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All anime fans will claim in unison that Cowboy Bebop is a cult classic from the 90’s. The series aired from 1998 to 1999 and has 26 episodes. It was created by Sunrise Studio and was a gateway to anime in the early 2000s for the Western world.

On account of the series completing 20 years in 2018, the entire staff of Cowboy Bebop gathered at New York Comic Con. They spoke about the impact of the series, globally.

The staff comprised scriptwriters Keiko Nobumoto and Dai Satō, character designer Toshihiro Kawamoto, and mechanical designer Kimitoshi Yamane. While talking to Ann before the Comic-Con, the staff talked about how they came up with the name of the series.

Cowboy Bebop‘s Original Title Was a Straight-up Horror Story Spike Speigel | Credits: Sunrise Studio

Before the series was named Cowboy Bebop, it was called Shooting-Star Bebop. When asked about the thought process behind changing the name,...

Part of the tragedy of "Cowboy Bebop" is how the main characters are so weighed down by their pasts that they're unable to live in the present. The creative team behind the classic anime series didn't share this attitude though. When making the series, "Hajime Yatate" (their collective pseudonym) were all focused on the present, not what lay behind or ahead of them.

Series director Shinichirō Watanabe and producer Masahiko Minami discussed their episode-by-episode attitude at a roundtable for the show's 20th anniversary, held at French convention Japan Expo 2018. Watannabe recounted (transcribed by SakuraBlog):

"I had an episodic series in mind from the get-go. I wanted every episode to feel fresh. And all the aforementioned problems we encountered only reinforced that vision of the series I had... But we still needed a thread, albeit thin, common to all episodes for the setting, world elements, characters, etc."

Those thin threads wound up being (a.

Netflix's live-action adaptation of Richard K. Morgan's Altered Carbon novels has enjoyed two seasons so far, but an upcoming anime adaptation will push the futuristic storytelling even more. Altered Carbon: Resleeved will be a one-off feature set in the same universe and is set to explore new elements of the story mythology. So while I expected to see lots of of Ghost in the Shell nods (and not just because co-writer Dai Satô is on board the project), what I did not expect was for this story to focus on what seems to be a …...

[1] Most audiences won't be seeing Enrico Casarosa's lovely Pixar short La Luna until it opens with Brave next summer, but lucky New Yorkers will get the chance to check it out early this Sunday. The short will be playing at the Japan Society this weekend as part of the Films for Hope festival, and will be followed by a discussion with the director himself. La Luna's been getting fantastic buzz, even by Pixar standards. Our own Peter Sciretta has described [2] it as a "new classic" with the feel of "a timeless fairytale." And if all that weren't enough to convince you, half of all proceeds from the event will go to Japan Society’s Earthquake Relief Fund. That's right -- you'll get bragging rights and karma points. More details after the jump. The 90-minute event will include screenings of La Luna and Hiroaki Ando's Five Numbers!, plus...

Last month, Twitch brought you the amazing-looking Us trailer for the new Tekken movie, titled Tekken: Blood Vengeance 3D. Now here's a promotional clip from Bandai Entertainment showing a really cool fight scene from the movie that features two female characters, Xiao and Alisa, taking on each other. Directed by Youichi Mouri (opening movies of Tekken 5 and 6) and written by Dai Sato, (Cowboy Bebop, Ghost In The Shell: Stand Alone Complex), the film is done in full 3D CGI animation. Its production company Digital Frontier previously brought us Appleseed and Appleseed Ex MacHina. Tekken: Blood Vengeance 3D is currently showing in selected cinemas in the Us. Embedded below is the clip....

Today a new trailer for the movie Tekken: Blood Vengeance, a 3D computer-animated feature-length treatment of the popular video game fighting series, has been released.

Namco Bandai’s upcoming film is a parallel story that takes place between Tekken 5 and Tekken 6, and is described as a “suspense action film”. Blood Vengeance is voiced in English and Japanese with subtitles for other languages. Each character in the game tends to speak their native language. Namco has “tried as much as possible” to use the same voice actors for the film.

Screenplay was written by Dai Sato (Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex, Cowboy Bebop) and it’s being directed by Youichi Mouri, who has previously directed the opening movies for Tekken 5 and Tekken 6.

