Next Club Meeting: July 19, 2025, 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, such as live-action films, comics, music, art, and other weird things to enjoy and contemplate.

Tuesday, July 1, 2025

One chance to save us all...

PROJECT HAIL MARY
Based on Andy Weir's New York Times best-selling novel, starring Academy Award® nominee Ryan Gosling, and directed by Academy Award® winning filmmakers Phil Lord and Christopher Miller.
Only in theaters and IMAX - 3.20.26
In the near future, scientists observe a global dimming event coinciding with the formation of a bright line from the Sun to Venus. The exponential rate of dimming will cause a catastrophic ice age within 30 years. The world's governments cooperate and appoint former European Space Agency administrator Eva Stratt unilateral authority and legal immunity to solve the problem. A space probe is sent to Venus, and it is discovered that the line contains alien microbes.

Stratt appoints Ryland Grace, a junior high (middle) school teacher and former molecular biologist to study a sample of the organism recovered from Venus. He discovers that the single-celled organism consumes electromagnetic radiation and uses radiant energy to move, naming it "Astrophage". Grace also discovers that Astrophage reproduces by feeding on the heat of the Sun and carbon dioxide on Venus. Other scientists discover that Astrophage can be mass-bred for use as rocket fuel.

Astronomy data reveals that Astrophage has also infected and dimmed nearby stars, but one star, Tau Ceti, has resisted the infection. An Astrophage-fueled starship, the Hail Mary, is created to travel to Tau Ceti and obtain information about Astrophage resistance. There is only enough time to breed enough Astrophage for a one-way trip, so the crew are tasked with returning the findings to Earth with unmanned mini-ships called "beetles". Grace trains the science experts for the mission, but they are killed in an accident shortly before launch. With no time to train a comparably-skilled replacement, Stratt forces Grace to join the mission. Grace threatens sabotage, so a sedative is administered to him before launch, with a temporary amnesia-inducing drug set to be administered shortly before he awakens.

Years later, Ryland Grace emerges from his coma aboard the Hail Mary with no memory of his identity or situation. Grace finds that his crew members have died and gives them a space burial. Hail Mary reaches Tau Ceti and is approached by an alien starship, which Grace names "Blip-A". The other ship indicates that its home system in 40 Eridani is also plagued by an Astrophage infection. Blip-A docks with Hail Mary, and the two ships establish first contact. Grace develops a system to communicate with the spider-like five-legged alien, whom he names "Rocky". Rocky, a skilled engineer, has been in the Tau Ceti system for 46 years and is the last survivor of his crew.

Unfamiliar with the concept of relativity, the Eridians greatly overestimated the amount of fuel needed for a round-trip to Tau Ceti, and Grace learns that the Blip-A has enough Astrophage fuel for both ships to return to their planets. Grace and Rocky discover Astrophage's home planet in orbit around Tau Ceti, which Rocky names after his mate and Grace names "Adrian". The planet's atmosphere is found to contain a natural predator of Astrophage. The predator is found to live in the upper atmosphere of Adrian, forcing Grace and Rocky to construct a 10 kilometer chain made of xenonite, an Eridian xenon compound with extraordinary tensile strength and heat resistance. While collecting a sample, a hull breach occurs, and Grace and Rocky risk their lives to save each other...

Monday, June 30, 2025

"Finish her!..."

Young Ladies Don’t Play Fighting Games
Kuromi Girls' Academy is a refined, elegant school that expects the very best in deportment from its young ladies. Aya got into this peerless rich-girls' institution on a scholarship, and hopes to grow as lovely as her fellow student and idol Shirayui. But Shirayui hides a terrible secret: she's a trash-talking, combo-chaining, newbie-stomping, ruthless hardcore gamer! Could a mutual indulgence in no-holds-barred video game combat grow into a deeper rapport between these two girls?

Sunday, June 29, 2025

"Sisters! Let's Fight As One!"

S h i n s e i   G a l v e r s e
Zero crash-lands on the war-torn planet Amatera with no memories and no idea who she is. Amidst a brutal conflict between the local resistance and the imperial Gevuran forces, she meets Ring, a charismatic young leader fighting to save the world. As Zero’s identity slowly awakens, she discovers she’s no ordinary girl—she’s a cosmic being known as Galverse, a key to something far greater than any one planet.
 
Shinsei Galverse is a fan-funded, original sci-fi anime directed by Ayaka Ohira, blending 90's anime nostalgia with contemporary storytelling. Throughout its production, fans have enjoyed unprecedented behind-the-scenes access, actively contributing to story elements, character designs, creative works, and even the anime’s marketing and release!
Watch the Anime here... 

