Innocence the Movie

Feb 25, 2004

Innocence, a film by Production IG (Ghost in the Shell), will debut in Japan on March 6, 2004 in theaters. This is Shirow Masamune's latest project and according to Production IG's website, the movie will be subtitled in English for the Japanese release. The story is as follows, Batou is a living doll. His whole body, even his arms and legs, are entirely man-made. What only remains are traces of his brain and memories of a woman named Motoko. More information can be found at http://www.innocence-movie.jp (Japanese) and http://www.productionig.com (English - short description). The theme song "Follow Me" is sung by Kimiko Itoh.

Source: Unknown

Final Fantasy Concert

Feb 18, 2004

Square Enix U.S.A. announced plans today to present the first ever FINAL FANTASY symphony concert in the U.S. on Monday, May 10th at the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, California - during the week of the 2004 Eletronic Entertainment Expo. The epic performance will feature a full orchestra and a 32-person choir. The concert will mark the first of its kind in the U.S. A dedicated web site featuring composer Uematsu, the "favorite FINAL FANTASY music" fan survey and concert information can be found at http://www.square-enix-usa.com/uematsu.

Source: Industry News

.hack//SIGN Series for Release on Home Video

Bandai Entertainment announced today at the Electronic Entertainment Expo ("E3") - the acquisition of the Japanese animated series, .hack//SIGN (pronounced dot-hack) for release exclusively on DVD home video. A release date has not yet been scheduled.

"The World" is immersive virtual gaming environment of the future. Millions of players log on each day to test their skills in virtual adventures and battles. But when reality and virtual reality collide, a whole new adventure unfolds.

.hack//SIGN boasts character designs by famed illustrator Yoshiyuki Sadamoto (Neon Genesis Evangelion and Wings of Honneamise), an engaging and immersive storyline scripted by Kazunori Ito (Ghost in the Shell and Patlabor), and directed by Kouichi Mashimo (Noir and Irresponsible Captain Tylor).

Bandai America's video game division has also announced at E3 the release of .hack for Playstation 2. .hack features the perfect fusion of action/RPG game play presented in an anime format. In addition to the .hack PS2 game a separate OVA DVD disc will also be included (Please note that the OVA series is a completely different and separate series from .hack//SIGN). Touted as a "Virtual MMORPG or Massively Multiplayer Online RPG, .hack utilizes the latest in rendering technology enabling environments to transform in real time. Alongside game play, .hack gamers will also have the option to choose between Japanese and English dialogue. Scheduled for release October 2002.

Source: Bandai Press Release