One of my most-anticipated films this summer of 2014 has released it’s latest trailer and it shows the central conflict which will drive this sequel to 2011’s Rise of the Planet of the Apes.
It’s been many years since the pandemic from the “simian flu” tore through the planet as shown during the end credits of the first film. Now the surviving humans must now contend with the growing population of hyper-intelligent apes led by Caesar from the first film.
While the first film showed the rise of Caesar as a revolutionary leader it looks like this sequel will now put him in the role of war leader as his apes must now gear up for a war with the surviving humans that can’t seem to be avoided.
Plus, all I can say is this: Apes on horses with assault rifles.
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes is set for a July 11, 2014 release date.
It is just a week to go before the premiere of Gareth Edwards’ Godzilla and the marketing has begun to go into overdrive.
In addition to trailers and the latest tv spots, Warner Bros. has begun to release clips and behind-the-scenes to help announce the latest arrival of the King of Monsters.
We have here a brief clip that shows the Big Guy taking on the U.S. Navy as it tries to defend Golden Gate Bridge and the Bay it straddles. This marks two straight years that the Golden Gate Bridge has been threatened and/or destroyed by these damn kaiju.
With the release of the new American reboot/remake/sequel of the classic 1954 Godzilla by Ishirō Honda, I thought it was high time I shared one of my guiltiest of all film pleasures growing up.
Godzilla and everything kaiju I ate up as a wee lad growing up during the 80’s. There really wasn’t anything on Saturday morning and afternoon tv other than reruns of badly dubbed Japanese monsters flicks and anime. One such film was Ishirō Honda’s very own King Kong vs. Godzilla. Yes, you read that correctly. The King of All Monsters fought the Eight Wonder of the World to decide once and for all who was the greatest giant monster of all-time.
The film itself wasn’t that great when I look back on it. Hell, even I had a sort of understanding even as an 8-year old kid that King Kong vs. Godzilla was a pretty bad film, but I still had a blast watching it. The film lacked in coherent storyline and important themes of man vs. nature and the psychological impact of the two atomic bombings of the US on Japan to end World War II wasn’t at all evident in this monster mash-up.
What the film had was King Kong fighting Godzilla. It was like watching two of the greatest icons of youths of my generation duking it out for our pleasure. It didn’t need to have a story or worry about whether it’s depiction of the natives on King Kong’s island was even remotely racist (it was so racist). All it needed to do was show everyone the very fight they’ve been waiting for. Fans of both monster wouldn’t have to wait forever to see the fight happen. This wasn’t going to be a dream fight never to happen like Mayweather vs. Pacquiao.
So, while King Kong vs. Godzilla was never one of the good entries in the Godzilla filmography (I think it was probably the worst) it more than made up for being one of the most campiest and entertaining entries in the Big Guy’s decades long history.
If there ever was a film from my youth that needs to be remade it would be King Kong vs. Godzilla and only Guillermo Del Toro should be chosen to direct it.
I was told today that one of my favorite anime series of all-time was going to get a new manga adaptation. I am talking about Manabi Straight. It’s from this series that today’s latest song of the day comes from: “Seioh Gakuen Kouka”.
The song was first introduced in the series by it’s main character Manami Amamiya who also goes by the name Manabi. The character’s voice actress is the very talented and popular seiyuu and singer Yui Horie. The song is pretty much the school anthem of the fictitious Seioh High School where Manabi and her high school friends attend. The series goes through the girls’ ups and downs of being high school kids who bond through their love of each other and of their school.
“Seioh Gakuen Kouka” is the school’s anthem and Manabi sings it in front of the entire school during her first day as a transfer student. It’s definitely one of my favorite songs of any genre and type. It brings back my own memories of being a high school student and all the friendships made during those four years.
Seioh Gakuen Kouka
Ima wo ikiru deai no kisetsu yo Mabushii hikari yume wo atsumete Onaji seishun ayumu kiseki Sakura iro no mirai tachi sora wo mau
Aah Seioh yorokobi doko he yo Aah Seioh manabi no sono ni hibike Kagayaku toki nakama to tomo ni aru
Ima wo ikiru yorokobi no naka de Mabushii hikari kaze wo atsumete Koi to kanashi jounetsu ni Kibou iro no musume tachi chuu wo mau
Aah Seioh ai no hibi yo Aah Seioh manabi no sono ni sodate Kagayaku toki nakama to tomo ni aru
Aah miageta ao wa haruka Aah tsukau toki kitto kitto Kagayaku toki nakama to tomo ni aru
Seioh Gakuen Kouka (ver. English)
Live the present moment, the season of encounters. The bright sunlight, the gathering of dreams. The miracle where people walk through the same youth. Cherry-blossom colored futures fly into the sky.