Saturday, June 28, 2025

The Vampire Love Story Continues...

Call of the Night - Season 2
Ko overcomes his confusion about becoming a vampire and decides to "like" Nazuna, while Nazuna resolves to make Ko "fall in love" with her. Without understanding what "love" even is, the two of them spend their nights together in a frenzy. Meanwhile, Detective Uguisu Anko is closing in with her plot to kill vampires, not just Nazuna. A vampire's weakness is "anything they were attached to when they were human" and so they all try to get rid of this weakness before it's too late. But, Nazuna has no memory of her human life. What is Nazuna's hidden past? Why did Anko start killing vampires? And what is the "secret" that Nazuna and Anko share? For Ko, Nazuna, Anko, a fun "late night" doesn't end here... a new "night" begins!

Friday, June 27, 2025

Yes, they actually made a Bowling Anime...

Turkey! Time to Strike
Mai Otonashi is a second-year student and the captain of the Ikkokukan High School Bowling Club, and recently, she’s struggled to win. Whenever she scores a Turkey, three consecutive strikes, she follows it up with an unbeatable split—the Snake Eyes. This is the story of Mai, Rina, Sayuri, Nozomi, and Nanase as they fight, fall, and rise again in pursuit of victory in the final days of summer.

Thursday, June 26, 2025

The Legendary Isekai Returns...

The Rising of the Shield Hero - Season 4
The end of the third season teased that Raphtalia would be at the center of a huge new story, but the trailers and promotional materials have instead teased that the brother and sister duo Alta and Fohl will be taking the center stage this time. Either way, there’s going to be a lot of chaos coming Naofumi and his party’s way as the new season hits our screens later this Summer.
Release Date: July 9, 2025

Wednesday, June 25, 2025

The whole gang is back...

Ranma 1/2: Season 2
The first season adapts approximately the first four volumes of the original manga, leaving off with Akane's restored memories of Ranma. If the second season plans to cover a similar amount of material, it should include Mousse's arrival and finish up with Happosai's introduction to the story.
Coming to Netflix in October 2025

Tuesday, June 24, 2025

Praise the Fool...

Lord of the Mysteries
The story begins in the year 1349 of the Epoch Calendar. Zhou Mingrui, a Chinese youth transmigrates into the body of a university graduate, Klein Moretti, after the latter's questionable suicide.
Arriving June 2025
Finding himself in a world reminiscent of late Victoria era England with mystical powers, Zhou Mingrui (now Klein Moretti) searches for a way to go home. After reproducing a ritual that presumably was the catalyst of his transmigration, he masquerades as a god-like entity and forms an organization known as the 'Tarot Club'. After becoming an official Beyonder (Those with supernatural abilities), he tries to find out what happened with Klein's suicide while growing his power to eventually return home.

Monday, June 23, 2025

One decade of absolute greatness...

My Hero Academia - FINAL SEASON
Izuku has dreamt of being a hero all his life—a lofty goal for anyone, but especially challenging for a kid with no superpowers. That’s right, in a world where eighty percent of the population has some kind of super-powered “quirk,” Izuku was unlucky enough to be born completely normal. But that’s not enough to stop him from enrolling in one of the world’s most prestigious hero academies.
October 2025

Sunday, June 22, 2025

Jim Henson's Punch-Out...

Felt That Boxing
Get your first look at the announcement trailer for Felt That Boxing, the puppet-based pugilism game from Sans Strings Studio. Felt That Boxing combines comedic storytelling with intense arcade fighting action. Felt That Boxing is coming to Steam, release date TBD.

Saturday, June 21, 2025

When the "Mother-in-Law" is a Real Dragon...

C L E V A T E S S
One of the Lords of Dark Beasts, Clevatess’s reign shatters when he revives a hero he personally slayed and adopts an orphaned humanoid baby—the last hope to save a dying world. Now bound together, what fate awaits this unlikely trio?
Release date: July 2025

Friday, June 20, 2025

What the heck did I just watch...

UMAMUSUME: Pretty Derby
Horse Girl Racing!
Umamusume: Pretty Derby is racing towards its English debut! The English release of the game will launch on June 26, 2025. Faster than Anyone is a glimpse of what's to come in the dramatic world of Umamusume racing, set to the song "Girls' Legend U".
Yes, it's a game where you can race your Horse Girls!