Next Club Meeting: December 14, 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.

Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Fantastic Holiday Gifts

For that Star Wars Fan in Your Life
Wampa Plush Throw Rug 
As the snow begins to float from the sky, your Star Wars fan is going to have one fear above all—Wampas! Yes, those awful beasts could show up at any moment. The only way to keep your pal safe is to buy them this throw rug which will let any abominable snow monsters out there know what will happen if they come banging down your Star Wars fan’s door. $99.99

Tauntaun sleeping bag 
It gets colder than Hoth during the winter months. It’s up to you to ensure that your little Luke Skywalker doesn’t freeze to death. Why kill a poor, defenseless creature (seriously, that stinks) when you can give your friend a Tauntaun sleeping bag? Trust us, the Facebook pictures alone will make the gift worthwhile. $99.99

Star Wars Science—Force Trainer 
Let’s face facts—your friend probably doesn’t have the midichlorians to be the next Skywalker, but that doesn’t mean they can’t try all the same. This fun gadget comes with a headset that has EEG sensors in it. The toy can interpret your friend’s brainwaves, helping them move objects with their mind! Perfect for your buddy, the padawannabe. $36.99

Han Solo Frozen in Carbonite Ice Cube Trays 
When Han got frozen in carbonite, your Star Wars fan was probably really sad. You know what would make them even more sad—a room-temperature beverage! Their only hope is that you will buy them some ice cube trays in the form of Solo’s screaming face. Good holiday fun and a great stocking stuffer. $14.99

Interactive R2-D2 
It doesn’t matter if your friend is a Luke or a C-3PO—they are going to want R2-D2. This toy reacts to commands and will bring your friend their beer. We’re not sure there could ever be a greater gift for a Star Wars fan than a little robot buddy of their very own. $199.99

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Gyakuten Saiban

Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney
Click on the _CC_ for subtitles
[Source: Wikipedia] Based primarily on the first game in the series, Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney, the film focuses on rookie defense attorney Ryūichi Naruhodō, as he strives to protect his clients in various murder trials, including the death of his mentor, Chihiro Ayasato, and the accusation of rival prosecutor, Reiji Mitsurugi. Ryūichi's greatest ally is Chihiro's younger sister Mayoi, a spirit medium whose body is posessed by Chihiro to communicate with him. The film will be a courtroom drama combined with the video game series' signature style. Sci-fi elements are also used such as characters bringing up projected images of evidence during trials.

Monday, November 28, 2011

Harajuku Mini now available at Target

Gwen Stefani's New Fashion Line
"I've always been inspired by the cool children's clothing in Japan, but it was always so hard for me to find it here," says fashion plate Stefani, mother of two herself. "Now all the moms can get their hands on it!" 
The Harajuku Mini section of the Target website features a virtual paperdoll that can be dressed up in a variety of the line's tops, bottoms and dresses. There's something for kids ranging from 6 months to 16 years and the price points are all an affordable $3.99 to $29.99. Or at least they're affordable until they sell out and show up on eBay.
 

Sunday, November 27, 2011

Next Club Meeting is December 3, 2011

December 3, Building K, Room 131, from Noon - 8pm
ANIMATRIX NETWORK

This will be our Annual Potluck. Please bring a dish to share.

When: Saturday, December 3, 2011, from Noon to 8:00 pm
Where: College of DuPage, Building K, Room 131

(Located near the Intersection of S. Lambert Road and Fawell Blvd)
Click for Regional Map and Local Map for Directions.

A Viewing Schedule will be posted soon.

Saturday, November 26, 2011

Friday, November 25, 2011

It's Black Friday!

Take Advantage of All the Sales!

Black Friday Bargains!

RightStuf.com Anime Sale!
Kick off the holiday season with special deals on selected DVDs, Blu-ray discs, box sets and more for a limited time – from today through 11:59 p.m. CST on Cyber Monday (November 28, 2011)!
How? Just add the item to your shopping cart and check out to save!
(No coupon codes and the sale prices are in red!)
But hurry! Some quantities are limited, AND the sale ends on November 28, 2011 at 11:59 p.m. CST!

Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Newsletter - November 2011

November 2011
News Collected and Edited by Octavio Soto
Mamoru Oshii Creates Chimamire My Love Manga/Anime Hybrid posted on 2011-10-10 07:00 EDT
Vampire comedy to premiere next February before release on mobile devicesMamoru Oshii, the director known for Ghost in the Shell, The Sky Crawlers, and other anime titles, is delving into digital media with a manga/anime hybrid called Chimamire My Love (My Blood-Stained Love). The project is aimed at mobile devices — starting with the iPad, and then expanding onto the iPhone and Android mobile devices. Oshii planned and created the project himself. The story revolves around a timid second-year high school student who finds a kindred spirit in a girl he meets via a blood donation site. The girl is actually a vampire, and the comedy follows the boy's madcap efforts to get blood donations for her. Oshii noted that in this current downturn in anime and films, hybrid digital media such as this project offers new, unexplored possibilities. He added that he wants to do the kind of slapstick comedy that he has not done since Urusei Yatsura. The completed work will premiere at the world's largest international short film festival in Clermont-Ferrand, France next February. It will then be distributed worldwide.

Shinryaku!? Ika Musume/Squid Girl 2 Goes on 2-Week Hiatus posted on 2011-10-11 04:50 EDT
No new episodes on October 24, November 7
The official website of the second Squid Girl television anime series announced on Tuesday that the anime will not air new episodes on October 24 and November 7 "due to circumstances at the station" TV Tokyo in the Kanto area.
Update: More information and image added. Since TV Aichi and TV Osaka (the other two stations showing the anime) will start their broadcasts two weeks after TV Tokyo did, TV Tokyo's hiatus will bring all three stations' episode schedules in line. 

Manga Creator Kei Aoyama Passes Away at 32 posted on 2011-10-12 00:00 EDT Creator of Evening's Yoiko no Mokushiroku, SWWEEET found in his apartmentThe television station TBS is reporting that manga creator Kei Aoyama was found dead, hung from his neck, in the bathroom of his Tokyo apartment on October 9. He was 32. There were no visible signs of wounds or a struggle in the bathroom, and the last posts on Aoyama's Twitter account, dated October 6, discussed mortality, including a final post that said: Well, I have much left to do and much I dreamed of doing, but I hardly have any "regrets." I am content with the 32 years I have lived. The police are investigating Aoyama's death as a possible suicide. The police had received an emergency call around 9:00 p.m. on October 9 from a person at the Japanese publisher Kodansha, who said, "We haven't been able to contact Mr. Aoyama." The police rushed to Aoyama's apartment, where they discovered him in the bathroom. Aoyama was serializing the manga Yoiko no Mokushiroku in Kodansha's Evening magazine from last year to the time of his passing. He also created or drew the manga SWWEEET in Shogakukan's Monthly Ikki magazine, China Girl, and Strobe Light. According to the police investigation, Kodansha was not able to contact Aoyama since October 6.

CG Appleseed's Aramaki to Direct CG Starship Troopers posted on 2011-10-12 08:30 EDT Transformers writer Dille, Macross artist Tenjin, Appleseed producer Chou also involved
Sony Pictures announced on Wednesday that it is producing a new computer-animated Starship Troopers: Invasion film with director Shinji Aramaki for release next summer. Aramaki had previously directed the two computer-animated Appleseed films, "The Package" segment of Halo Legends, Madox-01, Megazone 23 Part III, Viper's Creed, and the computer-animated pilot of Captain Harlock. He also worked on the mechanical designs for Bubblegum Crisis, Genesis Climber Mospeada, and other anime. Flint Dille is writing the screenplay after working as a story editor on The Transformers and G.I. Joe television series of the 1980s. He later wrote the Venom film and the video-game tie-ins for The Chronicles of Riddick. The staff commissioned illustrator Hidetaka Tenjin (Macross Frontier, Macross Zero, Hellsing Ultimate) to create the teaser poster (pictured right). Joseph Chou (Appleseed films, Halo Legends, proposed live-action Evangelion) is producing the new project. Edward Neumeier and Casper Van Dien of the live-action Starship Troopers film are executive producers.