Ah, the cheerful sounds of Seioh! Ah, let it resonate through Seioh’s garden! When we shine, we shine with our friends.
Live the present moment, inside this happiness. The bright sunlight, the gathering of the wind. The burning love passion with the hope-colored girls fly into the sky.
Ah, the days of love at Seioh! Ah, grow up inside Seioh’s garden! When we shine, we shine with our friends.
Ah, the blue sky we look up to is far away. Ah, when we get a hold of it, for sure, for sure, when we shine, we shine with our friends.
“Hell, I’m just trying to keep this thing interesting. You can’t write me off like that. You’re just a voice, pal! You don’t know a damn thing about racing!” — Sweet JP
Anime has long distinguished itself from Western animation through its embrace of hyperkinetic imagery—an intensity of motion and visual energy that often prioritizes sensation over realism. While Western animation traditionally leans toward fluidity and physical believability, anime frequently pushes beyond those constraints, opting instead for exaggerated speed, explosive movement, and stylized impact. This difference isn’t just aesthetic; it reflects a broader philosophical divide in how motion itself is perceived. In anime, movement isn’t always about replicating reality—it’s about amplifying it.
Few films embody this ethos as completely as Madhouse’s 2009 OVA Redline, a project that takes anime’s penchant for excess and turns it into a full-blown artistic manifesto. Directed by Takeshi Koike, Redline is less a conventional narrative film and more a sustained audiovisual adrenaline rush—a sci-fi racing spectacle that fuses breakneck pacing with meticulous hand-drawn craftsmanship. The production history of Redline is almost as legendary as the film itself: Koike and his team spent seven years bringing the project to life, pouring millions of dollars and an extraordinary amount of labor into its creation, with over 100,000 hand-drawn frames used in the final product. The result is a visual texture that feels both raw and impossibly refined—so detailed and fluid at times that it borders on looking computer-generated, despite being entirely handcrafted.
Koike’s influences are unmistakable throughout. There’s a clear lineage connecting Redline to the work of his mentor, Yoshiaki Kawajiri, particularly in the sharp character designs and kinetic action choreography reminiscent of Ninja Scroll and Vampire Hunter D. At the same time, the film borrows heavily from Western graphic aesthetics, most notably the thick linework and heavy shadowing associated with Frank Miller. This fusion creates a visual identity that feels globally informed yet uniquely its own—an anime that doesn’t just borrow from other traditions but aggressively remixes them.
Narratively, Redline is deceptively simple, and for some viewers, that simplicity borders on a flaw. The film centers on a futuristic intergalactic race—one that deliberately rejects advanced hover technology in favor of visceral, ground-based machines, giving the world a gritty, almost rebellious edge. At its core, the story follows Sweet JP, a daredevil racer with a towering pompadour and retro greaser aesthetic, as he competes in the titular race—the most dangerous and prestigious competition in the galaxy. His journey is framed through familiar tropes: the underdog striving for victory, the thrill of competition, and a romantic subplot involving his rival Sonoshee, who is both a love interest and a formidable racer in her own right. JP and Sonoshee are given just enough backstory and personality to be engaging, but they never evolve beyond archetypes, and the film never pretends otherwise.
And yet, this simplicity isn’t necessarily a weakness—it’s a deliberate trade-off. Redline understands exactly where its strengths lie, investing nearly all its creative energy into delivering a sensory experience rather than a deeply layered narrative. The characters function less as psychological studies and more as conduits for momentum, existing primarily to carry the viewer from one explosive set piece to the next. What truly sets Redline apart is the sheer density of its animation: every frame feels alive with motion, detail, and intent. Backgrounds pulse with activity, vehicles tear through space with exaggerated force, and the action sequences are so relentless and visually packed that they almost demand multiple viewings, as it’s nearly impossible to absorb everything in a single pass.
This overwhelming kinetic energy is where Redline transcends its narrative limitations. It creates a kind of visual immersion that few animated films—Western or otherwise—have managed to achieve. Watching it feels less like observing a story and more like being strapped into the driver’s seat of a machine hurtling toward collapse. Some critics have compared Redline to the Fast & Furious franchise, particularly its later, more exaggerated entries. On the surface, the comparison makes sense: both celebrate speed, spectacle, and a kind of reckless bravado encapsulated by the mantra “ride or die.” But the relationship feels less like equivalence and more like inversion—if anything, Fast & Furious comes across as a live-action attempt to capture the kind of unrestrained energy that Redline achieves effortlessly through animation. Where Fast & Furious is still tethered, however loosely, to physics, Redline operates in a space where those limits don’t exist and doesn’t need to justify its excess—it revels in it.
