Letters from Heather

Previews and bits of the series are going to be on XBL, I can't wait! My only prayer is that they utilize YouTube for broadcasting the miniseries once it goes live, or some other streaming site. If it becomes limited to Cartoon Network, my limited budget DishTV channel list isn't going to suffice. But anyway, on with the awesomeness!

   

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Halo Legends Anime Project unfurled, July 24, 2009

The Halo universe is all set to go anime. Yes, fans of the popular Halo franchise and die-hard fans of ‘Anime’ will be in for a double treat thanks to this distinct affair! A recent announcement from Microsoft reveals that the company has partnered with top anime studios to develop a collection of original short films for the Halo series of games. Called as the Halo Legends, this new offering should take the Halo franchise to elevated heights.

Microsoft has roped in a renowned set of storytellers from some of the world’s leading anime studios in Japan. Studios involved include Bones Inc., Casio Entertainment Inc., Production I.G, STUDIO4˚C and Toei Animation. The teams are now working on taking one of the most iconic franchises in science fiction and video games to a new level. Collaborating with these acclaimed anime creators, the new Halo Legends project offers to deport the sweeping sci-fi saga to an entirely new medium. Gamers can get ready for several original anime short films.

“The opportunity to work with talents such as Shinji Aramaki, Mamoru Oshii and others from some of the greatest anime studios is a very rare opportunity for Microsoft,” shared Frank O’Connor, Halo franchise development director and provider of story and creative direction for 343 Industries.

“We’ve seen the world through Master Chief’s eyes, and we’ve experienced facets of the universe through a variety of literary prisms, but now we get to watch new tales unfold in really rich, visually dynamic ways. I think anime fans and ‘Halo’ fans alike are in for a real treat.”

“Halo and its characters are a very natural fit for anime,” mentioned Aramaki, creative director for the Halo Legends project. “As a fan of the ‘Halo’ universe, it is an honor to work with Microsoft and my very talented peers from other studios to create this collection.”

The Halo titles and novels are set hundreds of years in the future and chronicle mankind’s struggles against the alien collective – the Covenant. Ransacking the universe for relics, the Covenant assumes that these will lead it to a new life and destroys civilizations and planets throughout its journey. This marks the entry of the most prolific hero from the fiction Spartan. Also known as Master Chief, this super soldier is the chief protagonist in the original trilogy of Xbox and Xbox 360 Halo titles. The trilogy comprises of Master Chief unearthing the intent of the Covenant. He discovers (their) plans of activating a series of mysterious ring worlds called Halos to ultimately put an end to life throughout the universe. Attaining the title of mankind’s champion, he is in a race against an unrelenting enemy in its most desperate hour. Since then the Halo universe has expanded and tales of other heroes have emerged all through the New York Times novels, comics and Xbox 360 games like Halo Wars and the forthcoming Halo 3: ODST.

“As a leading entertainment distributor and a company identified with premier anime content, we’re very pleased to be working with Microsoft on Halo Legends,” remarked Amit Desai, vice president, Family, Animation and Partner Brands Marketing, Warner Home Video. “The combination of the talent involved and the ‘Halo’ brand ensure the collection is something consumers are really going to enjoy.”

Also a preview of select Halo Legends episodes will first mark their presence on Xbox Live starting this fall. In a new experience called Halo Waypoint, this new feature is designed to be the latest destination for Halo fans on Xbox Live around the world. Informing fans of the latest happenings and activities in the Halo universe, it will also permit access to an array of exclusive content. This includes podcasts, trailers, screenshots and unique video footage.

In addition to this, Waypoint will also offer gamers with a new challenge through a new career system. Player rankings tied to both in-game and out-of-game accomplishments related to Halo will be part of it. Besides the limited, early episode premieres; it will also unveil many behind-the-scenes videos that narrate the making of the Halo Legends.

Halo legends officially debuted yesterday at a panel presentation at Comic-Con International in San Diego. The compilation was expected to be bundled with a series of short stories that explore different periods, themes and characters from the Halo universe. The entire Halo Legends collection is slated for distribution through Microsoft partner Warner Home Video.

Source: http://www.techshout.com/gaming/2009/24/halo-legends-anime-project-unfurled/

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Last week, my parents opted to buy a ten-dollar, seven-day unlimited rentals pass from Blockbuster and we were able to watch more movies than we ever rent in a week. The only catch is you can only take out one game or movie at a time, but that's a small price to pay when you live just a few blocks away from the store. When they left on Friday to drive my sister down state, my brother and I bought our own seven-day pass and watched several movies with it, including: Taken, Gran Torino, Role Models and Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist. When my parents came home yesterday and my brother went out, I used our unlimited rental to rent The Sky Crawlers, and though I was impressed by the beautifully subtle movements of the characters under Mamoru Oshii direction, the story itself was not so charming.

I'll admit, I did tear up once. I don't think it was during the scene after credits, but it was just before that. This movie pissed me off just as much as the last movie my parents rented (Changeling), ok, it didn't get me quite that furious–but the overwhelming swirl of uncertainty and unexplained information had me reeling. It wasn't until somewhere in the middle of the movie that the status of the children flying these planes was truly explored, and it was mentioned that these children were actually genetically modified humans called Kildren (キルドレ). These Kildren are incapable of growing up, though the commanding officer, Suito Kusanagi is keen to point out early on that it isn't a matter of being "unable" to grow up, but "unwilling." *

As it is soon revealed that the Kildren either block out a good portion of their reality, or live their lives in psychologically disturbed agony, it slowly becomes apparent that there is an even deeper element of dystopia to their endless war. The main pilot, a boy named Yūichi Kannami is actually the same pilot he has replaced–the "deceased" Jin Rho. This isn't just an endless war, but a sick soap opera where their battle "theatres" are full of invincible characters that are either revived beyond the normal point of human existence (death) or genetically cloned to reappear with ghost memories, similar to the explorations of Oshii's more famous work: Ghost in the Shell.

I apologize if I've spoiled anything with my vague summary, but the very thought that this kind of alternate reality could very probably exist in a world of genetic science and engineering is not only disturbing, but its perseverance is more than depressing...it's despair at its core. If you're going to watch this movie, be ready for something deeper than dogfights and conspiracy theories. This one's a real dystopic exploration into human suffering and struggle when one's most basic rights are stripped away that–though I pray never sees the light of day in our time–feels very present in the wars any "civilized" country of today is waging. The movie asks, is peace really possible without war? And more disturbingly: is war possible because of peace?

_{* It should be noted that this does not mean the children can change their physical fate and break free of this system by growing up into genetically correct adults, but rather that their current euphoric state of mind is driven by an inability to mentally mature and that by stepping beyond this they "age".}

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