Next Club Meeting: April 20, 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.

Sunday, November 30, 2014

ReBoot Sequel is Coming!

Beloved 1990s CGI sci-fi series ReBoot is finally getting a sequel
[Source: blastr.com] Fans of the 1990s CGI sci-fi series ReBoot have been patiently waiting for the beloved classic to get another shot for decades now. Well, the time has finally arrived.

After having a proposed trilogy of films die in development hell back in 2008, Rainmaker Entertainment has announced plans for a new sequel series dubbed ReBoot: The Guardian Code. The show had a bit of a Tron vibe and was set inside a 3D world housed in a mainframe computer.

The original series was developed in Canada and debuted in 1994. It ran for 48 geekily awesome episodes on YTV in Canada and was picked up in the U.S. and ran as part of ABC's kids' programming block before it was dropped from the schedule.

No word on exactly what the sequel series’ plot will revolve around, but some reports say the original characters from the 1990s series will play a major role. Other reports say it’ll be dealing with (mostly) new characters, so take that with a grain of salt.

Regardless, we’re glad to see this mostly forgotten bit of 1990s nostalgia is getting another shot at life. The show was a blast and insanely ambitious for the technology available at the time. Here’s hoping the reboot can capture at least some of that magic.

Saturday, November 29, 2014

LEGO Version of the Star Wars VII Teaser

Someone recreated the new 'Star Wars' trailer in Lego and it's fantastic
In less than 24 hours, YouTube user Snooperking has uploaded a shot-for-shot remake of the new Star Wars trailer. It's by no means the last one we'll see — be it another Lego version or a "sweded" version or perhaps a fan-made remake compiled by Lucasfilm itself — but it's no less impressive.
[By Snooperking] I had nothing to do yesterday so I started once the trailer came out so I built the Falcon, The X-Wing, The speeder bike thingy, a mini tie fighter, tried to build all the sets, and get all my mini-figures put together... then just filming took forever especially the the special effects... I tried stop motion in front of the green screen and that was hard and by this time it was 3am so like more than 12 hours (I took a 3 hour break somewhere) and then finally gave up and used sewing string for the X-Wing and just kind of moved my camera around the falcon, I wasn't as happy with the falcon shot but i cant work on it at all today so I had to finish it like 4 hours ago, but I just woke up to go to my grandparents house, and now you know everything about how it was made!! :P

Friday, November 28, 2014

Star Wars VII - The Force Awakens Teaser Trailer

STAR WARS: EPISODE VII
The Force Awakens
[Source: blastr.com] You can finally watch the first trailer for our much-anticipated return to a galaxy far, far away.

This is a moment some fans have been waiting for ever since October 2012, when the Walt Disney Company bought Lucasfilm and announced that a new trilogy of Star Wars films would move forward at the studio. In the more than two years since we've seen the film find a director, two screenwriters, a cast of young stars and old friends, and lots and lots of rumors, but in all that time we couldn't get what we really wanted: a peek at the footage.

News broke earlier this week that the first trailer for Star Wars: The Force Awakens would arrive in select theaters today, and indeed many Star Wars faithful are probably watching it on the big screen right now. For the rest of us, though, the trailer has also dropped online, and though the footage still doesn't give us many hints in the way of plot, it does offer plenty of stirring visuals, including good looks at each of the film's three new leads -- John Boyega, Daisy Ridley and Oscar Isaac -- in action. It's got a desert planet, a snow planet, a new lightsaber design, a peek at a villain, an adorable new droid, X-wings and stormtroopers.

And oh yeah, there's the triumphant return of the Millennium Falcon to John Williams' soaring score.

Thursday, November 27, 2014

Wednesday, November 26, 2014

First Trailer for Joe Wright's PAN


P  A  N
The first trailer has arrived for PAN, Joe Wright's (HANNA) reimagining/prequel story of J.M. Barrie's classic character Peter Pan.

The story sees a  young Peter (Levi Miller) being whisked away from an orphanage and taken to Neverland, where he joins foces with a young Hook (Garrett Hedlund) and Tiger Lily (Rooney Mara) against the infamous pirate Blackbeard (Hugh Jackman).

