Marvel and MadHouse have posted a preview video for the upcoming Blade Anime.
Blade covers the exploits of the Marvel character, made famous by the Wesley Snipes films, as he traipses through Japan, searching for the vampire who slew his mother, Deacon Frost. This preview has some concept art and some footage, alongside a number of interviews with the Marvel crew.
It’s interesting to see the various interpretations of the Japanese versions of the vampires Blade must fight, as they are clearly very different from the European style vampires we’re used to.
Blade’s name is derived from his obvious talent with knives and swords, which he swings around and tosses at monsters with great flourish. The character originally appeared in Marvel Comics vampire series, staring Dracula, in the 70’s. He returned years later to help Spider-Man out with a vampire problem, and has since been absorbed into the greater Marvel Universe, with S.H.I.E.L.D. even designing and supplying many of his weapons.
The production team is composed of both Marvel and MadHouse folk. The joint project began a couple years ago, with the express purpose of producing the Marvel Anime Series, Marvel adaptations for Japanese audiences, who clearly have totally different expectations of their super hero films. Expect alternate themes, attitudes, and villain types.
The 12-episode serial is the second Marvel Anime series, following Iron Man and preceeding Wolverine, both of which also take place in Japan, though at different time periods. All three serials have been dubbed into English by G4 using not-unknown American English actors for the voices. Blade stars Harold Perrineau (Michael from LOST in the title role).
Here’s the full trailer:
The episodes played on G4 earlier this year. The two-disc DVD set for Blade, which includes several hours of bonus features, hits shelves on July 31st, 2012 along with Wolverine.
