Next Club Meeting: November 16, 2024, 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.

Thursday, November 7, 2024

He was once the Ultimate Hitman...

SAKAMOTO DAYS
Taro Sakamoto used to be an unrivaled hitman, earning legendary status in the underworld, but one day, the unthinkable happened; Sakamoto fell in love. He started dating, retired, got married, and had a kid, growing overweight as a result. Though now working as a humble convenience store owner, the world of hitmen still follows him. Sakamoto, along with Shin, a young man with telepathy and employee at his small store, will protect his humble life and family, or die trying.
Coming to Netflix, January 2025

Wednesday, November 6, 2024

Who will be making an appearance for...

ONE PIECE: SEASON TWO
Covering Netflix One Piece Season 2 Trailer and Easter Eggs. One Piece Season 2 will adapt the Alabasta Saga. Baroque Works, Crocodile, Nico Robin, Vivi and a bunch of other new characters beginning with Captain Smoker and Loguetown. The season will start with Loguetown and end with Drum Island. And One Piece Season 3 will start with the Alabasta Arc pushing into Sky Islands. ONE PIECE is a legendary high-seas quest unlike any other. Luffy is a young adventurer who has longed for a life of freedom ever since he can remember. He sets off from his small village on a perilous journey to find the legendary fabled treasure, ONE PIECE, to become King of the Pirates. Major Characters in One Piece Season 1, Nami, Zoro, Usopp, Buggy The Clown, Red Shanks, Gol D. Roger and the One Piece Treasure. The Going Merry Ship and becoming the Straw Hat Pirates by the end of the season. Luffy and Red Shanks, the Devil Fruit Gum Gum Powers, the next Pirate King. Other major villains. The World Government, The Marines, The Four Emperors and the Seven Warlords.

Tuesday, November 5, 2024

Who will save the Multiverse?

GRIDMAN UNIVERSE
Yuta Hibiki can’t remember who he is, and now he’s seeing and hearing things that others don’t! A voice from an old computer tells him to remember his calling, and he sees a massive, unmoving creature in the distance. Nothing’s making sense—until the behemoth springs to life! Suddenly, Yuta is pulled into the digital world, reappearing in the real one as the colossal hero — Gridman!

Monday, November 4, 2024

Can This Show Save Star Wars?

SKELETON CREW
On December 3, a new Star Wars adventure awaits.
 Star Wars: Skeleton Crew is an upcoming American science fiction television series created by Jon Watts and Christopher Ford for the streaming service Disney+. It is part of the Star Wars franchise, taking place in the same time frame as the series The Mandalorian and its interconnected spin-offs after the events of the film Return of the Jedi (1983). Skeleton Crew tells a coming-of-age story about four children who make a discovery on their home planet, get lost in the galaxy, and go on an adventure to get back home.

Jude Law stars in the series with Ravi Cabot-Conyers, Ryan Kiera Armstrong, Kyriana Kratter, Robert Timothy Smith, Tunde Adebimpe, Kerry Condon, and Nick Frost. Watts approached Lucasfilm about telling an Amblin Entertainment-style coming-of-age story set in the Star Wars universe, and he was developing the series with Ford by early 2022. It was officially announced that May at Star Wars Celebration, with Law revealed to be starring. Filming began by September 2022 in Los Angeles, and wrapped by late January 2023. The child actors in the series were revealed in April 2023. Kathleen Kennedy, Jon Favreau, and Dave Filoni returned from The Mandalorian as additional executive producers.

Skeleton Crew is scheduled to premiere on Disney+ on December 3, 2024, and will consist of eight episodes.

Sunday, November 3, 2024

Concord Gone...

How D.E.I. and Stakeholder capitalism 
caused Entertainment’s Downfall...
On October 29th, Sony confirmed that Concord would be sunset forever, and Firewalk studios shut down, thus becoming the latest in a long string of DEI gone wrong horror stories, which also includes Disney, Marvel, Star Wars and so much more. But what is DEI, how does it connect to Stakeholder Capitalism as well as with ESG and its derivates, and why are these so bad for not just entertainment, but anything else they’re applied to? Let’s find out!

Saturday, November 2, 2024

The blizzard that almost ruined everything...

