• Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann is off to a strong start, or at least it WAS. In a bizarre turn of events, controversy over the 4th episode, which employed a very different animation style, arguably a drop in animation quality and definitely the weakest episode so far have led to the resignation of Gainax co-founder Takami Akai from Gainax's board and as producer of Gurren Lagann. Read the news at ANN.

• Eva movie 1 has a title: Evangelion Shin Gekijouban EVA: 1.0 YOU ARE (NOT) ALONE

• First Rebuild of Evangelion movie premiers in Japanese theaters on Sept 1.
• Bandai Visual US is holding a Gunbuster contest-- win a trip to Japan!
• Gainax soft drinks on the way. Again, Gainax, don't ever change.
• Gurren Lagann trailer online! First ep on April 1.

• Die Buster licensed in US.
• More info on Gurren Lagann. Also check out new characters at official site.

• Animeondvd reviews the upcoming Gunbuster R1 release and gives both audio and video an A.
• Now if this don't take the cake: 22-MINUTE EVANGELION KABUKI noh theatre, available for download in RealVideo or Windows Media at Gainax.co.jp...!!!!! Note that it is more boring than watching paint dry unless you speak Japanese, and even then I'm not sure how much you'd get out of it. Gainax, don't ever change:

• The cover article from the October issue of Newtype Japan is currently in the December issue of Newtype USA. Newtype talks to Toshimichi Otsuki, a producer of the original Eva.
• Will Rebuild rescue anime? "It's true that Eva was a big hit," says Otsuki, "But its success spawned a great deal of confusion and misunderstanding in the industry, the end result being a bunch of mass-produced junk. That mindset has persisted for ten years, but now we're in a position to prove it wrong. We're determined to close the door on the post-Eva era for good." Sounds great to me.
• Otsuki also commented that Rebuild will discard the original Eva's use of intentional information overload. "Filling works with difficult words and concepts in order to create confusion among the viewers was a good technique 12 years ago, but not anymore, and one of our primary goals for this project is to turn everyone's expectations upside down." Again, sounds good if he means all the Adam, Lilith, embryo in hand kind of stuff.
• Here's an image from somewhere that may be an example of turning expectations upside down: An AWESOME FAKE:

• Wow. Could Haruko be one of the new characters in Rebuild? As crazy as that sounds, Haruko is probably the most inspired Gainax character since Eva ended a decade ago, so it could be pretty rad to see a younger version of her joining the class, piloting Evas, and, who knows, maybe be Shinji's dream girl. Or it could backfire horribly. Who knows?
WHOOPS apparently this image is a fake. Awesome idea, though.
• Speaking of which, you heard it here first: I am 100% sure that Shinji will find love in Rebuild of Eva. The only question is with whom. Why? Two reasons. First, the original was so closely tied to Hideaki Anno's personal life and mindset that I'm sure that Rebuild will reflect his new life as a happily married man who's made it. Second, it's really the only loose thread left from the show. My opinion is that it's one explanation of the show's staying power and the almost endless new endings, both official and un: we desperately want Shinji to find complete happiness. As great as the original ending is, we just can't live with it, it seems. Bring on Rebuild!

• The Downloads section is back up with a few MP3s. More soon.

• Evangelion Kaibunsho - this interesting document was recently translated by Bochan Bird, whom all English-speaking Eva fandom owes for translating the invaluable Red Cross Books. The Kaibunsho is a sort of hatchet job on Hideaki Anno written by an anonymous "anime industry dropout" who may have worked on the Eva production. It makes a bunch of tantalizing claims, including the identity of Anno's first true love, his early relationship with Miyazaki, and some original endings Anno had in mind for Eva... Although we have no idea how true or reliable the Kaibunsho is (see especially Carl Horn's criticism of the document 1, 2, 3), it's an enjoyable read if taken with a grain of salt.

• Now that the site's back up, feel free to return to the forum.

• Brian Ruh is soliciting fan and academics essays on Evangelion for inclusion in an upcoming book of criticism on Evengelion. More.

• Die Buster ends! Episode 6 has aired in Japan and is available raw, wrapping up the 6-episode OVA almost two years after its premier in October, 2004.

