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, January 31, 2024

Star Wars The Acolyte Plot LEAKED...?

Kathleen Kennedy's Plan to Replace the Force with MAGIC Revealed?!
The Acolyte is a mystery wrapped in a riddle disguised as a conundrum, perhaps the most bizarre and secretive Disney Star Wars project of all time! A source has contacted my Hollywood spies with a possible spoiler-heavy synopsis of ONE version of The Acolyte (there are allegedly THREE versions due to scrapbooking), and IF this source is correct, then the plot bears a striking similarity to a certain Netflix animated series! Here's what my Hollywood spies were told, but DO bear in mind that this is simply a rumor, and take it with several heaping tablespoons of salt (Though if it IS true, be warned: spoilers lie ahead)!

Tuesday, January 30, 2024

Who you gonna call?

GHOSTBUSTERS: FROZEN EMPIRE
In Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, the Spengler family returns to where it all started – the iconic New York City firehouse – to team up with the original Ghostbusters, who’ve developed a top-secret research lab to take busting ghosts to the next level. But when the discovery of an ancient artifact unleashes an evil force, Ghostbusters new and old must join forces to protect their home and save the world from a second Ice Age.
Frozen Empire is exclusively in movie theaters March 22

Monday, January 29, 2024

Mix in Cyberpunk with a bit of Chocolate...

M E T A L L I C   R O U G E
In a world where humans coexist with androids called Neans, a group known as the Immortal Nine rises up against society. Tasked with disposing of the revolters, a Nean named Rouge Redstar (aka Metal Rouge) and investigator Naomi Orthmann head to Mars to track them down… but first, Rouge wants some chocolate.

Sunday, January 28, 2024

One small ember can burn down everything...

MONKEY MAN
Oscar® nominee Dev Patel (Lion, Slumdog Millionaire) achieves an astonishing, tour-de-force feature directing debut with an action thriller about one man’s quest for vengeance against the corrupt leaders who murdered his mother and continue to systemically victimize the poor and powerless.

Inspired by the legend of Hanuman, an icon embodying strength and courage, Monkey Man stars Patel as Kid, an anonymous young man who ekes out a meager living in an underground fight club where, night after night, wearing a gorilla mask, he is beaten bloody by more popular fighters for cash.

After years of suppressed rage, Kid discovers a way to infiltrate the enclave of the city’s sinister elite. As his childhood trauma boils over, his mysteriously scarred hands unleash an explosive campaign of retribution to settle the score with the men who took everything from him.

Packed with thrilling and spectacular fight and chase scenes, Monkey Man is directed by Dev Patel from his original story and his screenplay with Paul Angunawela and John Collee (Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World).

The film’s international cast includes Sharlto Copley (District 9), Sobhita Dhulipala (Made in Heaven), Pitobash (Million Dollar Arm), Vipin Sharma (Hotel Mumbai), Ashwini Kalsekar (Ek Tha Hero), Adithi Kalkunte (Hotel Mumbai), Sikandar Kher (Aarya) and Makarand Deshpande (RRR).

Monkey Man is produced by Dev Patel, Jomon Thomas (Hotel Mumbai, The Man Who Knew Infinity), Oscar® winner Jordan Peele (Nope, Get Out), Win Rosenfeld (Candyman, Hunters series), Ian Cooper (Nope, Us), Basil Iwanyk (John Wick franchise, Sicario films), Erica Lee (John Wick franchise, Silent Night), Christine Haebler (Shut In, Bones of Crows) and Anjay Nagpal (executive producer of Bombshell, Greyhound).

Only in Theaters April 5

Saturday, January 27, 2024

"Omega's been waiting for us a long time..."

STAR WARS: THE BAD BATCH
The final season of Star Wars: The Bad Batch starts streaming February 21, with a three-episode premiere, only on Disney+.

Friday, January 26, 2024

When they went "Woke," they went "Broke"

How DISNEY Animation and Pixar were
CONQUERED by D.E.I. Activists!
Film Threat recently started publishing the D-Files, a series of articles documenting the downfall of Disney, based on the actual accounts of both current and former employees who were there to witness the events as they occurred...
"This is what happens when people get hired based on everything BUT talent!"

