Next Club Meeting:August 15, 2026,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 in today's pop culture, such as live-action films, comics, music, art, and other weird things to enjoy and contemplate.
Enslaved by an evil tyrant who wishes to destroy her people, barbarian huntress Red Sonja must unite a group of unlikely warriors to face off against Dragan the Magnificent and his deadly bride, Dark Annisia.
Red Sonja is an upcoming American sword and sorcery film directed by M. J. Bassett and written by Tasha Huo, based on the Marvel Comics/Dynamite character of the same name. The film stars Matilda Lutz as the title character, alongside Wallis Day, Robert Sheehan, Michael Bisping, Martyn Ford, Eliza Matengu, Rhona Mitra, and Veronica Ferres.
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.
The Witcher: Sirens of the Deep is based on A Little Sacrifice, a short story written by the universe's creator Andrzej Sapkowski. It will have Geralt of Rivia investigating a series of attacks in a seaside village in the midst of rising conflict between its human inhabitants and merpeople from the ocean.
Hell's Paradise: Jigokuraku is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Yuji Kaku. Set in the Edo period of Japan, it follows the ninja Gabimaru and the executioner Yamada Asaemon Sagiri as they search for the elixir of immortality.
Who needs heroes when you have thieves? Watch the trailer for Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves and get ready to see it in theaters March 2023.
A charming thief and a band of unlikely adventurers undertake an epic heist to retrieve a lost relic, but things go dangerously awry when they run afoul of the wrong people. Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves brings the rich world and playful spirit of the legendary role playing game to the big screen in a hilarious and action-packed adventure.
Elden Ring takes place in the realm of the Lands Between, sometime after the destruction of the titular Elden Ring and the scattering of its shards, the Great Runes. Once graced by the Ring and the Erdtree which symbolizes its presence, the realm is now ruled over by the demigod offspring of Queen Marika the Eternal, each possessing a shard of the Ring that corrupts and taints them with power. As Tarnished—exiles from the Lands Between who lost the Ring's grace and are summoned back after the Shattering, players must traverse the realm to ultimately find all the Great Runes, restore the Elden Ring, and become the Elden Lord.
The
Tarnished is one of many exiles called back to the Lands Between in
hopes of repairing the Elden Ring and becoming the next Elden Lord.
Early on in their journey, the Tarnished encounters a young woman named
Melina, who offers to stand in as their maiden to help them on their
journey, under the condition that the Tarnished bring her to the base of
the Erdtree where she can fulfill her purpose. She also takes the
Tarnished to the Roundtable Hold, a gathering place for other Tarnished
seeking to repair the Elden Ring. There, the Tarnished learns from their
divine benefactor, the Two Fingers, that in the wake of the Shattering
and Queen Marika's disappearance, her demigod children had taken the
Great Runes, pieces of the Elden Ring, for themselves, and now war
against each other to try and obtain the other Great Runes. The last
known Great Rune holders are Godrick the Grafted, General Radahn,
Praetor Rykard, Morgott the Grace-Given, and Rennala.
The Tarnished then proceeds to journey into the lands between,
investigating its various locales and defeating each demigod one by one
until they recover enough Great Runes that the Two Fingers feels they
are ready to journey to the Erdtree to confront Morgott, the final
obstacle to the tree. Upon his defeat, Morgott claims that the Erdtree
will not allow anybody, especially a Tarnished, to enter it before
passing away. The Tarnished confirms this when they approach the Erdtree
and find their way blocked by a wall of thorns. Melina then arrives and
advises that they journey to find the Flame of Ruin, which they can use
to set the Erdtree on fire and burn away the thorns. In light of the
Tarnished being rebuffed from the Erdtree, the Two Fingers withdraws
from the mortal plane to consider its next move, leaving the Tarnished
free to proceed with Melina's plan or search for the imprisoned Three
Fingers to gain the power of the Frenzied Flame.
Upon obtaining the Flame of Ruin, if the Tarnished did not free
the Three Fingers, then Melina will take the flame and sacrifice herself
to set the Erdtree on fire. If the Tarnished freed the Three Fingers,
then Melina will abandon the Tarnished, forcing them to use their own
power to set the Erdtree on fire. Regardless, the Tarnished then
proceeds to the Erdtree, where they battle the fellow Tarnished warrior
Gideon Ofnir the All Knowing, as well was the First Elden Lord Godfrey
to gain access to the interior of the Erdtree. Inside, they fight the
reanimated remains of Queen Marika's consort, Radagon, as well as the
godlike Elden Beast. Upon vanquishing both foes, the Tarnished finally
gains access to Queen Marika's shattered corpse, which contains the
remains of the Elden Ring. Depending on the Tarnished's actions
throughout the game, four different endings are possible:
If the Tarnished collected only enough Great Runes necessary to
complete their mission, they mend the Elden Ring and become the new
Elden Lord, leading the Lands Between into the "Age of Fracture".
