Devistater writes "The official Matrix page has word of the first officially released widescreen Anime episode of the Animatrix for download (in quicktime format). This is the first of 4 free episodes that will be released on the web. A total of 9 episodes will be availible for purchase on DVD within the next few months. The feature-quality anime shorts range in length from 6 minutes to 16 minutes. There's a trailer availible if you want to get a taste for what they will be like."

Kartik3 writes "IGN.com is reporting that Warner Bros. is releasing a 2-disc special edition DVD of The Matrix (loaded with extras) on April 29th and The Animatrix (An Anime series set in the world of the Matrix) DVD on June 3rd." If Animatrix is half as cool as the promo comic that was given out at the Matrix opening, I'll like it.

Ninja Master Gara writes "Anime News Network reports New York University is offering a new courses on the anime industry and culture. Anime is slowly expanding from University Clubs into mainstream college courses, many of which begin at the 'What is anime?' level. Several Universities and Community Colleges already offer similar courses, or incorporate anime into existing studies." If any school decides to offer a course on the Gundam series, I'd be happy to teach a class.

darth fluffy writes "Star Wars Fanfilms have become as popular as anime music videos in the geek world over the past year (if not more), but here's a new spin: a full length Star Wars Fan Audio Drama. Recorded with over 40 actors from 5 different countries. Hurray for the power of home PC's!"

da3dAlus writes "Beginning December 30, the first series of a new anime block will start on TechTV's new "Anime Unleashed" program. As billed by TechTV, "Anime Unleashed focuses on the science-fiction elements of anime--titles that imagine what our near or far future will be like, investigate the relationship between humans and machines, dream of what alien civilizations could be like, and more." The block will premiere with single half-hour episodes airing Monday through Thursday at 1am EST, followed by a two-hour block of anime on Friday from 11pm to 2am EST. Some of the series slated to be shown include Crest of the Stars, Serial Experiment Lain, Dual! Parallel Trouble Adventure, Betterman, and Silent Mobius. Additionally, a contest is being held until the first of January 2003 by TechTV to create a new logo for the program."

E-Rock-23 writes "Toon Zone ran a story earlier this month with regards to three Anime series Cartoon Network acquired for it's Adult Swim block. Reign, Lupin III, and Trigun are slated to join the already impressive Anime line-up next year. Lupin is slated to start airing on January 13, and the others are TBA." Trigun is a great match fo Toonami- everyone should check it out. And I've been wanting to see the Lupin III TV series for years, so that ought to be great fun as well.

News for nerds writes "Innocence: Ghost In The Shell as the sequel to Ghost In The Shell, anime film directed by Mamoru Oshii, has been announced. Due out in spring of 2004 in Japan, with Mamoru Oshii as screenplay/director, produced by Mitsuhisa Ishikawa of Production I.G, and co-produced by(!) Studio GHIBLI."

prmths writes "mplayer now plays sorenson V3! This is the last major format that was unplayable under linux and it has now been conquered! They also added the 2xsai algorithm for video scaling. This will let you increase the resolution of non-photo-like videos (anime/cartoons) by 2 times -- it's not a blurring algorithm -- 2xsai actually guesses edges and fills in the pixels."

angkor writes "'More Animated than Life' - Fascinating article discussing the significance of animation to the Japanese and why it is not what Westerners expect."

Juanvaldes writes "ADV Films has confirmed reports that they are working to create a cable television channel dedicated to Anime. Currently they are releasing very few details about the channel itself. All that has been publicized at this time is that the channel will run 24 hours a day and will break its content into four categories, Action Zone, Sci-Fi, Comedy Incorrect, and Horror/Martial Arts." Hope I can get access to this one as soon as it comes out.

