Talking About Stuff, with Mike and Christiana

First up, not only are we getting Ghost In the Shell: Stand Alone Complex, 2nd Gig on November 18th on Adult Swim, but there are rumors circulating at the Anime News Service that they may even make a third series!

The director of the existing episodes was accepting an award and after answering a few questions about what he would be doing next, he said this:

"well... I'll tell you what..". After a couple of glances in the direction of Mr. Ishikawa of Production I.G. Kamiyama said "Think of... a sequel to 2ndGIG. "

At the same site, it sounds like we may now know what Hayao Miyazaki's next film project will be, and I must say, it's a really interesting choice.

According to a blog entry of an anonymous editor working for a publisher in Tokyo, the next film animation work to be tackled by Studio Ghibli will be based on the Earthsea series of novels by American fantasy writer Ursula K. Le Guin.

Now, that's a great series of books, and much of the content is right up Miyazaki's alley. (Young protagonist, fantastical setting, magic, heavy nature themes and imagery, etc.) Still, to my knowledge he's never adapted something with such a large existing fanbase as the Earthsea series. Of course, his primary audience is Japan, so perhaps they are less familiar with the books. Still, no matter which direction he goes with it, I'd bet good money on it being better than the Scifi Channel's disastrous mini-series version.

Sadly, given that it's still in the book licensing stage, the finished product is probably quite a ways off.

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