Future Toons in the East is the Future Film Festival’ section dedicated to the most interesting news of the whole series tv’s panorama by Japan.
During the last years the Festival tried to show the various anime, the different experimentations of Japanese commercial animation, always able to try new artistic possibilities, such to obtain, also thanks to the diffusion of varied channels, technical levels more and more refined and spectacular. The Japanese studios of animation seem always to re-aunch and define a kind of distinctive style, although with the creative exchange of authors and genres.
The Future Toons in the East Programme:
Ayakashi – Bakeneko Tale
by Nakamura Kenji (Japan 2006)
Original version with Italian subtitles
It’s a new tv serie made up of 11 episodes by Toei Animation, the first and most important Japanese studio of animation. Ayakashi draws it from three different traditional horror stories: the famous Yotsuya Monogatari, with the collaboration of authors as Amano Yoshitaka and Konaka Chiaki, Tenshu Monogatari and Bakeneko Monogatari. This Bakeneko Tale, that will be introduced entirely at the Festival, is directed by Nakamura Kenji, and mix with extremely elegance the graphic style of the Japanese xilografias and a pictorial use of the computer graphic.
Karas
by Satô Keiichi (Japan 2005)
Original version with Italian subtitles
Karas is the OAV serie celebrates his 40th years of the historic studio Tatsunoko (which products the unforgettable Kyashan, Hurricane Polymar and Time Bokan). Karas is a spectacular mix of genres and different styles concerning giant monsters and super heroes, traditional 3D animated drawings and special effects in computer graphica. The director Satô Keiichi, already director of the animated series as Wolf’s Rain and The Big O, is inspired by the Ultraman‘ serie that is a real anthology of the actual possibilities of animation technics.
Top o nerae 2! Diebuster
by Tsurumaki Kazuya (Japan 2005)
Original version with Italian subtitles
Gainax produces the sequel of the first and unforgettable OAV’s serie Top o nerae2! Gunbuster, directed by the master Tsurumaki Kazuya.
He uses a delirious style get used only in these last years.
We have also to consider him the maker of experimental FLCL and King: Cutie Honey. Fantasy and robots have never been so crazy.
Nerima Daikon Brothers (Oroshitate Musical Nerima Daikon Brothers)
by Watanabe Shinichi (Japan 2006)
Original version with Italian subtitles
Nerima Daikon Brothers, a foolish tv serie by Studio Hibari (company productor of Petite Cossette), is the new Watanabe Schinichi’s work (the acclaimed Excel Saga’s director) that is ironic about a more and more explicit sexuality in the world of the spectacle. Urasawa Yoshio’s texts, authors of masterpicies like Fushigi Yûgi and Guru Guru, mind the great energy of The Blues Brothers. Daikons, that give name to this tv serie, are the traditional Japanese white turnip, already famous in the Nerima’s zone for their XL size.
Project Blue – Earth SOS (Project Blue Chikyuu SOS)
by Okamura Tensai (Japan 2006)
Original version with Italian subtitles
The serie Project Blue-Earth SOS is a tribute to the typical ‘30 addendum fantasy. It is inspired by the Komatsuzaki Shigeru’s illustrations, the famous model designer appreciated for his Thunderbirds and Atragon series. The OAV serie, realised by the A.C.G.T. studio, wants the return of the Wolf’s Rain staff, with the expert director Okamura Tensai and the prolific mecha designer Aramaki Shinji, all-present for the great productions like Appleseed, Astroboy, Megazone 23.
Pale Cocoon
by Yoshiura Yasuhiro (Japan 2006)
Original version with Italian subtitles
The fantasy Pale Cocoon, made up of a single episode, gives the success to the director Yoshiura Yasushiro. It also thanks to the Directions Inc.’s production and Studio Rikka. The introspective tones of the story merge to an environment similar to the Blade Runner’s one. By contrast, the atmospheres remember the unease of the Orwell’s big brother.