Despite its relatively modest reputation compared to more narratively complex anime films, Redline has earned a cult status among fans who appreciate animation as an art form. It prioritizes craft, motion, and sensory impact above all else, achieving something rare: a pure expression of animation’s potential. That’s why Redline remains such an essential watch. It may not offer the emotional depth of a Studio Ghibli film or the intricate plotting of a Satoshi Kon work, but it delivers something equally valuable—a reminder of what animation can do when pushed to its absolute limits.
For the best experience, Redline deserves to be seen on the largest, highest-quality screen possible. Its dense visuals and explosive color palette benefit immensely from high-resolution displays, particularly modern 4K screens that can fully capture the detail of its hand-drawn artistry. While it’s accessible through streaming platforms like YouTube, watching it on a premium setup transforms it from a great film into a full sensory event. In the end, Redline isn’t just a movie—it’s a showcase, a flex, and a love letter to animation itself, proving that sometimes style isn’t just substance—it is the substance.
It’s just 17 more days til the King of Monsters return to the big-screen. What better way to make a path for his triumphant return than showing you one of my favorite Godzilla scenes ever.
This scene was what got me totally hooked on Godzilla and his monster buddies. While Godzilla vs. Megalon was never one of the brightest stars in the history of the Big Guy’s filmography it definitely showed that Godzilla was more than just kicking and smashing buildings down and burning things with his atomic breath.
Say hello to the Godzilla’s Tail-Slide Double-Kick!
Gareth Edwards’ upcoming Godzilla film has been gaining some major hype and buzz since last year’s Comic-Con and with each new teaser and trailer that the studio releases. Yet, outside of more and more looks at the King of Monsters himself we really haven’t seen anything to tell us that there will be other kaiju in this film.
Well, this latest trailer released for the Asian market finally answers the question of whether Godzilla will be wreaking destruction on human cities by himself or doing so while fighting other kaiju. From this latest trailer we see several glimpses of other giant monsters with a flying one being the most obvious. Some think this could be a new iteration of Godzilla rival and sometimes ally Rodan, but I’m hoping that it’s something new and that Rodan and other famous kaiju from past Godzilla films get introduced in later films (if there’s to be any).
Korean manwha artist and illustrator Hyung-tae Kim has become famous for his video game illustrator and art design work.
Born in February 1978 in Seoul, South Korea, Kim began his career in the video game industry creating background music for games, but he soon moved on to the art and design phase of the game process. His most notable works has been the covers and art design for the console rpg series Magna Carta and the Korean mmorpg title Blade & Soul for software studio NCSoft.
His style of artwork has been described as anatomically incorrect which is true, but he uses this deformation technique as a way to allow the unique individual personalities of each character to come out through the design. The unique look of his artwork has made his art books and art pieces highly sought after (both of which are very limited in nature) once they come out and then afterwards in secondary collectible markets.
It’s been a month since Anime Boston 2014 and I’ve decided to put up the third AMV to win one of the categories from the con.
This particular AMV won the Romance category and for once it uses an anime that I’m not familiar with, but after watching the video I’m definitely looking forward to checking it out once the blu-ray comes out sometime this year.
The AMV in question is “Strangers Like Us” by davenfonet who uses the Phil Collins song of the same title and the mecha series Gargantia on the Verdorous Planet. The video itself doesn’t go for the usual ballad-like tone, but instead goes for a much more fun romance vibe that doesn’t seem to win many Romance category contests. This time this type of romance AMV wins and the fact that it makes me want to watch the series after never having heard of it til Anime Boston means the creator succeeded.
The latest “AMV of the Day” doesn’t come courtesy of this past spring’s Anime Boston, but it caught my eye since it was the latest creation from one of my favorite AMV creators: IleiaAMVs.
“RadioAkshun” was her very popular and excellent AMV from last year’s anime con season and her latest offering for this weekend’s Sakura-Con 2014 may just be another hit.
This latest anime music video from IleiaAMVs combines one of the more mature-oriented anime one can get into without venturing into the truly extreme anime with one of the most popular songs of the past year with “Let It Go” from Frozen. One wouldn’t think that Elfen Lied and Frozen would go together like peanut butter and jelly but in this one instance they’re perfect together.
Through the Shattered Lens 