Sony Pictures give the following description of the plot:
A distant Federation outpost Fort Casey comes under attack by bugs. The team on the fast attack ship Alesia is assigned to help the Starship John A. Warden stationed in Fort Casey evacuate along with the survivors and bring military intelligence safely back to Earth. Carl Jenkins, now ministry of Paranormal Warfare, takes the starship on a clandestine mission before its rendezvous with the Alesia and goes missing in the nebula. Now, the battle-hardened troopers are charged with a rescue mission that may lead to a much more sinister consequence than they ever could have imagined.... Before Paul Verhoeven's loose live-action film adaptation of Robert A. Heinlein's Starship Troopers novel classic and several direct-to-video follow-ups, Gundam anime studio Sunrise produced a video version of Starship Troopers in 1988. Tetsuro Amino (Macross 7, One Stormy Night) directed that version with designs by Kazutaka Miyatake (Macross, Gunbuster, Eureka Seven).  
Studio Nue (Macross, Legend of the Galactic Heroes) co-founder Naoyuki Kato had created powered suit designs for his illustrations in the 1977 Japanese reprint of Heinlein's novel. Sunrise has openly noted that Gundam creator Yoshiyuki Tomino drew some inspiration from the humanoid powered suits of Heinlein's Starship Troopers, although the mobile suit robots of Gundam are ten times the size of humans (18 meters, or the same size as the super robot pioneer Mazinger Z).

Monday, November 21, 2011

Xbox Girls Strike Back

WARNING: Sexy Girls, Male Emasculation,
 
Foul Language, Mature Theme, and Stuff

Sunday, November 20, 2011

Saturday, November 19, 2011

How To Buy Half Priced Ben-To

Fight For Cheap Food!
 
While innocently reaching for some half-priced bento [boxed meal], Yō Satō finds himself beaten up on the floor of a supermarket. He soon learns that getting half-priced bento is an all-out brawl between students who are on a tight budget. Yō is invited to the Half-Priced Food Lovers Club by one of the top fighters, Sen Yarizui, in order to train to compete in these battles.

"Ben-To" is a new anime this Fall Season

Thursday, November 17, 2011

Pixar's BRAVE - Full Trailer

BRAVE opens in U.S. theaters June 22, 2012
Merida is a skilled archer and impetuous daughter of King Fergus and Queen Elinor. Determined to carve her own path in life, Merida defies an age-old custom sacred to the uproarious lords of the land: massive Lord MacGuffin, surly Lord Macintosh and cantankerous Lord Dingwall. Merida's actions inadvertently unleash chaos and fury in the kingdom, and when she turns to an eccentric old Witch for help, she is granted an ill-fated wish. The ensuing peril forces Merida to discover the meaning of true bravery in order to undo a beastly curse before it's too late.

Sunday, November 13, 2011

'Need For Speed: The Run' Trailer

Directed by Michael Bay
'Splosions!!!!!
Jack is a marked man. Jack has just found a way to save his life. All he needs to do is win an illicit, coast-to-coast race from San Francisco to New York.

It’s called The Run. Three-thousand miles of unforgiving asphalt from San Francisco to New York. No speed limits. No rules. No allies. Armed with just his guts and instinct, Jack battles a field of the most notorious drivers ever assembled. Dense city streets, icy mountain passes and narrow canyons push his driving skills to the limit. Relentlessly hunted by the police, as well as the men who want him dead, Jack is racing for his life.
Need For Speed: The Run will be available November 15th on the Xbox 360, PC, PS3, Wii, and 3DS. Check out a special behind-the-scenes video for Need For Speed: The Run below!

Friday, November 11, 2011

Immortals at Comic-Con 2011

Let's Hear Your Battle Cry!

