Kouji Tajima, a Japanese concept artist with a number of film credits to his name, including the upcoming Captain Harlock film, Les Miserables and Total Recall. Not only has he done all of that great stuff but he has also created a gorgeous Attack on Titan mock-up poster for the recently announce live-action adaptation of the series.
The mock-up Attack on Titan poster which can be seen to the right, is so damn good that we wish it was real. Tajima claims that he is a huge fan of Attack on Titan and would love to get an offer to work on the upcoming live-action film. I don’t see why he shouldn’t after making a poster that incredible.
The date on Tajima’s mock-up poster is not the actual release date of the film. The film is slated for 2014, but no official date has yet to be set.
The first 5 minutes of Makoto Shinkai’s highly anticipated The Garden of Words anime film has made its way online. The film recently saw its world premiere take place at the Gold Coast Film Festival, which Shinkai himself attended.
The Garden of Words has also recently been licensed for distribution by Sentai Filmworks, who previously released Shinkai’s Children Who Chase Lost Voices film. Children Who Chase Lost Voices was part of Madman Entertainment’s REEL Anime Festival last year, be sure to check out of review of it here.
You can view the first 5 minutes of The Garden of Words below, for a little bit of a taste of what to expect from Shinkai’s latest work.
Square Enix’s new franchise Gyrozetter recently got an anime adaptation which is airing on TV Tokyo in Japan. The Gyrozetter franchise itself has already spawned an arcade game and a 3DS RPG game is currently in the works.
In order to promote the franchise in all its iterations, Square Enix have begun streaming the Gyrozetter anime series’ first episode on their official Youtube channel. The episode which can be seen below is entirely in Japanese and does not feature English subtitles, but the action should speak for itself.
Gyrozetter is set within a world where teenagers drive cars that just so happen to transform into mecha and fight them, as one does when they are piloting a giant robot. Race on, Gyrozetter!
Matrix Games and Advanced Gaming Systems have released the latest patch to the game Harpoon 3 Advanced Naval Warfare, bringing the game to version 3.11. This latest update, not only fixes a large amount of bugs and gameplay, but also brings existing players up to the same level as the Ultimate Edition players.
To quote the Press Release:
[…]As far as stability and polish, it does bring existing Harpoon 3 ANW customers up to the Ultimate Edition release level for free!
Harpoon 3 is a PC game where players do battle in naval and aerial warfare. The game features both single and multiplayer campaigns based on several scenarios influenced by what-if versions of battles inspired by history.
As many of you probably know, several cities in Australia are hosting the Evangelion Art Expo in succession for the first time outside Japan. An assortment of production stills and sketches are being displayed and a bunch of cool, limited merchandise from Evangelion 3.0’s Japanese theatre screenings is up for sale.
Capsule Computers received permission from NERV HQ to visit Japan Foundation Sydney on May 11 to see what all the fuss is about, and we were fortunate enough to score an interview with the wonderful Yuko Miyamura and attend her Q&A panel as well. But here I’ll be talking about the art gallery itself, in-case any of you missed out on this rare event.
Tucked away in the business district of Sydney, Chifley Square, The Japan Foundation works tirelessly to bridge the cultural gap between Australia and the Land of the Rising Sun. Now its humble gallery space is playing host to art from a series that connected the world to Japan’s anime culture.
Being open to the public for free, the gallery is seamlessly connected from the neighbouring food court so passersby don’t need to look far. Chances are they will hear it first, either from the fans milling around or the anime’s iconic music playing softly in the background.
The bulk of the gallery’s showpieces consists of original production sketches and memorable scenes from the ongoing Rebuild films, with a sample of the final image displayed alongside. However, fans hoping to see more from the long-awaited 3.0 film will be disappointed as further details and spoilers are kept under wraps until its overseas debut at REEL Anime later this year.
Looking at the painstaking work that was put into the Rebuild of Evangelion project makes you appreciate how monumental a task Hideaki Anno has on his hands, and the numerous delays and production length start to make sense. An awesome highlight was the hand drawn, life size tapestries of Rei Ayanami and Asuka Langley in her Test Type plugsuit. Asuka’s playful pose is contrasted eerily by Rei who is covered in bandages.
The centre of the room was dominated by a TV set up to show various scenes from Evangelion 2.0 during the different stages of production. Scenes such as Mari in her Evangelion Unit-05 launching the assault on the Third Angel or when the falling Sahaquiel is destroyed in a tsunami of blood. . From the basic sketch to the final product with added CG, attendees got to see the blueprints of their favourite scenes.
It was hard to miss the merchandise table and its long queue, covered in awesome Evangelion 3.0 loot such as mugs, towels, calendars, iPhone covers and hooded jackets. Some items sold out quick, though, such as the red jacket which I’m sure was just about gone when we arrived.
Although not exactly at bargain price, the goods weren’t much more expensive than buying and shipping it from Japan. You’ll also have to factor in Madman trying to break even and making these available here worthwhile. Along with these items there were also your standard Madman video releases including the slipcase re-release of Evangelion 1.11 and Evangelion 2.22 for Blu-ray, in case you don’t have them yet (and you should!)
