Next Club Meeting:May 23, 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.
This holiday season, discover the unlikely friendship that launched a legend. Watch Klaus on Netflix November 15th, 2019.
When Jesper (Jason Schwartzman) distinguishes himself as the postal academy’s worst student, he is stationed on a frozen island above the Arctic Circle, where the feuding locals hardly exchange words let alone letters. Jesper is about to give up when he finds an ally in local teacher Alva (Rashida Jones), and discovers Klaus (Oscar® winner J.K. Simmons), a mysterious carpenter who lives alone in a cabin full of handmade toys.
These unlikely friendships return laughter to Smeerensburg, forging a new legacy of generous neighbors, magical lore and stockings hung by the chimney with care. An animated holiday comedy directed by Despicable Me co-creator Sergio Pablos, KLAUS co-stars Joan Cusack, Will Sasso and Norm Macdonald.
Legendary producer George Lucas (Howard the Duck) reacts to and reviews the final trailer for Star Wars Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker. The film completes Lucas’ epic saga without any of his creative input or consultation. Watch as Lucas complains about the latest iteration of Disney’s version of the space battle, starring Daisy Ridley and Adam Driver as pale imitations of George’s beloved creations. The Rise of Skywalker opens nationwide against George Lucas’ wishes on December 20th. Starring Josh Robert Thompson as a Deepfake version of “George”.
Cassandra's betrayal of Rapunzel is captured in musical form in a way only Disney can make it.
Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure
So far, 3 Seasons... and a Total of 52 Episodes!
Since being freed from Mother Gothel and reunited with her birth parents, King Frederic and Queen Arianna of Corona, Princess Rapunzel adjusts to life as their daughter and continues to have different misadventures with her boyfriend Eugene Fitzherbert, Pascal the chameleon, Maximus the horse, and her new handmaiden Cassandra, to uncover the mystery of her 70-foot long blonde hair's return and its new mystical abilities.
The second season centers around Rapunzel, Eugene and Cassandra's journey accompanied by Lance, Hook Foot, and Shorty to solve the mystery of the black rock spikes and unveil Rapunzel's connection to them. They are also aided by the mysterious sword-wielding Adira who hails from the Dark Kingdom, From where the mystical rock spikes originated. As her journey progresses, the barefoot princess learns that the outside world isn't all fun and games.
In the third season, Rapunzel and the group return to Corona where Rapunzel assumes the role of temporary queen and must find the strength inside herself to protect her home and loved ones as she and her friends face new challenges that threaten the kingdom. However, Rapunzel must also come to terms with Cassandra's recent betrayal and live with the fact that her closest friend and confidante has now become one of her most dangerous of enemies and prepare herself for whatever she has planned for the future.
Cassandra discovers that she can create red rock spikes which induce pure fright and fear into those nearest to them. Corona suddenly finds itself covered in them and when people give in, they turn red and freeze up. Varian, who fears to lose his father again and being viewed as a
traitor to the whole kingdom, teams up with Princess Rapunzel to use his
solution of the amber, the same one that had fully encased his father a
year ago, to use on the red rocks in the Chamber of the Demanitus
Device (from "Queen for a Day"). Meanwhile, Eugene and Lance decide to throw on a talent show to distract everyone, with Lance overcoming his fear of singing in public to invigorate the crowd. Rapunzel and Varian realize that the solution does not work on the red rocks, only the black rocks. Princess Rapunzel, who has been hiding her fear, reveals that she is afraid of losing Cassandra as a friend forever and her destroying
Corona. Varian overcomes his fear to deliver the solution, all of
Corona is saved and people begin to respect Varian again. The Enchanted
Girl tells Cassandra that Rapunzel is out to get her and take all her newfound power, and convinces Cassandra to kill her former friend and destroy Corona. Rapunzel, who sensed Cassandra's fear through the rocks,
tells Eugene that they can still save her.
In Disney+’s “Lady and the Tramp,” a timeless re-telling of the 1955 animated classic, a pampered house dog and a tough but lovable stray embark on an unexpected adventure and, despite their differences, grow closer and come to understand the value of home.
Diablo IV is the newest incarnation of the genre-defining ARPG players have come to know and love. Hellish new features, brutal challenges, and an indisputable return to darkness lie at the core of our hard work. Take a glimpse into the terror that awaits...
Diablo IV takes place many years after the events of Diablo III, after millions have been slaughtered by the actions of the High Heavens and Burning Hells alike. In the vacuum of power, a legendary name resurfaces.
Thousands of years into the future, there are no more humans. Only robots live in the mechanical metropolis, "Eden 3". Or so they thought...
One day, two farming robots find a young human girl in the city. The decision they make will change everything...
