Next Club Meeting: October 17, 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.

Sunday, June 27, 2010

 A Ton of New Photos from The Last Airbender
Directed by M. Night Shyamalan

Saturday, June 26, 2010

The Last Airbender - Toph is Just a Girl

Toph, the blind earthbender, may not be in the upcoming live-action movie, but here's something to look forward to in the sequel.

The Jedi Civil War

Friday, June 25, 2010

Welcome to THE SPACE SHOW

Here is the first 22 minutes of Welcome to THE SPACE SHOW. This Sci-Fi adventure is brought to you by "Besame Mucho" known for the R.O.D series and Kamichu!
Hits theaters in Japan on June 26th!!

Welcome to THE SPACE SHOW official website (Japanese only)

The Last Airbender - AMV

Prepare yourselves. The live-action movie Last Airbender opens next week. Here are some highlights of the animated series just to get you ready.
 Star Wars The Force Unleashed 2
E3 2010 Exclusive Betrayal Cinematic Trailer

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Futurama's New Season Starts Thursday, June 24

On Comedy Central 9:00 and 9:30 p.m. [central time] - "Rebirth" and "In-A-Gadda-Da-Leela"

[Source: SciFi.com] Finally! The crew of the Planet Express are back, and Comedy Central's got them! In the sixth-season premiere (after the longest hiatus ever), the Professor must "Rebirth" the crew to bring them back from death by using an untested resuscitation machine. Resolves the cliffhanger from the last DVD movie. And then, in "In-A-Gadda-Da-Leela," Leela and Zapp Brannigan are marooned on an Eden-like planet and must decide whether to make like Adam and Eve.

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

 Rideback
An action drama from Madhouse Studio, Inc. 
http://www.rideback-anime.jp/rideback.html
The 12-episode anime series is directed by Atsushi Takahashi (“Detroit Metal City” OVA and “Spirited Away”).

In the year 2020 an organization called the GGP has taken control of the world. In Japan, this has been met with insurgency by the university students. One of these students is Rin Ogata, a once promising ballet dancer who has suffered a career-ending injury. She stumbles across a transforming motorcycle-like robot vehicle and discovers that her unique skills, grace and agility make her a natural to ride the Rideback and fight back against the GGP.

FUNimation Entertainment will release the series on DVD starting in 2011.

Monday, June 21, 2010

 Eden of the East
Complete Series on Blu-ray & DVD 9/28/10 - Anime Trailer

Own it on Blu-ray & DVD September 28, 2010
 
Some Conspiracies are More Than Theories

Akira Takizawa wakes up naked outside the White House with no memories. He's got a gun in one hand, a cell phone in the other, and doesn't know if he's a good guy or bad guy. He doesn't even know that the phone itself gives him instant access to ten billion yen, and that on the other end of the phone, there is a woman who can make his most outlandish requests a reality. He doesn't recall his connection to the ongoing missile attacks terrorizing the Japanese people. Or the part he played in the sudden disappearance of 20,000 shut-ins. He doesn't even remember that he's supposed to save Japan and that he will be murdered if he fails. Whatever it is he's tangled up in, Takizawa is definitely in deep and that's not even scratching the surface.

Sunday, June 20, 2010

HAPPY FATHERS' DAY!!!

Totoro Makes Cameo in Pixar's Toy Story 3

The title character of Hayao Miyazaki's My Neighbor Totoro film makes a cameo in Toy Story 3, which opens this weekend.

Miyazaki and Pixar founder John Lasseter have been personal friends for two decades; the two have visited each others' studios frequently over the years, and Lasseter helped oversee the English release of Miyazaki's Spirited Away and Ponyo. Along with previous efforts, Lasseter opened a 2008 charity auction at Pixar's own headquarters for the Totoro Forest Project, an effort to save one of the forests that inspired My Neighbor Totoro. 

Source: TheHDRoom
Copyright © 2010 Walt Disney Pictures

Saturday, June 19, 2010

Star Wars - The Naughty Bits

[Source: SciFiWire.com] In another example of best uses of the Internet, Star Wars fans have been (ahem) amusing themselves by figuring out what Star Wars references are also sexual references. They call these "double entauntaundres," and here are 27 of the "best" of them. We vouch for neither their accuracy nor their taste:

"Take care of yourself, Han. I guess that's what you're best at isn't it?"

"Look at the size of that thing!"

"I thought they smelled bad on the outside!"

"Size matters not. Look at me. Judge me by my size, do you? Hmm? Hmm."

