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CODE GEASS / PV / Random Musings

CODE GEASS: Boukoku no Akito – PV

[flv:CODE_GEASS_Boukoku_no_Akito_PV.mp4 550 310]

The spin-off to CODE GEASS, “Akito the Exiled” (literally, “Akito of the Ruined Country”), is finally gaining some steam on the production side of things with a 90-second promo video — three and a half years after the second season finished airing. Along with it came the starring cast announcment: Irino Miyu as Hyuuga Akito and Sakamoto Maaya as Reira Markale (official English spelling pending).

The side story takes place in 2017, around the time Lelouch took on the alter-ego “Zero” and built up his “Black Knights” rebellion army (i.e. season one). The setting is Europe, where the Euro Universe (E.U.) allied nations are being invaded by the overwhelming force of the Britannia Empire. On the verge of defeat, the E.U. army forms a special division known as “W-0”, which a young pilot named Hyuuga Akito is a member of. Coming to the E.U.’s aid is a former Britannia aristocrat named Reira Markale, who commands the “Wyvern” Knightmare corps comprised of Japanese teenagers. They recklessly plunge into a battlefied where the survival rate is extremely low to fight for their freedom and have a country they can return to that feels like “home”. Thus begins their fight against the adult world.

The premise has been more or less laid out (translated above), but it’s still relatively unclear on whether Boukoku no Akito will be a full TV series, an OVA, or a film. What we do know is that it will be screened in theaters this summer and that it will be directed by Akane Kazuki (Tenkuu no Escaflowne, Noein: Mou Hitori no Kimi e) and once again feature original character designs by CLAMP. Judging from the screening date, we’ll likely see this long-awaited spin-off in either summer or fall of this year.

Update: A movie project for the original “Hangyaku no Lelouch” story has also been announced.

Anime News / CODE GEASS

New Code Geass Coming Soon?

So it looks like we can revive the discussion about whether Lelouch is dead or alive. According to a graphic on the mobile phone site for Code Geass, a new Geass project has been green-lit. Somehow, I’m not too shocked that this is happening, and really it was only a matter of time before Sunrise came back to this successful franchise. Two of the possibilities that came to mind are that it could be a direct sequel to R2, or it could be a completely different take, like Mai-Otome was to Mai-HiME. Astute observers will note that this announcement coincides with Lelouch’s birthday. There’s no word yet either whether it’ll be an OVA or full series or what, but apparently there’ll be more news in the new year.

Anime News / CODE GEASS / Daily Dose / Higurashi / Macross

The Daily Dose

  • Vipers Creed, a series about members of a private military company after a great war, will be coming January 2009. It will be directed by Appleseed director Aramaki Shinji.
  • Shipwreck harem story 15 Bishoujo Hyouryuuki, created by Tsuyokiss creator Takahiro and Kuroda Kazuya, will be getting an OVA.
  • Anime Festival Asia and DarkMirage have conducted an interview with Macross Frontier singer May’n.
  • The Yoku Wakaru Gendai Mahō light novels will be getting animated.
  • A new Prince of Tennis manga will be starting in March.
  • Aria mangaka artist Kozue Amano will be launching the manga Amanchu! November 29.
  • Bandai has posted an english trailer of CODE GEASS R2. The first episode will be airing this Sunday on Adult Swim.
  • The live-action sequel to Higurashi no Naku Koro ni, Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Chikai will be open in theaters May.
  • The 13th Detective Conan film, Detective Conan: The Jet Black Chaser will be opening in April.
  • If you find anything that you think I should mention on any particular day’s Daily Dose, please send me (not Omni) an email with the words “ANIME NEWS” somewhere in the subject line.

    • CODE GEASS Halloween artwork at left courtesy of つき on pixiv (account needed to access).
    CODE GEASS / Miscellaneous

    Gotou Yuuko as Anya on CosCosPlayPlay

    Here’s the random video for the day:


     

    As some of you might know, Gotou Yuuko voiced Anya in CODE GEASS R2 as well as many other popular characters like Mikuru from Suzumiya Haruhi. She appeared on yesterday’s episode of CosCosPlayPlay – a program on Fuji Satellite TV featuring a lot of cosplay tips and info – cosplaying as Anya. In the video, she does a sketch (she’s known for being good at drawing) and acts out some lines (explaining to the host who Marianne is in the process), all while in costume. It’s pretty cute and worth a watch if you’re a GEASS fan, though I don’t think the Anya look really suits her.

    CODE GEASS / PV

    FLOW – WORLD END Live (Music Station)

     

    In my ongoing efforts to find more PVs and live performances of anime-related music (which I hope to make a habit of doing so on a regular basis), I came across this live performance of FLOW’s WORLD END. While I realize that this is just under a month old now, I find that live performances are a lot more obscure than your run-of-the-mill PV, so I decided to share it here. I imagine that the number of fans who listen to anime music is noticeably less than that who watch it, with the number interested in PVs and live performances even less than that. This live version is a shorter version of the song, but I find live performances much more entertaining to watch, because you’re not simply listening to a prerecorded track you’ve heard many times before. The atmosphere is also quite different when you have a crowd of rabid fan girls. =P

    In any case, I hope this is new to some of you, but if it’s not, you’re still more than welcome to share your thoughts about it. Expect some other PVs and performances to be posted soon, but in the meantime, enjoy the video.

    CODE GEASS / PV

    FLOW – WORLD END PV (CODE GEASS R2 OP2)

     

    Some of you may recall how I was saying that FLOW should’ve been brought back to perform an opening song for CODE GEASS several months back. In addition, you may recall how I felt that their “WORD OF THE VOICE” song used in PERSONA -trinity soul- may have suited CODE GEASS just as well, as some MAD videos have shown us. Well lo and behold, as I’m sure everyone’s aware of by now, FLOW was brought back for the second opening with this song, “WORLD END”, and ALI PROJECT was similarly brought back for the ending theme, “Waga Routashi Aku no Hana” 「わが﨟たし悪の華」. Given how the series is going now (i.e. with the last 40+ episodes feeling kind of hogwash in light of the recent turn of events), I’m starting to find WORLD END’s lyrics a lot more befitting. The PV also does a good job portraying this too, with a barren desert being the most prominent image throughout. Personally, I wasn’t a huge fan of this song much when I first heard it back in episode thirteen, but as with most anime songs, it grew on me over time thanks to the inevitable association of it to the series.