THAT CHRISTMAS
Based on the charming trilogy of children's books by beloved multi award-winning writer/director Richard Curtis (Four Weddings and a Funeral, Notting Hill, Love Actually, Yesterday), That Christmas follows a series of entwined tales about family and friends, love and loneliness, and Santa Claus making a big mistake, not to mention an enormous number of turkeys! This heartwarming comedy from Locksmith Animation marks Curtis’ first foray into animation, serving as the film’s writer and executive producer, and also the feature directorial debut of renowned animation veteran Simon Otto (Love, Death & Robots, How to Train Your Dragon films). Nicole P. Hearon (Moana, Frozen) and Adam Tandy (The Thick of It, Detectorists) are producers.
That Christmas premieres on Netflix, December 4.

Friday, November 1, 2024

"When a spell turns her parents into monsters..."

S P E L L B O U N D
"A teenage princess must journey into the wild
to reverse the curse before it's too late."
When a spell turns her parents into monsters, Princess Ellian embarks on an epic quest to reverse the curse before it's too late. This twist on happily ever after is directed by Vicky Jenson (SHREK) with original score from EGOT-winning composer Alan Menken (BEAUTY AND THE BEAST) and lyrics by Glenn Slater (TANGLED). A Netflix Film from Skydance Animation, SPELLBOUND boasts an all-star voice cast led by Rachel Zegler, John Lithgow, Jenifer Lewis, Nathan Lane, Tituss Burgess, with Javier Bardem, and Nicole Kidman. Spellbound is written by Lauren Hynek & Elizabeth Martin, and Julia Miranda and produced by John Lasseter, David Ellison, Dana Goldberg, Bruce Anderson, and Linda Woolverton.

Thursday, October 31, 2024

Knock-knock! Trick or Treat?

We Witch You a Happy Halloween!
Time to gather together for some frightfully good fun this Halloween. And while you’re greeting your ghosts and guests, be safe and beware of the little ones crossing the streets...

Wednesday, October 30, 2024

Get Ready for a New Investigation...

WEDNESDAY - Season 2
Netflix’s hit series Wednesday gets an exciting season 2 update. The first season followed Wednesday (Jenna Ortega), the sole daughter of the Addams Family, as she gets used to her newfound supernatural abilities while attending Nevermore Academy, a school for outcasts. It debuted to instant success, spending 20 weeks on Netflix’s Global Top Ten and earning 12 nominations at the Emmy Awards. Wednesday season 2 has been in development since shortly after the show's debut and is expected to premiere in 2025. Speaking with Screen Rant, stunt coordinator and action unit director Vic Armstrong gave a promising update regarding Wednesday’s second season. Armstrong revealed that he and the creative team behind the series are two-thirds of the way through and are having fun with the process. He then spoke about Wednesday director and executive producer Tim Burton’s amazing character and celebrated Burton’s success with Beetlejuice Beetlejuice.

Monday, October 28, 2024

When Mirror Edge meets Cowboy Bebop...

L A Z A R U S
Lazarus (ラザロ, Razaro) is an upcoming anime television series that is set to premiere in 2025 in the United States on Adult Swim's Toonami programming block.
In the utopian year 2052, Dr. Skinner discovered a miracle drug. In 2055, Skinner announces that the drug has a three year half-life and soon everyone who took it will die. A task force of five agents is assembled to locate Skinner and find a vaccine. Its name is "Lazarus"
The anime series was announced by Adult Swim on July 20, 2023, and will be directed by Shinichirō Watanabe, most notable for directing the Cowboy Bebop anime television series. Chad Stahelski, who is notable for directing the John Wick film franchise, is designing the action sequences. For music composition, the series will feature a score by jazz saxophonist Kamasi Washington, and producers, DJs, and musicians Floating Points and Bonobo. Animation for the series will be done by MAPPA while Sola Entertainment handles general production.

Sunday, October 27, 2024

A Revolutionary Gaming Anthology Series...

S E C R E T   L E V E L

SECRET LEVEL is a new adult-animated anthology series featuring original stories set within the worlds of some of the most beloved video games. From the creative minds behind LOVE, DEATH + ROBOTS, each of the 15 episodes is a celebration of games and gamers. Games that inspired the 15 epic stories include Armored Core, Crossfire, Dungeons & Dragons, Exodus, Honor of Kings, Mega Man, New World: Aeternum, PAC-MAN, various PlayStation Studios games, Sifu, Spelunky, The Outer Worlds, Unreal Tournament and Warhammer 40,000.
SECRET LEVEL, arrives on Prime Video December 10