"Myself, the boy, two droids, and no questions asked."

"So, you have a twin sister. Obi-Wan was wise to hide her from me."

"Oh yes, that's very good. I like that ... oh, something's not right because now I can't see."

"Point that thing somewhere else!"

"You came in that? You're braver than I thought."

"I have felt him, my master."

"No, no, NO. THIS one goes THERE, THAT one goes THERE."

"I don't care what you smell, you big, furry oaf - get in there!"

"She may not look like much, but she's got it where it counts, kid!"

"I expect to be well paid. I'm in it for the money."

"What is thy bidding, my master?"

"Wedge! Pull out! You're not doing any good back there!"

"There's an awful lot of moisture in there."

"This one a long time have I watched."

"Right now I feel like I could take on the whole Empire myself."

"Good relations with the Wookiees I have."

"Luke, at that speed do you think you'll be able to pull out in time?"

"You had a plan for getting in, you didn't have a plan for getting out?!"

"If you give it to me, I might forget I found you."

"No it didn't go in, just impacted on the surface!"

"You're all clear, kid! Now let's blow this thing and go home!"

"So. You got your reward and you're just leaving, then?" 


"At last we will reveal ourselves to the Jedi."

Friday, June 18, 2010

 Star Wars: The Old Republic E3 2010 Trailer
 Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World - International Trailer

 What the Smurf is this!?
The Smurfs Movie is an upcoming live-action/CGI-animated fantasy-family film directed by Raja Gosnell, written by J. David Stem and David N. Weiss, and stars Neil Patrick Harris, Jayma Mays, and Hank Azaria, with the voices of Jonathan Winters, Katy Perry, Jeff Foxworthy, Paul Reubens, Alan Cumming, and George Lopez. Produced by Jordan Kerner, the film will be distributed by Columbia Pictures.

It will be the first CGI/live-action hybrid film in The Smurfs franchise.[1] After five years of negotiations, Kerner bought the rights in 2002 and was in development with Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon Movies until Columbia Pictures and Sony Pictures Animation obtained the film rights in 2008. Filming began on March 26, 2010 in New York. After having the release date pushed back twice, it is currently scheduled to be released on August 3, 2011.

Plot: After the evil wizard Gargamel (Hank Azaria) chases the Smurfs out of their village, they tumble out of their magical world into the middle of Central Park in New York. They must find a way to get back to their village before Gargamel tracks them down.

Thursday, June 17, 2010

'Technotise' heads to the big screen, thanks to faux trailer (exclusive)


Legendary is plunking down beaucoup bucks to bring “Technotise,” a live-action remake of a Serbian animated film, to the big-screen.
The company has picked up a pitch by Laeta Kalogridis, a writer who worked on “Avatar” and wrote “Shutter Island,” who will write the screenplay as part of her deal that is in the low-seven-figure range.
Rae Sanchini, who worked with James Cameron on “Solaris,” “Titanic” and “Strange Days,” will produce alongside Thomas Tull and Jon Jashni of Legendary Pictures.
The Serbian movie, titled “Technotise: Edit and I” and set in Belgrade in the year 2074, centered on a failing art student who decides to get a chip implant to circumvent studying but gets more than she bargained for.

The pickup is the latest sign of Hollywood’s current infatuation with Internet shorts as a sales material.

The seeds of the “Technotise” pickup were planted last year when Scott Glassgold and Raymond Brothers — the producers behind the Forest Whitaker drama “Hurricane Season,” which controversially never received a theatrical release — were tipped off to the Serbian film. 

Right after acquiring the remake rights, the duo saw a fake trailer for “Green Lantern” made by Jaron Pitts. Using clips of Nathan Fillion and other movies to convey an action-packed film, the trailer generated more than 2 million views.

The duo hired Pitts, a Texas-based media director, to make a trailer for what a possible “Technotise” movie would look like, with Pitts coming up with a high-octane two-minute piece that combined Milla Jovovich clips with those from such movies as “Minority Report,” “Children of Men,” “Avatar” and others. 

The trailer went viral in February, generating interest in the live-action remake. WME-repped Kalogridis, who is currently writing "Ghost in the Shell" for DreamWorks and Steven Spielberg, came on board in the winter, honing a pitch that then was taken to studios and producers. 

Glassgold and Brothers will exec produce via their IAM Entertainment as well as Kalogridis. “Technotise” will fall under Legendary’s co-production and co-financing agreement with Warner Bros. 

