Netflix is simultaneously consolidating its commitment to international and genre content with the announcement of several anime projects for its platform. It did so at a special all-star presentation in Singapore attended by the likes of House of Cards‘ Robin Wright, and Narcos actors Diego Luna and Michael Pena.
Pacific Rim is an animated extension of the massive live-action movies featuring that killer combo of giant mech-robot warriors (called ‘Jaegers’) and the organic monster invaders known as Kaiju. This new anime will follow a brother and sister who find an abandoned Jaeger unit and use it at the last attempt to find their missing parents in a world at war. The show will be run by Craig Kyle (Thor: Ragnarok) and Greg Johnson (X-Men: Evolution).
Based on the Manga series, Cagaster of an Insect Cage details another future world where a disease is turning people into giant killer insects (must be a Thursday!) and follows a young couple who are fighting to survive the outbreak and all the dangers it must make them face. The production comes from the Gonzo Animation Studio which previously produced both Hellsing and Afro Samurai. Koichi Chigira (Last Exile, Full Metal Panic!) will be the director.
Altered Carbon‘s anime version will actually be set in the same world as Netflix‘s live-action show of the same name but will look more into the background mythology of the series which is set in a dystopian Blade-Runneresque future. The early details are that it will be written by Dai Sato (Cowboy Bebop, Samurai Champloo) and Tsukasa Kondo.
Yasuke is a major undertaking from the MAPPA Animation Studio that combines many of the elements above. It is set in a Japanese era that contains both mechanoid threats and magic obstacles and centres on a ronin warrior who is given the task of protecting a young child from ‘dark forces’ that want to kill him. It contains elements of the real-life legend of the African samurai who fought with Oda Nobunaga. Lakeith Stanfield will provide the voice for the main character with The Boondocks‘ LeSean Thomas as director and executive producer.
Based on Philippine legends and the graphic novel of the same name, Trese tells of a mythical creature who hides herself in the human world but is forced to take on supernatural elements who have infiltrated the criminal underworld. The source material was created by Budjette Tan and Kajo Baldissimo and the series will be run by Jay Oliva (Wonder Woman, The Legend of Korra).
Live-action projects that have also been announced include:
The Stranded, a Thai-language Lord of the Flies type drama which follows a group of students at an elite private school who are forced to reevaluate their priorities when they survive a devastating tsunami on a remote island in the Andaman Sea. Shimmers, telling the story of five teenagers in Northern Thailand, who find themselves being literally haunted by the secrets of their pasts. Triad Princess is a Taiwenese series that follows Angie, an undercover bodyguard for a famous actress – but whose father is actually a senior member of the Triads – a life from which she is desperate to keep her distance. Eugenie Liu and Jasper Liu take the two central roles.
