Xstatic! Just 20 days left for the X-Men Anime US release!

You read right! I had told you guys that while the Iron Man & Wolverine Anime series have already hit US TV, the X-Men anime show would air later this year with the Blade anime after that. Well it has been announced that the official date when the X-Men anime will appear in English on G4 will be on...

OCTOBER 21! That's less than 3 weeks away from now! I admit the news was released much earlier in September but I was waiting on some more info I could dish out to you guys on the series instead of a post that gave just the airing date. Apparently the voice cast will boast of some pretty familiar names to us X-fans...

Actress & voice actor Gwendoline Yeo (Wolverine and the X-Men's Domino) has finally announced on her Facebook page that she'll be part of the X-Men Anime show! And she also gave another interesting scoop...

Renowned voice actor Steve Blum is once again voicing his trademark character Wolverine! If you're wondering why Milo Ventimiglia who voiced Wolvie in the Wolverine Anime isn't returning for this show it's because as I said before, the Wolverine in the X-Men Anime is a different (read: older) version of him...And yeah I know that there have been rumors about Milo Ventimiglia reprising his role as Wolverine in the X-Men Anime too but well, we've got it from the horse's mouth here that it's gonna be Steve Blum...

Steve Blum has voiced Wolverine in the Wolverine and the X-Men, The Super Hero Squad Show, Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes TV shows, X-Men Legends, X-Men Legends II: Rise of Apocalypse, Spider-Man: Web of Shadows, Marvel: Ultimate Alliance, Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2 the upcoming Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds & Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3 video games AND in the Hulk Vs Wolverine animated movie! Phew! The guy is certainly doing something right if he's got the job SO MANY times lol!

Gwendoline Yeo voices Dr. Yui Sasaki. No, not a pre-existing character in the X-universe but her character is supposedly a mix of Dr. Moira MacTaggert & other X-characters...

Friday Night Light's Scott Porter comes back for a voicing gig after lending his vocals to Adrian Luca in the X-Men Destiny game! This time he's voicing none other than Cyclops (who happens to be the lead in this show).

No news yet on who's voicing Storm, Beast, Emma Frost & Armor, the other main players in the show...Watch out for updates on this as I get the news...For now enjoy it's opening theme video! This is the Japanese version, but the music seems pretty awesome!

Read More

Xpose! Wolverine & X-Men Anime Screens & Concept Art!

For those of you getting a wee bit bogged down by all my SDCC 2011 news & are more eager for some news on the anime shows- be pissed no more! Cos this post happens to be a screenshot & concept art bonanza for both the Wolverine Anime & X-Men Anime shows!

First off, Wolverine anime- it's what is currently on in the US on G4. Check out the latest screens & concept art released by Marvel!
^Wolverine in action, Yukio featured in the last 2 images. Who is Yukio, you ask? Get a quick answer from this post.

^Wolverine concept art! I know the watermarks are a real bitch here but beggars can't be choosers! LOL

^Art & screens of Shingen's mansion. Dunno who's Shingen? Check this post for a little basic info on the characters.

And now some Wolverine anime wallpapers (1280x1024) that I've created using some cool screens I found while scouring the Net!
And why leave out the Wolverine anime villains?? They deserve their own wallpapers too!
^(l-r) 1 & 2 are of Omega Red, 3 is him doing damage on Wolverine with his tentacles & last is Mariko (the love of Logan's Jap life) with her up-to-no-good father Shingen.

Omega Red was a Russian serial killer before he was captured by the KGB that performed Super Soldier (Captain America) experimentation on him.
Wolverine is about to show Vadhaka who's boss! >

For some great insights into the conception & making of both, the Iron Man and Wolverine Anime shows, you'll can also read this interview with Megan Thomas Bradner- Marvel TV's Manager of Development & Production for Marvel TV, & Associate Producer for both shows...


UPDATE (29/08/12): The X-Men anime DVD was released in April while the Wolverine anime got its DVD release in July. Below is the cover art for both of them followed by the DVD trailers for each:

Marvel released some more official wallpapers for the Blade & Wolverine animes on account of the DVD release. You can download the Blade walls here, the Wolvie ones are below:

___________________________________

Now onto the much-awaited X-Men Anime series! Loads of screenshots, wallpapers, concept art for you guys out here! Plus your first look at Emma Frost in the series!I'll start off with the screens from Marvel:

^Cyclops, Wolverine & Storm concept art

^Beast, Professor X & Hisako Ichiki's (aka Armor) concept art

Now time to bring on the X-Men Anime wallpapers I made! Hope you like em!
^Emma Frost rocking civilian clothes & her quintessentially sexy X-costume! That last one would've been picture-perfect if it was Jean standing at the left instead of Armor! :P

No news yet on when the series will air in English on G4 in the US, but for now you guys can enjoy it's opening theme video, just like you'll did for the Wolverine & Iron Man anime shows before! This is the Japanese version, but I gotta admit the music seems pretty awesome!

