Editing Halo Legends

{{Title|''Halo Legends''}}
{{Era|RW|}}
{{References}}
{{Film infobox
|image = [[File:Halo legends-cover.png|300px]]
|name = Halo Legends
|director = [[Frank O'Connor]]<br>
Joseph Chou
|producer = [[Wikipedia: John Ledford|John Ledford]]<br>
Joseph Chou<br>
Joey Goubeaud<br>
Kevin Grace<br>
Bonnie Ross<br>
Veronica Peshterianu<br>
Alison Stroll <br>
Eiichi Takahashi<br>
|writer = Frank O'Connor<br> 
Ryan Morris
|music =Yasuharu Takanashi<br>
Naoyuki Hiroko<br>
Tetsuya Takahashi<br>
''(With themes used from)'' <br>
[[Martin O'Donnell]]<br>
[[Michael Salvatori]]
|studio = 343 Industries<br>
J-Spec Pictures<br>
Seraphim Digital Studios
|distributor = [[Wikipedia:Warner Bros.|Warner Bros.]]
|release date = Fall 2009 (Limited, on [[Halo Waypoint]])<br>
February 16, 2010 (Full release, DVD and Blu-ray) <ref>[http://warnervideo.com/halolegendsdvd/ '''WarnerVideo''': ''Halo Legends DVD'']</ref>
|language = English and Japanese
|pagelabel=Film series
}}

'''''Halo Legends''''' is an anime-styled series of [[seven]] short films. It was financed by Halo franchise overseer [[343 Industries]], while the collection of films in ''Halo Legends'' were developed by six Japanese production houses including [[Wikipedia:Bones (studio)|Bones]], Casio Entertainment, [[Wikipedia:Production I.G|Production I.G.]], [[Wikipedia:Studio 4°C|Studio 4°C]], and [[Wikipedia:Toei Animation|Toei Animation]].<ref>[http://kotaku.com/5320898/details-about-halo-anime '''Kotaku''': ''Details about Halo Anime'']</ref> [[Wikipedia:Shinji Aramaki|Shinji Aramaki]], creator of various other anime productions, also assisted with the project as creative director.

''Halo Legends'' was distributed by [[Wikipedia:Warner Home Video|Warner Bros.]] and released onto standard DVD and Blu-ray on February 16, 2010.<ref>[http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/entertainmentnewsbuzz/2009/07/video-game-publishers-microsoft-ubisoft-invading-hollywoods-turf.html '''Los Angeles Times''': ''Video game publishers Microsoft, Ubisoft invading Hollywood's turf'']</ref> And on February 9, the [[halo Legends: Original Soundtrack|''Halo Legends'' Original Soundtrack]] was released. Some of the episodes were briefly distributed on [[Halo Waypoint]] before the release of the DVD.<ref name="xbox360.ign.com">[http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/107/1073289p2.html "IGN-next six years": Legends, Movies and the Next Six Years]</ref>

''Halo Legends'' will be available to users with the [[Halo Channel]] application for [[Xbox One]] and [[Wikipedia:Windows 8.1|Windows 8.1]].<ref>[http://www.gamespot.com/articles/halo-channel-and-halo-5-beta-dates-revealed-at-gam/1100-6421662/ '''Gamespot''': ''Halo Channel and Halo 5 Beta Dates Revealed at Gamescom'']</ref>

==Background and development==
{{Quote|It's a wildly varied genre, but anime creators do things with weapons and vehicles and technology nobody else does and that marries very well with Halo. It's amazing to see some of the new stuff they're introducing and how neatly it maps to the visual aesthetics in the Halo universe|[[Frank O'Connor]], Creative Director of [[343 Industries]].}}

''Halo Legends'' had origins in the 2006 [[Marvel Comics]] tie-in, ''[[The Halo Graphic Novel]]''; Frank O'Connor said that the idea of an anime compilation existed for years before there was momentum for the project.<ref name="majornelson-343">[http://majornelson.com/2009/12/09/show-343-interviews-with-some-of-the-343-team-about-halo-and-more/ "majornelson-343"]</ref> Wanting to tell smaller stories in a different format than video games and novels and in different art styles, Frank O'Connor said that anime was a natural fit. An additional consideration was that 343 Industries felt that the Japanese style of narrative fit the stories well.<ref>Halo Legends; The Making of [DVD; Disc 2/2]</ref> Most of the animation studios Microsoft approached were available for the project. Most studios were "afraid" of creating their own stories, even if they were familiar with the series, so O'Connor sent them possible story treatments. Microsoft was deeply involved in making sure story details were correct and writing the scripts for the stories, Frank O'Connor estimated that 50% of the dialogue in the final products were verbatim from the original scripts.{{Ref/Reuse|majornelson-343}} While all the stories save [[Odd One Out]] are considered canon, Frank O'Connor noted that some discrepancies were the cause of artistic interpretation.<ref>[http://nikon.bungie.org/misc/frankie_legends_qa.html "Frankie's Halo Legends Q&A Session"]</ref>

