| Okay so!! As one of the like 5 people on here who's majorly into Hypmic I thought I'd write down what we know so far about this thing :D This is an interactive movie that will be screened in theaters around Japan, and it was revealed to be the format for the canon 3rd Division Rap Battle. Audience members will be able to vote for their team of choice on their smartphones live at the theater, and whichever group receives the most votes is declared the winner of that particular screening. The story will then branch off depending on who wins, so as far as we know there will be at least 6 different potential routes. There's no clarity yet on how the ultimate winner of the DRB is going to be decided afaik. (or if there will even be one?) There's also no information yet on whether the movie will be streamed online at any point or not. I'd assume they'll at least sell Blu-rays containing all content eventually. You can watch the announcement stream <- here (trailer starts at 20:00 mins, then the Buster Bros seiyuu talk about it) And here's the official website for the movie ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Personally I love this idea a LOT, it's rather novel and I love to see Hypmic being innovative even this far into the series' lifespan. Even though I can't go see it in person myself, I'm still really excited to see what kind of different endings we'll get, and how the final outcome is gonna play out. The meta aspect of it is a lot of fun and very fitting for Hypmic's universe I think, and it's nice that every division can potentially win at least once. Not a big fan of competitions or fandom infighting so this sort of semi-amicable solution is very appealing to me lol It seems like they're using brand-new 3D models, and for the most part I think they look good!! A few are a bit off based on the previews (especially Hifumi, where are his eyelashes???) but it's not too bad. Hypmic's mocap stuff has looked nice usually (Glory or Dust, 3DCG lives) so hopefully the animation will be alright here also. I don't even like CGI anime that much personally but this franchise has made me warm up to it slowly just by being charming with it, so I'm optimistic. Looking forward to the music too, as always. Would be nice to hear more thoughts on this, please feel free to comment whether you're a fan, casual follower or anime-only!! |
| Maaaan.... The tech side of it, I do love. Cinema needs to innovate, because the core "sitting down to watch a movie" experience is anything but novel in this day and age. And this sort of interactive movie has been a tough nut to crack for a while, as one of the potential next steps, so it's certainly... hm, HYPE indeed, to see HypMic having a go at it. Reminds me of the standard talent shows in TV where the audience gets to vote during the performances, in a way it's such a simple, natural merging of things, it's like... how did nobody think of this sooner? Or maybe someone has, but the tech just wasn't there. Anyway, I digress. My second thought is- maaaan.... I'm sure this is gonna be awesome for all the Japanese fans / fans in Japan who get to go and experience it. At the same time, it's a little hard to get excited about, as someone neither Japanese, nor in Japan - much like about... pretty much any news regarding the franchise. I mean, lbr, yeah, it's old. And it's very much alive and kicking, which is GREAT - certainly much better than having it on life support in maintenance mode, or completely shut down. There's a LOT to have fun with: a world that knows not to take itself seriously all the time, a slew of extremely colourful characters, and incredible music across the board. In multiple formats, on several platforms. But it's also disheartening to keep getting news and updates and yet none of it being about actually opening up to the global audience. Like even the anime (English subs and all) and the music being present on global platforms is more accidental than anything, something they just couldn't help. Like an overflowing sink. As if it was just more hassle to keep those region-locked and they don't wanna bother with that (which, considering all the licensing issues, I'm sure is not the case). It's even more disheartening when they do post things in English, here and there, even if only occasionally - again, as if just accidents. Sigh. Let's go, HypMic, keep it coming! After the consecutive releases this year, it's good to see they're keeping the momentum, or indeed picking up more, in the coming year. Even if this is gonna be a nightmare to release in any other format (lol). At the very least though, THIS MEANS MORE MUSIC, which is probably the most "portable" part of the entire franchise, if not the heart and soul of it - personally, I'm sure the happiest I can look forward to that! |
Reply to yellowheartren
Maaaan.... The tech side of it, I do love. Cinema needs to innovate, because the core "sitting down to watch a movie" experience is anything but novel in this day and age. And this sort of interactive movie has been a tough nut to crack for a while, as one of the potential next steps, so it's certainly... hm, HYPE indeed, to see HypMic having a go at it. Reminds me of the standard talent shows in TV where the audience gets to vote during the performances, in a way it's such a simple, natural merging of things, it's like... how did nobody think of this sooner? Or maybe someone has, but the tech just wasn't there. Anyway, I digress.
My second thought is- maaaan.... I'm sure this is gonna be awesome for all the Japanese fans / fans in Japan who get to go and experience it. At the same time, it's a little hard to get excited about, as someone neither Japanese, nor in Japan - much like about... pretty much any news regarding the franchise. I mean, lbr, yeah, it's old. And it's very much alive and kicking, which is GREAT - certainly much better than having it on life support in maintenance mode, or completely shut down. There's a LOT to have fun with: a world that knows not to take itself seriously all the time, a slew of extremely colourful characters, and incredible music across the board. In multiple formats, on several platforms. But it's also disheartening to keep getting news and updates and yet none of it being about actually opening up to the global audience. Like even the anime (English subs and all) and the music being present on global platforms is more accidental than anything, something they just couldn't help. Like an overflowing sink. As if it was just more hassle to keep those region-locked and they don't wanna bother with that (which, considering all the licensing issues, I'm sure is not the case). It's even more disheartening when they do post things in English, here and there, even if only occasionally - again, as if just accidents.
Sigh. Let's go, HypMic, keep it coming! After the consecutive releases this year, it's good to see they're keeping the momentum, or indeed picking up more, in the coming year. Even if this is gonna be a nightmare to release in any other format (lol). At the very least though, THIS MEANS MORE MUSIC, which is probably the most "portable" part of the entire franchise, if not the heart and soul of it - personally, I'm sure the happiest I can look forward to that!
