Entertainment

Netflix is embracing Anime even more

5 new major, diverse projects are on the horizon

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It’s a great time to be an anime fan. Netflix hasn’t only been adding popular titles to their library, they’ve also fully embraced anime with five major projects to look forward to.

The five newly announced projects are: Rilakkuma’s Theme Park Adventure, Thermae Romae Novae, High-Rise Invasion, Thus Spoke Kishibe Rohan and The Way of the Househusband. Each add to the diverse and never-before-seen catalogue of stories straight from our creative home in Japan.

Why Anime?

Netflix says anime titles have appeared in the Top 10 list in almost 100 countries this year so far. Over 100 million households around the world chose to watch at least one anime title on Netflix (Oct 2019 – Sept 2020), growing by 50% year-over-year.

Titles like Seven Deadly Sins and BAKI have resonated with fans globally. Seven Deadly Sins became one of the Top 10 titles among all series and films in over 70 countries since its launch, and Baki in almost 50 countries.

There’s a total of 16 titles to be excited about. The first five on this list are completely new while the rest were previously announced and are expected to arrive in 2021.

Five new projects

Rilakkuma’s Theme Park Adventure

The production of the new series of Rilakkuma has been produced in stop-motion animation following the success of “Rilakkuma and Kaoru.” The series depicts an active day of incidents and meetings that take place when Rilakkuma, Korilakkuma, Kiiroitori, and Kaoru go play in an amusement park that is about to close.

Thermae Romae Novae

The very popular manga by Yamazaki Mari has been brought back to life in the present day in a new way (“Novae” means “new” in Latin). Based on the  manga, new episodes created by Mari Yamazaki will also appear. Lucius, a bath designer in the Roman Empire, accidentally slips back in time to present day Japan and learns about Japanese bath culture in this comedy.

High-Rise Invasion

Based on the manga by Miura Tsuina (Ajin) and Takahiro Oba (Box!), this is an unpredictable and frightening survival story set in high-rise buildings that don’t reach the ground. The protagonist, Yuri, decides to survive in order to destroy this illogical world and kill the enemy wearing the “mask”, but what will she do?

Thus Spoke Kishibe Rohan

This series consists of four strange episodes that Kishibe Rohan, the manga artist from “JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Diamond is Unbreakable,” saw and heard in a destination he visited to collect material for the manga.

The Way of the Househusband  

The most evil yakuza, Tatsu, is a legend in the underworld. He chose to walk away from the yakuza to become a full-time househusband!

Updates on 11 upcoming titles

EDEN (Coming May 2021)

A completely new story from director Irie Yasuhiro and the creators of the world, this sci-fi fantasy follows Sarah, a girl raised by two robots, as she confronts the world.

RESIDENT EVIL: Infinite Darkness (Coming 2021)

Known as the gold standard of survival horror games with over 100 million units from the game series shipped worldwide, “Resident Evil” has now been transformed into a Netflix original CG anime series. Three years after 2017’s CG film “Resident Evil: Vendetta,” technology has further evolved, creating the groundwork for a new series in unprecedented full 3DCG animation.

Vampire in the Garden (Coming 2021)

Once upon a time, there was a world where vampires and humans lived together in “Paradise”. This is the story of a young girl, Momo, and the vampire queen, Fine, who traveled in search of “Paradise.” This is a completely new work by WIT STUDIO, well-known for “Attack on Titan” and talented creators.

Yasuke (Coming Soon 2021)

In a war-torn feudal Japan filled with mechs and magic, the greatest ronin never known, Yasuke, struggles to maintain a peaceful existence after a past life of violence. But when a local village becomes the center of social upheaval between warring daimyo, Yasuke must take up his sword and transport a mysterious child who is the target of dark forces and bloodthirsty warlords.The story of Yasuke, the first African samurai who actually served the legendary Oda Nobunaga, will be released to the world.

Godzilla Singular Point (Coming 2021)

This series features a brand new staff and original story which depicts the young geniuses Mei Kamino, a female researcher, and Yun Arikawa, a male engineer, as they take on an unprecedented threat with their companions.