Tuesday, November 25, 2014

First Trailer for Star Wars VII set to hit on Friday

The first trailer for 
Star Wars: The Force Awakens 
set to hit on Friday at select theaters
It's official! The very first trailer for Star Wars: The Force Awakens will be unleashed upon us this Black Friday.

But there’s a tiny catch ...

The new Star Wars trailer will indeed hit us the day after Thanksgiving Thursday (the day when the first trailer for Jurassic World will hit), but ONLY in nine select Regal Theater locations around the good ol’ U.S. of A., and ONLY from Nov. 28 to Nov. 30.

Here is the official list of theaters showing the trailer:
AZ PHOENIX HARKINS TEMPE MARKETPLACE
CA LOS ANGELES AMC CENTURY CITY
CA LOS ANGELES Indep EL CAPITAN
CA IRVINE REGAL SPECTRUM IRVINE 21
CA SAN FRANCISCO AMC METERON 16
CA SAN JOSE CINEMARK OAKRIDGE 20
CA SAN DIEGO REGAL MIRA MESA 18
CAN TORONTO CPX YOUNGE & DUNDAS
CAN VANCOUVER CPX RIVERPORT
CO DENVER AMC WESTMINSTER 24
DC WASH D.C AMC TYSONS CORNER 16
FL MIAMI CARMIKE PARISIAN 20
GA ATLANTA REGAL ATLANTIC STATION
IL CHICAGO REGAL CITY NORTH
MA BOSTON AMC BOSTON COMMONS 19
MI DETROIT CINEMARK SHOWCASE 20
MN MINNEAPOLIS AMC SOUTHDALE
MO KANSAS CITY AMC STUDIO 30
NY NEW YORK AMC LINCOLN SQUARE 12
NY NEW YORK REGAL UNION SQAURE
OH CLEVELAND CINEMARK CINEMARK 24
PA PHILADELPHIA REGAL WARRINGTON 22
TN NASHVILLE CARMIKE THOROUGHBRED 20
TN KNOXVILLE REGAL PINNACLE
TX DALLAS CINEMARK PLANO 20
TX HOSTON REGAL MARQ*E STADIUM 23
TX AUSTIN ALAMO ALAMO S LAMAR
UT SALT LAKE CITY CINEMARK CINEMARK 24 WJ
WA SEATTLE REGAL THORNTON PLACE 14
WI MILWAUKEE MARCUS BROOKFIELD 16
Now, apparently the good news is that the trailer will be playing before every single flick shown over the weekend. BUT, since it’s a super-duper exclusive trailer, it may prove very frustrating for fans who want to see it.

J.J. Abrams has confirmed via Twitter the arrival of the teaser this weekend:

Monday, November 24, 2014

Classic Battlestar Galactica restored with new VFX

BATTLESTAR GALACTICA RESTORED
Longtime VFX guru Adam “Mojo” Lebowitz is behind a new push to release a restored collection of the original 1978 Battlestar Galactica series with brand-new effects. To help demo the concept, he’s developer a stellar pitch reel to show how the new effects would mesh with the restored footage.

The proposal is being compared to the recent restoration of Star Trek: The Original Series with new effects and restored footage to make the old reels as clean and clear as possible. As Ain’t It Cool News notes, the big plus here is that some fresh FX work could finally replace the largely recycled stock footage that permeated the original series.

Check out the test footage below and let us know what you think:

Sunday, November 23, 2014

Jurassic World Official Trailer

J U R A S S I C   W O R L D
Steven Spielberg returns to executive produce the long-awaited next installment of his groundbreaking Jurassic Park series, Jurassic World. Colin Trevorrow directs the epic action-adventure from a screenplay he wrote with Derek Connolly. Frank Marshall and Pat Crowley join the team as fellow producers.

