"During the last Great War, a man rose to become a hero. But then he betrayed his country to become a pirate. Is he truly an enemy of the state? Or its last great hope?"
Appleseed's Shinji Aramaki will direct the CG film which is said to reinterpret the themes in Leiji Matsumoto's 1977 manga for modern society. This film has Toei Animation's highest production budget ever which equates to about $30M U.S. and will be released to much fanfare in Japan on September 7, 2013. An international dub is currently in production for release in the US and the UK. Director James Cameron (Avatar, Titanic) previously praised the series as, "Mythic, epic and visually unprecedented, Harlock will take you to a whole new universe of ideas."
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"It is 2977 and for many years a mighty battle has been raging across the galaxies as 500 billion humans, whose forebears were exiled from Earth, plan to return to what is still called home. Forced to flee a ravaged Earth, humans have now depleted the corners of the galaxy to which they fled. Earth has now become the most valued and precious resource of all, controlled by the corrupt Gaia Coalition which governs the human race across the different galaxies.
Having been exiled and vilified during the battle of the Homecoming War, Captain Harlock and his trusted crew of the Arcadia, a Death Shadow Class battle cruiser, are the only hope mankind has of discovering the secrets that the Gaia have kept hidden. As the Arcadia roams the Universe boldly attacking and pilaging fugitive ships throughout the Coalition Territory, Captain Harlock strides defiantly forth in his tenacious drive for victory.
The Coalition has demanded Harlock’s death and the Gaia Fleet’s new leader, Ezra, calls on his younger brother, Logan, to infiltrate the Arcadia and then assassinate Harlock; thus forever eradicating the one man standing between the Coalition and their complete control of the Universe.
Logan must make a very personal sacrifice and discover that things are not always as they seem. All the while Captain Harlock and his crew will continue his mission, seeking revenge against the Coalition and establishing the return to Earth."