It looks like it’s time to un-cancel the apocalypse! After one incredible movie from Guillermo Del Toro and one rather meh sequel from some other guy who basically stripped out everything that made the first movie so unique, the Pacific Rim franchise is coming back! I always maintained that Del Toro’s original movie, which told a kickass tale of the pilots of giant mechs battling kaiju (aka massive monsters), was the best live-action feature film adaptation of an anime that never actually existed ever. But now the franchise is actually getting its anime thanks to Pacific Rim: The Black!
Produced by Legendary Entertainment for Netflix, the upcoming series is set an indeterminate number of years after the events of the films when Jaegers – those are the giant mechs I mentioned – are no longer needed. It follows new characters, siblings Taylor and Hayley, in Australia. Even though they totally don’t sound Australian one bit. What they lack in believable accents though, they make up for in a rediscovered Jaeger though, which comes in handy as the Land Down Under suddenly finds itself overrun by Kaiju of all shapes and sizes.
Check out the first full trailer Pacific Rim: The Black below!
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.
Personally, I’ve not been much of a fan of CG animation trying to mimic the traditional hand-drawn anime style. It always just comes off a little… stiff and lifeless for me. Admittedly, the animation here actually looks pretty good for the format, especially when it comes to the Jaegers, so I will have to see how that plays out.
Pacific Rim: The Black sees Marvel Comics writer and Thor: Ragnarok co-writer Craig Kyle set as co-showrunner with Legendary Entertainment exec Greg Johnson. The series has already been greenlit by Netflix for a second season, with the seven-episode first season set to premiere on the streaming service on 4 March 2021.
Last Updated: February 10, 2021
Yondaime
February 10, 2021 at 02:27
What makes an Anime, an Anime? For me it’s the Japanese voice acting. This is a really cool cartoon though. Like Megs XLR but better.
Lu
February 10, 2021 at 03:22
I totally agree with you there (Like the one on Netflix that’s in Spanish).
Lets hope there’s a decent japanese dub for it.
Kervyn Cloete
February 10, 2021 at 04:40
So this is a tricky one (and one that used to irk me as well). In Japan, “anime” refers to all animated works, irrespective of which country produced it or the style and aesthetics used. Outside of Japan, anime refers to all animated works produced specifically in Japan. So in that sense, this is an anime as it was produced by Japanese-based Polygon Pictures.
But Netflix also has a habit of labelling things as anime when they have nothing to do with Japan but just mimic the classic anime aesthetic. I guess it’s just easier to categorize things like that.
Original Heretic
February 10, 2021 at 02:31
Well of course they don’t sound Australian.
Like you said in the article, they’re from Austalia. Totally different place.
Kervyn Cloete
February 10, 2021 at 04:31
https://media3.giphy.com/media/ZXRd4u974u0X6/giphy.gif
Original Heretic
February 10, 2021 at 04:48
Did you just flirt with me?
Kervyn, m’man, I’m flattered and all, but I prefer taco to hotdog.
Kervyn Cloete
February 10, 2021 at 04:54
https://media0.giphy.com/media/5BTSVcpb23HCU/giphy.gif
It’s 2021. No judging.
Original Heretic
February 10, 2021 at 05:19
No judging from my side. Not for this anyway.
I do theatre, and I’ve been hit on plenty. But I always make sure that the dudes know they’re sniffing at the wrong tree.
Now if you’d told me you prefer dubs to subs, I’d be judging the shit outta you right now.
Alien Emperor Trevor
February 10, 2021 at 05:33
If you watch this with Japanese voice acting technically you’ll be choosing dubs and subs.
Lu
February 10, 2021 at 06:37
I hate that you are 100% correct
Original Heretic
February 10, 2021 at 07:31
For me it’s all about the original voice cast.
So for this, no, I will not be watching it in Japanese.
Kervyn Cloete
February 10, 2021 at 06:36
Dubs?
*spit*
Original Heretic
February 10, 2021 at 07:32
Spitting on your PK stick, ready to smack a few dubbers?
You son of bitch, I’m in.
Lu
February 10, 2021 at 03:20
Oooh yes this looks like a fun romp!
Note on the jankyness of the cgi animes, I have noticed the stutteryness is far less noticeable in UHD.
I discovered that with Ultraman which was basically unwatchable in 1080p (on the computer).
Hope there’s a Japanese dub.
Kervyn Cloete
February 10, 2021 at 04:44
That’s probably because UHD TV’s often have some form of picture smoothing turned on. And the show has Japanese voice-actors listed on Wiki, so there will be.
Lu
February 10, 2021 at 06:35
Oh yeah that makes sense too!
And Woot!
Lu
February 10, 2021 at 03:20
Oooh yes this looks like a fun romp!
Note on the jankyness of the cgi animes, I have noticed the stutteryness is far less noticeable in UHD.
I discovered that with Ultraman which was basically unwatchable in 1080p (on the computer).
Hope there’s a Japanese dub.
The D
February 10, 2021 at 03:44
What is this Uprising you speak of Kervyn, I have no knowledge of an official sequel to the best film ever made, just an expensive practical joke.
For the Emperor!
February 10, 2021 at 14:30
So, Australia is now importing more things to kill you? Hahaha