No release date is set yet but we’ll keep you up to date with all the latest developments.

Check out the latest news for the...

Just a month ago, Twitchfilm brought you the teaser trailer for the new Tekken movie. And now it has a U.S. release date - 26th July, as well as a new trailer! Titled Tekken: Blood Vengeance, it will be made in full 3D CGI animation. Director is Youichi Mouri, responsible for the opening movies of Tekken 5 and 6, while scriptwriter is Dai Sato, who wrote the screenplays for Cowboy Bebop and Ghost In The Shell: Stand Alone Complex. The production company Digital Frontier previously brought us Appleseed and Appleseed Ex MacHina. So at least one thing is guaranteed: it will look absolutely amazing! And the trailer totally confirms it. The trailer embedded below shows more footage than the teaser trailer and dialogues can now...

Tekken: Blood Vengeance 3D Not to be confused with the 1990 or 2010 live-action adaptations, Tekken: Blood Vengeance will hit 375 U.S. theaters in 3D on July 26 at 7:30 p.m. local time for a one-night screening. Tickets are available here. Dai Sato (Cowboy Bebop, Eureka Seven) wrote the script with Shinji Higuchi (Evangelion) handling storyboards and Youichi Mori (Appleseed) directing. The plot is set in the interval between Tekken 5 and Tekken 6 video games and is described as a "suspense action film." Check out the Ncm trailer below.     Japanese Trailer for 'Blade' Anime Premieres Marvel announced at last year's Comic-Con that they would be developing anime version of some the company's most popular characters. Though no Us release date was announced, Japan is...

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Namco Bandai Games has announced that the new CGI movie Tekken Blood Vengeance will be released sometime this summer. The first teaser trailer has arrived, which you can watch below. The full press release regarding this new 3D animated movie can be found below as well.

Click to watch Tekken Blood Vengeance Trailer!

Namco Bandai Games America Inc., today announced that Tekken Blood Vengeance, a new full-length 3D compatible feature film, created in full CG and set in the rich Tekken universe, will be releasing in summer 2011. Taking place in the world and true to the characters and history of the Tekken franchise, Tekken Blood Vengeance is being produced by Digital Frontier (Resident Evil: Degeneration, Death Note and Appleseed), with the screenplay written by Dai Sato (Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex and Cowboy Bebop). Directing the project will be Youichi Mouri, who directed the opening movies for both...

A big fan of the game, but not a big fan of that live-action movie from 2010, and yet, still have this urge to get your “Tekken” movie on? No worries, gameboys, because Namco is here to rescue you with a full-length CG movie, “Tekken: Blood Vengeance”. The new movie is from director Youichi Mouri, with screenplay credit by Dai Sato of “Cowboy Bebop” and “Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex” fame. No word on the plot, but I imagine it involves cute girls in skimpy clothes fighting each other, or at least when they’re not riding around on a flying panda. Plus, brawny dudes with cinematically wavy hair throwing down. Check out the teaser trailer below. The film itself is due out in the Summer of this year. Via Cbm function getVideo() { var so = new SWFObject("http://cdn.springboard.gorillanation.com/storage/xplayer/yo033.swf?clip_id=292071", "mplayer", "590", "375", "8", "#000000"); so.

While many of us still haven’t seen the live-action version of Tekken (here), Namco Pictures who are displeased with director Dwight H. Little’s adaptation, is creating their own film but in CG. Youichi Mouri, the director of the cinematics to Tekken 5 and Tekken 6, and along with Dai Sato, the screenwriter to Cowboy Bebop, will bring us Tekken: Blood Vengeance (鉄拳 ブラッド・ベンジェンス) and Twitch has the first teaser trailer for the project.

No word on a release date yet.

Namco Bandai Games has announced that the CG feature film Tekken Blood Vengeance is coming this summer. You can read the press release and watch the trailer below! Namco Bandai Games America Inc., today announced that Tekken Blood Vengeance, a new full-length 3D compatible feature film, created in full CG and set in the rich Tekken universe, will be releasing in summer 2011. Taking place in the world and true to the characters and history of the Tekken franchise, Tekken Blood Vengeance is being produced by Digital Frontier (Resident Evil: Degeneration, Death Note and Appleseed), with the screenplay written by Dai Sato (Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex and Cowboy Bebop). Directing the project will be Youichi Mouri, who directed the opening movies for both Tekken 5 and...