Pacific Rim: The Black (Coming Soon 2021)

There was a time when Kaiju rose from the Pacific Rim only to encounter gigantic robots, Jaegers, built to fight them back. That time has passed. Now, Australia has been overrun by Kaiju, forcing the evacuation of an entire continent. Left behind, teenage siblings Taylor and Hayley embark on a desperate search for their missing parents, teaching themselves to pilot a battered, long-abandoned Jaeger to help in their quest and give them even the slightest hope of surviving.

Transformers: War for the Cybertron Trilogy (Coming Soon)

The WAR FOR CYBERTRON continues with the second chapter, EARTHRISE! With the Allspark gone, Megatron is forced to confront the harsh reality that his Decepticons are trapped on a dying Cybertron while also fighting off the persistent threat of Elita-1 and her Autobots. Meanwhile, lost in the darkest reaches of space, Optimus Prime and his team embark on a desperate mission that will push them to the breaking point as they travel to uncharted new worlds to face spacefaring mercenaries, enigmatic figures from long ago and even their own creators.

Trese (Coming 2021)

Set in Manila where the mythical creatures of Philippine folklore live in hiding amongst humans, Alexandra Trese finds herself going head to head with a criminal underworld composed of malevolent supernatural beings.

B: The Beginning Succession (Coming Soon 2021)

After Keith and Koku solved the incidents successfully , the world has regained its composure. In the months since then, Keith returns to the RIS to conduct his own investigation, and Koku is living a peaceful life with Yuna. They are visited by Kirisame, who was once supposed to have broken up with Kurou in death at the Faura Blanca Institute.

Baki Hanma (Coming 2021)

The story finally unfolds into a full-blooded clash between Baki Hanma and his father, Yujiro Hanma, who is known as the “strongest creature on earth.” The climax of the Baki universe, which depicted the “strongest parent-child brawl in history of the world” in the original manga, has been adapted into the long-awaited anime!

Spriggan

The legendary manga that took the world by storm in the 1990s has been vividly brought to this animated series by utilizing 2D drawings and 3DCG. The legacy of an outstanding civilization that once existed on this planet is said to still be hidden in various parts of the world. The military of major powers has intervened in the excavation and research of this mysterious and powerful heritage, and has begun battling over it. At the same time, an organization called “Spriggan” is working to seal up this ancient civilization. This is a high speed action series featuring battles over ancient relics!

Entertainment

Linkin Park: Unshatter is the band’s kintsugi

Raw, visceral, honest approach on grief, starting again, and moving forward

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All stills courtesy: Linkin Park

When Linkin Park understandably went on an immediate hiatus in 2017 following the tragic death of its frontman Chester Bennington, it felt to millions of fans as though an important part of their lives had been taken away.

For the longest time, the one thing the rock band did exceptionally well was to put into their songs all the untold, unexpressed feelings, emotions, and thoughts of several generations.

That deep resonance made the music stick. When 2017 happened, many felt that connection was gone for good.

Linkin Park: Unshatter magnifies what handling grief looks like from the inside out. It starts with the band members themselves and radiates outward to the community that carried them.

It goes without saying that grief has no single roadmap. And for band co-founder and co-lead vocalist Mike Shinoda, moving forward began with a simple and almost accidental question put out into the open: “What if Linkin Park didn’t have to end?”

Starting again

The documentary-concert film opens with a cinematic rush: a sweeping shot of the Allianz Parque (now Nubank Parque) in São Paulo, Brazil, where Linkin Park is set to perform as part of their From Zero World Tour.

A quick montage follows, capturing the concert day feel as it commences. Viewers get thrown straight onto the stage as “Somewhere I Belong” ignites the crowd.

Then, the mood then shifts abruptly, pulling everyone backward to late 2022 inside Shinoda’s studio.

Here, alongside original members Joe Hahn and Dave “Phoenix” Farrell, the cinematic scale melts away into an unscripted, intimate creative slate. This is where the true documentary tone takes over.

If you have been preoccupied with everyday undertakings, Unshatter acts as an essential catch-up material for the behind-the-scenes evolution that transpired from 2022 to 2024.

It delivers a wealth of candid footage rarely seen outside of close circles, offering fans a fresh perspective right in the eye of the storm. It’s been billed as such, and it does not disappoint.

