Never have I ever watched an anime trailer that literally made me tear up and give me the tingles. As I held my phone in my hand, YouTube suggested a short video titled “「屍者の帝国」劇場本予告”, which roughly translates to “Empire of Corpses trailer”, respectively. I had never heard of this so I give it a go. I am stopped mid walk as my eyes are fixated on this beautiful and eerie opening and a young man slides a needle and drill into another young man’s neck. I stood in the same spot for the minute long trailer while my jaw drops and I bring my hand closer to my mouth, gasping in “Awe”.

Created by Project Itoh, Empire of Corpses, or Shisha no Teikoku takes place in the lovely 19th century Europe and centers around a young John Watson and is scouted by the government to become a secret agent of sorts. The setting takes place in a world where human corpses are re-purposed with a fake soul and used as laborers for industrial development. These corpses are known as “Frankensteins”.

projectitoh

Now I may or may not have to tell you who Project Itoh is, but I will for face value His works include the novels Genocidal Organ (a favorite of mine), Harmony, Metal Gear Solid: Guns of the Patriots novel adaptation and of course Shisha no Teikoku. It was announced on the website that ALL (excluding MGS) novels will be receiving anime adaptions. According to Anime News Network, “Each novel film adaptation will be from a different director and studio. Shukou Murase (Witch Hunter Robin, Gangsta., Ergo Proxy) will direct Genocidal Organ at manglobe (The Unlimited – Hyōbu Kyōsuke, House of Five Leaves), Takashi Nakamura (Fantastic Children) and Michael Arias (Tekkonkinkreet) will direct Harmony at Studio 4°C (Berserk: The Golden Age Arc I – The Egg of the King, Tweeny Witches), while Ryoutarou Makihara will direct The Empire of Corpses at WIT STUDIO (Attack on Titan, Hōzuki no Reitetsu).”

About The Author

Owner and Executive Editor of Anime Ushi. Cosplayer, Twitch Affiliate and host of Otaku Atsumaru. Favorite series: One Piece, Yuri on Ice, Tiger & Bunny, Hellsing Ultimate.