If the Tarnished also collected the Mending Rune of the Death-Prince
and mends it into the Elden Ring, they become the Elden Lord and remove
the curse of immortality from the world, leading the Lands Between into
the "Age of Duskborn".
If the Tarnished also collected the Rune of the Fell Curse and mends
it into the Elden Ring, they become the Elden Lord and overtake the
world with a reviled curse, granting the Lands Between the "Blessing of
Despair".
If the Tarnished also collected the Mending Rune of Perfect Order
and mends it into the Elden Ring, they become the Elden Lord and restore
order in the world, leading the Lands Between into the "Age of Order".
If the Tarnished decided to collaborate with Ranni the Witch, then
they summon Ranni into the Erdtree, where she proceeds to destroy the
Elden Ring and usurp Queen Marika, taking the Tarnished as her own
consort and leading the Lands Between into the "Age of Stars".
If the Tarnished freed the Three Fingers, they become the "Lord of
the Frenzied Flame" and destroy the Elden Ring along with the Erdtree
while setting all of the Lands Between alight. Melina witnesses the
destruction and promises to hunt down the Tarnished and bring about
their "destined death."
To put an end to the eternal vigil of the all-powerful guardian of the last light of the gods, an unfathomable source of inexhaustible cosmic knowledge and power, Tzod, the fierce high priestess of the great jungle swamp called Bastal, braves the elements ascending an unforgiving, snow-covered mountaintop. As her long and arduous journey finally comes to an end, Tzod encounters the ancient sentinel of the bloom and its mystical blue flame and recounts the tale of how a single spore has changed the world below: a blood-soaked, centuries-old story of corruption, greed, tyranny, and destruction against the backdrop of the never-ending quest for control, influence, and illumination. But, humankind's atrocities echo through eternity, and heroes are always those who are expendable. Can a single petal of the small blue flower restore balance to the universe?
The Elden Ring was broken. But by whom? And why? Mysteries are abound in the latest cinematic trailer for the hotly anticipated Elden Ring.
Elden Ring is an upcoming action role-playing game developed by
FromSoftware and published by Bandai Namco Entertainment. The game,
directed by Hidetaka Miyazaki, was made in collaboration with fantasy
novelist George R. R. Martin, who provided material for the game's
setting.
Senua returns in this cinematic look at Hellblade 2 that has Senua leading a charge against a giant, while dealing with the many voices in her head. Check out the latest trailer revealed at The Game Awards 2021.
"This low-budget film is surprising good! Beautiful music and majestic scenes. Baelin's Route hits all the right steps."
- anim8trix
Baelin (Rowan Bettjeman), a simple background NPC in the video game 'Skycraft' has been walking the same route for as long as he can remember. However, his peaceful (and mindless) routine is violently shaken as a short-tempered Adventurer (Ben Van Lier) drags him off his path and into a dangerous quest to escort a mysterious NPC girl named Willow (Phoenix Cross) across the harsh world of Azerim.
Kentaro Miura (三浦 建太郎, Miura Kentarō) was a Japanese manga artist. He was best known for his acclaimed dark fantasy manga Berserk, which began serialization in 1989 and continued until his death. As of 2021, Berserk had more than 50 million copies in circulation, making it one of the best-selling manga series of all time. In 2002, Miura received the Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize.
Early life and education
Miura was born in Chiba City, Chiba Prefecture, Japan, in 1966. In 1976, at the early age of 10, he made his first manga, entitled Miuranger, which was published for his classmates in a school publication; the series ended up spanning 40 volumes. In 1977, Miura created his second manga, Ken e no michi (剣への道, The Way to the Sword), in which he used India ink for the first time. When he was in middle school in 1979, Miura's drawing techniques improved greatly as he started using professional drawing techniques.
While in high school in 1982, Miura enrolled in an artistic curriculum, where he and his classmates started publishing their works in school booklets. His first doujinshi was published in a magazine, with the help of friends, in the same year. At age 18, Miura worked as an assistant to George Morikawa, of Hajime no Ippo fame. Morikawa quickly acknowledged Miura's high artistic level and dismissed him, saying there was nothing he could teach that Miura did not already know.
Career In 1985, Miura applied for the entrance examination to the art college of Nihon University. He submitted his project Futanabi for examination and was granted admission. The project later earned him a nomination as Best New Author in Weekly Shōnen Magazine. Miura's first serialized work, Noa, was published in the magazine, but it was not successful. In 1988, while working for Buronson on a project titled Orō (王狼, lit. "King of Wolves"), Miura published a prototype of Berserk in Hakusensha's Gekkan ComiComi. This 48-page prototype placed second at the 7th ComiComi's Manga-School prize. The full serialization of Berserk, ultimately Miura's most famous and successful work, began in Hakusensha's Monthly Animal House in 1989. In 1990, a prequel to Ōrō entitled Ōrō Den (王狼伝, The Legend of the Wolf King) was published in the magazine. In 1992, Monthly Animal House was renamed Young Animal, where Berserk continued serialization. In the same year, Miura collaborated with Buronson on Japan, also published in Young Animal.