Eden, the first Netflix Japanese Original Anime, presented by director Yasuhiro Irie (Fullmetal Alchemist), and concept designer Toshihiro Kawamoto (Cowboy Bebop).
Did you know that Halloween is a recent celebration in Japan? How did Halloween come to Japan and how does it affect your favorite anime? Lets find out as Robyn explores the history of Halloween and how the Japanese celebrate this spooky time of year!
In ANTLERS, a small-town Oregon teacher (Keri Russell) and her brother (Jesse Plemons), the local sheriff, discover that a young student (Jeremy T. Thomas) is harboring a dangerous secret with frightening consequences.
An action-packed new trailer for Disney’s The Mandalorian is here.
As it begins, the trailer looks familiar, as it has some of the same footage as first trailer for the live-action Star Wars drama series from showrunner Jon Favreau (The Lion King) that debuted at D23 Expo this summer.
But then you quickly get all the new shots: The Mandalorian (Pedro Pascal) unloading one of his bounties who’s frozen in carbonite (guess Boba Fett spread the word how effective that was?), being dragged behind a TIE fighter to try and capture the former Imperial governor Moff Gideon (Giancarlo Esposito), meeting mercenary Cara Dune (Gina Carano), fighting with a pair of trandoshans and a rhino-like beast, and a look at Bill Burr’s character in action (firing blasters at 1:29). And for Clone Wars fans, there’s even a glimpse of a B2 super battle droid at 1:05.
Darksiders is a hack and slash action-adventure video game franchise created by Vigil Games, now developed by Gunfire Games, which consists of some of the original members of Vigil. The series is set on a post-apocalyptic Earth, where mankind has become extinct and angels and demons battle for the world's control. Among them are the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, the last of the Nephilim who are tasked to bring balance to order.
Taking place parallel with Darksiders II and happening before the majority of Darksiders, Fury, one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse is summoned by the Charred Council and tasked in finding the Seven Deadly Sins; one of the Watchers accompanies her on her quest.
Fury, one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse
Upon arriving on a war torn post-apocalyptic Earth, Fury encounters the first of the sins, Envy. Upon Envy's defeat, Fury steals a talisman and uses it as a prison to hold Envy alongside the other sins she would encounter. Not long after, she finds her way to a tree named Haven where she encounters Ulthane, who is a previous character from Darksiders 1, and some surviving humans of the apocalypse. Ulthane tasks Fury with sending any Humans she finds to Haven. She then leaves to find the next sin which is Wrath and Ulthane provides the location for him. Upon arriving to fight Wrath, he is engaged in fighting and killing angels. When she nearly kills Wrath, she summons her horse Rampage which gets killed by a mysterious, angelic weapon. Out of anger, Fury loses focus and Wrath stabs her while he taunts her. With her dying breath, she takes the blade in her gut and uses it to stab Wrath in the face but he does not die due to the fact that he was not imprisoned in the Talisman of sin. As Fury laid dying on the ground, a fiery portal takes her to the Lord of the Hollows. The Lord of the Hollows is a powerful entity within the Hollows that helps Fury in her quest to destroy the Seven Deadly Sins who wields the power that enables both weary Angels and Demons from the endless war, to a complete release from the cycle of life, death and rebirth of the Well of Souls. The Hollow Lord aids Fury but his own goals remain unknown. The Hollow Lord attempts to inform Fury that she is being manipulated by the Charred Council for their machinations, going so far as to call her ignorant and blind to their plans and lies. Though Fury denies it, the Lord of the Hollows nonetheless aids her by giving her the powers of elemental hollows (to enhance her combat abilities) and instructs her to hunt down the demon Abraxis and return to him with the demon's soul in tow.
Horsemen of the Apocalypse: Death, Fury, and War
As Fury takes on one sin after another, the Lord of Hollows continues to endow her with new hollows to aid in her mission. When she makes it to Abraxis' stronghold, Fury wants to know why the Lord of Hollows wants Abraxis dead. Abraxis tells Fury that a new dark lord is coming and he's only known as The Destroyer. The demon explains that the Lord of Hollows intends to hollow the mortal realm to install a new order. Since this is a choice in the story, if you choose to believe in Abraxis, the demon will thank and welcome you to his master's home anytime. Once you make it back to the Lord of Hollows, you'll still have the choice to face him in combat or choose to believe him. If you follow through for Abraxis, the Lord of Hollows will simply be killed. However, if you agree to believe the Lord of Hollows and face Abraxis, you'll kill him and take his soul as the prize. In which the former will reveal details of his own past and the councils corruption. Of how the Lord of Hollows was once a welcome delegate seated at their table, but he soon grew disillusioned with their obsessions and half-measures in enforcing the balance; only monitoring the first and second kingdoms while leaving the third to fend for itself. Culminating in pleading ignorance when in truth they let mankind be devastated by the premature apocalypse on their watch. Going onto explain his hollowing of souls and entrusting his will to Fury was his way of making amends for an eternity of inaction before ending his own life, all while leaving a new item behind for players to use in the future.