Tekken Project lead and Tekken creator, Katsuhiro Harada and Namco Bandai Community Manager, have just announced an original CG feature titled... Tekken: Blood Vengeance Directed by Youichi Mouri, the same man behind the Tekken 5 & Tekken 6 opening cinematics, with screenplay by Dai Sato from Cowboy Bebop and Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex... as well as including CG production from Digital Frontier, the artists behind Capcom's Resident Evil: Degeneration CG feature! Tekken: Blood Veangeance is slated for a summer 2011 release! Check out the trailer below.

Its no big secret that Hollywood has butchered video games-to-film adaption, time and time again by diverging or taking far too much creative license from the source material to the point of losing what makes the game cool in the first place. So why not let the actual game developers handle the adaptation themselves? After all, who's knows the game better than the people who produced it themselves. Dissatisfied with the live action version, Namco Pictures is releasing Tekken Blood Vengeance (鉄拳 ブラッド・ベンジェンス).The full length CG animated film will be helmed by Youichi Mouri, the director of the cinematics to Tekken 5 and Tekken 6: Bloodline Rebellion. Also on board the project is Dai Sato, the screenwriter to Cowboy Bebop and Ghost in the Shell:...

Coming soon from director Hiroaki Ando and writer Dai Sato is scifi anime Norageki.It's an intriguing match of talent. Ando is a frequent collaborator of both Katsuhiro Otomo and the folk at Studio 4C while Sato is one of the most reliable writers of high end scifi in the market, with both Ghost In The Shell: Stand Alone Complex and Ergo Proxy on his resume. Here's how the Anime News Network describes this one:In an isolated prison, a young man who seems conscientious, a sexy woman, a middle-aged ex-army man, an otaku girl, a mysterious old man and a cat are confined there. One day, they get freed after a blackout. In a strange way, all the prison guards have disappeared and they don't...

Coming soon from director Hiroaki Ando and writer Dai Sato is scifi anime Norageki.It's an intriguing match of talent. Ando is a frequent collaborator of both Katsuhiro Otomo and the folk at Studio 4C while Sato is one of the most reliable writers of high end scifi in the market, with both Ghost In The Shell: Stand Alone Complex and Ergo Proxy on his resume. Here's how the Anime News Network describes this one:In an isolated prison, a young man who seems conscientious, a sexy woman, a middle-aged ex-army man, an otaku girl, a mysterious old man and a cat are confined there. One day, they get freed after a blackout. In a strange way, all the prison guards have disappeared and they don't...

The official website has been updated with a first full trailer for Hiroaki Ando’s CG anime project Norageki! which, contrary to the first teaser trailer actually shows some real footage instead of some early sketches. I’m still no fan of the rendering style, but at least this looks better than Bandai’s noodle project Freedom. Plus, Dai Sato (GitS:sac, Ergo Proxy) is responsible for the script, so this could really be good.

[See post to watch Flash video]

Norageki! is supposed to be released on DVD and Blu-ray Disc in Japan on March 25, 2011, most probably without English subtitles.

Synopsis:

In an isolated prison, a young man who seems conscientious, a sexy woman, a middle-aged ex-army man, an otaku girl, a mysterious old man and a cat are confined there. One day, they get freed after a blackout. In a strange way, all the prison guards have disappeared and they don’t know why they are released.

The official website has been updated with a first full trailer for Hiroaki Ando’s CG anime project Norageki! which, contrary to the first teaser trailer actually shows some real footage instead of some early sketches. I’m still no fan of the rendering style, but at least this looks better than Bandai’s noodle project Freedom. Plus, Dai Sato (GitS:sac, Ergo Proxy) is responsible for the script, so this could really be good.

[See post to watch Flash video]

Norageki! is supposed to be released on DVD and Blu-ray Disc in Japan on March 25, 2011, most probably without English subtitles.