E. Megas writes "According to a Collegiate Presswire story, Cartoon Network (Probably due to its recent acquisition of Futurama) is expanding its Adult Swim schedule to Monday through Thursday starting January 12th. The "Comedy" block on Sundays will stay, but except for Inu-Yasha and Cowboy Bebop (Which will replace the Toonami Midnight Run block on the weekday slots) the Saturday "Action" block will be gone. This means that the legendary series Mobile Suit Gundam will not be aired in full for the second time in a row on CN. Future airings of Yuu Yuu Hakusho and Outlaw Star-And the planned re-airing of Gundam 0080: War In the Pocket-Are thrown into doubt by this decision as well. More schedule details in the article. (Anyone else as frustrated by this as I am?)"

Roland writes "Japan Gadgets reports that eminent Japanese animators Masamune Shiro (Ghost in the Shell) and Hajime Katoki (Gundam) have decided to apply their creative design skills to a new line of limited edition optical mice. Due to be released in Japan in late November, each of the two mouse designs will be available in black, silver, and white and come with a special printed insert of an interview with the respective designer." Definitely thinking outside the box... not sure about the ergonomics, but points for aesthetic ;)

GusherJizmac writes "Looks like Warner Bros. is looking to remake classic anime, Akira, as a live action feature-length film. Will current computer generated special effects be enough to bring this masterpiece to life?" We touched on this earlier, but now it looks closer to production, since Norrington has finished shooting for The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen.

Spirited Away, or Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi, is a made-for-Japan animated film that has now made it across the Pacific. Famed director Hayao Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli are well-known for producing exceptional films, and this one is outstanding. It made some vast amount of money in Japan, and U.S. critics are raving about it, but it probably isn't showing in your neighborhood: it's opening in ten large cities this week, a few more next week, and perhaps still more the week after that. There's a proprietary-format trailer available.

tetsuo13 writes "Bandai Entertainment Inc. in conjunction with Production I.G. has acquisition of the home video and broadcast rights in North America for the highly anticipated anime television series - Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex. Created by Production I.G., original story by Masamune Shirow, directed by Kenji Kamiya, and music by Yoko Kanno Stand Alone Complex is the television series sequel to the animated film that redefined Japanese animation, Ghost in the Shell. A trailer was released a few short days ago for those that just can't wait!! Get it here (45 MB download)."

NeoCode writes "Like The Matrix? Like anime? Well, feast your eyes on this. The Matrix web site has released a preview trailer for Animatrix, a series of 9 anime stories set in the world of matrix, to be released on DVD. They are done rather beautifully, by the looks of the trailer, in both traditional anime and using computer graphics."

peter_gzowski writes "Dreamworks has acquired the license for the worldwide distribution of Satoshi Kon's latest picture, Millennium Actress. Satoshi Kon is best known for directing the anime classic Perfect Blue, but has also worked on Patlabor 2 and Roujin Z (the latter two from the director of Ghost in the Shell & Akira, respectively). Read about it from Yahoo! Movies or Anime News Network, whichever you prefer. I guess Dreamworks was feeling left out after Miramax (with Princess Mononoke) and Columbia Tri-Star (with Final Fantasy and Metropolis) got into the anime distribution business. Maybe Spielberg and company will fare better trying to convince North American audiences to watch serious animated films."

From the Big Apple Anime Site "The Big Apple Anime Fest 2002 (BAAF 2002) is proud to announce that the festival will premiere the theatrical English dub version of "Cowboy Bebop: The Movie" on August 30th, 8:00pm at Loews State Theater (Virgin Megastore) in New York City's Times Square. At the premiere, Cowboy Bebop director, Shinichiro Watanabe, score composer, Yoko Kanno and character designer Toshihiro Kawamoto will be on hand to meet their legions of fans." That's a show worth seeing.

ajaygautam asks: "For the past few months (on and off), I have been trying to locate Anime stores, rentals and theaters in and around Central New Jersey, but have not been able to find much. Only Blockbuster, which carries a very limited selection. I was wondering if there is a list of such things on the Internet somewhere. I propose that we create this 'Ask Slashdot' a comprehensive list of Anime stores, rental locations and theaters that do show Anime movies."

Michael Jennings writes: "Here is a review of the Game On exhibition that is on at the Barbican centre in London, and which will tour Japan and the US in 2003." Here are two previous mentions of the exhibit. Below are Michael's detailed impressions of the exhibit.