Microsoft announces Halo anime miniseries

by JC Fletcher { Jul 23rd 2009 at 9:17AM }

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At the San Diego Comic-Con, Microsoft revealed plans to create an anime-style Halo miniseries called Halo Legends. As reported by the LA Times, "Five production houses in Japan are handling the physical animation, but Microsoft's creative staff is approving major visual and storytelling decisions." Those five well-known anime studios: Bones, Casio Entertainment, Production I.G, Studio4 C, and Toei Animation. The seven-part series will be released on DVD and "digital platforms" in early 2010 through Warner Bros.

Microsoft's Frank O'Connor discussed the project with the Times in his new position as creative director of 343 Industries, which, as speculated, is Microsoft's Halo division. "If you look at how George Lucas held on to 'Star Wars,' not just to make money from action figures but to control the direction the universe went in, you can see why we think it's pretty vital," O'Connor said of Microsoft's interest in maintaining control of the Halo franchise. "Luckily, Microsoft has the resources to enable us to do that."

Gallery: Halo Legends

Source -- LA Times
Source -- LA Times Blog

Tags: 343-industries, anime, halo, halo-legends

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 4)

Akuma FTW @ Jul 23rd 2009 9:22AM

BOOOYAHHH very niiiice

roger @ Jul 23rd 2009 10:45AM

No this sucks because pretty soon Halo = WW2 games, they are just pushing this out to damn much. Heck I'm starting to get sick of all this Halo stuff, Halo 3, Halo Wars, ODST, Reach, and now an anime in less than the span of 5 years?

WINterfang @ Jul 23rd 2009 10:53AM

More Halo=Bad now?

Akuma FTW @ Jul 23rd 2009 10:55AM

How is this any different from Mario? Zelda? GTA? Star Wars? It used to piss me off till I got into the universe. As long as its done well ( I assure you it will be ) I've got no problem with it.

roger @ Jul 23rd 2009 10:55AM

@winterfang
I guess you don't know the meaning of saturation. More Halo is fine as in ODST, to much Halo is bad, Reach, Anime, rumored movie. Everyone loved WW2 until that's all people seemed to pump out, MS is now doing the same thing with Halo.

roger @ Jul 23rd 2009 11:03AM

Mario and Zelda games aren't thrown out in bunches, I'm talking console wise here which is why all of those games have been stellar. Stars Wars? Star Wars is part of American Culture with a rich background, Halo doesn't even come close to that.

SoCoolCurt (PSN: KillaKornbread - XBL: SoCoolCurt) @ Jul 23rd 2009 11:10AM

well as long as people keep buying anything with "Halo" written on the cover then don't expect that to change anytime soon. people are nuts over the franchise and MS knows this very well. it is a very well made and well handled franchise those.

Roto13 @ Jul 23rd 2009 11:12AM

Uh, Halo games aren't "thrown out in bunches" either. There have been three since the series started near the beginning of the last console generation. >_> And this is a miniseries, not a game.

Duke @ Jul 23rd 2009 11:29AM

"Everyone loved WW2 until that's all people seemed to pump out.."

Oh man, now you've done it, the guys at the VFW are gonna be sooooo mad at you.

Akuma FTW @ Jul 23rd 2009 11:36AM

Hate to break it to ya Roger but Halo is this generation's Star Wars.

Captain Planet @ Jul 23rd 2009 11:37AM

2001 - Halo: Combat Evolved
2004 - Halo 2
2007 - Halo 3
2009 - Halo Wars

4 games in 8 years not "over saturation". Each game was different and the entire Halo series (Halo 1-3) is part of the same story.

But when we take a game like, oh I don't know, Zelda and see how many games were released in relatively the same time frame (spread across multiple platforms):

2000 - The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask
2001 - The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages
2001 - The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons
2002 - The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker
2004 - The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures
2004 - The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap
2006 - The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
2007 - The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass

Yeah, that's not over saturation.

samfish (uses the Joystiq Comment-Kill filter!) @ Jul 23rd 2009 12:12PM

"Hate to break it to ya Roger but Halo is this generation's Star Wars. "

Yay for repeating corporate talking points!

Akuma FTW @ Jul 23rd 2009 12:22PM

"Hate to break it to ya" has been around longer then you or I. I dont know what your talking about

Duke @ Jul 23rd 2009 12:33PM

"Halo is this generation's Star Wars" would be the corporate talking point he mentioned.

cranium @ Jul 23rd 2009 12:41PM

I don't understand why people claim Halo is over-saturated when there are franchises like Call of Duty, Final Fantasy and nearly every sport game out there not getting the same treatment.