Thursday, January 25, 2024

Look, it's Pokemon with Guns!

P A L W O R L D
Palworld is a spin on a Pokemon Survival Game where instead of being E for Everybody - it took a realistic approach. Guns, violence, forced labor, shady markets and so much more that actually make this a really fun game.
 
As Palworld continues to burn up the Steam charts, Nintendo is already burning down any attempts to mod the game with official Pokémon characters like Ash, Pikachu, Misty, and Brock. Then we talk about accusations that the game actually LIFTED the 3D models from Nintendo's games. Say what?!
"Palworld" is generating quite the buzz as it climbs the Steam charts, captivating gamers with its unique blend of creature collection and survival gameplay. However, it seems Nintendo is not thrilled with some of the fan enthusiasm surrounding the game, particularly when it comes to modding "Palworld" with official Pokémon characters such as Ash, Pikachu, Misty, and Brock. Nintendo is notorious for being fiercely protective of its intellectual property, and this situation is no exception. The company is known for taking legal action against unauthorized use of its characters and assets, which includes mods that incorporate Nintendo's characters into non-Nintendo games. In the case of "Palworld," any attempts by fans to mod the game with official Pokémon characters are likely being met with swift opposition from Nintendo, as such modifications infringe upon Nintendo's copyrights and trademarks. Furthermore, accusations are swirling around that "Palworld" may have lifted 3D models directly from Nintendo's Pokémon games. If true, this would be a significant legal and ethical issue, as it would mean that "Palworld" developers are using Nintendo's assets without permission. Such actions would not only violate copyright law but also raise questions about the originality and integrity of "Palworld's" development. These developments highlight the complex relationship between fan creations, modding communities, and the proprietary rights of original game developers and publishers. While fans often mod games as a form of homage or to enhance their gaming experience, they must navigate the legal boundaries set by the original creators. In the case of "Palworld" and Nintendo, it's a classic example of how a popular game can become entangled in legal and ethical dilemmas when it intersects with a well-established and fiercely protected franchise like Pokémon.

Wednesday, January 24, 2024

The World Needs the Avatar...

AVATAR: The Last Airbender
A century ago, young Avatar Aang, afraid of his new responsibilities, fled from his home and was forced into the ocean by a storm. He encased himself and his sky bison Appa in suspended animation in an iceberg near the South Pole. Shortly afterward, Fire Lord Sozin, the ruler of the Fire Nation, launched a world war to expand his nation's empire. Knowing that the Avatar must be an Air Nomad, he carried out a genocide against the Air Nomads, which he timed with the arrival of a comet that gives firebenders tremendous power. A hundred years later, siblings Katara and Sokka, teenagers of the Southern Water Tribe, accidentally discover Aang and revive him.
In the first season, Aang travels with Katara and Sokka to the Northern Water Tribe so he can learn waterbending and be prepared to defeat the Fire Nation. Prince Zuko, the banished son of the current Fire Lord Ozai, pursues them, accompanied by his uncle Iroh, hoping to capture the Avatar in order to restore his honor.
Avatar is set in an Asian and Arctic-inspired world in which some people can telekinetically manipulate one of the four elements—water, earth, fire or air—through practices known as "bending", inspired by Chinese martial arts. The only individual who can bend all four elements, the "Avatar", is responsible for maintaining harmony among the world's four nations, and serves as the link between the physical world and the spirit world. The series is centered around the journey of twelve-year-old Aang, the current Avatar and last survivor of his nation, the Air Nomads, along with his friends Katara, Sokka, and Toph, as they strive to end the Fire Nation's war against the other nations and defeat Fire Lord Ozai before he conquers the world. It also follows the story of Zuko—the exiled prince of the Fire Nation, seeking to restore his lost honor by capturing Aang, accompanied by his uncle Iroh—and later, his sister Azula. Avatar is presented in a style that combines anime with American cartoons and relies on the imagery of primarily Chinese culture, with some other East Asian, Southeast Asian, South Asian, New World, Siberian, and Arctic influences.
Avatar: The Last Airbender arrives on February 22 only on Netflix

Tuesday, January 23, 2024

After 15 years, Indiana Jones returns to Gaming...