The animation studios were given wide latitude in their presentation.<ref>[http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/entertainmentnewsbuzz/2009/07/video-game-publishers-microsoft-ubisoft-invading-hollywoods-turf.html "Los Angelas Times"]</ref> In developing their stories and styles, the anime studios were supplied with access to [[Halo Story Bible]] and art assets.{{Ref/Reuse|xbox360.ign.com}}

One of the artistic styles that is the most radical departure from traditional animation styles is featured within [[The Duel]], which employs a filter that makes every cell look as though it was hand painted by watercolors. His goal that he was aiming for in this project was, "to make audiences understand there should be other styles of animation beyond the existing two primary kinds of animation presented – precisely cel-drawing 2D style and CG 3D style. I wanted to show that creators are not limited, that they have many options for different (animation) styles to create stories."<ref>[http://fancoredaily.com/?p=1381 "Fancoredaily": Interview With Hiroshi Yamazaki]</ref>
<!-- http://bluray.ign.com/articles/100/1007251p1.html http://nikon.bungie.org/misc/frankie_legends_qa.html -->  
<!-- moving into hollywood's turf, still using Warner Bros. for distribution, waypoint 1:07:00 <ref name="xbox.com-halo legends">{{cite web[http://halo.xbox.com/en-us/halolegends "Halo Legends - Halo Official Site" work=Xbox.com|publisher=Microsoft|accessdate=2009-12-28}}</ref> -->

Voice recording was done by [[Wikipedia:Seraphim Digital|Seraphim Digital]] in Houston, TX.<ref>[http://www.sxanimedia.com/2009/11/microsoft-and-warner-brothers-tap.html "Microsoft and Warner Brothers tap Seraphim Digital Studios (formerly ADV Studios) for Halo Legends English Adaptation"]</ref><ref>[http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2009-11-06/former-adv-dubbing-studio-voices-halo-legends-project "Former ADV Dubbing Studio Voices Halo Legends Project"]</ref>

==Films==
{| align="center" border="5" cellpadding="4" style="width:660px"
|'''Producer'''
|'''Name'''
|'''Description'''
|'''Poster'''
|-
|Bones
|''[[Prototype]]''
|Taking place during the [[Algolis Invasion]], Prototype tells the story of a [[Ghost (Marine)|Marine]] who, despite orders to destroy an advanced prototype armor, uses the suit to buy time for [[civilian]]s evacuating from the planet.
|[[File:Prototype poster.jpg|50px]]
|-
|Casio Entertainment
|''[[The Package (animated short)|The Package]]''
|A CGI-film taking place during a [[SPARTAN-II Program|SPARTAN-II]] raid on a [[Covenant Empire|Covenant]] [[Covenant assault carrier|Assault Carrier]] using [[Open Frame 92/Extra-Vehicular Activity|Booster Frames]] to recover [[Catherine Halsey|"the package"]].
|[[File:The Package poster.jpg|50px]]
|-
|Production I.G
|''[[The Duel]]''
|Taking place long before the [[Human-Covenant War]],<ref>[http://carnage.bungie.org/haloforum/halo.forum.pl?read=952800 '''Frankie:''' ''This is quite late into the Covenant as a society, with most of the client species either absorbed or in the process of absorption...'']</ref> The Duel tells the story of an [[Arbiter]], [[Fal 'Chavamee]], who refuses to accept the [[Covenant religion|Covenant Religion]].
|[[File:Duel poster.jpg|50px]]
|-
|
[[wikipedia: Bee Train|Bee Train]]<br />

Production I.G.
|''[[Homecoming]]''
|Focused on the tragedies involving the [[SPARTAN-II Program|SPARTAN-II]] recruitment in [[2517]], and the SPARTANs coming to terms with their origins.
|[[File:Homecoming poster.jpg|50px]]
|-
|Studio 4&nbsp;°C
|''[[Origins]]''
|An expansive history of the 100,000 year long [[Halo universe|''Halo'' universe]]. It is comprised of two parts.
|[[File:Origins poster.jpg|50px]]
|-
|Studio 4˚C
|''[[The Babysitter]]''
|A story about the rivalry between the SPARTAN-II Commandos and the [[Orbital Drop Shock Trooper]]s as they're sent to [[Heian|Covenant-controlled world]] to [[Raid on Heian|assassinate]] a Covenant [[Unidentified Prophet (Heian)|San'Shyuum]].
|[[File:Babysitter poster.jpg|50px]]
|-
|Toei Animation
|''[[Odd One Out]]''
|A non-canon and satirical interpretation of the ''Halo'' universe featuring [[SPARTAN-1337]].
|[[File:Odd One Out poster.jpg|50px]]
|}
{{Clear}}

