, his childhood friend and classmate, Sakurako Amamiya, who possessed the same card, suddenly vanishes without a trace. In search of her, Ageha finds himself drawn into the rumors surrounding a nationwide string of mysterious disappearances, said to be the work of a secret organization known only as "Psyren."
When he accesses the group, a deadly game begins, one that will change his fate forever.
When Prue McKeel’s baby brother is taken into the mysterious forest beyond Portland, she sets out to bring him home and discovers a hidden world on the brink of war. From LAIKA, the studio behind Coraline, Kubo and the Two Strings, and ParaNorman, comes Wildwood, an epic new fantasy adventure directed by Travis Knight.
Experience a world beyond your imagination, only in theatres October 23.
DreamWorks Animation, the studio that brought you unforgettable bonds between a boy and a dragon in How to Train Your Dragon, an ogre and a donkey in Shrek, and a robot and a gosling in The Wild Robot, now welcomes a dazzling and emotional story about two lifelong best friends who must come together before they drift apart in Forgotten Island.
The new original film is written and directed by Academy Award® nominee Joel Crawford and Januel Mercado and is produced by Academy Award® nominee Mark Swift, the filmmaking team behind Puss in Boots: The Last Wish.
Grammy and Academy Award® winning supernova H.E.R. and Liza Soberano (Lisa Frankenstein, Alone/Together) star as high school graduates Jo and Raissa, who have been best friends since grade school but are now about to embark on separate life paths.
While celebrating their last night together, Jo and Raissa stumble upon a mysterious portal that transports them to the fantastical island of Nakali, packed with magical and mythological creatures they grew up hearing stories about from their Filipino families.
Some of these figures will become friends, some foes. Joined by well-meaning-but- hapless weredog Raww (Dave Franco) and a small-but-mighty pack of pals, Jo and Raissa must face The Dreaded Manananggal (Tony winning icon Lea Salonga), the most feared creature on the island. When they discover that the memories of their entire friendship are the price for returning home, Jo and Raissa will race to find a way to leave the island before they forget each other forever.
The film’s all-star voice cast also includes Emmy nominee Jenny Slate (Marcel the Shell with Shoes On, Dying for Sex), Manny Jacinto (The Good Place, Top Gun: Maverick), BAFTA nominee Dolly de Leon (Triangle of Sadness, Ghostlight), global comedy superstar Jo Koy (Haunted Mansion, Jo Koy: Live from Brooklyn) and Emmy winner Ronny Chieng (The Daily Show, M3GAN).
"Glitch Witch", a new "Ghost In The Shell" manga by Masamune Shirow (story) & Naoki Azuma (art). A parallel story set in the same world and during the same timeline as the 1989 manga.
Meet Aya, the only human nurse brave enough to work at Ward Seven the world's only hospital for monsters, demons, and fallen gods. While they can end worlds, they still can't handle a simple flu shot.
You asked for the full story, and it's finally here. This is the official teaser for the upcoming "Ward Seven" anime series. If you enjoyed the Shorts, subscribe to STOICSTIC to see every episode as it drops!
In a world where the supernatural is reality, Aya keeps the peace (and the health) of the creatures that go bump in the night. From giant structural demons to ancient gods with splinters, she's seen it all. But in Ward Seven, some secrets are better left buried.
Avatar: Seven Havens is an all-new series from creators Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko. Set in a world shattered by a devastating cataclysm, a young Earthbender discovers she's the new Avatar after Korra. In this dangerous era, that title marks her as humanity's destroyer, not its savior. Hunted by both human and spirit enemies, she and her long-lost twin must uncover their mysterious origins and save the Seven Havens before civilization’s last strongholds collapse.
Avatar: Seven Havens premieres October 9 only on Paramount+.
Godzilla Minus Zero, the upcoming film follow-up to the 2023 movie, Godzilla Minus One.
War reduced Japan to zero, and Godzilla plunged it into minus. Two years have passed since then, and the country has faced agonizing struggles to achieve recovery and finally reclaim its daily life.
Just as humanity managed to cling to a hard-won peace, a new threat strikes, crushing hope in an instant.
There is no third time. Everything ends here.
Ryunosuke Kamiki returns as Koichi Shikishima, the hero who stood against Godzilla’s terror in Godzilla Minus One, and is joined by Minami Hamabe as Noriko Shikishima, who miraculously survived Godzilla’s first attack on Tokyo. Min Tanaka joins the cast in the pivotal role of Kanji Murakami, a biologist carrying deep psychological scars from the war.