Indiana Jones and the Great Circle
Uncover one of history’s greatest mysteries in Indiana Jones and the Great Circle™, a first-person, single-player adventure set between the events of Raiders of the Lost Ark™ and The Last Crusade™. The year is 1937, sinister forces are scouring the globe for the secret to an ancient power connected to the Great Circle, and only one person can stop them - Indiana Jones™. You’ll become the legendary archaeologist in this cinematic action-adventure game from MachineGames, the award-winning studio behind the recent Wolfenstein series, and executive produced by Hall of Fame game designer Todd Howard.

Monday, January 22, 2024

Is OHAYOCON 2024 Dead on Arrival?

Volunteers, Former Senior Staff
BOYCOTT Ohayocon Convention
[Source: AnimeNewsNetwork] Dating back to 2001, the cleverly named Ohayocon is Ohio's oldest and longest-running anime convention. Attracting an estimated 13,000 attendees in 2023, it's without question one of the larger anime conventions in Ohio as well (rivaled only by Colossalcon, whose latest reported attendance of 17,374 people comes from 2015). But longevity doesn't necessarily mean that all's well at Ohayocon, as over 91 individuals, including former senior leadership members and year-round volunteers, are boycotting the convention following the termination of Cody Marcum, the convention's former con chair who's been with the con since 2009, and Erin [last name withheld by request], the former director of marketing. Ohayocon is currently scheduled to take place January 19–21.

Sunday, January 21, 2024

Aragog and Adam Sandler star in...

S P A C E M A N
Six months into a solitary research mission to the edge of the solar system, an astronaut, Jakub (Adam Sandler), realizes that the marriage he left behind might not be waiting for him when he returns to Earth. Desperate to fix things with his wife, Lenka (Carey Mulligan), he is helped by a mysterious creature from the beginning of time he finds hiding in the bowels of his ship. Hanuš (voiced by Paul Dano) works with Jakub to make sense of what went wrong before it is too late. Directed by Johan Renck and based on the novel Spaceman of Bohemia, the film also stars Kunal Nayyar, Lena Olin, and Isabella Rossellini.
Spaceman is coming to Netflix on March 1.

Saturday, January 20, 2024

New Trailer for Upcoming Demon Slayer...

DEMON SLAYER: Kimetsu no Yaiba -To the Hashira Training
Directed by Haruo Sotozaki!
Tanjiro undergoes rigorous training with the Stone Hashira, Himejima, in his quest to become a Hashira. Meanwhile, Muzan continues to search for Nezuko and Ubuyashiki.

Friday, January 19, 2024

Is The Rey Movie DEAD?

The Definitive Answer on Star Wars' Latest Disney Drama!
The chaos surrendering the Rey Movie has many people scratching their heads. Frankly, we'd be shocked if Lucasfilm wasn't confusing people for once.

Thursday, January 18, 2024

The Final Battle for Eternia Approaches...

Masters of the Universe: Revolution
It's technology versus magic as He-Man and friends fight back against
the shadowy forces of Skeletor in an epic battle for the heart of Eternia.
 
From Kevin Smith, Mattel Television Studios, and Netflix comes an epic tale that features He-Man vs. Skeletor in a highly anticipated brawl for all of Eternia.
 
Masters of the Universe: Revolution arrives January 25th on Netflix.

Wednesday, January 17, 2024

Anime Viewing Schedule for January 20, 2024


 A N I M A T R I X   N E T W O R K
Saturday, January 20, 2024
Fountaindale Public Library
VIEWING SCHEDULE
          11:15 - 12:05   The Apothecary Diaries 5-6
          12:05 - 12:55   Undead Girl Murder Farce ep 12-13 [End]
          12:55 - 1:35     Club Meeting
          1:35 - 2:25       Frieren 1-2
          2:25 - 3:15       Solo Leveling 1-2
          3:15 - 4:40       Attack on Titan: THE FINAL CHAPTER
 
It's the beginning of a new year, and one of the greatest
anime series ever made is finally coming to a glorious end!
 