I honestly hope more like this is organised in the future as it was a valuable insight into anime production and a real treat for the fans. It’s the next best thing to flying over to Japan and visiting the studios, really. A heartfelt thanks from Capsule Computers to The Japan Foundation Sydney and Madman Entertainment for their time and effort.
On the 11th of May, 2013, we had a chance to attend the ‘Evangelion Art Exhibition‘ at the Japan Foundation Gallery in Sydney’s Chifley Plaza. We were able to photograph the gallery in order to give you a look at what was on show at the gallery for Evangelion fans.
The ‘Evangelion Art Exhibition‘ was a glorious and affectionate look at this legendary anime series, that provided a great deal of insight into what went into making Evangelion. The gallery had original artwork and sketches on display, including storyboard art and character designs. It was truly a sight to behold for any Evangelion fan and to make things even better it was free to attend.
The Exhibition has been touring Australia, having previously touched down on the Gold Coast and with plans for a Melbourne showing on the cards. The Sydney showing will conclude on Saturday the 18th of May, 2013.
If you were unable to make it to the gallery in Sydney, do not fret as the we have some photos of the ‘Evangelion Art Exhibition‘ for your viewing pleasure below.
“Presented by Madman Entertainment, NTV Films, Ground Works and Japan Foundation Sydney.”
Many of you may not have heard of Smooth McGroove, but those of you who have likely can’t get his tunes out of your head. If you’ve not become a fan yet, it will only take one listen to get its hooks into you.
Though he does other music as well, he’s becoming a well-beloved voice in the gaming community for the vocal covers he does of classic video game music while his cat, Charl, typically makes an appearance at some point.
Though he’s covered quite a few classic games already (Chrono Trigger, Mega Man X, and more), it was only a matter of time before the Sega Genesis‘ speedster mascot, Sonic the Hedgehog, made its way to our aural canals. That day is today.
For those of you itching to see what I’m talking about, be sure to click on the Youtube video below this article to check out Sonic 2’s Chemical Plant Zone theme song. I’m positive you’ll be pleased.
Smooth also has a nice, big catalog of titles he’s already done including the jammin’ Street Fighter 2 song, Guile’s Theme:
If you haven’t already done so, be sure to check out his official Youtube channel here, and follow him on Facebook and Twitter.
Rumours have begun circulating that a PlayStation 3 remake of Tales of Symphonia is in the works under the title Tales of Symphonia: Perfect Edition. The supposed Perfect Edition will be a HD remake of both the original Tales of Symphonia game as well as its sequel Dawn of the New World.
Recently Spanish games website Koi-nya spoke with the Tales series producer Hideo Baba in which they asked him about the rumours. While Baba could not confirm the rumour, he did however say that it would be “a representation of the dreams and hopes of the fans who have long wanted it,” and that ‘something’ will be announced soon for those fans.
According to Koi-nya, Tales of Symphonia: Perfect Edition will be heading to North America and Europe along with Tales of Xillia 2. This would not be the first time a Tales Of game has been remade for the PlayStation 3, with Tales of Graces f being released last year.
At this point in time these rumours should be taken with a grain of salt until an official confirmation is made. Stay tuned as we keep you updated on this developing story.
Namco have issued out a press release officially announcing the opening date and attractions for the new indoor Shonen Jump Magazine theme park.
J-World Tokyo, located in the Sunshine City World Import Mart, will be open to the public on July the 11th and will have attraction based around popular Jump titles including Naruto, One Piece and Dragon Ball Z.
Fans of Jump will be able to experience One Piece through an adventure themed ride with giant projection screens and cars that based around the “Mini Merry” and “Shark Submerged” boats. A walk through maze lets you play the part of a Ninja from Naruto, relying only on audio clips from jonin’s as you complete secret missions. The Dragon Ball Z attractions allow you to unleash your inner Saiyan with a 3-D projection of Goku as you both Kamehameha various enemies.
As well as attractions the theme park also contains a J-World Kitchen which aims to combine food and play. The food court still keeps to the theme of Shonen Jump by offering items such as Chopper Meatball Pasta, Ichiraku ramen from Naruto and a Majin Buu strawberry parfait.
Entry to the theme park is around 1300 yen for adults and 1000 for ages 4-18, with all attractions costing around 800 yen, Click herefor the J-World Tokyo website created by Namco.
Indie Royale is back with a new anarchy themed bundle. The Mayhem Bundle features six action packed indie games with a seventh unannounced title. Currently, the bundle contains doublesix games’ action game Burn Zombie Burn, Shiver Games’ third person horror title Lucius, Beatnik Games’ arcade game Plain Sight, DNS Development’s top down arcade shooter Primal Fears, Sigma Team’s action RPG shooter Alien Shooter 2 Conscription, and Blitz Games Studio’s puzzler Droplitz.
Those who pay at least $8.00 will receive Chipzel’s chiptune album Phonetic Symphony. The Mayhem Bundle will be on sale at Indie Royale for the next nine days. Buyers can name their own price for the bundle, but must pay at least the minimum price. Those who pay more than the minimum will lower the minimum for other buyers.
The first 5 minutes of Makoto Shinkai’s highly anticipated 