Additionally, Hidetaka Yoshioka reprises his role as Kenji Noda, who fought alongside protagonist Koichi Shikishima in Godzilla Minus One and now battles the new threat as the director of the Disaster Response Bureau. Yuki Yamada returns as Shiro Mizushima, the young crew member of the Shinseimaru who fought on the front lines, alongside Kuranosuke Sasaki as Seiji Akitsu, the captain of the same vessel. Furthermore, Sakura Ando reprises her role as Sumiko Ota, Shikishima's neighbor who now runs a local orphanage, and Miou Tanaka returns as Tatsuo Hotta, the former captain of the destroyer Yukikaze.
New cast members include Masami Nagasawa, who joins as Makoto Aoyama, a genius weather forecaster assigned to the Disaster Response Bureau. Further cast additions include Jun Kunimura, cast as Dr. Ogata, and Ko Maehara as Professor Murakami’s (Min Tanaka) assistant Akira Hagiwara. Additionally, Motosuke Iida is confirmed to reprise his role as Akio Itagaki, the Toyo Balloon section chief who made significant contributions to the Godzilla extermination operation in Godzilla Minus One. Further cast additions include Kenji Misuhashi, Eita Okuno, and Kai Inowaki.
Godzilla Minus Zero, directed by Takashi Yamazaki, will make its world premiere as the Spotlight Gala selection for the 64th New York Film Festival on Saturday, September 26. The wide theatrical release across North America begins November 6, 2026. It will debut in Japan on November 3, 2026.
A short animation created in 1997 by Studio4°C. It tells of the battle between the Noiseman monster that robs the people of music and controls the town, and the boys and girls who have been freed from the noise spells by the truth of music. The director is the creator who represents Studio 4°C, Koji Morimoto. Appointing Masaaki Yuasa to handle character design, environment settings, and animation directing, a never-before-seen feeling for color and a sense for molding brings new perspective to animation. The music, so full of a sense of speed was composed by Yoko Kanno.
An animated dark sci-fi series about a crew surviving a deadly cosmic
arena, discovering "travelers" isn't just meant for humans.
Cosmic Travelers is an indie dark sci-fi animation series. The story follows three teammates: a human boy, an android girl, and a robot that looks like a cross between a red panda and a rabbit. They get pulled into a strange game set inside a local zoo. But they soon realize the zoo is actually an arena run by higher civilizations, and Earth itself is just one small section in a massive cosmic theme park.
Forced into dark, bloody, and bizarre competitions alongside alien rivals, they must fight to stay alive while uncovering the cold truth behind Earth’s civilization.
▼Our Kickstarter pre-launch page is officially live▼
A quiet stranger finds Chop at a roadside noodle stall — calm, watchful, and clearly hiding something. What starts as a lie about "just passing through" turns into the most personal fight in the series: two souls who both refused to dissolve in Yomi, but who ended up as very different things. Chainsaws, sledgehammers, rockets, and a blade that cuts through everything in its path — but the real reveal isn't in the fight. It's in what comes after.
Part of the Neo Tokyo 85 anthology: a connected universe of AI-generated cyberpunk anime shorts set in a decaying 1980s Neo-Tokyo.
Shin Youngwoo (a.k.a. Grid), an unlucky man in life and a low-level player in the popular VR game “Satisfy,” finds a powerful item that earns him a rare legendary class title: “Pagma’s Successor.” He’s now a skilled blacksmith who can forge unique weapons and equip the game’s most powerful gear. Grid resolves to use his new abilities to achieve fame and fortune, but as his very existence begins to stir up trouble in Satisfy, he realizes that life as a legend may be more than he bargained for….
Set in a post-apocalyptic, near-future Los Angeles where culinary culture reigns supreme and the world's most powerful figures are chefs, the series follows a mysterious sushi chef named Jiro, who sets out on a quest for vengeance in a society where food is both currency and a marker of class.
Get Jiro double premieres on October 3 at midnight
during Toonami on Adult Swim, next day on HBO Max.
A washed up edgerunner & a killer netrunner in Night City... what could go wrong? A new standalone 10-episode story from the world of Cyberpunk 2077, Cyberpunk: Edgerunners 2 arrives October 20th, only on Netflix.