Part of what makes it grounded and emotionally connecting is the chronological storytelling. As with starting again, you don’t know what is about to happen yet.

The progression, which includes moving from Shinoda’s private quarters to EastWest Studios, the rehearsals and promotional photoshoot, and everything in between, takes you to the build-up and makes every step feel real before the 2024 breakthrough.

Raw, visceral, honest

You can feel the complete absence of a script in these early studio sessions. Shinoda spent the latter half of the previous decade performing on his own, and speaks candidly about how exhausting it was to constantly look backward or perform for “tributes.”

There was no sudden lightbulb moment either. Three veterans simply chose to gather and think things through with a level of organic randomness.

This mirrors how processing grief unfolds in the real world. For Shinoda, much like how he would later describe new new vocalist Emily Armstrong’s voice and personality, the core approach was about being raw, visceral, and honest.

All three knew grief was there. It had been enveloping them all these years and they thought moving away from what defined their lives would do good.

At some point, survival meant acknowledging reality first and then carrying on from there.

Triple lenses

The documentary’s narrative spine relies on three distinct lenses: the OG holdovers, the new members and the uniqueness of Brad Delson’s dynamic with this new iteration.

After the opening third of the film heavily focuses on the OG trio, the arrival of Armstrong and Brittain in the middle act expands the horizon.

Brittain, particularly, initially stepped in as a guitarist to complement Shinoda’s structural ideas. He bares his lifelong fandom on camera, and even offers a striking thought which Shinoda mentions towards the end: that the music industry and the world in general is simply better with Linkin Park in it.

Much like newcomers finding their footing in a sports franchise, Emily and Colin quickly worked together often to hasten the integration process.

Later, Delson is introduced as someone initially reluctant to the thought of restarting Linkin Park. Such resistance was acknowledged though he warms up to the idea and rejoins the fold in the latter stages.

His role changes to an anchor, as if a coaching consultant helping run a franchise at the highest level without necessarily being on the sidelines every single night.

Shinoda was open about the tension this could have caused, weighing whether a non-touring lead guitarist might disrupt the momentum and progress of the comeback build-up.

Yet the film consistently highlights how mature, open, and thoughtful those internal conversations were.

Delson’s eventual return made Colin slide into the drummer role. The transition was handled with surprising economy on screen, much like the brief, respectful nod given to former drummer Rob Bourdon’s departure.

Emily rises From Zero

Armstrong shares the middle act with Brittain, but her journey demands its own lens. And the documentary captures this duality of carrying the inherent weight of stepping into the shoes left by an icon and her energetic personality in the studio as she dances, vocalizes, and throws her soul into the process.

Much has been chronicled about Armstrong’s electrifying voice and the shoes she has had to fill, but the documentary chose to present her entry in a more natural manner.

Rather than being angled towards succession, the documentary spends a huge chunk showing her fit with her new bandmates. There is also a side to it where she is driven to prove herself coming from Dead Sara as a relative “unknown” before the 2024 surprise comeback.

A particular solemn moment captures this stripped down feel, as with the movie in general, even further: Emily singing a radically different rendition of “Heavy Is The Crown” with Shinoda playing the piano.

It’s far different from the high energy final version that has been out for years now, showing the fragile baby steps the band took.

Mike asking Emily at one point if she is open to touring also forces you to reflect on how differently the comeback could have unfolded.

This lens tackles the setlist realities. Songs from One More Light were basically untouchable. The meticulous work required to adjust keys and match Armstrong’s skill set were also shown.

Unshatter is the band’s kintsugi

One neat inclusion features blink-182’s Mark Hoppus, listening to a freshly completed mix of “Unshatter.” Having an industry contemporary validate in real-time that something special has clicked adds massive weight to the proceedings.

You can visibly see how genuinely flattered Shinoda gets when Hoppus tells him he got goosebumps.

The moment acts as the emotional bridge to the film’s ultimate metaphor, as expounded on by Delson towards the end: Linkin Park’s comeback is the band’s kintsugi.

This is, of course, the Japanese pottery tradition of putting broken pieces back together using a gold filling.

Though “Unshatter” wasn’t officially released until 2025, it served as the blueprint for the secret work Linkin Park poured years into.