Meeting one of the Makers
After Fury defeats Pride, who is the final sin, she references the Hollow Lord while bringing up a stunning revelation in the aftermath of their battle. That the council have been secretly betraying the Balance behind everyone's backs from the start, she asks Fury who unleashed the Seven Deadly upon the Earth or how it was that they came to possess their new powers in order to do away with the rider. The Watcher that has been trailing Fury the whole time reveals herself to be the games true final sin, the real Envy. Having tricked Fury and the Council to help herself power-up by absorbing the rest of the sins into her amulet, Envy reveals the truth in Pride's words after taking the talisman in order to wield the powers of those trapped within. With that revelation unveiled, Envy took advantage of the debilitated Fury. Using the Talisman of Sin to absorb the Horsemen's strength, weakening her while she was immobilized.
The sin goes on to say that the Council, which Fury and her brothers served loyally till now, had betrayed them from the beginning, having intended heading the Horsemen and the Sins into battle planning for both sides to destroy each other, resulting in mutually assured annihilation directed towards the council's own benefit. However, Envy boasted of knowing better, all while gloating that jealousy could smell jealousy, having assumed the identity of a trusted servant with the intent of taking advantage of anything and everything available to her; from the horsemen's egotism to the Council's trickery to obtain supreme power for herself. Ultimately, Envy intends to face the Charred Council directly with her enhanced powers for ownership of the Earth and Fury takes a steep fall, but she survives her predicament with help from Humans that she had rescued and turned over to the Makers care, Ulthane aids her by presenting a means he'd spent the whole story working on. Revealing he knew more than was letting on, the Blackhammer constructed a Reflecting Pool to get her to the council's domain and confront Envy as well as her former lords. Recognizing the odd parting gift Fury presented to him after having obtained it from the Hollow Lord, the former later refusing it on the notion he had no right to judge whom his fellow Old One had chosen to wield it. With new resolve, Fury defeats Envy and binds the sin within her own talisman, but the Charred Council no longer values Fury and wants to kill her along with her brothers. If the player has the mysterious stone sigil, Fury will use it to block the Charred Council's attack, the latter halting out of fear of its power. Although she doesn't know the identity of the stone, she realizes the council abhors it and knows it to be a tool of great power.
Fury's Wrath!
Though prompted, Fury resists when they demand she give it to them and threw the talisman that held the sins at them instead, detonating it. Having beaten the Charred Council and leaving their citadel to crumble around them, she beats a hasty retreat by escaping back to Earth. Upon her return to Haven, where the makers guard the last human remnants. She finds it beset by Demons in the Destroyer's army. Having found epiphany on her journey, Fury now realizes this early end war was motivated by the celestial's fear of humanity. With hell's forces heading towards their location, the Makers utilize the same portal created to breach the council chamber as an exit strategy to save what remains of humanity. Fury vowed to protect the last surviving humans and prepares to depart. She requests that Ulthane aid her brother War in any way possible should they meet, now seeing he was innocent all along. As she watches the fight before departing, she realizes the lone human helping the Makers fend off the hellions is actually her brother and fellow horseman; Strife.
With the survivors now safe and hidden away in another realm, Lucifer knows what Fury has done and depending on the players choices, is angered at Lilith for not silencing the Lord of Hollows when she had the chance, but still intends to carry out his own plans of destruction.
Miles Elliott, a man struggling in life, undergoes a novel spa treatment that promises to make him a better person, only to learn he's been replaced - literally - by a better version of himself. Living with Yourself premieres October 18 on Netflix.
Living with Yourself is an existential comedy that asks: do we really want to be better? Told from multiple perspectives and intersecting storylines, the eight episode series stars Paul Rudd, Paul Rudd and Aisling Bea, and was created and written by Emmy® Award winner Timothy Greenberg (The Daily Show with Jon Stewart), and directed by Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris (The Battle of the Sexes, Little Miss Sunshine). Greenberg executive produces with Anthony Bregman and Jeff Stern for Likely Story, Tony Hernandez for Jax Media, Dayton, Faris, Rudd, and Jeff Blitz.
Battle Angel Alita tells the story of Alita ("Gally" in the original Japanese version), an amnesiac female cyborg. Her intact head and chest, in suspended animation, are found by cybermedic expert Daisuke Ido in the local garbage dump. Ido manages to revive her, and finding she has lost her memory, names her Alita after his recently deceased cat. The rebuilt Alita soon discovers that she instinctively remembers the legendary martial art Panzer Kunst, although she does not recall anything else. Alita uses her Panzer Kunst to first become a bounty hunter killing cyborg criminals in the Scrapyard, and then as a star player in the brutal gladiator sport of Motorball. While in combat, Alita awakens memories of her earlier life on Mars. She becomes involved with the floating city of Tiphares as one of their agents, and is sent to hunt down criminals. Foremost is the mad genius Desty Nova, who clashes with Alita before becoming her ally.