Anime Screening Schedule for November 12, 2011

Building K, Room 131, Noon to 8:00 pm
Noon - 12:50   Dragon Crisis 7-8
12:50 - 1:40   Ano Hi Mita Hana no Namae o Boku-tachi wa Mada 

                             Shiranai 1-2
1:40 - 2:30    
Mirai Nikki 1-2
2:30 - 2:55     Denpa Onna to Seishun Otoko 1
2:55 - 3:45     Deadman Wonderland 11-12 (end)
3:45 - 4:45     Club Meeting / Announcements
4:45 - 5:10     Kamisama no Memo-chou 4
5:10 - 6:00     Gosick 14-15
6:00 - 6:25     Wakfu 1           
6:25 - 8:05     Loups-Garous (movie)

Noon - 12:50   Dragon Crisis 7-8
[Source: Wikipedia] A normal high school boy Ryūji Kisaragi's peaceful life is turned into an adventure by the return of his second cousin, Eriko, a sexy young woman with a penchant for adventure and trouble. Ryūji and Eriko seize a relic box from a black market broker named FANG. In the box, they find a red dragon girl whom Ryūji names Rose because of her rose like pattern on her left hand. In order to protect Rose from the black organization, Ryūji decides to fight using his power as a relic handler. The rope finally came off of Ryuji and Ai. Ai's master puts him in a closed room to ask him of his A-Class precious later. He and Ai then go to a room where he tells Ai to rest for a while, it is also revealed here that her master does actually have the other "True Love". Ai's master leaves the room to go get some drinks and Ai, dazzled by the beauty of the earrings, puts them on, soon realizing that the "True Love" earrings when used together, give the person wearing them the ability to hear a person's true thoughts. Ai's master comes back not knowing that she put on the earrings answers all of Ai's questions falsely, unintentionally "telling" her that he kidnapped her 15 years ago and raised her to be a dog for his experiments. Knowing this Ai flees the room to save Ryuji. They escape to the balcony where Eriko and Rose come just in time to help. It is revealed that Ai's master is Furumori, a person being looked for by the society, and he has five lost preciouses inside of his body. After having four out of five of these Lost Precious destroyed by Rose's dragon fire, Furumori uses his last Lost Precious to disappear into the atmosphere. Ai goes back to her human family where she was kidnapped from. Ryuji wakes up finding Rose dressed up in his school's girl uniform saying she wants to go to school too. Ryuji agrees but makes her promise that she wont use her wings and fire. When they get to school, class is suddenly disrupted by by Bianca Alexandra Lou, a women sent by the society to evaluate Ryuji. She fires a SMAW at Ryuji and finds his physical level is 326 and his lost precious level is 120. She seems slightly disappointed and says she will test his maximum lost precious level later. After a whole bunch of questioning, Bianca takes Ryuji outside to start the test. Ryuji needs to battle a Neogolem. After Ryuji severely hurts it and the Neogolem still doesn't shut down, Bianca realizes that there's something wrong with it and tries to automatically shut it down when it doesn't work, she climbs up the robot trying to shut it down manually. Ryuji and Rose engage and stop the Neogolem. At the same time all this happens, Eto figures out it's Ryuji's birthday the day after and tries to figure out what to get him for his birthday present.