In one of its most artfully executed transition moments, the film cuts right at the chorus of “The Emptiness Machine” from the high-stakes, breathless tension of their 2024 comeback launch event at Warner Studios, throwing viewers right back into the roaring Allianz Parque.

This was preceded of course by one of the final resonant glimpses of unsuspecting long-time fans transported to Warner Studios in anticipation of what was then only billed as a private gathering.

Proper documentary-concert film

Linkin Park: Unshatter strikes a wonderful balance between candid moments and electrifying concert sequence.

The live performance scenes were woven in seamlessly. Cinematography looked sharp: quick cuts, drone shots, sheer fan emotion. Towards the end, Hahn has his own immersive on-stage camera angles of his teammates.

Yet it never stretches too thin. You wouldn’t want to watch just a live concert. Make no mistake, in a large screen format and with accompanying cinematic audio, the energy just reverberates harder.

The film ends with the aftermath of the live performance of “Bleed it Out” as fireworks erupt across the stadium sky, before it fades into a final line to cap the comeback journey.

An old archival clip of Chester and Mike performing “Esaul”, the earlier version of “A Place For My Head” with lyrics still different also plays as a final touch.

That clip encapsulates the beginnings of one of the century’s most successful rock bands. Decades after, a restart happened.

It was about moving forward, acknowledging grief, but realizing you can make something beautiful while carrying that history with you. The only way to “unshatter” was to be raw, visceral, and honest about what’s going on.

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Computers

Lenovo tech behind DreamWorks Animation hit ‘Forgotten Island’

Partnership powers modern demands of animation production

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DreamWorks Animation’s Forgotten Island has definitely become a big screen hit, debuting with a 100% Rotten Tomatoes score and being well received particularly by a large Filipino fanbase.

And behind the movie is DreamWorks Animation’s partnership with tech giant, Lenovo. The collaboration is helping power the former’s production slate, including the studio’s animated feature inspired by Filipino culture, mythology, and experiences.

In 2025, DreamWorks expanded its relationship with Lenovo by naming the company its preferred compute services, workstation, and solutions provider.

Such partnership brings together Lenovo workstations, high-performance infrastructure, data center technology, and services to support the demanding needs of modern animation production.

It is a collaboration that builds on years of work between the two companies. DreamWorks has used Lenovo workstations as part of workflows across the studio.

Lenovo infrastructure has also supported the large-scale computing requirements involved in creating animated worlds and characters.

Still in cinemas, Forgotten Island follows lifelong best friends Jo and Raissa, voiced by Grammy and Academy Award winner H.E.R. and Filipino actress Liza Soberano.

As the two prepare to take different paths after high school, they unexpectedly find themselves transported to Nakali, a fantastical island populated by magical and mythological creatures rooted in stories from their Filipino families.

The film is written and directed by Academy Award nominee Joel Crawford and Januel Mercado and produced by Academy Award nominee Mark Swift, the filmmaking team behind Puss in Boots: The Last Wish.

Its voice cast also includes Dave Franco, Jenny Slate, Manny Jacinto, Dolly de Leon, Jo Koy, Ronny Chieng, and Lea Salonga.

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Entertainment

SEGA, Netflix announce Crazy Taxi film adaptation

1st in planned slate of film adaptations, including Sonic and STRANGER THAN HEAVEN

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SEGA and Netflix have announced a new Crazy Taxi film adaptation. This will usher in a new collaboration era with the parties also developing adaptations for Sonic and STRANGER THAN HEAVEN.

Such a slate of future adaptations reflects the range of SEGA’s library as it draws on Netflix’s experience bringing beloved game worlds to new audiences.

The first project features Crazy Taxi, which will be written by Dan Gregor and Doug Mand. The beloved writing duo was behind the 2025 reboot of The Naked Gun.

Also on board to help helm the production are the same visionaries behind the Sonic franchise: Neal H. Moritz, Toby Ascher, and Toru Nakahara.

Crazy Taxi has been an arcade hit since 1999, putting players behind the wheel of a fearless cabbie racing the clock through chaotic city streets.

There’s flying off ramps, dodging traffic, and chasing tips with punk-rock energy that has become the series’ signature.

The latest title in the franchise, Crazy Taxi: World Tour, is set for a 2027 release. You can watch its trailer below:

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