Time to Talk About Captain Harlock

Well I say it's about time I make my first real official post on this blog. Okay, those first two count, but come on that was baby dribble. One random comic strip with no rhyme or reason and an introduction. That's nice and all but the introduction is way behind us.

So as part of my blog where I talk about whatever I want, I decided to talk about...something I saw on AnimeNewsNetwork.com this morning. ANN is a site I've been visiting since I was a teen, and it's grown on me with it's awesome up-to-date goody-good news bits on everything you'd want to know that's going on in the world of Japanese cartoons. And when I checked this morning I got what's probably going to be the coolest anime news bit of this week. So before I go into my thoughts about the story itself I'll let the video from it start things off with a bang:

 

Now I don't know about you but I thought that looked amazing. Really. Freakin'. Amazing. And maybe I'm saying that as someone who's familiar with the property. It's based on a classic space opera anime/manga from the 70s, and although I can't really say I'm a fan per say, I've read and heard enough about it to get the jist of it. Plus I've seen a few episodes of the original series. It's pretty cool stuff. My familiarity with the property also probably stems from the fact it's from Leiji Matsumoto, the creator of one my all-time favorite anime titles, "Galaxy Express 999". I've seen a few episodes of that series too but I'm really more a fan of the movie adaptation specifically, which I highly recommend:

Since the trailer has no English subs I'll give a synopsis: a boy named Tetsuo wants to go to this far away planet where he can get a mechanical body. He wants to get this mechanical body so he'll be able to kill this other guy with a mechanical body who killed his mom when he was a younger. In order to get what he wants he must accompany this hot, stylish woman named Maetel on a journey across the stars on the titular intergalactic train Galaxy Express 999. And wouldn't you know it, none other than Captain Harlock himself is in the trailer. Go figure.

But anyway back to the topic on hand. Dayum. That's really the best computer-animated film footage from Japan I've ever seen. I mean I've some other CGI-animated movie stuff from Japan before, and while they've looked good for the most part they don't give Pixar and Dreamworks a run for their money:

This... I think stands a chance. And as an epic sci-fi action flick. Wish we'd see more of that. But I think the most impressive part, at least from this short teaser, is that it has the look and feel of a modern film in its own right while still capturing the essence of the original's art-style. Is that just me? Here, let's compare this new thing and the original:

I could find some more sample images and videos for further comparison, but I think you get the idea (unless you want me to get more ;) ). I mean I know I'm not going into the plot so it's not like I'm  making a full-on take of whether or not I think this film will do the original justice (from what we've seen so far), but what that teaser says...is pretty self-explanatory. What that narrator says is enough of a basic idea of what the original plot is for those entering the world of "Space Pirate Captain Harlock".

But yeah, I have a good feeling about this one. A promising big-budget flick that has its own feel while still keeping true to the original. That's my prediction, 'bout time we get something like this. Keeping my fingers crossed. It's coming out in Japan this fall, and I most certainly smell an international release at some point.

So for those reading this here, whether you're a fan or not, know of Harlock already, are new to it, or even never heard of it until you read this blog, what do you think? This blog needs comments, give me some and tell your friends and family to leave a few too.

https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2013-01-31/space-pirate-captain-harlock-remake-english-teaser-posted

Well hello there

Recently I decided it's about time I actually used this blog of mine. I created it with the intention of creatively expressing myself to anybody but I quickly abandoned it. When I logged in here I saw the view analytics chart for this place and damn it felt like a barren desert, clean yet sad. At the instant I started this thing in 2010 there was a big pointy spike, a dangerous mountain is what it looked like on the chart. Then a flatness way at the bottom, no jumps and dips. Then the line turned into another spiked mountain, just today. Kind of depressing.

So for all intents and purposes I'm starting from scratch. And so for those visiting this blog, whether you know me or not, my name is Sammy. The title of the url is my full name with a spelling error (can you find it?). My home is Pacific Palisades in Los Angeles, California but I'm currently attending Academy of Art University with a major in illustration. My hobbies include drawing, walking, playing video games, doing push-ups, hanging out with friends, and discussing cartoons and video games. I also get involved with podcasts. I aspire to work in marketing for an anime and/or manga company.

I look forward to discussing this and much more down the line. So if you're visiting here and plan to stick around, good, because I want to post here more and need a purpose to this blog. I could use it with no visitors, but without them what's the point of writing and posting pictures to the Internet? So feel free to leave comments on this post; tell me what you think, suggestions for what you'd like to see, spelling and grammar errors you notice. That's it, see you later :).

Firekrouch and Friends Strip 1