12:50 - 1:40  Ano Hi Mita Hana no Namae o Boku-tachi wa Mada Shiranai 1-2
[Source: Wikipedia] A group of six childhood friends drift apart after one of them, Meiko "Menma" Honma, dies in an accident. Several years after the incident, the leader of the group, Jinta Yadomi, has withdrawn from society and lives as a recluse. One summer day, the ghost of an older looking Menma appears before him and asks to have a wish granted, reasoning that she cannot pass on into the afterlife until it is fulfilled. Since Menma does not remember what her wish is, Jinta gathers his estranged friends together once again, believing that they are the key to resolving this problem. However, hidden feelings, internal conflicts, and lingering feelings of bitterness from Menma's parents result in complications for the group as they struggle to help not only Menma move on, but more importantly, themselves as well. Episode 01 Description: Jinta "Jintan" Yadomi is being pestered by a girl named Meiko "Menma" Honma, who only he can see. Menma says she has a wish she wants him to fulfill, but she can't remember what it was. Soon, she recalls that the dream was to have their friends all together again. One of the former friends, Naruko "Anaru" Anjō, drops by Jinta's house to drop off some homework, but is on bad terms with him. It is revealed that Jintan has poor school attendance. As Menma pesters Jinta to go after Naruko and talk to her, they both go into the city where they run into two other former friends, Chiriko "Tsuruko" Tsurumi and Atsumu "Yukiatsu" Matsuyuki, the latter of which reacts harshly when Jinta accidentally drops Menma's name. Frustrated, Jintan runs off and leaves Menma behind. Jinta begins to recall the past when he, Menma, and their other friends were part of a group known as the Super Peace Busters that hung out together when they were children. One day, Jinta accidentally hurt Meiko's feelings when asked if he liked her. He decided to apologize, but she died in an accident before he could. Back in the present, Menma visits her family's house. Jinta decides to search for Menma so he could finally apologize and he checks out their old secret fort. Here, he runs into the last of the six old friends, Tetsudō "Poppo" Hisakawa. Episode 02 Description: When Jinta tells Tetsudō about his visions of Menma, he instantly believes him. Meanwhile, Anaru ends up encountering Chiriko, though she soon breaks into tears when Menma is mentioned. It is revealed that Naruko blames herself for the circumstances leading to Menma's death. Tetsudō suggests that the wish Menma might want granted was to have a rare Nokémon video game, which Jinta buys from the game shop Anaru works at. He spends the night playing it before Menma comes back. The next day, Tetsudō runs into Atsumu and mentions what Jinta told him about Menma. He later goes around Jinta's house and mentions that they would have to trade with another Nokémon game to get the rare monster. As a result, they visit Anaru, who agrees to help them on the condition that Jinta starts attending school again. During this visit, Menma is happy to realize that Anaru still has an abundance of video games and manga, just like when they were kids. After spending the night gaming, they manage to get the rare monster, though it turns out not to be Menma's wish. Nevertheless, they are positive that somehow Menma's wish will be found out and fulfilled. Jinta, however, has found his own wish which is to apologize to Menma because of the incident.

1:40 - 2:30    Mirai Nikki (Future Diary) 1-2
[Source: Wikipedia] Yukiteru "Yuki" Amano is a loner who never really interacts with people and prefers writing a diary on his cell phone with his only companion being an imaginary friend named Deus Ex Machina, the God of Time and Space. However, Yuki soon learns that Deus is real when he makes Yuki participate in a battle royal with eleven other people. Within this "Diary Game", the contestants are given special diaries that can predict the future, with each diary having unique features that gives them both advantages and disadvantages. Within the next 90 days, the contestants must try to kill each other and survive until there is only one person standing, the winner becoming the new God of Time and Space. In order to survive, Yuki tries to find allies, with one of them being another diary user named Yuno Gasai, a girl who is madly in love with him. As the game continues, Yuki soon learns that not everyone can be trusted, not even Yuno, whose obsession to keep both of them alive no matter the cost terrifies him. Yet despite her faults, Yuki continues to trust Yuno since he manages to survive the game thanks to her. Originally, Yuki had no desire to win the game and stoop as low as the other contestants who either cheat, lie, manipulate or kill in order to win. However, that all changes when late in the game, Yuki's parents are killed. Yuki suffers a breakdown over his parents death until Yuno seduces and convinces him that if he becomes the new God of Time and Space, he can bring his parents back to life. Now having a reason to win, Yuki becomes a ruthless, backstabbing, and manipulative terrorist who causes the deaths of thousands of civilians and destruction throughout the city in order to kill the other contestants. Yuki's actions shock his friends, in particular Aru Akise, who had suspicions about Yuno and her motives. By the time Yuno and Yuki becomes the last contestants, Aru and the rest of Yuki's friends chastis him on how he has become just as bad as the other contestants. Aru tries to warn Yuki that Yuno is manipulating him and that she has an ulterior motive. Refusing to accept the truth and wishing to bring his parents back, Yuki kills them until Aru manages to stop him and gives Yuki a clue over Yuno's true identity before he is killed by Yuno herself. Eventually, Yuki learns that the Yuno he known is actually an "impostor" as this "Yuno" is actually from a parallel universe who won the Diary Game. In that universe, Yuno and Yuki were the last contestants and Yuki committed suicide so that Yuno will be the new God and resurrect him. But Yuno became distraught and more insane when she learns that while she can resurrect the dead, she cannot bring back their souls. With the help of Muru Muru, Deus' assistant and now Yuno's after she won the Diary game, both of them travel back in time to Yuki's universe and manipulated it where she killed the Yuno of Yuki's universe and took her place so she could play the game again and find a way to bring back "her" Yuki. As Yuno is about to kill him, Yuki is saved by Minene Uryu, one of his allies and another Diary user who he believed died in the game but was saved by Deus, who had suspicions that the Muru Muru in his universe is not the one he knows but the one from the parallel universe working with Yuno, and gave Minene some of his powers before his death. Their plans foiled, Yuno and Muru Muru travel to another universe to start over again but are followed by Yuki and Minene who are trying to stop them. Finally, Yuno and Muru Muru are stopped when the former learns in this new universe, all the terrible things that happen to everyone in the previous universes never happen including one where her parents were never abusive and lead to her insanity. With Yuno's Muru Muru stopped by Yuki's universe's Muru Muru and the help of the new universe's Diary users, Yuki convinces Yuno to come to her senses and surrender as he loves her. Realizing her mistakes, Yuno instead kills herself, believing this is the best for him and making Yuki the new God of his universe. In the end, despite becoming the new God of Time and Space, Yuki refuses to rule his universe as he has lost everything that he ever loved and cared; his friends, parents and Yuno. But in an unexpected Deus ex machina, the Yuno of the new universe arrives and invites Yuki to her universe as Yuki's Muru Muru had given Yuno and the others of the new universe their other universes memories which convinced that universe's Deus not to hold the Diary game and instead make Yuki and Yuno his new heirs. The series ends with Yuki reuniting with Yuno, his friends, parents and the Diary users in a new, happier universe.