And this ain't gonna be the last post for awesome Marvel Anime downloads like these! Look out for more out here in the future...Sound off in the comments if you liked the wallpapers or if you feel you'll deserve better! :P

Read More

Xcavate: SDCC 2011's Marvel TV Presents: Anime on G4 Panel

Okay, so I think this is THE post all you guys were waiting for eh?! Well here it is- your updates on the Marvel Anime projects! I ain't gonna be recapping on any info so I suggest you read this first! :P Of course my main focus is gonna be on the Wolverine & X-Men anime shows, but I'll certainly talk a bit about the Iron Man & Blade ones too (we Marvelites gotta help each other!).
^Wolverine unsheathes his claws & the X-Men anime cast (not including Emma Frost). Hisako Ichiki is a student of Frost in the series.

As the title suggests, all the info is courtesy the San Diego Comic Con 2011! (If you just came on my blog & are like "Huh? Say what?!" read this & this!) Don't forget to download the various videos that are sprinkled all over this post! Like this first one- the G4 trailer for all the four anime shows!

(Don't worry the anime show wallpapers will be arriving soon out here too!) :D

But before I get into the specifics of two those shows, a few points to note about the four shows in general:
*All the shows are gonna be independent of each other. So expect NO storyline tie-ins between them. However DO expect character-crossovers, cos Wolverine IS there in the X-Men anime (duh!) albeit in a much older look, & he also appears in the Iron Man anime! Get your first peek of the voices of Heroes' stars Adrian Pasdar & Milo Ventimiglia as Stark & Logan in this video snippet! Yup Wolverine in the Iron Man anime show! AND I'm changing my stance- Milo is GREAT as a younger version of Wolverine in the series!!


*All were written by Warren Ellis along with Madhouse.
*Jeph Loeb stated that the four shows are "not anime versions of Marvel characters, but our characters with an anime look & feel."
*Iron Man & Wolverine have already debuted in Japan (in fact, subbed versions of both shows have come online too) & they are putting together the English versions which will air on G4.

Marvel Anime: Wolverine

*The Wolverine (& Iron Man) debut which was scheduled for July 29 (at 11pm on G4) has ALREADY reached your TV & computer screens (in the US) last Saturday (check right>>)! Yup, if you missed it, the first episodes of Iron Man & Wolverine aired on July 23!

*The show can get a weee bit R-rated! (Which is ALWAYS a good thing!) Loeb cautioned parents to get the kids outta the room as this "skews more adult" & has some "kickass violence"!!!
*Fun fact: Jeph Loeb stated that "Milo, when he's in the recording booth actually puts pencils in between his fingers to 'become' Wolverine." LOL Not surprising! We Heroes fans know he's a funny ol' chap! Haha
*From the dubbed episode that was screened by the panel, the following conclusions can also be made:
-The music for the show's theme is great! Check it's (Jap) opening credits below:

-Omega Red was the villain featured in that particular episode! AND he looks badass!
-The action is great (well that IS one of the fortes of anime after all!)
-Backstories of characters get revealed through flashbacks (even in-between the fight-scenes)!
-Classic Wolverine villain Lord Shingen makes a small appearance in that episode too...
-In one flashback, Yukio comes on the scene! Yukio, a Japanese female ninja, was a supporting X-men character ever since first appearing in Wolverine #2. In the anime, she is Logan's ally & has got a cool array of weapons!

Marvel Anime: X-Men
*It will be the next in line to be released on G4!

*The look & feel is inspired by Joss Whedon (who also happens to be The Avengers director!) & John Cassaday's Astonishing X-Men (<< check left). Trust me, this is DEFINITELY a good thing!

*Cyclops will be the center of the story & is voiced by (self-proclaimed Marvel fan) Scott Porter. If you recall me telling you guys, he's the same guy who's voicing Adrian Luca in the X-Men Destiny game. Seems like he's now joining Milo as another staple on Marvel's Fave Voice-over Actors list!
*From the footage that was aired (by the Panel) of the first episode the following was noticed:
-Phoenix DOES play a part in the series. The X-Men were seen battling Jean Grey as Phoenix! :D
-The Hellfire Club is also involved & this only means it will contain elements of the classic Dark Phoenix saga! X-movie fans should now have a (somewhat) fair idea about the Club now... :)

Now a bit on the Blade anime show...The music is also on par with Wolverine's. And the footage aired featured vampire rats!! Now that's gotta be cool! :P Expect Blade casting news to be announced in the near future! Check the (Jap) trailer below- bearing that Japanese narration is the price to pay to get your first look at Deacon Frost in the show LOL!