==Marketing==
===Halo Legends Heroes Journey Sweepstakes===
{{Main|Halo Legends Heroes Journey Sweepstakes}}
''Halo Legends Heroes Journey Sweepstakes'' was a marketing competition in [[2010]] between the January 30 and March 2 for ''Halo Legends''. It had players enter codes from Twitter and Facebook, onto a Facebook application that gave them cards that told them about the then upcoming ''Halo Legends'' and related media.

===Early showings===
In November 2010, before ''Halo Legends'' was released on DVD and Blu-ray, on the Xbox 360 [[Halo Waypoint]] application was shown 4 episodes. One was ''The Babysitter'', and another was ''The Package''.

==Release and reception==
''Halo Legends'' was originally to be released on February 9, 2010, but its launch was pushed back a week to February 16. The compilation comes in three different retail packages: a standard DVD release with all the episodes, a two-disc special-edition which contains additional commentary, and the Blu-ray Disc edition, featuring the special-edition features and a summary of the ''Halo'' storyline.<ref>[http://www.gamespot.com/news/6245077.html?sid=6245077&part=rss&subj=6245077 "Gamespot.com"]</ref> The film's United States premiere was held at the AMC Metreon in San Francisco on February 10,<ref>[http://bluray.ign.com/articles/106/1067221p1.html "IGN.com":  IGN Presents Halo Legends Premiere]</ref> with the companion soundtrack released by [[Wikipedia: Sumthing Distribution|Sumthing Distribution]] the day previous. ''Halo Legends'' was later included in the 2017 release of the ''[[Halo: The Complete Video Collection]]''.

Reception to ''Legends'' was mixed. IGN UK wrote that while the decision to merge ''Halo'' and Japanese anime seemed an odd choice, "''Halo Legends'' proves a successful—if uneven—attempt to fuse these two universes, and will certainly prove essential viewing for those with more than a passing interest in Bungie's seminal shooters."<ref>[http://uk.dvd.ign.com/articles/106/1067327p1.html "IGN": IGN UK-review]</ref> IGN US said that the short films "prove surprisingly accessible to sci-fi fans in general," and that the collection was "well worth" the time.<ref>[http://dvd.ign.com/articles/106/1069977p1.html "IGN": "IGN US-review"]</ref> ''Game Informer'' said that ''Halo Legends'' would appeal to story-interested fans of the franchise, not those who cared about multiplayer gameplay.<ref>[http://gameinformer.com/b/features/archive/2010/02/04/feature-Halo-Legends-Review.aspx Game Informer: "gameinformer-review"]</ref>

Based on Rentrak and ''Home Media Magazine'' numbers, ''Legends'' ranked second and fourth in Blu-ray Disc and DVD sales, respectively, during its first week of sales in the United States. It also ranked seventh in Blu-ray Disc rankings in Japan. In its second week it dropped off the US Blu-ray Disc Top 20 charts, and slipped to tenth for DVD sales.<ref>[http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2010-03-05/halo-legends-ranks-no.2-on-bd-no.4-on-dvd-in-1st-week "Anime News Network": Sales]</ref> According to The-Numbers.com, ''Legends'' sold $2.56 million worth of merchandise or 168,000 DVDs its first week.<ref name="The Numbers">[http://www.the-numbers.com/interactive/newsStory.php?newsID=4954 "The Numbers"]</ref> Total sales have reached $8.27 million.{{Ref/Reuse|The Numbers}}

==Trivia==
*''Halo Legends'' is the final piece of media to use the original ''Halo'' logo.

==Gallery==
<gallery>
File:HaloLegendsLogo.png|Title art.
File:Halo-SE-DVD.jpg|Artwork for the ''Halo Legends'' Blu-ray and DVD.
File:Halo-DVD.jpg|Artwork for the ''Halo Legends'' DVD.
File:HaloLegends - Box Art.jpg|''Halo Legends'' box art front and back.
File:HLeg Promotional Artwork 1.jpg|Promotional artwork.
File:HLeg Promotional Artwork 2.jpg
</gallery>

==Sources==
{{Ref/Sources|2}}

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[[Category:Halo Legends]]
[[Category:Canon]]