Fountaindale Public Library
300 W. Briarcliff Road
Bolingbrook, IL 60440 
Peggy J. Danhof Board Room
(Second Floor)
 
From 11:15 AM to 5:00 PM

All anime presented are fan-subtitled unless otherwise noted.
Don't miss these exciting anime series: Solo Leveling and Frieren
* ANIME DESCRIPTIONS ARE BELOW *
 
11:15 - 12:05   The Apothecary Diaries 5-6
The Apothecary Diaries
Plot Summary: The series is set in a fictional country modelled after Ming-era China. Maomao, a young girl who works as an apothecary in the red-light district, is kidnapped and sold to the Imperial Palace as a servant. However, she still retains her curious and eccentric personality and plans to work there until her years of servitude are over, without drawing the attention of anyone. One day, after hearing the rumors that the emperor's children are critically ill, she begins to investigate the cause, using her experience as a pharmacist, and successfully solves the mystery of their illness. Even though she intends to remain anonymous, her actions eventually catch the attention of an influential eunuch, and soon finds herself solving various mysteries in the royal court.
 
 
12:05 - 12:55   Undead Girl Murder Farce 12-13 [End]
Undead Girl Murder Farce
Plot Summary: Taking place between the late 19th century and early 20th century in a world filled with supernatural and magical creatures, Tsugaru Shinuchi, a half-demon, alongside servant Shizuku Hasei, leave Japan and embark on a journey across Europe to retrieve the body of Aya Rindo, who was decapitated by an unknown villain prior to the start of the series with only Aya's head as the living evidence for the journey.
 

12:55 - 1:35     Club Announcements
"Fight to the bitter end!" 
Echo
Disney
PIXAR
STAR WARS Future
Doctor Who
Video Games


1:35 - 2:25   Frieren 1-2
FRIEREN
Plot Summary: The story follows elven mage Frieren, a former member of the party of adventurers who defeated the Demon King and restored harmony to the world after a ten-year quest. In the past, the heroic group included Frieren, human hero Himmel, dwarven warrior Eisen and human priest Heiter. Before they part, they observe the Era Meteors together, a meteor shower that occurs once in fifty years. Frieren agrees to see them again and offers them a better view the next time the celestial event occurs. Frieren then departs and travels the world in pursuit of magical knowledge. Frieren returns to the capital fifty years later; however, humanity has changed, and her former companions have distinctly aged. After one last adventure to see the meteor shower, Himmel dies of old age. During the funeral, Frieren expressed guilt for not attempting to learn more about him. Frieren then pays a visit to her other former comrades. She accepts an offer to teach and care for Fern, an orphaned child adopted by Heiter. She also receives an invitation to travel far north, to the resting place of souls, and see Himmel again to bid the hero a fitting farewell and express her feelings. To fulfill those requests, Frieren embarks on a journey together with Fern while still pursuing her passion for learning magic. Frieren's elven nature grants her an extremely long lifespan, causing her to view periods of years or decades as ephemeral (this perception of time makes her consider the ten-year adventure with Himmel's party a fleeting experience). The story thus takes place across a long time, with periodic flashbacks accompanied by the physical and mental development of characters apart from Frieren herself. 
 
 
2:25 - 3:15    Solo Leveling 1-2
SOLO LEVELING
Plot Summary:  In a world where hunters — human warriors who possess supernatural abilities — must battle deadly monsters to protect mankind from certain annihilation, a notoriously weak hunter named Sung Jinwoo finds himself in a seemingly endless struggle for survival. One day, after narrowly surviving an overwhelmingly powerful double dungeon that nearly wipes out his entire party, a mysterious program called the System chooses him as its sole player and in turn, gives him the extremely rare ability to level up in strength and turn anyone he kills into a loyal minion called a shadow. Jinwoo then sets out on a journey as he fights against all kinds of enemies, both man and monster, to discover the secrets of the dungeons and the true source of his powers.
 
