Thursday 11 July 2013

"Metal Gear" artist draws poster for "Pacific Rim"; Japanese game and anime creators praise film

It doesn’t come as a surprise to hear that talented director Guillermo del Toro’s newest movie Pacific Rim already has considerable praise before its release date.


After all, del Toro did bring us Hell Boy and Pan’s Labrynth, the latter being one of my all-time favorite movies due to the fantastic creatures and vivid imagination behind the film. However, it is a pleasant surprise to know that Pacific Rim has a particularly strong Japanese fan base.


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Del Toro, who has been a fan of Japanese horror since he was a kid, personally asked Yoji Shinkawa to draw a poster for the film. Yoji is best known for his work on the Metal Gear and Zone of the Enders game series. In his classic ink-brush style, Yoji illustrates the Jaeger mecha Gypsy Danger standing on top of the defeated Kaiju Knifehead.


(For more anime news from SGCafe, click here)


If you’ve never heard of Pacific Rim and these names sound confusing, allow me to give you a brief summary. Pacific Rim takes place in the future where humans are fighting a war against Kaiju (which is Japanese for “monster”). These Kaiju came to Earth through a portal that opened up in the Pacific Ocean, and have been eradicating humans since their arrival. To fight the Kaiju threat, humans have developed a mecha called Jaeger (which is German for hunter) and prepare to definitively end the war. With that bit of background under your belt, check out Yoji’s poster below.


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But Pacific Rim has more than just a cool poster. The creator of Metal Gear and Zone of the Enders himself, Hideo Kojima, had some high words for the movie:


I have never imagined that I would be fortunate enough to see a film like this in my life. The emotional rush I had inside me was the same kind I had when I felt the outer space via “2001: A Space Odyssey” and when I had touched the dinosaur in “Jurassic Park”. Animation and special effects movies and shows that I loved in my childhood days – they all truly exist in the screen.


Director Guillermo del Toro offers this spectacular vision of massive kaijus and robots in PACIFIC RIM. This film is not simply a film to be respected, but most importantly, it let us dream the future of entertainment movies. Pacific Rim is the ultimate otaku film that all of us had always been waiting for. Who are you, if you are Japanese and won’t watch this?


I hope you would accept this inspirational love letter that had traveled across the Pacific, written by Director Guillermo del Toro.


Go Nagai, who has worked on Mazinger Z, Cutey Honey, and Devilman called the film “fun”, and stated he was “overwhelmed by the intense kaiju vs. giant robot action”. Yoshiyuki Sadamoto, the character designer of Evangelion, called the film a very satisfying feast, with the prime cuts from anime and tokusatsu (special-effects) inspiration.


If this isn’t enough to make you want to see Pacific Rim, which by the way comes out in Japan August 8, then perhaps you should check out our previous coverage on SGCafe. The Japanese dub cast for Pacific Rim is pretty impressive since it features major anime voice actors/actresses, and you can even check out the trailer too.


As an unrelated side note, now we know why Eren Jaeger from Shingeki no Kyojin is Eren Jaeger. Now the theme song makes so much more sense!


Check out SGCafe for more anime and gaming news.  Also join in on the community’s discussions at http://forums.sgcafe.com


Source: Mantan Web



"Metal Gear" artist draws poster for "Pacific Rim"; Japanese game and anime creators praise film

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