Captain Planet @ Jul 23rd 2009 1:12PM

@ cranium

Because it's fun and trendy to hate Halo, that's why!

Halo's momentum has always been consistent because, whether or not you want to believe it, has the most loyal fanbase in the history of videogames. Bungie/Microsoft understand this loyalty which is why the Halo franchise has not been reaped to the masses like every other well known franchise (Mario, Zelda, Call of Duty, practically every EA game, Metal Gear, Guitar Hero, Final Fantasy).

Microsoft knows it has a cash cow with the Halo franchise and just as easily could have released Halo Fighter 4 Turbo Solid XX Duty Hero: New Age Combat Ops War but people would get sick of the franchise. Halo is a great franchise with endless possibilities, this foray into the animation/anime world is more of a nod to these loyal fans and nice way of saying, thanks for supporting us, here's some new Halo goodness for you all.

(I'd like to point out that I'm not saying the games I mentioned above are bad, but to show the ratio of Halo games released compared to other well known franchises which is 1:3 on average)

dark_inchworm (on Steam!) dark inchworm (on XBL!) @ Jul 23rd 2009 9:23AM

I don't even like anime very much (shame on me, I know), but that looks awesome.

Jerk Face @ Jul 23rd 2009 9:26AM

I'm down.

Wiizer (Fix the Comment System) @ Jul 23rd 2009 9:27AM

MAHSTA CHEEEFUUU!!!

NIPPON ICHI!

Geist @ Jul 23rd 2009 9:47AM

Chiefu-kun ga KAWAII DESU NEEEEEE~~~~~~~~

Phizzy @ Jul 23rd 2009 10:26AM

コータナ：チーフくん、あたしのマンコ・・・気持ちはすげぇ~！はぁ～
マスタチーフ：うるさいよ、浅葱ロボット尼！チ。

If this exchange is included, it shall be the best thing ever. Otherwise, pile of shit.

whylekat @ Jul 23rd 2009 12:56PM

hahaha amazing! I hope those end up being used in the script!

pandafresh @ Jul 23rd 2009 9:28AM

remember when Japan wasn't the only country to produce 2d animated things? whatever few American cartoons that are left are done in Korean studios nowadays, its a shame really.

Snakku @ Jul 23rd 2009 9:35AM

If you compare the anime to american cartoons.. clearly there is obvious differences on why people would choose anime instead... even as a child it's pretty obvious.

Otis @ Jul 23rd 2009 9:38AM

Even way back in the 80's, which I'm sure you are referring to, most animation was done in Asian animation shops.

Anyways, I think a reason people, and even children, are going to anime, is that anime has story arcs, usually, anyways, and story arcs are always fairly addictive, even in relatively bad things :x

That isn't to say american animation is bad, as it isn't. I mean, there's still Pixar, and the great catalog of various Warner Bros super hero and non-super hero animation. Plus, Disney will churn something good every once in a while.

Nerdy Desi @ Jul 23rd 2009 9:59AM

I dislike today's anime, I like the anime made in the 80s and 90s and good old 2D Disney movies.

pandafresh @ Jul 23rd 2009 10:07AM

no, while cartoons from the 1980s are fun, you can see a decline in them already. I'm talking about early early cartoons, from the 30s-60s. It's funny how these cartoons still have superior animation to a lot of the stuff today (including some crappier animes)

and I do love Pixar, but i wish Americans still produced some 2d animation once in awhile.

MarioSpitza @ Jul 23rd 2009 10:13AM

What's a shame about it?

I love the likes of Bugs Bunny, Rocko's Modern Life, and PowerPuff Girls as much as the next guy...but anime is really a world of difference from American cartoons. It looks much better, tends to have better storylines, better action; pretty much just better everything. Even animated movies (Aladdin, Lion King, etc) rarely compares favorably to anime shows (and worse to anime movies).

Of course, all of this is my opinion only, but one can't deny that there's a big difference between Japanese anime and American cartoons. They cater to entirely different audiences.

Premature ejaculation man @ Jul 23rd 2009 10:19AM

I feel like I'm in the minority here (since I seem to see people who support anime everywhere on these here intertoobs) but I'm really disliking the style of anime.