 
3:15 - 4:40    Attack on Titan: THE FINAL CHAPTER
ATTACK ON TITAN: The Final Chapter
Plot Summary:  The Scouts and Warriors lands on Eren's rib cage and incapacitate the Beast Titan before realizing that it is simply an empty shell with Zeke nowhere to be found. Before Armin has a chance to transform, he is captured inside a Titan's mouth. Suddenly, countless iterations of the former Nine Titans appear on Eren's back, created by Ymir Fritz as a way to defend him from the group's assault. While the Scouts try to rescue Armin, Pieck attempts to decapitate Eren's Titan with explosives, only to have her Cart Titan impaled and lifted away by the War Hammer Titan's replica before she is able to pull the trigger. Bertholdt's Colossal Titan replica appears above the battlefield and bites the head of Reiner's Armored Titan off before hurling the body down at the Founder's ribcage. The Scouts are scattered by the resulting impact, with most of them falling off the spines and forced to hang onto the ribcage so they don't fall. Just as the team is nearly defeated, Annie and Gabi appear on the back of Falco's new flying Jaw Titan and carries most of the team out from harm's way. Levi divides the group into two teams to rescue Armin and to attack Eren's nape. The sight of Falco's Titan inspires the Marleyan military at Fort Salta to keep fighting, but they are soon distracted by the arrival of the Eldian refugees from Liberio. Jean and Reiner head for the Founding Titan's nape, joining up with Pieck in an attempt to blow off the head with the same explosives she tried to detonate earlier. On the other end of the Eren's Titan, Mikasa, Conny, and Annie attempt to chase down the Titan that captured Armin, but are stopped by the Colossal Titan. Armin discovers Zeke inside the Paths, who explains to him that Eren understood what Ymir could not let go of even after 2,000 years and that is why she sided with him. Zeke does not believe escaping the Paths is possible or worth pursuing given that everything simply dies in the end, but Armin convinces Zeke that even the smallest things in life have meaning. Suddenly, Zeke remembers the time he spent playing ball with Xaver. Realizing he still cherishes those memories, he helps bridge the gap between the previous inheritors of the Titans, allowing Xaver, Grisha, Kruger, the Galliard brothers and Ymir's Titan replicas to break free of the Founder's control to help their comrades battle the remaining replicas. Zeke emerges from one of the Founding Titan's spines and calls out to Falco and those riding on his back, particularly Levi. While marveling about how nice the day looks, Zeke allows Levi to decapitate him, which severs Eren's ability to continue the Rumbling. Jean gets to the detonator and sets off the explosives around the Founding Titan's neck, decapitating it. However, a glowing centipedal creature emerges from its neck in an attempt to reconnect the head. After being rescued, Armin attempts to use the explosive power of his Colossal Titan's transformation to kill it, but he fails and it runs off towards Fort Salta. Meanwhile, Falco flies down to the Liberio refugees, but the reunion between the Warriors and their families is cut short when the centipede creature turns the nearby Eldians, including Jean, Connie and Gabi, into Titans to help defend it. Reiner, Annie, and Pieck engage the Titans and the centipede creature to prevent it from reconnecting with Eren while he transforms into a Colossal form of the Founding Titan to fight Armin's Colossal Titan, leaving Mikasa and Levi as the only ones left who can kill Eren. Jumping off Falco's back mid-flight, Levi uses a thunder spear to destroy the Founding Titan's mouth exposing Eren's real head within. Mikasa immediately enters the Titan's mouth to behead Eren and permanently end the Rumbling. As a result of Eren's death, Ymir is freed from the Paths which allows her to pass on. The centipedal creature responsible for the source of the Titan's powers vanishes and all surviving Eldians turn back into humans. Armin suddenly remembers a conversation with Eren that the latter intentionally wiped from his memory.

