I got my Animatrix DVD from amazon.com last week and I finally got around to watching it yesterday. It would be an understatement to say that I was not disappointed at all. The DVD comprises nine short movies in eight different styles of animé, a short documentary on animé, production notes on the included movies and a trailer for the “Enter the Matrix” game.
“Final Flight of the Osiris” features “Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within” style photorealistic graphics (it was created by the same bunch of talented guys) and provides the background to the “Enter the Matrix” game as well as “The Matrix Reloaded” movie. “The Second Renaissance” parts I and II provide the story leading up to the domination of the machines over humans. “Kid's Story” shows the story of the fawning kid in “The Matrix Reloaded” and finally explains what Neo meant when he says “You saved yourself, kid” to him. “The Second Renaissance” has the most gorgeously colourful and beautiful graphics I have seen so far as we are led up to “Mandala”. “Matriculated” features stunningly colourful graphics and makes one really appreciate the DVD format. For those who have seen “Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within”, there is a bonus sequence where Aki fights a sentinel! All in all, this is a must have for anyone interested in “The Matrix” and its sequels and animé in general.
I have also put up a couple of articles on creating patches for GCC/GCJ and on the impossibility of having certain kinds of perfect software.