My second thought is- maaaan.... I'm sure this is gonna be awesome for all the Japanese fans / fans in Japan who get to go and experience it. At the same time, it's a little hard to get excited about, as someone neither Japanese, nor in Japan - much like about... pretty much any news regarding the franchise. I mean, lbr, yeah, it's old. And it's very much alive and kicking, which is GREAT - certainly much better than having it on life support in maintenance mode, or completely shut down. There's a LOT to have fun with: a world that knows not to take itself seriously all the time, a slew of extremely colourful characters, and incredible music across the board. In multiple formats, on several platforms. But it's also disheartening to keep getting news and updates and yet none of it being about actually opening up to the global audience. Like even the anime (English subs and all) and the music being present on global platforms is more accidental than anything, something they just couldn't help. Like an overflowing sink. As if it was just more hassle to keep those region-locked and they don't wanna bother with that (which, considering all the licensing issues, I'm sure is not the case). It's even more disheartening when they do post things in English, here and there, even if only occasionally - again, as if just accidents.
Sigh. Let's go, HypMic, keep it coming! After the consecutive releases this year, it's good to see they're keeping the momentum, or indeed picking up more, in the coming year. Even if this is gonna be a nightmare to release in any other format (lol). At the very least though, THIS MEANS MORE MUSIC, which is probably the most "portable" part of the entire franchise, if not the heart and soul of it - personally, I'm sure the happiest I can look forward to that!
yellowheartren said: My second thought is- maaaan.... I'm sure this is gonna be awesome for all the Japanese fans / fans in Japan who get to go and experience it. At the same time, it's a little hard to get excited about, as someone neither Japanese, nor in Japan - much like about... pretty much any news regarding the franchise. I mean, lbr, yeah, it's old. And it's very much alive and kicking, which is GREAT - certainly much better than having it on life support in maintenance mode, or completely shut down. There's a LOT to have fun with: a world that knows not to take itself seriously all the time, a slew of extremely colourful characters, and incredible music across the board. In multiple formats, on several platforms. But it's also disheartening to keep getting news and updates and yet none of it being about actually opening up to the global audience. Like even the anime (English subs and all) and the music being present on global platforms is more accidental than anything, something they just couldn't help. Like an overflowing sink. As if it was just more hassle to keep those region-locked and they don't wanna bother with that (which, considering all the licensing issues, I'm sure is not the case). It's even more disheartening when they do post things in English, here and there, even if only occasionally - again, as if just accidents. I totally get where you're coming from and agree with everything. It's honestly confusing how they've been dipping their toes into globalization but not actually making much progress, just translating things at random and hosting events in the US while continuing to keep the most sought-after content region-locked. Kinda gives off the vibe that they don't want to take any true risks involved in growing into a bigger franchise because they've put too many resources into (successfully!) keeping the Japanese fanbase stable, but still want to retain that little extra relevance outside of Japan just in case they feel like doing something with it someday. The overflowing sink analogy is perfect honestly. I don't know if they realize that the reason there even IS an English fanbase is mostly because of fan translators who have worked on making JP-only content accessible, not because they let Rhyme Anima get licensed. It helped, sure, but the anime is definitely not the main reason so many people have stuck around - rather everything main canon, ARB, the stageplays and lives have had to offer. I'm fine with having to scavenge the internet and rely on my own slowly improving Japanese skills to keep up with this series just because I love it so much, but it does make me sad to imagine how many other people who would love it will never bother checking it out because they've made it so difficult. Maybe it's a bit niche and weird compared to other joseimuke series that have entered the western anime mainstream, but there's so much heart and cool stuff to explore within this franchise like you said. It deserves more love and recognition for sure. It's awesome how much content they've been putting out this year, yeah!! I've loved the new EPs a lot, the wait has been so worth it every time. The music is my favourite part of the project too, so any new opportunity for more songs is immensely exciting no matter how slim or non-existent the chances of getting the full experience might be. |
| UPDATE: A bunch of new info dropped today so I'm here to share!! \o/ First of all, we got this announcement from Chuuoku that explains the following: - This will be the final Division Rap Battle hosted by Chuuoku. The way they phrased this makes it vague whether it's the last DRB ever or not, most people expect it to be the end but who knows with Hypmic... - Chuuoku will be participating in the penultimate round with their own Chuuo Division that consists of Otome Tohoten, Ichijiku Kadenokoji and Nemu Aohitsugi. - There will be three rounds, the roster below shows the pairings and progression:  - Whichever division wins will get to use the True Hypnosis Microphone to alter the thoughts of the entire nation of Japan (without anyone losing their life, contrary to how the mic has previously functioned, because the bonds of each division are strong enough to withstand the effects now... or something??) and essentially be the new government rulers, I guess. If that sounds crazy... well that's because it is lol. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Then the first trailer was released!!! Personally I think it looks sooooo cool, I really love all the backgrounds during the battle parts especially. It was stated in an article here that the movie was planned all the way back in October 2020, so it's been in production for over 4 years. The recordings were done 2 years ago apparently. It's kind of crazy that they've been secretly making this for so long, way before I even got into Hypmic. Very relieved to hear this though, makes me hopeful that it's gonna be actually good and well thought out and expansive. The movie contains 48 different routes, 7 different endings and 16 new songs. I'm even more stoked for this now, but at the same time the thought of main canon Hypmic content coming to an end (possibly) is devastating, it's been one of the most important and influental franchises of my entire life. I hope they continue the story even after the movie, a timeskip continuation would be a dream come true for me and a lot of other fans it seems. |
| various songs to perform on movie revealed. pre-screening on February 5, 2025 https://natalie.mu/comic/news/606913 |
I ♥ Two Syaorans from Tsubasa RESERVoir CHRoNiCLE and TRC!!! |