Tuesday, January 16, 2024

It was the Best of times; It was the Worst of Times...

The Silent Fall of Studio Madhouse
We spotlight the veteran studio, Studio Madhouse, and tell the story of how and why some of the most iconic names at the studio left.

Monday, January 15, 2024

Best Gundam Game Never Released in the U.S.

The Elden Ring People made a Gundam Game... and NAILED IT
Let's check out something that is sure to be a treat to any Gundam Fan out there. Remember that little dev studio that made Darksouls, Sekiro, and Elden Ring? Yeah, FromSoftware, those are the folks. Well, it turns out, back in 2012, they released a Gundam game: Mobile Suit Gundam: Unicorn. Unfortunately, it never received an English release, but don't let that deter you. The game is VERY accessible and playable for those who don't read or speak Japanese. Sure, you may miss out on the story bits, but as long as you've watched the first three episodes of the show, you're good to go. Incredible visuals, sound, and game-play make the journey offered by this game one worth experiencing.

Sunday, January 14, 2024

"Just going to 'borrow' your starship for a while..."

ATLAS and the STARS
Determined to fulfill her lifelong dream of exploring the stars,
Atlas sets out to steal a starship and leave her old life behind.
Atlas and the Stars is an animated series created and animated by Miranda Toney (Mirandamations) that follows a human and an alien trying to make their way back home after mysteriously getting tossed across universes.

Saturday, January 13, 2024

Next Club Meeting is January 20, 2024

A N I M A T R I X   N E T W O R K
 
"Welcome to the First Meeting of the New Year!"

  M O N T H L Y   M E E T I N G

Fountaindale Public Library
300 W. Briarcliff Road
Bolingbrook, IL  60440
Peggy J. Danhof Board Room
 (2nd Floor)
Saturday, January 20, 2024
11:15 AM - 5:00 PM
 
We will be in the BOARD ROOM on the Second Floor.
 
Hope to see everyone there!

 
A Viewing Schedule will be posted soon.
 
Hope to see you all there!

(Click below for maps)

Friday, January 12, 2024

This is how bad things have gotten at Disney...

Disney SHUT OUT of Animation Awards
for the First Time Since 1992!
Disney and Pixar didn't get a single nom for Best Animated Feature at the Annie Animation Awards, for the first time since its inception in 1992. This after a string of critical and commercial failures like Lightyear, Strange World, and Wish.
Has Disney lost the home game?
For the first time since the Best Animated Feature award was introduced at the Annie Awards in 1992, neither Disney nor Pixar received a nomination in this category for the 2024 awards. This unprecedented situation occurred despite the release of several potential contenders from Disney and Pixar last year, including "Wish" and "Elemental." This development might reflect a challenging phase for Disney and Pixar, especially considering the mixed reviews and performances of their recent releases like "Elemental" and "Wish." The last time Pixar won the Annie for Best Animated Feature was in 2020 with "Soul," and the last Disney movie to win was "Zootopia" in 2016. The winners of this year's Annie Awards will be announced on February 17.

Thursday, January 11, 2024

Never stand in the way of a Pirate and his Kids...

WARSHIP JOLLY ROGER
Here's your look at the story setup and more from Warship Jolly Roger in this teaser trailer for the upcoming single-player, narrative-driven action-adventure game from developer Proxima Studio. Warship Jolly Roger is based on the graphic novel of the same name. Take on the role of Jon Munro, the rebel commanding the powerful star cruiser, the Warship Jolly Roger. Follow the story of Jon Munro and his crew as they embark on a quest for redemption and rebellion against the tyrannical regime of President Vexton.
Warship Jolly Roger will be available on PC and PlayStation 5.

Wednesday, January 10, 2024

Star Trek and Beyond!

