Gonzo Set For New Last Exile Anime Series

[Chris Beveridge]

Fans of Last Exile have a reason to be very happy today as word has come down via Anime News Network that through the exhibitor notes at the Tokyo International Anime Fair, Gonzo is set to launch a new Last Exile series in 2011 called&nbsp...

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[Talyn]

I was thrillled till I saw....."3D" .....

[Damius]

Originally Posted by Talyn

I was thrillled till I saw....."3D" .....

^ THIS

[einhorn303]

Originally Posted by Talyn

I was thrillled till I saw....."3D" .....

Whether it's good or bad, we should be able to watch the non-3D version as well, right?

[Talyn]

Originally Posted by einhorn303

Whether it's good or bad, we should be able to watch the non-3D version as well, right?

I certainly hope so..... otherwise in large doses (anything more than 30 minutes) will give me a borderline migraine...

[FUNiOP]

Gonzo is finally back and instead of the crap they've given us for their past few shows, they make a sequel to one of their finest? That sounds like nothing could go wrong, but from the sounds of it, it will probably be completely built around the 3D gimmick.

[ibby]

As I don't like Gonzo's 3D CG, I'm on the fence in that it's good IMO to see more original anime stories, then the standard manga conversation. I'm no way against manga being adapted to anime.

[ResistNormal]

I hope that image is a pre-visual mock up animation shot and not a finished product.

This info was from Tokyo International Anime Fair TAF 2011 website? TAF the event run by Governor Ishihara’s creator of the anime/manga ban. Gonzo is going to be at TAF while most of the others companies are boycotting at Anime Content Expo ACE. Stupid move, supporting the guy that's trying to destroy your industry.

[Hayate Kurogane]

It should be interesting to see how this ends up, story-wise. Prequel? Sequel? Side-story? Alternate universe? (The last one would just be a strange decision.)

The events in the existing series are of such significance that a side-story would be somewhat hampered while a sequel could be either really cool or kind of strange. A prequel would be fascinating, regardless of whether it involved any of the existing characters or not.

I'm somewhat ambivalent about the 3D idea. Hopefully the final product ends up being more substantial in some way, rather than just being a showpiece. Gonzo's CG, in and of itself, has been of decent quality for the budget in a number of their productions. Their biggest issues, in my opinion, have always been twofold:

1) Awkward compositing and final animation results when CG elements are sharing the screen with 2D animation elements.
2) Inability to consistently present an even level of quality between CG and 2D elements in a show that shares them.

The latter, in particular, is a problem with the existing Last Exile series, whether folks want to readily admit it or not. Is it a good show? Sure. Is it interesting to watch, with characters that are compelling? Sure. Are those characters well-animated? Not consistently, and there's a slight but progressive drop in the quality of that character animation throughout the series, which is a shame.

Not that this is anything new for anime, but it's always been disappointing for a show like Last Exile, and baffling when folks tend to sing the praises of the animation quality, especially the irony in that the presentation of CG elements is strong here (thanks to Yasufumi Soejima, who really knows his stuff) and that that is really what carries the show in terms of animation quality and what folks are likely thinking of when they recall the show as being animated well.

[Tenkyoken]

I personally loved the original and its in my top 5. That being said, as long as the 3D complements an anime that is comparable to the first one, I'm all for this.