The futuristic dystopian world of Battle Angel Alita revolves around the city of Scrapyard, grown up around a massive scrap heap that rains down from Tiphares (Zalem in the anime). Ground dwellers have no access to Tiphares and are forced to make a living in the sprawl below. Many are heavily modified by cybernetics to better cope with their hard life.
Tiphares exploits the Scrapyard and surrounding farms, paying bounty hunters (called Hunter-Warriors) to hunt criminals and arranging violent sports to keep the population entertained. Massive tubes connect the Scrapyard to Tiphares, and the city uses robots for carrying out errands and providing security on the ground. Occasionally, Tiphareans (such as Daisuke Ido and Desty Nova) are exiled and sent to the ground. Aside from the robots and exiles, there is little contact between the two cities.
The story takes place in the former United States. According to a map, printed in the eighth volume, Scrapyard/Tiphares is near Kansas City, Missouri, and the Necropolis is Colorado Springs, Colorado. Radio KAOS is at Dallas, Texas. Figure's coastal hometown is Alhambra, California. Desty Nova's Granite Inn is built out of a military base — NORAD at Cheyenne Mountain Complex, Colorado.[4]
Battle Angel Alita is eventually revealed to take place in the 26th century. The sequel Battle Angel Alita: Last Order introduces a calendar era called "Era Sputnik" which has an epoch of AD 1957. The original Battle Angel Alita series begins in es. 577 (AD 2533) and ends in es. 590 (AD 2546), Battle Angel Alita: Last Order is mostly set roughly in 591 (AD 2547), and Battle Angel Alita: Mars Chronicle currently alternates between 373-374 (AD 2329-2330) and 594 (AD 2550).
In 2014, fans and former cast members organized a fan-made short film called Prelude to Axanar, setting up a Kickstarter project with a target of $10,000, but which raised well over $100,000 instead. This short film is planned to be followed by a full-length feature film called Star Trek: Axanar, funded by a much larger Kickstarter project. These films star Richard Hatch, J. G. Hertzler, Kate Vernon, Gary Graham, Michael Hogan, and Tony Todd, all mainstream actors who are veterans of Paramount's Star Trek franchise and the rebooted Battlestar Galactica. Prelude to Axanar features both new and familiar characters from the Star Trek universe:
Richard Hatch as Kharn, the Klingon Supreme Commander
Michael Hogan As Captain Robert April
J. G. Hertzler as Captain Samuel Travis
Gary Graham as Soval, Vulcan Ambassador to the Federation
The short film for Prelude to Axanar was released in June 2014. In August 2014, the production raised $638,000 on Kickstarter, and writer-producer Alec Peters went into pre-production for the feature film Star Trek: Axanar.
On December 29, 2015 the project was hit by a lawsuit from CBS and Paramount Pictures filed in Central California federal court, stating the Axanar works infringed upon their intellectual property by making use of "innumerable copyrighted elements of Star Trek, including its settings, characters, species, and themes." In March 2016, Peters' Axanar Productions filed a motion to dismiss or strike Paramount and CBS's claims, saying the elements mentioned in the court filing are not protected by copyright and is seeking premature relief from a work, the Axanar feature film, that does not exist. The motion to dismiss or strike was denied by the court and the case went to a jury trial in January 2017. On January 21, 2017, the lawsuit was settled.
On June 26, 2016, during the Axanar lawsuit, CBS and Paramount released a set of guidelines for Star Trek fan films to follow. Notably, these restrictions require films to: Be no more than 15 minutes long and have no stories longer than two installments (for a total of 30 minutes); play on YouTube without commercials; and all participants are required to be amateurs who have never worked on Star Trek or another licensee of CBS or Paramount Pictures. The creation and release of Axanar will be allowed only on these terms.
In the year 2045, after global capitalism has defaulted, Japan's elite Section 9 begins conducting covert cyber operations. Ghost in the Shell: SAC_2045, coming 2020, only on Netflix.
The latest adaptation of Shirow Masamune’s manga shows off its heroine (aka The Major) driving out of a city into the palm-treed highway — all blissfully alone with her futuristic dune buggy.
Ghost in the Shell: SAC_2045 certainly looks different but The Major hasn’t changed a bit. The woman inside a totally cybernetic body is back to fight crime as her "elite Section 9 begins conducting covert cyber operations” in the year 2045, according to an official synopsis. Little else is known about the upcoming series, but that should all change before its 2020 premiere.