STAR TREK PRODIGY Season 2
is Going to Be VERY Surprising!
Get ready to boldly go where no one has gone before as we dive deep into everything we know about "Star Trek: Prodigy" Season 2 in this video! Created by the talented Kevin and Dan Hageman, Prodigy has reimagined the Star Trek universe, captivating both new and long-time fans. The first season introduced us to a group of alien kids on a journey aboard the USS Protostar, guided by the legendary Captain Janeway and her holographic self, encountering new challenges and villains. But here's the big twist: "Star Trek: Prodigy" was canceled by Paramount+ as part of their merger with Showtime, leaving fans devastated. However, there's good news! The series has found a new home on Netflix, and season 2 is in the works. With a bigger potential audience, season 2 promises to be even more thrilling, with the return of the original voice cast and exciting new storylines. We'll explore what season 2 might have in store and the release details. Stay tuned for all the latest on "Star Trek: Prodigy" Season 2.

Tuesday, January 9, 2024

The "Force is Female" is a Humongous Failure...

STAR WARS: Even Disney FREAKING OUT over
GUARANTEED FLOP Activist REY movie?!

As more and more older interview clips of Star Wars Rey’s activist director Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy of the World Economic Forum (WEF) fame comes to light, the more the built in-audience freaks out. In an interesting twist though, there is now evidence to suggest Disney’s higher ups are freaking out and having second thoughts as well!

Monday, January 8, 2024

One of the Greatest Sci-Fi Novels Come to Life...

THE THREE-BODY PROBLEM
The series portrays a fictional past, present and future wherein Earth encounters an alien civilization from a nearby system of three sun-like stars orbiting one another, in an example of the three-body problem in orbital mechanics.
 
During the Cultural Revolution, Ye Wenjie, an astrophysics graduate from Tsinghua University, witnesses her father get beaten to death during a struggle session by Red Guards from Tsinghua High School. Ye is officially branded a traitor and is forced to join a labor brigade in Inner Mongolia, and is later sentenced to prison. In prison, Ye is recruited by Yang Weining and Lei Zhicheng, two military physicists working under Red Coast, a secret Chinese initiative to use high-powered radio waves to damage spy satellites.

After working with them for some time, she learns that the stated purpose is a front for Red Coast's true intention: the search for extraterrestrial life. Ye discovers the possibility of amplifying outgoing radio waves by using microwave cavities within the Sun and sends an interstellar message to test her theory, but tells no one else. Eight years later, now in a loveless marriage with Yang, Ye receives a message from a concerned alien pacifist from the planet Trisolaris, warning her not to respond or else the inhabitants of Trisolaris will be able to deduce the Solar System's location and invade Earth. Disillusioned by the political chaos and having come to despise humankind, Ye responds anyway, inviting the Trisolarans to come to Earth to settle its problems. She murders Yang and Lei to keep the alien message secret.

Some time later, with the end of the Cultural Revolution and Ye's return to Tsinghua as a professor, Ye encounters Mike Evans, a hermit and the son of the CEO of the world's largest oil company. Evans is also a radical environmentalist and anti-speciesist. Seeing that Evans is direly angry at humanity as well, Ye confides in him and tells him about the events at Red Coast. Evans uses his inherited financial power to hire men and purchases the Judgement Day, a giant ship which he converts into a mobile colony and listening post. Upon receiving messages from Trisolaris, validating Ye's story, Evans announces the creation of the militant and semi-secret Earth-Trisolaris Organization (ETO) as a fifth column for Trisolaris and appoints Ye its leader. According to the messages, the Trisolaran invasion fleet has already departed, but will not reach Earth for 450 years.

The society attracts numerous scientists, minor government officials, and other educated people who are disappointed with world affairs. They assemble a private army and build small nuclear weapons. However, Evans retains control of most resources and starts to alter and withhold alien messages from Ye and others. Furthermore, the society splits into factions, with the Adventists, led by Evans, seeking complete destruction of humanity by the Trisolarans, and the Redemptionists, led by Shen Yufei, seeking to help the Trisolarans to find a computational solution to the three-body problem, which plagues their planet. A third, smaller faction, the Survivors, intend to help the Trisolarans in exchange for their own descendants' lives while the rest of humanity dies.

