Space Pirate Captain Harlock CG Film Teaser Trailer

by with No Comment Movie News

A new teaser trailer for Shinji Aramaki’s CG film adaptation of Leiji Matsumoto’s classic sci-fi manga has been released. Toei, the animation studio behind the project, previously released an anime adaptation of Space Pirate Captain Harlock, but has now taken the franchise in new direction – giving the film its highest production budget at around £19million and using the latest filmmaking technology. The film will be released this autumn.

Toei also previously released a shorter English-dubbed trailer:

Working alongside director Aramaki (Appleseed) is Harutoshi Fukui (Mobile Suit Gundam UC), who is writing the script to reflect themes of modern society. The original manga follows Captain Harlock and his crew of the Arcadia as they fight against foreign invaders who have taken control of humanity.

Hayao Miyazaki receives Japanese Cultural Merit Honour

by with No Comment News

The Japanese government announced that Studio Ghibli’s co-founder Hayao Miyazaki (My Neighbor Totoro, Princess Mononoke, Spirited Away) will be one of 15 people to receive the Person of Cultural Merit honour as part of The Order of Culture and Persons of Cultural Merit annual function.

The award ceremony is part of a national holiday called Culture Day, and it will take place at the Imperial Palace. Previous winners include anime creator Leiji Matsumoto (Space Pirate Captain Harlock, Galaxy Express 999) in 2001 and manga creator Shigeru Mizuki (Ge Ge Ge no Kitaro) in 2010.

Miyazaki is currently working on his latest Studio Ghibli film that he says includes “lots of airplanes”, the project is set to be released in 2013. The Studio Ghibli game Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch will also finally be released in the west, two years after its debut in Japan, on 25 January 2013.