Here is that "Technotise" fake trailer:

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Thor - First Look Behind the Scenes


[Source: SciFi.com] ET visited the set of Thor and just released a four-minute video taking us behind the scenes with them. Check out some of our favorite moments below!

Here's Anthony Hopkins in costume as the Thunder God's father, looking all Odin-ish.

Not sure what Chris Hemworth's battle in a tube will turn out to be once the FX guys get their hands on it, but we're hoping for the Rainbow Bridge.

We assume this must be Asgard ... unless it's that Vegas casino where we lost a couple of weeks' pay




Monday, June 14, 2010

 What do Japanese students do in school?

Saturday, June 12, 2010

 TANGLED
Disney's version of Rapunzel... with a twist.
When the kingdom's most wanted -- and most charming -- bandit Flynn Rider hides out in a mysterious tower, he's taken hostage by Rapunzel, a beautiful and feisty tower-bound teen with 70 feet of magical, golden hair. Flynn's curious captor, who's looking for her ticket out of the tower where she's been locked away for years, strikes a deal with the handsome thief and the unlikely duo sets off on an action-packed escapade, complete with a super-cop horse, an over-protective chameleon and a gruff gang of pub thugs.

Directed by: Byron Howard, Nathan Greno
Starring: Mandy Moore, Zachary Levi, Donna Murphy, Ron Perlman, M.C. Gainey

Friday, June 11, 2010

 Next Club Meeting is Saturday, June 12, 2010
 Here are the titles we will be showing this weekend.

Anime Viewing Schedule
Noon- 12:25    Kiddy Girl-and (episode 2)

Twenty-five years after Éclair and Lumière, (from the flagship Kiddy Grade series), rescued the galaxy from destruction's doorstep, the GTO (Galactic Trade Organization), created after the defeat of the GOTT (Galactic Organization of Trade and Tariffs), act on behalf of universal peace by combating criminal activity. Their special ES division mirrored after the GOTT's ES (Encounter of Shadow-work) force, now includes publicly acknowledged ES member candidates. The series follows three such trainees, Ascoeur, Q-feuille, and Di-air as they work their way to ES membership.

12:25 -12:50    Senkou no Night Raid 3

Set in Shanghai in 1931, the Imperial Japanese Army has been dispatched to mainland China due to the relatively recent First Sino-Japanese War, Russo-Japanese War, and World War I. In this cosmopolitan city of intrigue, there is a special military spy organization called "Sakurai Kikan" that has since been buried in history. In this episode, Sakurai requests the group to investigate a Jewish Russian violinist named Sergei Krainev, who the Kwantung Army suspects is a foreign spy that has been leaking out classified military information to an unknown benefactor.

12:50 - 1:40   Umineko no Naku Koro ni 19-20

After the bodies of Rosa and Maria are found, Rudolf, Kyrie, and Hideyoshi go to retrieve food from the mansion, only to be trapped inside by Eva-Beatrice. Two Stakes of Purgatory, Leviathan and Belphegor, are sent to kill Rudolf and Kyrie, though they manage to outmaneuver and defeat them. Eva-Beatrice summons more powerful furniture, the Siesta Sisters, who successfully kill Rudolf and Kyrie. Hideyoshi confronts Eva-Beatrice to knock sense into her, but is killed by her as well. Beatrice berates Eva-Beatrice for ignoring her advice, but Eva-Beatrice tells her off, revealing she knows that acting dignified is only a means for Beatrice to get back in Battler's good graces in Purgatory. However, Battler is convinced to continue playing with Beatrice if he is to make any progress, though he still refuses to forgive her. Virgilia, meanwhile, meets with Beatrice and encourages her to act more passively if she is to make Battler accept witches. 

1:40 - 2:30    Isekai no Seikishi Monogatari 3
Kenshi Masaki is a 15 year old boy that unwillingly traveled from his homeland on Earth to the alternate world of Geminar. In Geminar, the countries usually wage wars against each other by using the Seikijin, humanoid weapons that were originally discovered within ancient ruins. After being deceived by a mysterious organization to participate in an attempt to assassinate Lashara Aasu XXVIII, the young princess of the Streya Empire, he ends up captured after he relucts to kill her when he had the chance. After Lashara and her servants figure about his situation, they decide to give him aid. Disguised as Lashara's servant, Kenshi moves with her to the Holy Land, a virtually impregnable fortress that serves as an academy to train Seikijin pilots selected from around the world. With his kindness, tenacity, and being gifted in a wide range of skills that vary from cooking and cleaning to advanced techniques of survival and combat, Kenshi eventually becomes a celebrity in the academy, becoming the object of affection of many female students and making some of the male students envious of him. However, the same organization who deceived Kenshi is secretly working behind the shadows inside the academy, and a widescale conflict which will engulf the entire world of Geminar is about to begin.