2:30 - 2:55    Denpa Onna to Seishun Otoko 1
[Source: Wikipedia] Makoto Niwa meets his first cousin Erio Tōwa at the house of his aunt Meme Tōwa. He is confused to see Erio when he first moves in because all he thought his aunt lived alone, but he needs a little time to adapt to that and other things he finds. Erio, who claims she is an extraterrestrial lifeform, is no longer enrolled on the register of the school and wears a futon. High school boy Makoto Niwa transfers to a new city, where he is introduced to his aunt, Meme Tōwa. Dreaming of living in a student home by himself, Makoto discovers the house is also inhabited by a girl wrapped up in a futon mattress, who is introduced as Meme's daughter and Makoto's cousin, Erio. After enrolling into his new school, Makoto tries to get to know Erio, who mostly speaks in confusing scientific jargon. While taking her to a supermarket, Makoto is able to undo the mattress, revealing Erio as a beautiful silver haired girl, who claims to be an investigator descended from aliens, and claiming that the Earth is being targeted.

2:55 - 3:45   Deadman Wonderland 11-12 (end)
[Source: Wikipedia] After recalling the time she joined Scar Chain, Karako defends herself from the acid spewing robot and destroys it, falling down with it. Meanwhile, Nagi is betrayed by Rokudo and confronted by an Undertaker named Hibana Daida, who uses a special weapon to neutralize his Branches of Sin. As Hibana starts slicing off bits of Nagi's flesh, he provokes her into chopping off his arm, giving him the opportunity to activate the elevator Ganta's group needs to take. However, Ganta's group is confronted by Genkaku and his men, leaving only Ganta and a few others left alive to carry the chip containing the information. Whilst bleeding to death, Nagi makes a call to the hideout, which is heard by Shiro who catches up to Ganta and throws the chip into a fire. Ganta becomes angry at Shiro for throwing away the data chip, telling her he never wants to see her again. Meanwhile, Mikuni investigates Tamaki's office, overhearing a conversation between him and the Defense secretary concerning the Deadmen. As Karako and the others discuss their next plan, Rokuro appears and reveals the data chip was actually a bomb he had made before announcing that the group is being held hostage unless Nagi agrees to become an Undertaker. As Rokuro decides to execute Ganta first, Crow appears on the scene, managing to fight back against the Undertakers using sonic blasts. As Shiro laments her situation with Ganta, she meets Toto "Mockingbird" Sakigami, the one who told her about the bomb.