Beyond the Train Tracks
by Mikage Tayuta (Japan 2006)
Original version with Italian subtitles
It’s a short completely thought and realised by the young author Mikage Tayuta with the help of the Directions, Inc. It shows the incredible productive possibilities that the computer graphica offer. Mikage had already taken part at the Voices of a Distant Star’s realisation, the indipendent project of Shinkai Makoto that renewed the way to product animation without so many tools. Beyond the Train Tracks tells about a boy and his search of his father in a very particular station, which is characterized by memory pictures and a chaotic time.
Il villaggio di Hello Kitty (Hello Kitty Stump Village)
by Studio Tomorrow (Japan-Korea 2006)
Original version with Italian subtitles
The little cat Kitty, symbol of Sanrio, comes back in a new animated serie in stop-motion, thanks to the fusion of Japanese experience and the Korean one of Studio Tomorrow, able to quote the difficult technique of the puppets in plasticine, recently appreciated for example in Wallace & Gromit.
Naruto
by Date Hayato (Japan 2002-06)
Italian version
The Naruto serie is inspired by the homonym Kishimoto Mashashi’s manga. It is realised thanks to the prolific Studio Perrot (already famous for the tv serie Lum and Saiyuki). The serie breaks the previous television records thanks to its 200 episodes and the high audience it creates. The fusion between the narrative rhythm of the video games and the cleverness analysis of the game cards is the strong point of the serie.
Kemonozume
by Yuasa Masaaki (Japan 2006)
O.V. with italian subtitles
Kemonozume is the first tv serie enterely created by Yuasa Masaaki, the experimental author of Nekojiru-so (Cat’s Soup), of the Vampyrian Kids’s pilot and the incredible lenght feature film Mindgame, that are introduced in the Future Film Festival previous editions.
The MadHouse studio imposes its new visual and narrative canons in the serie tv production made up of 13 episodes: as already Kon Satoshi and his Paranoia Agent, the director Yuasa has completely freedom to express his ideas. He can broadcast the hipnotic style of his last film on tv with a grotesque story about monsters which can try to mix up among humans and some hunters.
Kiba
by Kôjina Hiroshi (Japan 2006)
O.V. with italian subtitles
Kiba is a long fantasy serie in progress that find the collaboration to the Kôjina Hiroshi’s direction and to the Yokote Michiko’ script, the prolific author of the series scripts like Cowboy Bepop, Oh! My Goddess-The Movie, Strange Down, Naruto, and also to the work Ayakashi-Bakeneko Tale. The expert Yoshimatsu Takahiro is the original character design, cause his collaboration to the series like Trigun, Ninja Scroll and Desert Punk.
Paradise Kiss
by Kobayashi Osamu (Japan 2005)
O.V. with italian subtitles
Inspired by the famous shôjo manga by Yazawa Ai, Paradise Kiss is an animated version made up of 12 episodes that enriches the adventures of the serie with astonished visual and narrative expedients. As already before the MadHouse studio exhibits his ample experience to realize anime’s adaptations from a comic. The realization is in a completely original way, just creating great artistic circles with manga-ka. The characters’ feelings are shown in a very original way using decorations and effects that overdraw the typical shôjo manga ’s chlichès also having new expressive ways.
The director is the master Kobayashi Osamu, already famous for his series like Beck: Mongolian Chop Squad and Kimagure Orange Road, and also Gad Guard and Heat Guy J.
Fullmetal Alchemist (Hagane no Renkinjutsushi)
by Mizushima Seiji (Japan 2003-05)
(ep. 34, 35, 36, 75′) O.V. with italian subtitles
It is the new great success produced by Studio Bones. It mixes fantasy adventure and thought about life, an original mix about modern and retrò that revalues alchemy as a spiritual science.
The last episodes’ preview of the Fullmetal Alchemist‘ serie finishes with the lenth feature film Fullmetal Alchemist-Conqueror of Shamballa that closes the adventures in parallel worlds of the two alchemist brothers , Edward and Alphonse Elric.