So at the Dark Horse panel yesterday Carl Horn passed around a number of samples, including the Japanese volumes of Clover. Toward the end of the panel they were having trouble finding volume 4, and Anime on DVD notes in their panel report that the volume was never recovered.
That’s not cool, guys. If it was one of you, return it to the Dark Horse booth and they’ll accept it as a mistake. They need the book in order to get the Clover omnibus done in time!
So since I am a mere human (in spite of reports that I’m actually a spam bot, wich are UNTRUE!), I wasn’t able to get to Bandai Entertainment’s panel on Honneamise (Bandai Visual USA’s anime label), which was also not on my schedule (*cough*).
Fortunately for you guys, Anime on DVD’s Jason did go, and reports back that among other things, BEI plans on producing simultaneous releases with Japan under the Honneamise label, starting with the Freedom full Blu-Ray set, due out in a sub AND dub version (and with French subs) on November 11th. It’s four discs, $140 (it goes for ¥20,000, about $200, in Japan, so it IS cheaper than Japan– and this is Blu-Ray as well. Though still not cheap).
Other notables:
Hokay, Production I.G is getting started now, but the group’s a little smaller– because of the Shokotan concert, no doubt –the panel’s being hosted by Maki Terashima. She’s adorable, by the way.
Anyway, she’s talking about I.G’s upcoming Mamoru Oshii flick, Sky Crawlers, which is hitting Japan on August 2nd. There’s no U.S. distro yet, but they’re looking. They’re also working on World Destruction starting July 7th, which you can read more about at my summer preview.
Announcements that couldn’t be made last year but are interesting for this year, although she can’t say much on them: Clone Wars, they apparently did an episode of the new Star Wars cartoon. And second: the Anibatrix, Batman: Gothic Knight, which I couldn’t see the screening for (sad pandas). It’s due out Tuesday.
Cue the trailer reel, with shots from past I.G series from Blood: The Last Vampire to Tokyo Marble Chocolate to xxxHOLiC to Ghost in the Shell to…well, you get the idea. Then there are subbed trailers of Sky Crawlers– we’re told Oshii didn’t right it, so it’s easier to understand. Heh. Apparently Oshii is also a major fan of basset hounds, and his just passed away. (We’re seeing pictures from the sound recording of Sky Crawlers at Skywalker Ranch.)
They also played mahjongg– with actual gambling –and went to the Napa Valley wineries. Work, drinking, and gambling: a true California experience!
Moving on to a trailer for Real Drive, which I never got around to watching but which looks kinda neat…
Now a show called Phone Braver 7, which is actually a live-action TV series, a first for I.G. Takashi Miike is directing the series, and Mamoru Oshii directed one episode of it too. Maki is chastising people for leaving the room– why ARE they leaving right before a Miike reel? They’ll also be showing a preview of the replaced CG scenes for the upcoming remastered version of Ghost in the Shell too.
I only caught snippets of Phone Braver 7 since I was posting about the Honneamise stuff, but what I did see looked fun. Next up is the Ghost in the Shell 2.0 remix. Manga Entertainment will be releasing it, and they’ll have details on that release at New York Comic Con.
In the Q&A: anything in the future for Dead Leaves? No plans yet, apparently it didn’t do very well in Japan or the US, but the desire will be relayed. No plans for bringing Tachiguishi-Retsuden yet either.
In response to a question Maki says that the European anime audience is much stronger than the North American audience right now in terms of sales, so we need to compete! (Mind, our economy is also doing worse compared to Europe’s, I think…)
Any shot at Ghost in the Shell 2.0 in theaters in North America? Maki says she thinks it’s high-quality enough but it’s out of their control, it’ll depend on Manga Entertainment…but the theatrical market is really bad in the U.S. right now and not just for anime, so who can say?
Are there any plans for a Seirei no Moribito sequel? Not at this time, but she’ll tell us as soon as she can. How about a Blu-Ray release for Ghost in the Shell Stand Alone Complex Second Gig? Maybe…
Might they do more animated sequences in American movies like Kill Bill? Yes. Apparently there are always a couple of announcements that she can’t do at every Expo (like this year she mentioned Clone Wars and Batman), so next year she can answer that question for us. Of course, we’ll already have the answer online next year, but that’s okay.
How did they come to work with Skywalker Studios? Back when Mamoru Oshii did the live-action film Avalon he liked working with them so much that he insists on going to them, which is why his films are so high-budgeted. But they MIGHT be willing to work for him on a discount for a lower-budget film Oshii wants to work on, she says, but nothing official going on there yet.
Before asking a question, this guy told Maki that her panel is the best one at Expo. Maki says she wasn’t even going to have a panel this year except her trip to Japan was postponed. But hopefully next year she’ll have a better timeslot (i.e. NOT at the same time as a major concert event).
On to the guy’s question…he asks if it’s kinda like Battle Royale since it involves kids killing each other? At risk of spoiling, that’s not the main theme of the film, so no, not really related…but there’s a lot of action and killing, but that’s not the most important part of it.
Any plans on reworking or continuing the Kerberos Saga films? No plans to date. Why do they call them “tachikoma” in the anime instead of “fuchikoma” like in the manga. They’re actually slightly different machines, according to Wikipedia, but the best guess of the I.G rep off to the side is because the personality is a bit different.
“What was with Blood+?” This guy thinks it was horrible. (It was just DIFFERENT from Blood: The Last Vampire.) She says she doesn’t know how to answer that but she’ll pass on the message. And she even let him still take home a little giveaway item. Aww! I wouldn’t have let him. But then, that guy who asked Tpop to stop publishing yaoi won one of their giveaways too. (Lillian handed him the pinkest, girliest prize.)
Tachikoma are really popular; has anyone considered doing a project just with tachikoma? Like a side movie? (Maybe a 4koma? IS there a tachikoma 4koma?) Apparently there already is a “Days of Tachikoma” short video at the end of the DVDs, so…yeah. The guy’s trying to defend himself for not having seen it, blaming it on the fact that he watches the anime at his club. He’ll try to go back and watch.
We’re about out of time, although there’s nothing in here for a while so maybe they can continue?…we’ll see what she does.
How did I.G get involved in live-action, and why an attack cell phone show? Maki’s not entirely sure, but she thinks the director (Takashi Miike) wanted to do it with I.G and Oshii in particular. And let’s face it, who says no to Takashi Miike?
Next fan has a suggestion for subtitles on all the trailers in the US from now on? Maki says yeah, but she only had a week to prepare since she was originally going to be going to Japan around this time.
And now, jan-ken-pon to pass out the rest of the giveaway items. And I get a break until FUNimation! I think I’ll spend my last dollars at the dealer room. ♥
A couple of quick things going on–
1. I didn’t get a chance to mention this yesterday but long after the ADV panel, I heard from a friend that they said that ADV Manga will probably not license anything for the next twelve months. My response: doesn’t matter, as long as they get out Yotsuba&! 6, which they’ve already got the license for.
2. dot-anime announced today that it’s discontinuing its points program, no doubt in anticipation of being merged with Anime Village. So if you have points, use them by July 31st! Here’s the full text of the e-mail I got:
Dear Georgia,
Dear dot-anime customers,
dot-anime regretfully announces the discontinuation of the Dot-Anime Points program effective August 1, 2008.
We urge our customers to use all of their unredeemed points by July 31, 2008. After July 31, 2008 all unredeemed points shall be forfeited and no point claims shall be honored thereafter. Please note, points are not redeemable for cash. Please see the program rules for complete details at http://www.dot-anime.us.
We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused and ask for our customer’s understanding and cooperation.
Sincerely,
dot-anime.us
Sitting in on the Go! Comi panel now: and they’re first telling us that 07 Ghost is actually read “seven ghost,” not “oh-seven ghost.” Just so we know. And now they’re doing one of their cute little manga trailers for the series, which, btw, they have a HUGE banner for in the convention center.
We’re talking over all of the current titles, like Crossroads, Tenshi Janai, After School Nightmare, Kamisama Kazoku, Ultimate Venus, etc.
New licensing announcements, yay! Only a few that they can talk about: one is Days of Cool Idols, a BL one-shot, due out this fall (I’ll get the author name at the end). Next year they’ll release You Higuri’s series Crown, based on the original work by Shinji Wada. It’s a shoujo manga, not BL. It’s ending in Japan this December, and they’ll start releasing it in January. She may also get back to Cantarella at the end of this year…maybe.
And finally…a new series by Mick Takeuchi (creator of Her Majesty’s Dog and Wise Man Sleeps), titled Shibariya Komachi. The series follows a 17-year-old girl who accidentally loses nine years of her life– i.e. she becomes an 8-year-old. (Another description says she becomes a 10-year-old, but Go! Comi says she loses nine years, so…you tell me!). I love Takeuchi’s other works so I’m sure I’ll love this one too. ♥
And we’re now getting a preview for o-play, Go! Comi’s new manga gaming initiative– inspired by the Japanese dating sim/renai visual novel type games. However, instead of stat-building like what appears in some games (Angelique) it’s all about story-building. It’ll be online-only, and episodic, kind of like an anime or a manga– so expect cliffhangers. And the price will be under $10…a hit. Hm. It sounds interesting…
The title of the demo game is Dragon Academy. It looks okay so far, although the music’s awful– but this is slug music, not the actual final music, so we’ll see how it goes. It looks very much like a standard visual novel kind of game. It’s all flash, and the art looks really nice.
Here’s a shitty photo of the game:
When you need to make a decision, instead of selecting a text response, you get a wheel of faces (the wheel of emotions, or “wheel of emo”) where you select the way your character responds internally. Interesting.