3:45 - 4:45    Club Meeting and Announcements
-  Preview of New Anime this Fall Season
-  Animation News from around the world
-  Cosplayers
/Skits/Masquerade
-  Anime Music Videos

-  And other interesting stuff...


4:45 - 5:10    Kamisama no Memo-chou 3
[Source: Wikipedia] Narumi Fujishima is an ordinary high school boy who remains isolated from his fellow classmates. One afternoon fellow classmate Ayaka Shinozaki invites Narumi to join the gardening club and introduces him to a reclusive detective named Alice. Alice hires Narumi as an assistant and puts him to work solving the strange mysteries of Angel fix, an illegal drug. Little does he know it could put him and Ayaka in serious trouble. Alice is a mysterious girl who lives on the third floor over Hanamaru ramen shop. Her age is unknown, but looks like a 12 or 13 years-old girl. She is short, pale white and has long black hair. She calls herself Alice (a mixed reading of the kanji for Yūko) and a "NEET Detective". She is a hikikomori and a cracking genius. Her diet is based practically only on Dr Pepper and she suffers a severe insomnia. She always wears bear patterned pajamas and she is always surrounded by a pile of teddy bears. She is the brain of the NEET Detective Team and gathers information to solve the cases with her laptop without stepping out of her bedroom.
5:10 - 6:00    Gosick 14-15
[Source: Wikipedia] Gosick takes place in 1924 in a small, French-speaking fictional European country of Sauville. The story centers on Kazuya Kujo, the third son of a Japanese Imperial soldier, who is a transfer student to St. Marguerite Academy, where urban legends and horror stories are all the rage. There he meets Victorique, a mysterious yet beautiful and brilliant girl who never comes to class and spends her days reading the entire content of the library or solving mysteries that even detectives can't solve. The series mostly focuses on Kazuya and Victorique getting involved in different mystery cases and their struggle to solve them, at the same time forming important bonds with different people. Everybody in school is preparing for their summer vacation. Kujo has turned down his vacation trip with Avril to stay with Victorique. During his quiet days with her, Kujo has a flash back of his childhood and his reasons to leave Japan to study abroad. Kujo and Avril explore one of the school's towers and Avril figures that it is related to the legend of Leviathan, an alchemist who lived there decades before. Victorique stumbles on a pop-up book containing a cryptic message allegedly from Leviathan himself and when a death occurs at the top of the tower, she decides to investigate by herself.

6:00 - 6:25    Wakfu (episode 1)
[Source: Wikipedia] Based on the popular RPG Dofus. Legend says that to conquer a lady's heart, Ogrest, a titanic ogre, succeeded where so many had failed: he gathered all 6 Dofus - extremely powerful Dragon eggs. But far from giving him all the happiness he thought, they brought him nothing but destruction and hatred - his beloved pushed him away and the gods defied him. Mad with rage and despair, Ogrest climbed to the highest summit of the World and cried... and his tears flooded the earth. A thousand years have passed by since the great flood ended the DOFUS era and turned continents into archipelagos. And even if today, the wise men disagree about the causes of the cataclysm, they are all pessimist about the destiny of the world ... waters keep going up, mother Nature is becoming crazy... and over all, there's the WAKFU, this energy with which the world was created, and it is seriously disturbed. For everyone, the adventure begins in a small village called Emelka, on a small island near Amakna!

FEATURE PRESENTATION:
6:25 - 8:05    Loups=Garous [MOVIE]
[Source: Wikipedia] Based on the original novel by Natsuhiko Kyogoku. In a near future, the world's population has decreased dramatically due to a deadly virus that terrorized the whole planet. Now people eat only synthetic food and tend to avoid as much as possible any form of physical connection or "real contact" with living creatures. Real shops have disappeared from the streets, and with the exception of the community centres (what were once called schools), people communicate with each others exclusively online. But even in this tightly controlled and systematized society, there is a group of young girls who actively pursued real contact. And when a string of brutal murders emerges, their challenge to this closed world is just about to begin.

