ANIMANIA!

Wind, Snow, and Contrails

If you liked Macross Plus, Top Gun, or some similarly stylish ode to powered flight and mechanical violence, Bandai��s Yukikaze might be up your alley. From Studio Gonzo (the Last Exile/Vandread crew), it��s the very pretty, laid-back story of an experimental fighter aircraft with a potentially dangerous attachment to its pilot. Two versions of Volume 1 will be released on February 17: a one-disc vanilla release with a 5.1-channel English dub, as well as a two-disc extravaganza with 5.1 tracks in English and Japanese and a limited-edition patch.

Seven More Samurai

Over in Japan, Gonzo is busy at work on a new series based on unusual source material. Samurai 7, due to hit Japanese airwaves next spring, is a TV series based on Kurosawa��s legendary Seven Samurai. In the director��s chair is Toshifumi Takizawa, who directed the Dirty Pair classic Flight 005 Conspiracy, but we��ve yet to see how far he plans to stray from the original��s inspiration. We hope it doesn��t go as far as a certain videogame adaptation.

Metal Skin Panic

AniMeigo has a little piece of American anime history tentatively scheduled for a January 2 release. MADOX-01, a sci-fi comedy about a hapless bachelor trapped in a suit of experimental powered armor, is coming out on DVD with a brand-new English dub after being out of print for years. It��s a funny show��the military wants the suit back, and our hero just wants to meet his date��and it was also the very first ��for fans�� anime release in the United States.

Ending All Over Again

ADV Films has six more episodes of Neon Genesis Evangelion on the way for fans who just can��t get enough of Hideaki Anno��s phantasmagoric nightmares. Episodes 21 through 26 of the series are getting a special Director��s Cut revision, featuring new edits and footage. Volume 1 is due out on January 13��it has both the original and revised versions of episodes 21, 22, and 23, plus a 25-minute interview with Richard Taylor of Weta Workshop.

Awful Sights, Swinging Sounds

If you��d rather listen to a Gainax production, Geneon Entertainment��s music arm has three new albums coming on January 20. On that particular day, you��ll be able to pick up the first Evangelion OST album (hum), the first His and Her Circumstances album (double hum), and a fistful of tunes by hard rockers The Pillows on the first Furi Kuri soundtrack (insert frantic circle pit). One of these things is not like the others....

Ghost Cracking Open

For a new look at Mamoru Oshii��s Ghost in the Shell sequel, hit the newly updated webpage promoting Innocence: Ghost in the Shell at www.innocence-movie.jp. The full trailer is now available, previewing the movie that��s scheduled to hit Japan next March and the United States not long after.

Oscar, Meet Satoshi

After Spirited Away��s big win at the Oscars last year, some of 2003��s top anime features are up for consideration in the Best Animated Feature category of the upcoming Academy Awards. In addition to several Western productions, features Patlabor WXIII, Pok��mon Heroes, Cowboy Bebop, and Millennium Actress are all reportedly in the running.

Copyright © 2004 Ziff Davis Media Inc. All Rights Reserved. Originally appearing in Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine.