Halo Legends anime 'will make you smile here and there'

1:00 PM on 12.02.2009   |   Josh Tolentino

18 comments

Sadly, no matter how much I wish it were, the picture above isn't part of Halo Legends, that big new anime anthology project coming out of Japan. Now thanks to some new information from Famitsu and your translation-happy friends at Japanator, you can learn a little more about how Glorious Nippon sees the world of "teh Haloez."

While you can already watch a couple of full episodes, the full DVD and Blu-ray releases are due out on February 9th and 16th, 2010, for the U.S. and Japan respectively. The Blu-ray release feels just a tiny bit ironic, seeing as the best-looking version of Halo Legends should be viewed through a Sony-promoted format, perhaps on a PS3.

Whatever the case, the seven-episode project is packed with Japanese talent, and the descriptions in the article smack a bit of The Animatrix, a similar effort aimed at The Matrix IP. I mean, there's a huge "lore" story covering the epic past behind the games' present, a few episodes directed at side characters, and a couple of "pure action" affairs utilizing spiffy new animation techniques.

The wild card here is the last episode "Odd One Out," produced by Toei Animation. Its description in the article translates as such:

"An episode that incorporates things that will make you smile here and there."

I am left both afraid and strangely aroused. Check below for the full article, and see the gallery for images shamelessly ripped from the website. Which episodes are you looking forward to?

Halo Legends DVD release scheduled for 16/2/10. 

Halo Legends is an animation project consisting of 7 stories from the Halo universe, shown through 8 episodes. Both DVD and BD are scheduled to be released on 16^th Feb 2010, by Warner Video, with the BD edition consisting of 2 BDs priced at 5980 Yen, and the DVD edition containing 3 discs at 4980 Yen. Also in the DVD edition lies a special image disc full of original illustrations.

Episode 1&2 “Origins Part1 & Part2” 

Producers – Studio 4C – (Director – Hideki Futamura; Producer – Eiko Tanaka)

From the Forerunners' Birth until the war with the Covenant, the 1000 year period of the history of the world called Halo is depicted on a magnificent scale. It is a story that makes it easier to understand the worldview of Halo.

Episode 3 “The Babysitter” 

Producers – Studio 4C (Director – Toshiyuki Kanno; Producer – Eiko Tanaka

This depicts a detailed account of a Spartan Sniper squad raid undertaken by the ODST unit.

Episode 4 “Prototype”

Producers – Bones (Directors – Yasushi Muraki & Tomoki Kyoda; Producer – Masahiko Minami)

This is the story of the so-called heartless sergeant, regaining his respect/dignity as a human being while fighting with a pair of walking armor suit weapons. 

Episode 5 “Homecoming”

Producer – Production IG (Director – Koji Sawai; Executive Producer – Mamoru Oishii)

This is the legend of the heroic female Spartan. During the process of battle, the top secret details of the Spartan’s plan, as well as the actions taken with the absence of morale and the presence of considerable doubt, the female’s memories are brought back to life.

Episode 6 “The Duel”

Producer – Production IG (Director – Hiroshi Yamazaki; Exec Producer – Mitsuhisa Ishikawa)

This is the legend of the heroic Arbiter, 5000 years before the events of Halo 3. Neither Cell animation nor CG is used here; instead this animation is drawn in a unique natural “painting filter”.

Episode 7 “The Package”

Director – Shinji Aramaki

The fight between the Covenant and the Spartans is depicted in full CG animation only. Aramaki himself has taken it upon himself to be the director, and to depict the activities of the Spartans as forceful.

Episode 8 “Odd One Out”

Producer – Toei Animation (Director – Daisuke Nishio)

An episode that incorporates things that will make you smile here and there .