2:30 - 3:20    Angel Beats 5-6

Angel Beats! takes place at a high school in the afterlife in a Purgatory between Heaven and Earth where students learn to give up any lingering attachments they still have from life before finally going to Heaven. While the injuries or cause of death is gone, those in the afterlife school can still feel pain or other things as they did when they were alive, as well as dying again, only to awaken with no injures several minutes later. The story follows the main protagonist Otonashi, a boy who lost his memories of his life after dying. Upon awakening in the afterlife, he meets a girl named Yuri who invites him to join the Shinda Sekai Sensen (SSS) (死んだ世界戦線?, lit. Afterlife War Front), an organization she founded and leads which fights against God for the cruel fates the SSS members experienced in life. Their only enemy in the world is the school's student council president Angel, a being with supernatural powers who is in charge of keeping the status quo and fights against the SSS. Yuri believes that anyone who follows Angel's orders and behaves like a normal student at the school will eventually disappear and pass on to Heaven. However, those who fulfill their dreams in the afterlife will pass on as well. In the SSS, there are two sub-divisions which help in the SSS's operations against Angel. The first is a four-girl band named Girls Dead Monster whose objective in the SSS is to cause a diversion from other activities the SSS is engaged in, while on the surface appearing to be a normal all female band. This includes distracting Angel and a large number of "normal" students and teachers at the school Yuri deems "non-player characters" as they are not human, but look and act the part. Another organization in the SSS is the Guild, located far below the surface of the afterlife world, which serves to supply the weapons the SSS uses against Angel. Anyone in the afterlife is able to create anything out of dirt that they had memories of in life, and the Guild uses this ability to mass produce weapons. Angel uses a similar ability to create her supernatural powers.

3:20 - 4:20    Meeting/Announcements/Strange sightings
Bring in your music videos, and fan news to share with the group. This should prove to be a very interesting meeting! Don't miss it!

4:20 - 5:10    House of Five Leaves 2-3

Rōnin Akitsu Masanosuke is a skilled swordsman, but his personality often causes him to be let go from his job. One day he encounters Yaichi, the leader of a group calling itself "Five Leaves" and takes a job from him as a bodyguard. Although he is worried about the intentions of the House of Five Leaves, Akitsu feels there is something more to the group and agrees to work with them.

5:10 - 6:20    Katanagatari 3

Katanagatari centers on Yasuri Shichika, the seventh head of the Kyotō-ryū (虚刀流?, literally "swordless style") of Japanese sword martial arts. One day, a girl named Togame arrives on the island where Shichika and his older sister Nanami live with a favor to ask from him. She tells him that she is on a mission to find and collect the final twelve swords forged by a master swordsmith by the name of Shikizaki Kiki and that she needs his help. They both then leave the island together to seek out the swords.

6:20 - 7:50    Tamala 2010 (Movie)

The film is in a large part a cartoon cat version of Thomas Pynchon's novel The Crying of Lot 49 (which t.o.L have acknowledged as an influence),[5] with elements of Fritz Lang's Metropolis and Oscar Wilde's The Happy Prince. It begins in Meguro City, Tokyo, Cat Earth, a world of corporations and commercialism, where a giant mechanical Colonel Sanders wanders through streets with an axe embedded in its head repeating an advertisement for meat over a loudspeaker. Tamala, bored with the city, leaves her human foster mother and boards a spaceship bound for her birthplace, Orion (while leaving Cat Earth, Tamala's ship passes by a satellite that is reminiscent of Mike Jittlov's Mickey Mouse satellite). Her ship is shot down by the Mysterious Postcat, and she lands on Planet Q in Hate City. There she meets a male cat, Michelangelo, who becomes her boyfriend. While visiting a museum, Tamala discovers a mural detailing the sacrificial rituals of members of the ancient Minerva religion, and the ruins of a statue of a female cat named Tatla. On another date, the couple is pursued by Kentauros, a sadistic dog dressed as a motorcycle cop. He eats Tamala while Michelangelo watches from a tree. The film then changes tone, focusing for a while on a presentation given by Professor Nominos on the history of CATTY & Co. He reveals that the company is an offshoot of the Minerva religion, and that Tamala was born in 1869 to be their mascot. The presentation is gradually interrupted by an attack and the room is burned. He appears to die in the fire but returns, in an undead form, and approaches Michelangelo, telling him of Tamala's history. Tamala, meanwhile, meets with Tatla, and comes to the realization that both of them are the reincarnation of Minerva. She returns to Hate city (much to Michelangelo's surprise), and continues her voyage to Orion, accompanied by the mouse Penelope, a former sex slave for Kentauros.

