"Animatrix" the much touted and longly awaited collection of nine anime shorts based in the world of "The Matrix" --directed by several of todays most noted anime directors-- made it's way to store shelves on June 3rd.
"Animatrix" short synopses:
The Final Flight of the Osiris Written by Andy and Larry Wachowski; Directed by Andy Jones Animation and production design by Square USA, Inc. The crew of the hovercraft Osiris must get a message back to Zion, a message of vital importance. Easy to do, but for the armada of Sentinels between them and Zion.
The Second Renaissance - Parts 1 and 2 Written by Andy and Larry Wachowski; Directed by Mahiro Maeda Animation and production design by Studio4°C, Tokyo The Genesis of the Matrix: the last cities of mankind, the war with the machines, and humanity’s ultimate downfall. An epic guided tour of the Zion archives and the history of the Matrix.
Kid’s Story Written by Andy and Larry Wachowski; Directed by Shinichiro Watanabe Animation and production design by Studio4°C, Tokyo Sitting in his high school classroom, THE KID gets a personalized invitation from Neo (voiced by Keanu Reeves) to escape the Matrix. But finding an exit proves more difficult than he ever imagined.
Program Written and directed by Yoshiaki Kawajiri Animation and production design by Madhouse Studios, Tokyo In the simulated world of a Samurai training program, CIS, a soldier of Zion, is forced to choose between love and her comrades in the real world.
World Record Written by Yoshiaki Kawajiri; Directed by Takeshi Koike Animation and production design by Madhouse Studios, Tokyo Through an incredible combination of will power and physical strength, DAN, a world-record-holding sprinter, breaks out of the Matrix and gets an all-too-brief glimpse of the real world beyond.
Beyond Written and directed by Koji Morimoto Animation and production design by Studio4°C, Tokyo In a quiet town where all is not as it seems, YOKO finds a bug in the system: an abandoned mansion in which anything seems possible. And then the exterminators arrive to “de-bug”.
Detective Story Written and directed by Shinichiro Watanabe Animation and production design by Studio4°C, Tokyo Hard-boiled private investigator ASH tracks cyber-criminal TRINITY (voiced by Carrie-Anne Moss) through the looking glass…
Matriculated Written and directed by Peter Chung Animation and production design by DNA, Seoul A small group of rebels have captured a sentient robot and proceed to program it to act as an ally for their cause. They succeed too well in teaching the robot to prefer their “human Matrix” to machine reality. And the robot’s appetite for the “human Matrix” may exceed the humans’ ability to supply it.
Extra features included with the "Animatrix" DVD are:
Scrolls to Screen - The History and Culture of Anime
Seven “making-of” featurettes including director profiles featuring interviews and behind-the-scenes looks at each film
Four audio commentaries (featured on the films The Second Renaissance Pt. 1 & 2, Program and World Record) - all with Japanese audio and English subtitles
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