In 1997, Miura supervised the production of a 25-episode anime adaptation of Berserk produced by OLM, Inc., which aired in the same year on NTV. He also supervised the 1999 Dreamcast video game Sword of the Berserk: Guts' Rage. In 2002, Miura received second place in the annual Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize for the series. Starting in 2006, Berserk went on frequent and often extended hiatuses, alternating between monthly and irregular serialization. As of 2018, the series has been collected in 40 tankōbon volumes, and as of May 2021 it had more than 50 million copies in worldwide circulation, including digital versions. The series also spawned a host of merchandise, both official and fan-made, ranging from statues, action figures to key rings, video games, and a trading card game. Various art books and supplemental materials by Miura based on Berserk were also released.
In 2013, Miura released the short standalone manga Gigantomakhia, released into English-speaking territories as Giganto Maxia by the publisher Dark Horse in 2016. Duranki, a short manga produced by Miura's personal manga studio Studio Gaga, was serialized in Young Animal Zero in 2019.
Death On May 20, 2021, Hakusensha announced that Miura had died on May 6, 2021, due to an acute aortic dissection. A private ceremony was held by his family. Various manga artists offered condolences, including George Morikawa, Hiro Mashima, Rei Hiroe, Hebi-Zou, Ken Akamatsu, Chica Umino, Makoto Yukimura and Atsushi Ohkubo. Susumu Hirasawa, composer for the 1997 television anime adaptation of Berserk, and singer Yoshino Nanjō also offered condolences. Thousands of online players gathered together in Final Fantasy XIV to mourn Miura, with many playing as the Dark Knight class, which itself was heavily inspired by Berserk's protagonist.
Influences Miura stated that the work that had the biggest impact on his own is the manga series Fist of the North Star (1983 debut). In particular, Miura was influenced by Nagai's manga Violence Jack (1973 debut). Other influences cited by Miura include the Japanese fantasy novel series Guin Saga (1979 debut), Paul Verhoeven films, the Hellraiser series (1987 debut), shōjo manga works, Disney films, and the works of Hieronymous Bosch, M. C. Escher, Gustave Doré and Pieter Bruegel.
Legacy
Established as one of the best-selling manga of all time, Miura's series Berserk impacted the manga medium and beyond, with journalist Jade King stating: "[It] is difficult to overstate the tremendous impact his work has had on the world of games, manga, film, anime, and even literature." The image of Guts and his massive sword is attributed to inspiring characters like Cloud Strife of Final Fantasy VII and Dante from the Devil May Cry series, with the overall aesthetic of Berserk inspiring the monsters and world of the Dark Souls series.
[Source: Sportskeeda] Black Myth: Wukong is an upcoming single-player role-playing game that has been developed by Game Science. The game is based on a classic 16th-century Chinese novel called “Journey to the West.” Players control the character Sun Wukong, who is also known as the Monkey King and has the ability to transform into flying insects and a giant monster.
In the novel, Wukong learns Taoism, becomes immortal and masters combat as well as language. He also acquires the 72 methods of heavenly transformation that allow him to transform into many animals and objects at will.
At first, not much was revealed about Black Myth: Wukong, which is still a few years away from its release.
However, a 13-minute gameplay trailer was recently released. In the trailer, we get to see quite a few of Wukong’s powers that were mentioned in the book. He has a trademark black iron staff that can change length according to his will.
We also got to see a plethora of boss fights that players will have to engage in to complete Black Myth: Wukong.
Recently, IGN China was able to conduct a set of interviews with various game science developers. The interviews revealed a lot of new information.
Black Myth: Wukong was in development for two years and will have more than 15 hours of playtime. It is expected to be released somewhere in 2023.
There are more than a 100 enemy types in the game, and it is a darker, more complex version of the original novel. The area in the trailer is called Black Wind Mountain and apparently took more than 6 months to build! Furthermore, the gameplay trailer of Black Myth: Wukong featured three monkeys. Players will have to wait and see which one is Wukong.
Players can use multiple transformations during each fight, and there are different approaches that can be applied to the game. Finally, Black Myth: Wukong is the first of the three games planned by Game Science that will all be based on different Chinese stories. The idea is to create a separate Black Myth Universe, not very much unlike the Marvel Universel.
After losing his home to a dragon, Ethan sets out to hunt it down once and for all. A pawn appears by his side and serves to protect his life. But the dangers that lie in wait for Ethan are beyond their imaginations, for when you fight a monster... you just may become one too.