What an awful week. We've lost Dolly Parton, Tim Curry and now Peter Cullen, the voice of Optimus Prime, all within days of each other. They say that celebrity deaths often come in threes, but these three were all legends.
While hunting for rare Pyrolite fuel, Guan Chao accidentally enters the Memory Bureau and joins forces with Fangtang and Bai Zhong to fight mysterious BUG creatures corrupting different memory realms, uncovering secrets beyond imagination.
Studio Ghibli’s new A Night in the Valley of Witches gets
praise from legendary filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki
On July 8, 2026, Studio Ghibli premiered the 14-minute short film A Night in the Valley of Witches at Ghibli Park in Japan. Set in the park’s “Valley of Witches,” the fantasy anime explores mysterious magical events that happen after dark from the perspective of a confused night-shift worker. Director Goro Miyazaki said his father’s reaction was “insane in a good way.”
Co-directed by Goro Miyazaki and Ghibli veteran Akihiko Yamashita, the short takes fans into Ghibli Park’s magical Valley of Witches, featuring locations inspired by Kiki’s Delivery Service and Howl’s Moving Castle.
Yamashita previously worked on Spirited Away, Howl’s Moving Castle, and Mary and the Witch’s Flower, making his involvement a special connection to Ghibli’s history.
The short also features the park’s 65-foot-tall replica of Howl’s Castle. Goro once joked about the stationary structure:
“Howl’s castle is a ‘moving castle,’ but the castle in the park stays seated the whole time.”
“It’s not good for the [visitor’s] health if it doesn’t move.”
For Goro, the project marks another step in his long journey at Studio Ghibli. His early work, including Tales From Earthsea, faced criticism from his father, but he continued refining his own creative voice. Hayao later described Earwig and the Witch as “rather interesting,” despite its mixed reception.
With Goro now involved in discussions about Ghibli’s future alongside new president Kenichi Yoda, while Hayao Miyazaki remains deeply involved in selecting projects, the short feels like a meeting of Ghibli’s past and future.
A Night in the Valley of Witches is currently screening exclusively at Ghibli Park in Aichi, Japan.
Starring: Matthew Rhys, Danny Pudi, Lisa Gilroy Network: Paramount+
Synopsis: In an homage to SEGA’s iconic 1989 video game, Golden Axe follows legendary warriors Ax Battler, Tyris Flare and Gilius Thunderhead as they reunite to save Yuria from the evil giant Death Adder, who just won’t seem to stay dead. Their quest is complicated by Hampton Squib, an inexperienced and wildly underprepared adventurer whose dream of heroism far exceeds his abilities. Forced to work together despite their flaws, they must find a way to stop Death Adder once and for all.
Sunday, August 23, 2026
Cyberpunk: Edgerunners 2
A washed up edgerunner & a killer netrunner in Night City...
what could go wrong?
A new standalone 10-episode story from the world of Cyberpunk 2077, Cyberpunk: Edgerunners 2 arrives October 20th, only on Netflix.
SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT: Yamato fanzines are no longer Japan-only! There's one being created right now here in the USA, and YOU have an opportunity to contribute! Here's the submission form.
One day, high schooler Ageha Yoshina picks up a mysterious “red phone card” left behind in a public telephone booth.
A few days later, his childhood friend and classmate, Sakurako Amamiya—who possessed the same card—suddenly vanishes without a trace. In search of her, Ageha finds himself drawn into the rumors surrounding a nationwide string of mysterious disappearances, said to be the work of a secret organization known only as “Psyren.”
San and Mayu attend an all-girls school on a warm and tranquil island. When war reaches their shores, they are ordered to help nurse the wounded in a military hospital hidden away in a cave. Amidst escalating death and brutality, the friends struggle to find solace in their fragile lives.
Based on the manga by Machiko Kyo, cocoon – One Summer of Girlhood is the debut feature from Yukimitsu Ina and animation studio SASAYURI, founded by former Studio Ghibli animator Hitomi Tateno. The project brings together legendary veteran animators like Akihiko Yamashita and Shinji Otsuka, known for their work on PRINCESS MONONOKE and THE BOY AND THE HERON, with a new, young generation of animating talent. Featuring a stirring score from kensuke ushio (A Silent Voice, Chainsaw Man), the film is a devastating yet beautiful plea for peace.
The story follows an orphaned girl named Riko, who finds and befriends a part-robot boy named Reg, and descends with him into the titular "Abyss" that leads deep into the Earth, in hopes of exploring it and finding her mother.