Synopsis:

In an isolated prison, a young man who seems conscientious, a sexy woman, a middle-aged ex-army man, an otaku girl, a mysterious old man and a cat are confined there. One day, they get freed after a blackout. In a strange way, all the prison guards have disappeared and they don’t know why they are released.

Bandai Visual has released the first teaser trailer for Norageki!, directed by Hiroaki Ando. The video doesn’t show much (read: a few frames!) actual footage of the CG animated short film, but the fact that Dai Sato (Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex, Ergo Proxy, Wolf’s Rain etc.) wrote the script already got me pretty excited.

According to the official website, Norageki! will be released on DVD and Blu-ray Disc in Japan on March 25, 2011.

[See post to watch Flash video]

Synopsis:

In an isolated prison, a young man who seems conscientious, a sexy woman, a middle-aged ex-army man, an otaku girl, a mysterious old man and a cat are confined there. One day, they get freed after a blackout. In a strange way, all the prison guards have disappeared and they don’t know why they are released. They try to escape from the prison, however an extraordinary event occurs…

[via Ann]...

Early this month, famous anime writer Dai Sato ripped into the anime industry while in attendance at the Japan-based anime & manga convention Cultural Typhoon. Mr. Sato, a veteran in the field known for his work in titles such as Cowboy Bebop, Toward the Terra and GitS:sac spoke his mind on what he considers to be the dying anime industry in Japan.

One of the many targets of this lambaste was the ever increasing prevalence of out-sourcing what Mr. Sato called “In-between scenes” (Such as the occasional panorama of the character’s surroundings, Etc) to sub-contractors in other parts of Asia, Often causing discrepancies in the art style from scene to scene. One such example given was that of the shocking lack of continuity between scenes in the anime Series Macross, which Mr. Sato described as “just awful“. He also made a diatribe towards the American “Hollywood” movie industry for “ripping...

Warner Bros has pass along to us a 44-second clip from Halo: Legends, a CG & traditional animated anthology containing eight episodes that explores the origin and historical events of the Halo universe and its various characters inhabiting the world. Like Animatrix and Batman Gotham Knight, each of the episodes was created by a separate prominent Japanese anime producer. In this particular clip, we get to see an action scene with Master Chief and his fellow Spartans blast their way through enemies in true kick-ass fashion. This was taken from the episode entitled "The Package" which was animated by Casio Entertainment under the creative supervision of Shinji Aramaki (Appleseed Ex Machina) and from a script by Dai Sato (Cowboy Bebop).

"The Package" finds Master Chief and four specially-selected Spartans launched out of a stealth cruiser and into the heart of a giant Covenant fleet in a bid to recover a valuable intelligence asset.

Exactly what you've all been waiting for... Sort of. Warner Home Video has announced today that they will release Halo: Legends, a series of seven animated short films. It will hit DVD and Blu-ray on February 9, 2010. For your amusement, please see the official press release below: Go deeper into the Halo universe than ever before with Halo Legends, an all-new, CG and traditional anime PG-13 experience that presents enthralling new stories from one of the world’s most popular video game franchises. Produced by 343 Industries, a part of Microsoft Game Studios, the exciting tales-beyond-the-games will be distributed February 9, 2010 by Warner Home Video as a Special Edition 2-disc version on DVD and Blu-Ray for $29.98 (Srp) and $34.99 (Srp), respectively, as well as single disc DVD for $19.98 (Srp) due date for all versions is January 5, 2010. The chapters will also be available On Demand and Digital Download. Halo Legends is a seven-story anthology – told across eight spectacular episodes – that explores the...

Ncm Fathom and Bandai Entertainment – the ones who brought us a special showing of Death Note last year – team up again to debut a one-night showing of Eureka Seven -- Good Night, Sleep Tight, Young Lovers on Sept. 24 at 7:30 p.m. The nationwide event features the English-dubbed film and an exclusive behind-the-scenes look at its creation at the studio Bones. The writer of Eureka Seven, Dai Sato, is known for having penned anime greats Cowboy Bebop, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex, and Samurai Champloo, to name a few. The Eureka series is comprised of 50 gripping episodes. Kudos to Sato for not dragging it out to a thousand-plus fillers. In Japan, it's known as Psalms of Planets Eureka Seven, and it deftly incorporates music. As with most mecha anime, this one is a...

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