Thursday, June 10, 2010

Supernatural The Anime

 Aoi Bungaku' directors, Night Head writer, Trigun designer to create 22-episodes

[Source: AnimeNewsNetwork] The Cinema Today website reports that MADHOUSE is the acclaimed anime studio (Death Note, Paprika, Vampire Hunter D, Summer Wars) that is producing the previously announced Supernatural the Animation project for Warner Brothers. According to the website, this is the world's first animated project from a Japanese anime studio that is based on a popular overseas drama series. Shigeyuki Miya (Lupin III: Green vs Red, Aoi Bungaku Series, Buzzer Beater) and Atsuko Ishizuka (Aoi Bungaku Series) are co-directing the project. 
 
Warner Home Video will release Supernatural the Animation on Blu-ray and DVD in Japan on January 12, 2011. The original live-action series follows the Winchester brothers Sam (Jared Padalecki) and Dean (Jensen Ackles) as they hunt creatures and other supernatural phenomena across the American landscape. The series premiered on The WB network in the United States in 2005, and it will enter its sixth season on The WB's replacement network, The CW, this fall.

Update: The animeanime.jp website reports that the anime will be a 22-episode season that will cover the storyline of the live-action version's first two seasons. The first volume will ship on January 12 with the first two episodes. On February 2, the "Box 1" set will ship with episodes 3 to 12. On April 6, the "Box 2" set will ship with episodes 13 to 22. (There will be a different release schedule for the rental version of the project.) 

The anime project will not only remake the best episodes from the live-action version, but also depict original episodes not seen in the live-action version. Those original episodes will include prologues of the Winchester brothers' childhood, anime-only enemies, and episodes featuring secondary characters from the live-action version. 

Supernatural creator Eric Kriple is credited as the anime project's creator, and MADHOUSE Masao Maruyama is serving as executive producer. Naoya Takayama (Night Head, Liar Game) is supervising the series' scripts, and Takahiro Yoshimatsu (Trigun) is designing the characters. co-founder

Wednesday, June 9, 2010

Sunday, June 6, 2010

Kollision Con!!!!
 A New Anime/Cosplay Convention
Name:Chicago Kollision Con [visit site]
Date:November 12-14, 2010
Location:Hyatt Regency Woodfield
Schaumburg, IL
Advance Rates:$35 through May 16; $40 through Sep 30
At-Door Rates:$45 weekend; $30 Fri; $30 Sat; $30 Sun
Programming
and Events:
Panel Programming:
Guest Panels
Fan Panels
Workshops
Costume Events:
Hall Cosplay
Masquerade / Cosplay Competition
Art Programming:
Artists' Alley
Music Programming:
Concert
Dance
  Game Programming:
Video Gaming
Collectable Card Games
Role Playing Games
Other Events:
Autographs (free)
Dealers' Room
Game Shows
Guests:Robert Axelrod (Voice Actor, Integrity Publicity)
Matthew Mercier
(Voice Actor / Cosplayer)
Christopher Smith
(Voice Actor)
Barbara Staples
(Cosplayer)
Information:Who are we? We are the Midwest's premier family friendly Anime & Cosplay convention. Here at Kollision, we bring in big names from all fields of industry; both over seas and Chicago-local guests. We wrap up the entire experience with a Chicago theme. This way, friends and family not familiar with Anime or Cosplay can enjoy themselves in a familiar setting.
Related Events:
Chicago Kollision Con 2010 - November 12-14, 2010

Thursday, June 3, 2010

 An early look at CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE MOVIE
Ain't It Cool posted some art today that aren't just fan mockups - these are the real deal. Click the pics to embiggen.

Wednesday, June 2, 2010

The Last Airbender Final Japanese Trailer

The final full legnth Japanese trailer for M. Night Shyamalan's THE LAST AIRBENDER. http://www.lastairbenderfans.com

Tuesday, June 1, 2010

ANIME SPOTLIGHT: Twin Spica
There's like a million anime titles out there, and you're probably asking yourself, which ones are worth watching. Today, our Anime Spotlight is on Twin Spica, the story of a girl who dreams of becoming an astronaut.