What You Need to Know:
- Let's Begin
After a four-day rollercoaster, Anime Expo, the E3 of the anime world, has finally come to a close leaving anime fans in a slew of new announcements to ponder over. One of the biggest and most promising industry panels to be featured at the mega-con was Production I.G. A few months ago, Honey’s Anime brought you an exclusive interview with Maki Terashima-Furuta, the Vice President of the studio’s American branch, and today Honey’s Anime brings you new announcements straight from the convention.
Some of the more expected announcements include the October release date of the third season of popular sports anime Haikyuu!! and the North American licensing of the award-winning film Miss Hokusai, that was recently featured in the New York Asian Film festival and based on the equally famous manga Sarusuberu by Hinako Sugiura. The film was originally released in May of 2015 in Japan and is directed by the same man responsible for such great works as Colorful and Summer Days with Coo, Keiichi Hara.
- Sarusuberu
The film takes place in Edo in 1814, a bustling place filled with people from all walks of life and where the famous Japanese painter Tetsuzo resides and makes a living by creating magnificent works of art full of power and emotion. What no one really knows is that his second daughter, O-Ei, followed in her father’s footsteps and also picked up the brush. In fact, many of the works credited to her father are actually hers. The movie sets out to tell the untold story of the young woman behind the scenes of her father’s legacy.
- Haikyuu!!
Haikyuu!!, the story of young Hinata Shoyo on his journey to become like his idol the Little Giant, makes its return this October. Based on Haruichi Furudate’s popular Shounen Jump manga of the same name, the third season will pick up where the second left off. Will Karasuno finally beat Shiratorizawa and advance to Nationals? Find out in October!
- Attack on Titan Season 2
Popular franchise Attack on Titan will also be making a comeback with Season 2 arriving in spring of 2017 and a spin-off series Attack on Titan Junior High is also being brought overseas. The spin-off series is a parody of the original, where instead of the Titans eating people, they are stealing and eating lunches. A comedy series at its core, do not expect the serious undertones of the original.
- New Anime?
One of the bigger announcements made was a brand new anime created by the same makers of the amazing animated scene featured in Kill Bill. The anime is dark and from the short trailer in Japanese that was shown during the panel, it seems to be in the suspense or maybe even horror genre. Not much else is known outside the trailer, but the anime will be a Netflix exclusive. When asked if there will be more partnerships with Western companies in the future, Maki confirmed that Production I.G has been very interested in creating exclusive content for quite some time and will always be willing to do so.
- GITS and FLCL
While everyone has been excited about Production I.G’s newer titles, many remain curious about the studio’s existing franchises and how they will grow, particularly Ghost in the Shell and FLCL. The industry panel focuses heavily on the former and invited Ari Arad, the producer of the live action film adaptation of Ghost in the Shell which has been the subject of controversy due to its casting choices. The Q&A following the introduction of Arad only confirmed some fans’ displeasure. Only time will tell whether the risk will pay off in the end.
Following the generic industry panel, Production I.G followed up with another panel completely dedicated to FLCL where it was announced that the powerhouse band The Pillows will return for the franchise's second and third seasons making hardcore fans’ dreams come true. FLCL’s second and third seasons will be Cartoon Network exclusives.
Author: Nikki Flores
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