In the present day, Wang Miao, a nanotechnology professor, is asked to work with Shi Qiang, a cunning detective, to investigate the mysterious suicides of several scientists, including Ye Wenjie's daughter Yang Dong. The two of them notice that the world's governments are communicating closely with each other and have put aside their traditional rivalries to prepare for war. Over the next few days, Wang experiences strange hallucinations and meets with Ye. Wang sees people playing a sophisticated virtual reality video game called Three-Body (which is later revealed to have been created by the ETO as a recruitment tool) and begins to play himself. The game portrays a planet whose climate randomly flips between Stable and Chaotic Eras. During Chaotic Eras, the weather oscillates unpredictably between extreme cold and extreme heat, sometimes within minutes.

The inhabitants (who are portrayed as having human bodies) seek a way to predict Chaotic Eras so they can better survive. Unlike humans, they have evolved the special ability to 'dehydrate', turning themselves into a roll of canvas. They do this in order to lie dormant when the Chaotic Eras occur, saving valuable resources that otherwise would have been wasted. A second individual is required to rehydrate their body, as self-rehydration is not possible. Characters resembling historical figures, including Aristotle, Mozi, and Isaac Newton, fail to produce a model for the planet's climate, as multiple civilizations grow and are wiped out by large-scale disasters. It is Wang who ultimately happens upon the insight that explains the climate of Three-Body, and wins the acclaim of the others. The planet is part of a system with three suns, whose distances from the planet and thus their appearance and disappearance in the sky are stochastic and hard to predict. When two suns are far away and Trisolaris orbits the third, the climate enters a Stable Era. When the planet is too close to two suns, the climate is disrupted, causing a Chaotic Era. If it is close to all three suns, a planet-wide firestorm occurs. If all three suns are distant, the planet enters an ice age. Eventually, at a future time impossible to predict, Trisolaris will collide with one of the suns and be consumed. The game shows the Trisolarans building and launching colony ships to invade Earth, believing that the stable orbit will allow unprecedented prosperity and let them escape the destruction of their planet.

Wang is inducted into the ETO, and informs Shi of one of their meetings. This leads to a battle between the People's Liberation Army (PLA) and the society's soldiers, as well as Ye's arrest. The PLA works with the Americans, led by Colonel Stanton, to ambush Judgement Day as it passes through the Panama Canal. To prevent the crew from destroying records of their communications with the Trisolarans, the team follows Shi's suggestion to use Wang's nano-material filament in a fence, which will quickly cut the ship apart and kill everyone aboard but will not damage the computer systems beyond repair. From the Trisolaran communications, several revelations are discovered. The Trisolarans possess extremely advanced picotechnology that allows them to create 11-dimensional supercomputers called "sophons" which, when viewed in three dimensions, occupy the volume of a proton. Two of these sophons have already been laboriously manufactured and sent to Earth, where they have the power to cause hallucinations, spy on any location, transmit the information gathered to Trisolaris using quantum entanglement, and disrupt the operation of particle accelerators. The Trisolarans fear humanity will develop technology advanced enough to fight off the invasion by the time the fleet arrives, and have decided that disrupting the accelerators to give random results will paralyze Earth's technological advancement.

Once several sophons have arrived, they plan to fabricate visual miracles and other hallucinations on a massive scale to make humanity distrust its own scientists. The Trisolarans detect that humanity has made these discoveries via sophons and beam to the eyes of the PLA one final message, "You're bugs!", then cease all communications. Now in custody, Ye is allowed to visit the old Red Coast base, and reflects upon her past choices, noting that humanity from now on will never be the same. Shi Qiang finds Wang Miao and his colleagues in a depressed drinking binge, and sobers them up by driving them to his hometown village in Northeastern China. Shi reflects on how despite all the advances humanity has made with pesticides, the simple-minded locust still manages to survive and thrive. With renewed hope, Wang and Shi return to Beijing to help plan the war against the Trisolarans. Now old and weak, Ye Wenjie returns to the top of Radar Peak, once the location of the Red Coast SETI base of operations. As she watches the blood red sun set in the west, she remarks the sight as a "sunset for humanity".