My main source for the updates you read above was the nifty live-blog at CosmicBookNews! Check it to get an almost blow-by-blow account of the Wolverine ep that was aired!

Lastly, the Iron Man anime! This review for the first ep gives it a B+! Looks very promising...Didn't read the review cos it's full of spoilers :P And personally I am REALLY digging the music for this show EVEN MORE than the Wolverine one! Check it's (Jap) opening creds below, compare & tell me if you agree!


Next Stop? The Marvel-Activision games!!! :D

Read More

Xstatic! Just 3 weeks left for the US release of Wolverine Anime in English!

Marvel will be bringing us 4 anime shows this year together with Japanese animation studio Madhouse based on 4 of their most popular characters: Iron Man, Wolverine, X-Men & Blade. AND the Iron Man & Wolverine Anime toons will be releasing in English on G4 in the US from July 29! Just 3 weeks away! The English X-Men & Blade anime episodes will be airing later this year.

^The mutants are back to storm your TV & computer screens this year!

The last dedicated X-Men cartoon that we witnessed on our telly screens (or computers as in my case :P ) was back in 2008! Yes, I'm talking about that seriously AWESOME cartoon, Wolverine and the X-Men, that used to be aired on Nicktoons in the US.

It continued for a good 26 episodes from 2008-09 in it's first & sadly, only season (so far!). In fact concept art & ideas for Season 2 can be found on the 1 Million to save WOLVERINE AND THE X-MEN FB group (do join that cause if you wish to see this amazing show back again) but all plans were stalled due to unresolved issues between Marvel Animation & their financial partners. But the show is popular still & Nicktoons even decided to air a 10 hour marathon of the show last Monday (the 4th of July) in the US!

It was basically about Wolverine having to lead the X-Men after Professor X's mysterious disappearance. Check out the trailer for the show, if you (still??) haven't seen the show yet! Hitler saw it- & even HE was pissed off it got cancelled! LMAO!


Anywho, onto the topic at hand! Iron Man & Wolverine have already both aired in Japan on Animax, but let's talk about the Wolverine & X-Men anime toons.

The first season of Marvel Anime: Wolverine has 12 action-packed episodes. The Wolverine you'll see in this version is highly "Japan-ized" almost to the point of being unrecognizable (besides the claws, of course) irking scores of X-fans in the US. Here, Wolverine finds out that his girlfriend Mariko Yashida, has been kidnapped by her father Shingen (an AIM supplier who also happens to be a Tokyo crime lord). This takes him on his journey to Japan.

Mariko, btw, is a character who does appear prominently in Wolverine's Japanese storyline in the comics. Who knows she may even make an appearance in The Wolverine...? It would be great to see that dynamic- Mariko & Logan being torn apart by the Lady Deathstrike & the Silver Samurai (Mariko's step brother & the MAIN thorn in Logan's side in Japan)! But there I go straying off track again lol! Just enjoy this trailer for Marvel Anime: Wolverine...It's for the Japanese version but doesn't have any dialogues so no sweat!



Excited?? Well some more news then- Wolverine is gonna be voiced by Heroes' Milo Ventimiglia in the English version. And fyi, his onscreen Heroes' bro, Adrian Pasdar will be voicing Iron Man. I can certainly imagine Pasdar as Mr. Stark. His voice has all that sophistication & intellect it oughta carry, but I can't get my mind around Milo voicing Wolverine! It's strange Marvel didn't use their go-to guy Steve Blum for Wolvie's voice...he's voiced the mighty clawed mutant for almost EVERY animated feature that includes him! Here's another shorter (subbed) trailer but it will give you a better idea of how the series will be like:



Some of the popular X-characters who will be featured in MA: Wolverine include Cyclops & Omega Red. Cyclops on the other hand will be taking center stage in Marvel Anime: X-Men! Also comprising of 12 episodes, Season 1 will have Cyke & all our other favorites: Wolverine, Jean Grey /Phoenix, Storm, Emma Frost, Beast & of course, Professor X, amongst others.

It begins after the death of Jean Grey. Professor X summons his X-Men to travel to Japan after fellow (Japanese- as in the comics) X-Man, Armor is abducted. Here they face-off against the U-Men- a refreshing change for those of us who've seen A LOT of the Brotherhood. Just like in the comics, out here the U-Men are a human supremacist group who harvest mutant body parts &/or powers so that they can gain superpowers for themselves. It's basically like the Brotherhood of Evil Humans, instead of Mutants lol! Check out the trailer below, but be warned- the Japanese narration may just turn you off a weeee bit :P



Watch this space for updates on when the X-Men Anime show will air in English in the US. Until then the countdown begins for Wolverine (& of course, Iron Man)!

Read More