TheVileOne states that the earlier images of "anime Wolverine" was just test animation by Madhouse and that the finished product looks more like the Wolverine we know (leather jacket and all). It isn't as if this is the first time Madhouse has worked with Marvel; they've done the animation to quite a few of their projects (including "HULK VS." and "PLANET HULK"). The "Marvel Anime" is simply a way to get attention to the projects as well as to allow Madhouse to probably put in some design elements to appeal to Japan. I imagine Warren Ellis also has that audience in mind. But it overlaps. Americans enjoy Japanese cartoons, while the Japanese enjoy American cartoons and characters as well as their own. Hell, anime as we know it was inspired originally by Disney animation (hence the large eyes). So it all comes full circle.
The WOLVERINE series being based on the original 80's mini series with Mariko and Lord Shingen is a good idea. That's a story that the format works well for.
As for X-MEN ANIME, I imagine Ellis will use the team of X-Men he has in the monthly comics he writes (even if they don't come out monthly). That roster consists of Cyclops, Emma Frost, Wolverine, Beast, Storm, and Armor. The latter is specifically mentioned in the blurb about the series. The first five are, frankly, the X-Men who Marvel would probably consider most recognizable internationally at this time. Ellis dropped Colossus, Brand, and Lockheed from the Astonishing roster when he took over from Whedon with issue #26, and uses that line-up for his XENOGENESIS story. Plus, aside for Storm and Armor, those other X-Men were the roster Grant Morrison used for his original U-Men story (only without Beak, Xorn, or "Angel").
When Grant Morrison took over the X-Men, Colossus was still dead and he gave Frost her diamond form to make her look visually distinctive. Without Colossus, she apparently served the role of a visually distinctive person with was nigh-invulnerable (although unlike Colossus, she lacked super strength and combat prowess). Colossus would eventually be resurrected by Joss Whedon in AXM, but Frost remains a far more popular and utilized character in comics and animation since his resurrection. I sincerely doubt Ellis would insert Colossus into his Astonishing team for another medium when he hasn't bothered to use him before.
On the other hand, since Wolverine is getting his own anime, I do imagine he'd simply be "part of the team" in the X-MEN anime. Historically in AXM, Logan was never the feature star; he'd have his segments and moments, but he never overshadowed the run when either Whedon or Ellis were on it. Armor wasn't really showcased in WOLVERINE AND THE X-MEN and for a time, she was considered an important new X-Men character. She's been less brutalized then the cast of ACADEMY X, for instance, and seems to be filling the "Logan sidekick" role that Shadowcat and Jubilee once filled.
Colossus probably would have been part of the regular roster of an X-Men cartoon had PRYDE OF THE X-MEN really gotten a show in 1989, although it probably would have been a G.I. JOE style clone with spandex attached. That was probably his best chance at making it as a regular on a small screen X-Men cast. Ever since, Colossus has been long overshadowed by other characters, both newer or more distinctive. The 90's show had Rogue to perform his feats of strength, as well as other new characters like Jubilee and Gambit to fill out the team alongside the older X-Men of the 60's and 70's. "X-MEN EVOLUTION" clearly didn't seem interested in Colossus until they needed a big man to fill an adversarial spot, whether due to creative choice or network lecturing, or both. Part of me does like to imagine Piotr may have been there if Spyke wasn't a character the creators wanted to introduce and utilize. He would have apparently played a larger role in Season 2 of W&TXM, but that never happened, and I wouldn't hold my breath about any DTV "specials" to revisit that show. It's possible, but not probable. To be honest, Colossus is a character that the comics have had trouble handling for ages. Visually, he's a great design, but writers struggle with writing him. The angle of a "good, noble Russian man" seems less unique after the Cold War. I see him as the character the closest to Superman in terms of morality on the X-Men, which is usually made up of anti-heroes. To many, that usually makes him seem boring, and thus replaceable. Fans hardly even mentioned him in Internet conversation until he died in X-TREME X-MEN. For quite a while I've imagined the character has no future in the X-Men franchise (where I suspect he'll remain a background character forever) and should be allowed to explore others, much as Beast and Pete Wisdom have. So as much as I go on about this, I can't really fault the animation department with having no more vision or tolerance for Colossus than Marvel editorial do. In fact I imagine the only reason Colossus wasn't killed again for SECOND COMING was because he'd already died once within the decade, and they feared being predictable. At best he's seen as "Kitty's boyfriend", but if Kitty isn't around, no one knows what to do with him, and that's been true for at least 15 years.
Onto the positive. I imagine this'll give Steve Blum more time to reprise his role as Wolverine outside of SUPER HERO SQUAD, since W&TXM is no more. In fact I can imagine quite a lot of the cast of W&TXM being tapped for the X-MEN ANIME, which'd be good. If Ellis gives Storm more to say and do, that could appease her fans who've been disappointed in her for at least ten years in cartoons. Plus, it'll be nice to see a Cyclops who isn't treated as Logan's toilet paper again, but closer to an equal, on TV. Armor will probably look amazing in animation. And the U-Men are a creepy, twisted unique set of adversaries for the X-Men to face, and it isn't simply Magneto or Sentinels for the 100th time, but something new. With some well paced action and some sweet animation, this could at least be a decent consolation prize for embittered W&TXM fans.