Thursday, November 10, 2011

Sucker Punch - The Animated Shorts [Part Four]

"Distant Planet"
DISTANT PLANET: In Sucker Punch, the girls find themselves on another planet battling a robot militia on a hijacked train. In "Distant Planet" events unfold from the perspective of the robot hijackers leading up to the girls' arrival. Sometimes those with less have more to fight for...

The Walkie-Talkie Dead

Rick! Can you hear me? RICK!!!!
[Source: Syfy.com] Remember how, way back in the pilot, Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) gave a walkie-talkie to a guy named Morgan (Lennie James) and told him he'd get in touch to let him know how to catch up? Well, Grimes has been broadcasting ever since, but as the following video shows, he's forgotten one very important technical matter.
This is not a psychiatrist!

Wednesday, November 9, 2011

Sucker Punch - The Animated Shorts [Part Three]

"TRENCHES"
THE TRENCHES: In Sucker Punch, the girls face off against an army of mechanized WWI soldiers. Through the use of clockwork and steam technology, human soldiers who die in battle are reanimated and sent back to the front lines. Although seemingly indistinguishable and soulless, the zombie army is not just made of gears and steam, but also of human flesh, bone, and memory. In "The Trenches" there is a tragic tale behind each lifeless mask.

7 Foot Tall Gundam Made of Paper

1,250 Parts Made From 720 Sheets of Paper
[Source: Syfy.com] Taras Lesko constructed this RX-178 Gundam as a demonstration of his mastery of papercraft, a phenomenon that seems to just keep getting cooler. It took 720 sheets, but those sheets were cut, folded and warped into 1,250 parts. All the paper is held up by a very simple 12-piece support frame, and though it looks sturdy and ready to kill something, the whole Gundam only weighs about 10 pounds. Lesko built a 4-foot version of this beast back in 2010, but this time he decided that just wasn't enough, and the results are awesome.

Tuesday, November 8, 2011

Sucker Punch - The Animated Shorts [Part Two]

"DRAGON"
DRAGON: In Sucker Punch, the girls drop into a castle courtyard and find themselves in the middle of a chaotic battle between a hoard of gruesome Orcs and an army of Black Knights. The original cause of the massive conflict is hopelessly lost amidst the death and destruction. "Dragon" is a tale of religious persecution exploring the origin of this conflict. Who is the righteous and who is the heathen?

Awesome Pumpkins

Creative Carvings!

Monday, November 7, 2011

Sucker Punch - The Animated Shorts [Part One]

"FEUDAL WARRIORS" 
Presenting animated shorts inspired by Zack Snyder's new film, Sucker Punch. Director Zack Snyder and animator Ben Hibon collaborated with Comflix Studios to further explore the fantasy worlds in the film. The animated shorts provide a distinct glimpse into those surreal places, allowing people to experience the worlds in a very unique way. "It made sense to me to not only approach the worlds from an original direction in terms of story and focus," says Snyder, "but also to really push the visual style in a different direction as well. Having seen his contribution to the latest Harry Potter film and looking at some of his other recent work, Ben's talent was obvious and his aesthetic felt like a perfect fit. His work is graphic and visually arresting." Hibon relished an opportunity to expand upon Snyder's unique vision. "Zack is one of the most exciting and original directors working in Hollywood today. Sucker Punch is nothing short of pure visual madness."

FEUDAL WARRIORS:
In Sucker Punch, Babydoll finds herself in the snowy courtyard of an ancient temple where she must face off against three massive Samurai. To battle the gigantic and heavily armed Samurai, Babydoll must gather all the courage and strength she possesses or face certain death. "Feudal Warriors" explores the origin of these monstrous opponents.

Sunday, November 6, 2011

Next Animatrix Club Meeting is November 12, 2011

November 12, Building K, Room 131, from Noon - 8pm
ANIMATRIX NETWORK
When: Saturday, November 12, 2011, from Noon to 8:00 pm
Where: College of DuPage, Building K, Room 131

(Located near the Intersection of S. Lambert Road and Fawell Blvd)
Click for Regional Map and Local Map for Directions.

A Viewing Schedule will be posted soon.