Jurassic World was shot in 3D and will be released by Universal Pictures on June 12, 2015.
UPDATED with Official Trailer - 11/25/2014

Saturday, November 22, 2014

INSURGENT - Teaser Trailer

I N S U R G E N T
The Divergent Series: Insurgent raises the stakes for Tris as she searches for allies and answers in the ruins of a futuristic Chicago. Tris (Woodley) and Four (James) are now fugitives on the run, hunted by Jeanine (Winslet), the leader of the power-hungry Erudite elite. Racing against time, they must find out what Tris’s family sacrificed their lives to protect, and why the Erudite leaders will do anything to stop them. Haunted by her past choices but desperate to protect the ones she loves, Tris, with Four at her side, faces one impossible challenge after another as they unlock the truth about the past and ultimately the future of their world.

Friday, November 21, 2014

Anime Viewing Schedule for November 22, 2014

Saturday, November 22, 2014
Wood Dale Public Library
Happy Thanksgiving!
See you this weekend!
Watch "Fate/Stay Night TV ep. 01" @ 3:05 pm
Main Meeting Room, 10:15 am to 5:00 pm
(Click on links to view Video Previews)

10:15 - 11:05    Nisekoi 15-16 [Video]
11:05 - 11:55    Nagi no Asukara 18-19 [Video]
11:55 - 12:45    Captain Earth 15-16 [Video]
12:45 - 1:35      Aldnoah Zero 5-6 [Video]
1:35 - 2:15        Club Meeting / Announcements [Video]
2:15 - 3:05       
Parasyte - the maxim 3-4 [Video]
3:05 - 3:55        Fate/Stay Night - Unlimited Blade Works TV 01 [Video]
3:55 - 4:45        Zankyou no Terror 3-4 [Video]

 

ANIME DESCRIPTIONS ARE BELOW -- Keep watching the exciting new anime series: Aldnoah Zero and Zankyou no Terror!

10:15 - 11:05   Nisekoi 15-16
Plot Summary: [Source: Wikipedia
Nisekoi follows high school student Raku Ichijo, the son of a leader in the yakuza faction Shuei-Gumi, and Chitoge Kirisaki, the daughter of a boss in a rival gang known as Beehive. They unexpectedly meet when Chitoge hops a wall and knees Raku in the face. After she runs off, Raku realizes he has lost his locket which was given to him by his childhood sweetheart with whom he made a secret promise. After discovering Chitoge is a new transfer student in his class, he forces her to help him look for the locket. During the search, they begin to dislike each other. Upon returning home, Raku learns that the Shuei-Gumi and Beehive gangs have agreed to settle their feud by pairing their leaders' children. Raku learns that his girlfriend-to-be is none other than Chitoge. For the next three years, they must pretend to be in a relationship to maintain peace between the gangs. This turns out to be quite a challenging task, not only because of their hatred for one another, but also because Raku has a crush on another schoolmate, Kosaki Onodera, whom he secretly wishes was the girl who bears the key to his locket. Various developments complicate the situation, including Chitoge's over-protective bodyguard, a female hitman, a girl who claims to be Raku's fiancée, and the existence of multiple keys.

11:05 - 11:55     Nagi no Asukara - "A Lull in the Sea" (Episodes 18-19)
Plot Summary: [Source: Wikipedia] Long ago, human civilization had lived on the oceanfloor. However, there were many humans who wanted to live above the surface and they moved to land creating a fundamental separation between the two. After their school closes down, four middle school students from the sealand have to go to school on the mainland. This is about their lives as they adjust to a new environment and the relationships with each other.

11:55 - 12:45    Captain Earth (Episodes 15-16)
Plot Summary: [Source: Wikipedia] High-school student Daichi Manatsu works for the Globe (グローブ Gurōbu) organization to pilot a giant robot called the Earth Engine Impacter (アースエンジンインパクター Āsu Enjin Inpakutā) to protect the Earth from the invading alien force known as the "Kill-T-Gang" (キルトガング Kirutogangu). from the planet Uranus.

12:45 - 1:35     Aldnoah Zero (Episodes 5-6)
Plot Summary: [Source: Wikipedia] In 1972, an ancient alien hypergate was discovered on the surface of the moon. Using this technology, humanity began migrating to Mars and settling there. After settlers discovered additional advanced technology, the Vers Empire was founded, which claimed Mars and its secrets for themselves. Later, the Vers Empire declared war on Earth, and in 1999, a battle on the Moon's surface caused the hypergate to explode, shattering the Moon and scattering remnants into a debris belt around the planet. Cut off from Mars, the remnants of the Vers Empire established several massive orbital space stations within the debris belt and a ceasefire was established. 15 years later, in 2014, an attack on the Vers princess during a peace mission causes the Empire to launch a new attack on Earth, this time determined to conquer it once and for all.

