The latest buzz on the J-cinema grapevine is surrounding TV Tokyo’s collaboration with animation studios Production I.G. and OLM to make the VFX action series, “Keitai Sosakan” (“Cell Phone Detectives”).
The stories revolve around a team of detectives who investigate digital-network-related crimes and a high school boy (Masataka Kubota) who helps them bust the bad guys with the aid of his trusty cell phone.
The 51-episode series — that’s right, 51 — will see Takashi Miike (Big Bang Love, Juvenile A) as supervising director as well as Mamoru Oshii (Ghost in the Shell), Shusuke Kaneko (Death Note), Kazuya Konaka (Ultraman Moebius), Hiroyuki Tsuji (Karaoke), Norio Tsuruta (Ring 0), and Kunihiko Yuyama (Pocket Monster) as guest directors. Supporting cast includes Mickey Curtis, Yuko Ito, Kanji Tsuda, Natsuki Okamoto, Satoshi Matsuda, and Nao Nagasawa.
Now that’s all fine and dandy, and sounds like it’s going to be a huge project, but what I’m more interested in are the phones pictured above. The robot sidekick is being created by Japanese carrier Softbank, and they’ve got quite a few ideas in store. Firstly, owners will be able to attach flexible appendages to their phone and customize them with their own person poses (wow, it’s like Barbie meets cellphones). But not only that…
The phone also comes installed with an AI personality called “Buddy Talk,” which makes various expressions and responds to voice conversation, gradually improving its answers.
Of course it’s got other features — 2.4″ QVGA screen, 3.2 megapixel camera — but who cares? It’s got arms. And legs. The only problem is, how the hell would you carry it around? You’d probably impale yourself putting in your pocket, and I think the Japanese already have a problem with excessive accessorizing.
