Awesome Anime

(Sllightly NSFW) Andy might look like your average ordinary guy, but it turns out that he comes from a long family line of Japanese cartoon characters, and at times lives his life in an anime.

We first got a peek at Gatchaman all the way back in 2008. Now it looks like the CGI Japanimation flick is finally nearing release. In this clip, the protagonists go up against a giant mecha-bug.

The anime-inspired illustrations of Jonatan Cantero aka BattlePeach look like screenshots from an animated film, with plants, animals, monsters and yes, farting ninjas in all sorts of wild scenarios.

Whether or not you believe that this Bad Apple video was made without photo-editing, it’s still a pretty badass stop-motion piece; it was created with 6,566 printouts captured on a webcam.

Super Street Fighter IV has a peculiar animated style for its trailers, but this Juri trailer is actually animated anime-style; it’s available with the game in Japan, but no word on a US release.

It didn’t do well in theaters, but we’re still rootin’ for Astro Boy as a robot-tastic flick; it arrives on Blu-ray/DVD 3/16/2010 with deleted scenes, featurettes, and two new animated scenes.

There’s no gameplay footage in this trailer for Fist of the North Star, but we’re still plenty excited: the Dynasty Warriors-style game is due out next year on PS3 and Xbox 360.

Final Fantasy XIII’s ridiculously detailed Shiva Bike looks even hotter in real life with this 21″ transforming modelM by Kotobukiya; it includes two figures that combine into a single bike.

John Huang’s Stop Motion Gundam videos are mobile suit mayhem at its finest; he not only uses anime fighting styles and special effects, but mixes in Dragon Ball and Star Wars.

Any way you slice it, Samurai Champloo: The Complete Series on Blu-ray is a must-buy for anime fans; it’s a 3-disc, 26 episode set of the hip hop-meets-samurai chop series.

Mamoru Oshii’s anime classic goes Blu-ray with Ghost in the Shell 2.0, which features new CG scenes and a remixed soundtrack; purists, breathe easy: the original version is also included.

Based on the Hayao Miyazaki anime film of the same name, Imagine Rigney’s Howl’s Moving Castle is a LEGO tour-de-force; it’s as detailed on the inside as it is on the outside.

Akira fans are in for a treat with faithfully rendered 1:6 scale models of Kaneda and his bike; we’re most impressed by the latter, which sports LED lights, sound effects, and a working suspension.

Debuting today at the Alamo Drafthouse and opening in Russia 10/15, we don’t get a word of this First Squad anime trailer–but what we see rocks: WW2, zombie knights and Nazis.

Halo Legends is a direct-to-video, short story anime series (think Animatrix) with noteworthy roots: WB, Microsoft, as well as the directors for Cowboy Bebop, Ghost in the Shell and more.

Fresh from Full Metal Alchemist: Brotherhood, these Play Arts figures give Ed, Al and Mustang a distinctly more grown-up look than we’re used to, but it works: they come out 10/09.

Evangelion 1.0 finally makes it to the US July 17th at 77 theaters; it’s part of a four-movie arc that rebuilds the original anime with notably improved animation and faster-pacing.

We’re unfamiliar with Kakugo no Susume (one of anime/manga’s most violent series), but this Kyoukagaikokaku Zero figure is pure badass; it’s a poseable figure with die-cast parts.

It starts off a bit slow, but fans of Valkyria Chronicles (the game) should check out this full first episode of the anime; it’s fully subbed with English for all you Gaijin/Gallian turkeys.

Blade & Soul is an upcoming Korean MMORPG that looks and plays like a manga come to life with acrobatics, bloody fight sequences and ridiculously well-endowed ladies.

Epic space battles, maniacal villains and cherubic heroes with wild hair: Infinite Space’s trailer honors anime’s grandest traditions and is based on Arthur C. Clarke’s Childhood’s End.

AKA Apocalypse Meow in the US, Cat Shit One instantly reminds us of George Orwell’s dystopic Animal Farm, with cute animals armed to the teeth. It’s a 12-episode anime series.

From the same studio that brought us Full Metal Alchemist, Kurau Phantom Memory’s 24 episodes are available as a DVD box set; you’ll get both English and Japanese audio plus subtitles.