 1:35 - 2:15     Club Meeting / Announcements
BlizzCon 2014
Cosplay Coverage
  • Convention Coverage
  • Animation News from around the world
  • Cosplayers/Skits/Masquerade
  • Anime Music Videos
  • And other weird, interesting stuff...


2:15 - 3:05    Parasyte - The Maxim (Episodes 3-4)
Plot Summary: [Source: Wikipedia] Parasyte centers around a 17-year-old teen named Shinichi Izumi, who lives with his mother and father in a quiet neighborhood in Tokyo. One night, worm-like aliens called Parasites invade Earth, taking over the brains of human hosts by entering through their ears or noses. One Parasite attempts to crawl into Shinichi's ear while he sleeps, but fails as Shinichi is wearing headphones, and enters his body by burrowing into his arm instead. In the Japanese version, it takes over his right hand and is named Migi, after the Japanese word for 'right'; Tokyopop's version, in which the images are flipped horizontally, has the Parasite take over Shinichi's left hand and it is named Lefty. Because Shinichi was able to prevent Migi from travelling further up into his brain, both beings retain their separate intellect and personality. As the duo encounter other Parasites, they capitalize on their strange situation and gradually form a strong bond, working together to survive. This gives them an edge in battling other Parasites who frequently attack the pair upon realization that Shinichi's human brain is still intact. Shinichi feels compelled to fight other Parasites, who devour humans as food, while enlisting Migi's help.

3:05 - 3:55    Fate/Stay Night - Unlimited Blade Works 01
Plot Summary: [Source: Wikipedia] In Fuyuki City, Japan, Rin Tosaka wakes up after having a dream about her last moment with her father Tokiomi. Once she arrives at school, she realizes she is early because the clocks in her home were set forward by an hour. She meets with other people at the school who arrived early, including Ayako Mitsuzuri, the head of the school's archery club; Sakura Matō, a new member of the archery club; Shinji Matō, Sakura's older brother; Taiga Fujimura, one of the schoolteachers; Issei Ryuudou, the student council president; and an unknown red-haired boy fixing a heater for Issei. After school, Rin performs a summoning ritual and summons a Servant of the Archer class, much to her displeasure, as she hoped to summon a Servant of the Saber class. Archer is initially dissatisfied with Rin, who uses one of her Command Seals to order Archer to listen to all of her orders. While the order is worded vaguely and therefore pointless, Archer admits that he now realizes her skill as a mage. The next day, Rin skips school and shows Archer around the city, revealing to him that she has no wish for the Holy Grail, only a desire to win. The following day, Rin senses a magical barrier being set up at school. As night falls, Rin attempts to destroy the barrier, but is then confronted by another Servant, identified as being of the Lancer class, who engages Archer in a sword-fight. The battle is witnessed by a student, whom Lancer pursues and mortally wounds before fleeing. Finding the student's body, Rin identifies him as the same red-haired boy who was helping Issei, and decides to use magic to revive him. After leaving, Rin and Archer realize that Lancer's Master will sense that the student has survived and have Lancer finish the job. They head over to the suburbs to save the student, only to be attacked by another Servant, whom Rin identifies as belonging to the Saber class.

3:55 - 4:45    Zankyou no Terror 3-4
Plot Summary: [Source: Wikipedia] In an alternate iteration of the present, Tokyo has been hit by a terrorist attack that has devastated the city, with the only evidence of the culprits being a confusing video uploaded to the internet, which only spreads paranoia throughout Japan. Unbeknownst to the authorities is that the terrorist masterminds who call themselves "Sphinx" (スピンクス Supinkusu) are two teenaged boys, who go by the names Nine and Twelve, who apparently should not exist and have decided to wake up the world with their heinous plans of destruction with their fingers on the trigger.