Halo Legends: while we wait for a movie, something to see and not play
Halo Legends, the latest release in the multi-million dollar franchise created by Bungie Studios, is a collection of animated narratives set in the world of Halo mythology. The project was announced at the 2009 San Diego Comic-Con International and arrived on three different DVD versions, including Blu-Ray, in February 2010.
The film is an impressive collaboration of animated work. Each of the seven different stories was produced by an independent Asian anime production studio, including groundbreaking Production IG, responsible for the animated sequences for Quentin Tarantino’s “Kill Bill, Vol. 1”.
Segments last approximately 10-20 minutes and include:
“Origins” – A two-part episode that sums up most of the Halo mythology (100,000 years) through the eyes of the AI character Cortana (voiced here by Shelley Calene-Black rather than Jen Taylor).
“The Duel” – A referee named Fal commits heresy by refusing to follow the Covenant religion. A prophet sends an Elite to murder Fal’s wife and lure him into a trap. It follows a classic samurai structure and is vividly illustrated in the style of a Japanese watercolor painting.
“Homecoming”: recruitment of SPARTAN-II in 2517 and recognition of its history by the Spartans
“Odd One Out” – Produced by Toei Animation (“Sailor Moon,” Yu-Gi-Oh! “, To name just a few), the story is a playful parody that takes place on a planet of children and dinosaurs. Boss is stuck and must help the kids fight a new covenant weapon called Pluto.
“Prototype”: A marine disobeys his mission to dispose of a new type of armor, instead of using it to help a planet’s population evacuate.
“The Babysitter” – Orbital Drop Shock Troopers (also known as “Helljumpers”) are on a mission to infiltrate the Covenant area and assassinate a Prophet. The tension is created when a SPARTAN-II takes O’Brien’s place as a sniper on the team.
“The Package” – another two-part piece, involves the Master Chief and a team of Spartan-II supersoldiers on a dangerous mission. Infiltrate a trapped Covenant fleet and retrieve a valuable “package” from the United Nations Space Command (UNSC).