As the release dates for the Supernatural anime have been pushed back from January to February 2011, fans now have longer to wait for their first glimpses of the Winchesters turned animated stars. However, we are getting many tantalizing treats to tide us over; from character sketches to episode descriptions to a trailer worth its weight in gold.
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When the anime project was originated, it was announced that while Dean and Sam's character sketches would look similar to Jensen Ackles and Jared Padalecki, other characters as well as supernatural monsters would be re-imagined. Jessica Moore has become a redhead, John Winchester has become more grizzled, and Mary Winchester reminds me more of the actress than the character. However, the two characters that have departed from their actors the most seem to be Bobby Singer and Missouri Moseley. Bobby looks to be a bookie moreso than a hunter and Missouri has a bit of Whoopi Goldberg inspiration going on. I'm all for re-imagining the characters, but it's going to take me some time to become accustomed to these new versions.
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The first eight episode summaries have been released, and while they start out in direct parallel to the episodes we've seen before, they soon go off in their own direction. With the freedom that anime gives the story, episodes are not going to be strictly a word for word recreation of the series. Instead, new creatures will be encountered and cases will be covered from both current times and the past.
1.01: “Skin” - A demonic shape-shifter commits a gruesome murder. When the brothers investigate, the being borrows Dean's form to continue its killing spree.
1.02: “Roadkill” - The highway's the only haunted once a year and we got 'til sunup to wrap things up!" Sam, Dean and a near-victim race the earth’s rotation to vanquish a ghost who kills on the anniversary of his death.
1.03: “Home” - After 22 years, Sam and Dean return to their childhood home. Now another beautiful young mother lives there - and, if Sam's nightmares are correct, she may be threatened by the same evil that killed Mary Winchester.
1.04: “Blood of Beast” - Sam and Dean help out a young boy, who is being bullied by the older kids at school. We discover that the boy's father is actually a "peaceful" vampire who has sworn not to attack humans and survived by drinking cattle blood. The boy also has vampire blood in him but he is just not yet aware of his true nature.
1.05: “Ghost on the Highway” - Sam and Dean are driving along the highway and are suddenly chased by a cop car from behind. They discover that there have been numerous unexplainable car accidents in the area. All accident involved a Chevy Impala. Sam and Dean have to investigate to prove themselves innocent. We discover that an evil spirit has taken the form of an Impala is trying to take revenge on the town.
1.06: “Bloody Mary” - Back in 2004, when Sam was studying at Stanford. Sam hears about a suspicious death case occurred in Stanford from Jessica, a girl he's becoming friendly with. John and Dean smell something evil in the case and start investigating behind Sam's college life. They first presume that it is caused by a ghost called "Bloody Mary" but it turns out to be caused by a different ghost.
1.07: “ Temptation of Demon” - Maria, a faithful Christian is lured by a yellow-eyed demon to become its servant in return of curing her sick daughter. She refuses at first, but is quickly drawn in.
1.08: “ Everlasting Love” - Multiple homicides in Illinois. The victims are all blond women in their 20s and the crimes scenes leave traces of formaldehyde. Sam and Dean discover fingerprints of a female who died in 1940. A tragic love story of a mad doctor.
And if that weren't enough treats, we recently got a full preview highlighted by a version of “Carry On My Wayward Son”, which every Supernatural fan knows is the unofficial theme song of the series. The promo also allows us to hear how Hiroki Touchi (Dean) and Yuya Uchida (Sam) deal with the dialogue. From my perspective, I'd say they're doing a fantastic job. And each time I re-watch the video, it makes me wish the release was even sooner. I'm excited for the Supernatural anime, how about you?
Photo Credits: Warner Brothers Japan