Perhaps its that I'm yet to see one that isn't horrendous in its character development and drama/plot points.

daliminator2000 @ Jul 23rd 2009 10:33AM

I'm pretty sure Japanese studios use Korean animators extensively, too... at least half the credits list for every anime I've watched is made up of Korean names.

Kind of funny, really, since you never hear about Korean animation overseas.

Paul @ Jul 23rd 2009 10:39AM

oooh animation, I gotta say anime is done very well, but nothing in the 2D world touches the earlier looney tunes and disney art work. they just knew how to position characters and use negative and positive space as a graphic element. also facial expressions are also done 10000 times better in those older looney tunes.

all that said PIXAR is in a league of their own. The openings of UP and Wall-E are just so incredible. the fact that they can tell a compelling story with absolutely no dialogue is just incredible. I can only hope that one day they direct a 2D movie.

BananaBoat @ Jul 23rd 2009 12:21PM

The best projects are usually almost fully done by Japanese animators. Even among Japanese animators, there are multiple quality tiers, so something being "Japanese made" doesn't mean the end product will be of high quality anyway. Having said that, the worst of the worst animators are in Korea.

@PEM (you don't mind if I call you PEM right?)

You've got to look past the typical Dragonball Z/Naruto/Bleach type of anime if you want to find something with good character development and a decent plot. Depending on what genre you like, the anime Monster is really good (it'll screw your brains though, it's that jacked up). If you like bro-moments, I'd go with Gurren Lagann (It's basically a mecha satire, but it's awesome). If it's incredible art ye seek, check out The Count of Monte Cristo (space age anime version). If you want to cry like a little bitch, get Grave of the Fireflies.

I agree with you though; Most anime is trash. Having said that, most anime is created for the same purpose as American cartoons (to satisfy children, and to sell toys), and what little is created for adults (not in the pr0n sense) is usually very good.

The Dark Wayne @ Jul 23rd 2009 2:55PM

There's still tons of American animation stuff pandafresh. DC and Marvel release one or two animated movies every year. And while im sure there are a lot of japanese or korean animators, it's all a very american style, especially the DC ones, which are basically just evolutions of Bruce Timm's style from Batman the Animated Series all the way to Justice League Unlimited. Marvel stuff is a little more stylized but still definitely American. In fact, American animation never really went away. Batman the animated series won tons of emmys and lasted what, 8 years? Justice League went until 2006, Spider-man had a show in the 90s and has a new american produced one now. The bottom line is that there's still tons of American animation, but even then it's all up to what you prefer

Mr Khan @ Jul 23rd 2009 3:12PM

There's a difference between animation and production. Virtually everything done in regular animation is or was actually animated in Korea. The Simpsons is, SWAT Kats was, but the animators had absolutely no creative control. They're just grunt labor, like saying those Nike shoes you just bought are a Chinese or Indonesian product

I do tend to favor anime in terms of what's out there right now, because very few in the West are pursuing serious animation anymore. Venture Bros. is one of the few i can think of that's pursuing anything on the level of your average '90s cartoon

ronEbear @ Jul 23rd 2009 9:28AM

Clearly this is a ploy to increase its fan base amongst anime fanatics and all of Japan.

WINterfang @ Jul 23rd 2009 10:42AM

It worked for SEGA with their VC anime.

ryan @ Jul 23rd 2009 11:07AM

lol, it helped that VC was anime stylized to begin with.

Phillip Higgins @ Jul 23rd 2009 5:13PM

There's a ton of anime adaptations of Japanese games, off the top of my head we're talking... Viewtiful Joe, Devil May Cry, Gunparade March, Disgaea, Xenosaga, any number of visual novel/eroge, and well.. you get the idea- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_anime_based_on_video_games

sam @ Jul 23rd 2009 7:15PM

Yay, more game-based 'anime'!

WHOOP WHOOP it's the sarcasm alarm.

Seriously, game-based anime sucks with very few exceptions. In this case, yes outsourcing the animation work to quality Japanese studios will probably result in something that looks great - but leaving aside the contentious 'is it really anime when creative control is in the US' question, which has been argued a million times and isn't all that relevant, game-based anime has an appalling track record... roughly in line with the track-record for game-based movies, in fact. And much worse than the success rate for anime not based on games, which isn't even that high on its own. (And yes, I'm an anime fan.)

If this isn't shite, I'll be very surprised.