"Do you
hear that, Mr. Anderson? It's the sound of
inevitability." So said Agent Smith in The
Matrix, the 1999 blockbuster hit from Warner
Bros. Of course, Neo proceeded to kick his virtual-butt anyway,
something I'm sure Agent Smith never saw coming. But still, he had
been right. Our time. Their time. Man and machine
co-existing in a new reality. It was the inevitable.
Just who would control that reality was still up for grabs. So what
does all this have to do with anime, you're asking? Well, thanks to
Warner Bros. and the vision of some directing greats, The Matrix and anime
have finally come together. It was only a matter of time, you
know. The sound of inevitability, remember?
A
series of nine, short animated films, The
Animatrix takes our cyber existence to a whole new level.
Beginning with what is called the genesis of The Matrix itself, The Second
Renaissance is divided into two parts and takes us through the archives of
Zion where we are reunited with character favs from The Matrix. From
there we move forward and are introduced to new adventures, new challenges
and new lives trying to break free of the Matrix prison.
So who's behind this fantastic
work? Quite a few notable names, actually. Four of the
episodes were written by Larry and Andy Wachowski, the writers/directors
of the original Matrix and its upcoming
sequels. The Second Renaissance Parts 1 and 2 were directed by
Mahero Maeda, known best for his work on Blue Submarine 6 and Neon Genesis
Evangelion. Other greats involved include Shinichiro Watanabe
(Cowboy Bebop, Macross Plus), Yoshiaki Kawajiri (Wicked City, Ninja
Scroll, Vampire Hunter D:Bloodlust), Takeshi Koike (Trava), Koji Morimoto
(Akira), Andy Jones (Final Fantasy:The Spirits Within) and Peter Chung (Aeon
Flux, Transformers).
I know, I know. Pretty darn cool,
isn't it? And here's the best part:
You can download the first four episodes
right now. Free. No strings attached. But be forewarned:
The remaining five installments won't be out on DVD until June 3rd That's a long wait.
Want more?
The
Animatrix.com
The
Animatrix Preview Trailer
KeanuWeb
MatrixFans.net
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