San Francisco (CA) – Microsoft has announced plans to create a series of anime short films based on the Halo universe. Halo Legends will be produced by Microsoft’s 343 Industries and is expected to feature “creative direction” from anime pioneer Shinji Aramaki of Appleseed EX Machina fame and Mamoru Oshii, director of the Ghost in the Shell movies.
A number of prominent studios are also participating in the project, including Bones, Casio Entertainment, Production IG, STUDIO4˚C and Toei Animation.
“The opportunity to work with talents such as Shinji Aramaki, Mamoru Oshii and others from some of the greatest anime studios is a very rare opportunity for Microsoft,” explained Halo franchise development director Frank O’Connor. “We’ve seen the world through Master Chief’s eyes, and we’ve experienced facets of the universe through a variety of literary prisms, but now we get to watch new tales unfold in really rich, visually dynamic ways. I think anime fans and ‘Halo’ fans alike are in for a real treat.”
Select Halo Legends episodes are scheduled to debut this fall on Xbox Live via a new portal known and Halo Waypoint. The Waypoint portal will also allow fans to access podcasts, trailers, screenshots and exclusive video footage.
