DMW: Digital Music W...

Now I'm on a kick. Thanks to that Warner/Maguire news about "Robotech", I finally feel like blogging about two other anime franchises that mean something to an Otaku.

It was reported on ICV2.com that the first of four Evangelion features released in Japan opened to #1 last weekend. What does that mean to America? Well to mainstream America, it means maybe Hollywood is looking into this franchise. Its only a matter of time. I do recall that ADV Films has tried to pre-produce a feature film live-action version of Evangelion but to this day, its still in development hell. They even commissioned WETA (the studio responsible for special visual effects on "Lord of the Rings") to make some proposed set and mecha samples. The samples and art were cool, its just that the project hasn't gone anywhere.

Which brings me to this little news item that posted earlier this past week. This remake of the anime TV series was produced with the sole intent to make the property more accessible beyond the fan boy community. In any event, Hideaki Anno - the mad genius behind Evangelion and that awesome slice-of-life anime "Kare Kano" - is overseeing this project and removing all those crazy gimmicks on screen like the rapid fire of Japanese words that can give anyone epilepsy. Or the infamous freeze frame scene of EVA Unit 01 on screen that stays up for about 2min. Legend has it that the studio (Gainax) ran out of money and just salvaged what they could for that episode.

In terms of affecting an American audience, I don't know if it will reach the coolness level of "Ghost in the Shell". "Neon Genesis Evangelion" is vastly far removed from your typical sci-fi space opera type. It leans more on the psychological sci-fi with hints of mania and huge - I mean - gigantoid symbols of Christianity. I mean, dude, the Lance of Longinus, it doesn't get anymore Christian than that.

Ok, I'm getting off my EVA soapbox and stepping on the "Dragonball Z" soapbox. So word is that Fox admits that live-action "Dragon Ball" will shoot in Montreal. What they won't reveal is when shooting starts or who the hell is in the cast. I don't want to make heads or tails about it. I honestly think that in order for this movie to really be successful, the script and cast have to be dead-on. And I mean dead-on. In addition, the fighting sequences have to rival that of a Jet-Li movie. Really. I'm not kidding. Right now, there's nothing on IMDB that suggests that this project is in pre-production. Its like the mysterious project adaptation that no one can speak about.

Anyway, I wrote this blog to point out that Hollywood is still moving ahead in adapting anime properties for a much wider audience. It remains to be seen if Hollywood has the appetite and guts to finance more anime and manga adaptations. Can you imagine a Naruto live-action movie? I don't because that is freakin' scary.