• Rumors, rumors, rumors...! Newtype Japan has promised some super mega amazing announcement regarding Evangelion in its next issue, which comes out September 10. I, for one, withhold all speculation until this announcement, whatever it is. For more on the rumors, click here.

• Some character and mecha info from Gurren Lagann is up at the official site.

• Gurren Lagann, Gainax's next anime, premiers in early 2007! Official site. More.

Director : Hiroyuki Imaishi (Dead Leaves, FLCL, Re Cutie Honey #1...)
Screenplay : Kazuki Nakajima (Re Cutie Honey)
Chara Design : Atsushi Nishigori (Top 2!...)
Mecha design : You Yoshinari (FLCL, Trava, Top 2!, Evangelion...)
Chief Animator : Sushio (FLCL, KareKano, Steamboy...)
Animation Production : Gainax
Production : Gainax, Aniplex, Konami.

• NEW GAINAX SERIES IN 2006!!! Hiroyuki Imaishi, the insane animator behind the crazier moments in FLCL and Kare Kano, not to mention Dead Leaves, is set to direct a 26-episode show called Gurren Lagana (or GurenRagan), premiering in 2006. The story is about two robots, one tiny and one gigantic. That's all I know so far, but Osamu Kobayashi (Beck) may be doing some of the storyboards. Imaishi wowed me with his first episode of Re: Cutie Honey, so who knows?

• Crimson Firefly has started to translate some of the Die Buster comic strips from the official Gainax site! The first two explain the naming of Die Buster's characters (after vegetables and expensive watches, of all things-- go Tsurumaki!):

• ADV is releasing some mega-super-ultimate new 10th Anniversary box set of Evangelion for the low low price of $300. Blah. WHO CARES??? It comes with a bonus DVD of god-knows-what, a T-shirt, stickers, etc... Buy the Platinum thinkpak box set for $50, if you still don't have the show.

6/9/06

• Gunbuster movies!! This is an official announcement: Gainax is recutting Gunbuster and Die Buster to 90 minutes each and will release them in Japanese theaters this fall. More info in the forum.

• Also, it appears that a Die Buster manga adaptation is in the works.

• First volume of Evangelion: Angelic Days is out. This was known in Japan as Girflriend of Steel 2nd. This is a lighter adaptation of Eva set in the alternate world shown at the series' end. The first volume seems pretty uninspired-- I wouldn't bother.

• I never thought it would happen, but Kono Minikuku (This Ugly & Beautiful World) has been licensed in the US by ADV. A so-so show that's a step up from Mahoromatic and features the same production team and voice actors.

• Die Buster episode 5 has been subbed by Lunar Anime and it's a doozie...! Coverage in: Gainax Pages forums, Bloggin Wit' KT, the Lunar Anime forums. This one ties the series together (somewhat) with the original Gunbuster.

• Die Buster episode 6 (the final one) has been announced for August 25. Will feature some new pilots and finally unveil the titular Die Buster. Episode director Kazuya Tsurumaki, storyboards by our Lord and Saviour Hideaki Anno and Tadashi Hiramatsu, Mecha Animation by Sushio.

• Mainichi Daily News has a big multipart section on Evangelion (it seems like it's been the 10th anniversary for years, now). Not much of interest, except for this: "This year, the 10th since the end of the Evangelion series, Anno and Otsuki are due to join hands again to work together on an anime project for the first time in a while." So probably a new Anno anime in 2006 or 2007.

• Live Action Evangelion seems to be making headway, and a director is supposed to be signed by the end of 2006. More info at Eva Monkey.

• Yoshiyuki Sadamoto (character designer of Eva, Nadia, and Die Buster) did some great character designs for the anime film,Toki wo Kakeru Shojo ("the girl who conquered time"), due out later this year. It is based on a novel by Tsutsui Yasutaka which has been adapted many times over the years as a film, manga, and dorama, but this is the first time it's being adapted as anime. Official site. Trailer.

• Route 20: the lost Gainax film
• Typography of Evangelion
• Gainax, Year in Review 2004
• Gainax Cosplay
• Notenki Memoirs book review

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2004