After ten months in production, Animax Asia’s first HD animation mini-series LaMB will be premiering worldwide starting 24th March 2009. The first part will be screened at 20:00 +GMT, with the second part following on 31st March 2009 at the same time slot. Both parts will also be screened back-to-back on 7th April 2009, again at 20:00 +GMT. Please check local listings or your cable operator for availability

The story of LaMB revolves around the lives of Eve and Jack, citizens of the planet Cerra where a unique system of corporal punishment called “Lamination” is utilized. Instead of incarceration or the death penalty, convicted criminals are “laminated” in self-contained, virtual prisons — allowing them to participate in and be useful to society, but limiting their freedom and movement. Eve is a former weapons expert who has been laminated after an accidental manslaughter charge. Jack, on the other hand, is a scientist who finds himself embroiled in Eve’s life and Cerra’s political struggles with the ethics of lamination.

LaMB is the first animation co-production by the Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB) and SPE Networks. It was produced entirely in Singapore by animation company Peach Blossom Media and concept art studio Imaginary Friends. LaMB is directed by Ryosuke Tei of Japanese design agency Furi Furi, with storyboards by Yasufumi Soejima, formerly of Studio Gonzo. Hong Kong rock starlet Josie Ho and Taiwanese pop star Vanness Wu share voice-acting duties with Japanese actress Tanaka Chie.

For more on LaMB, visit the offiicial website at http://www.animax-lamb.com.

I first came across LaMB back in November 2008 when I attended ANIME FESTIVAL ASIA 2008 in Singapore. ANIMAX and AFA were going full-blast with promotions of the two-part mini-series — touted as the first big-budget, full-length animation made entirely in Singapore. I was very pleased to learn that LaMB is the end-of-the-line product of what started out as Filipino amateur writer Carmelo Juinio‘s submission to the Animax Awards 2007 — a pan-Asian animation-based scriptwriting competition.