And now just a couple of minutes for questions: the game will be charged both on a per-chapter (”episode”) basis, and probably also a subscription service eventually, probably when more chapters are available. They’re currently making three games, and they definitely are investigating the possibility of taking Japanese manga and developing games based on their manga (there’s a reason they’ve shown this to You Higuri already)…IF the games do well.
Some asker just got corrected for using “shounen-ai” (which is NOT a term for BL in Japan). A Black Sun/Silver Moon question about whether they’ll pursue more titles by her, and the answer is yes. And a question about Masque of the Red Death, their OEL BL title from Wendy Pini, who is here sitting in the audience already. They had a panel about it last night, and they’re going to have a signing with Pini back in the dealer room after this panel, with posters. There’s also a mock-up of the print edition for people to flip through…if you’re 18+. Those who preorder the book will get it signed by Pini.
The end!
Kasia, Marco, and Lillian are presiding over the Tpop panel, and they’re starting off with upcoming titles, like the Ghostbusters OEL. Artists include Yamashita, Johnson, Delk, Lorenzo, Schelfer, Watson, and Steinbach. Coming out around the same time as the video game.
OH GOD DISNEY. Camp Rock, High School Musical, and Hannah Montana comics…
This has been announced but here’s the first real discussion of it: full-color manga from non-Japan, non-US countries. The first title is Orange by Hong Kong artist Benjamin, due out February 2009, and I have to tell you– the cover is HOT.
Then there’s Pixie, which is thematically more manga-like than Orange. It’s by Mariolle and Aurore, hailing from France. This one was originally a large trim-size book (think TinTin), but they’ve been working their butts off to make sure the art and everything comes out well in a smaler trim size– regular manga size, for the record.
Last up is Luuna, about a Native American girl. I can’t read the names of the artists on it.
Moving forward with other titles that have been announced, they say? Tsubasa: Those With Wings (aka Tsubasa wo Matsu Mono) by Fruits Basket creator Natsuki Takaya.
A, um, Battlestar Galactica manga. Huh. Apparently they’re in close contact with the writers of the recent TV series, so they’ve got some plotlines that were actually supposed to be in the TV show that they didn’t have time to actually do. So, for BSG fans, this could be cool. That’s due out in March ‘09, ish.
They’re coming out with a novel of Tarot Cafe, written by Chandra Rooney and illustrated by Sang-Sun Park, who did the original manhwa, of course.
The .hack//G.U. novel is going to come out next winter, and they’ve acquired Peacemaker Kurogane, the follow-up to the original Peacemaker manga.
I’ve totally lost track on what’s actually new and what’s not, but here’s Nanae Chrono’s Momo Tama, which actually kinda reminds me of Potemayo in style o_o The Japanese title is Senki Senki Momotama, and it looks ridiculous and awesome. And it also includes hot dudes and fighting and action and stuff. Sounds win!
Kare Kano creator Masami Tsuda’s Castle of Dreams, which is actually two of Tsuda’s anthologies combined into one book.
Aaaand NG Life, by Mizuho Kusanagi, of Mugen Spiral fame (but very different).
Oooh, Togainu no Chi manga, by Sugaro Chayamachi and Nitro+ CHIRAL. This is a manga adaptation of a violent, action-oriented BL game. Yes, you heard that right.
This Ugly Yet Beautiful World, based on the Gainax anime of the same name. And then Maid-sama! (also known as Kaichou wa Maid-sama!), by Hiro Fujiwara, about a feminist school president who secretly works in a maid cafe. Mwahaha. Looking forward to that one, which runs in Lala with Host Club and Vampire Knight in Japan.
Last but not least, Demon Sacred, from Jyu-oh-Sei creator Natsumi Itsuki, he rmost recent series. Apparently it involves demons and unicorns. What more do you need?
Q&A now…are they going to continue publishing the Gundam manga Ecole du Ciel, which was suspended– it’s among the titles that are being re-evaluated after the Tpop/Tpop Media split and layoffs. When might we hear about them? As soon as possible but no specific timeframe yet.
Any shot at the .hack//sign SD 4koma strips coming out? Not at the moment, and Tpop is a little wary of the gag strips because they’re hard to translate (AzuDai being an exception, Lillian notes).
How can someone who is an established manga artist in China approach Tpop to publish their works? Sounds like he’s talking about someone specific. In the case of Benjamin, he has an agency, but the person this guy’s talking about can just contact someone at Tpop directly.
A fan of the bind-ups wants to know what other series are going to be done that way. They’ve done Sgt. Frog, KareKano, ReBirth, Chronicles of the Cursed Sword, Battle Royale, and they’re doing an ultimate edition of DramaCon– a 624-page book, with a 15-page bonus story and some stuff. Due out in October. Also I Luv Halloween is getting a bind-up, and Ai Yori Aoshi, and they’re considering many other series. They’ve even talked about doing one for Loveless– it’s just a matter of permission. Oh, and a Demon Host of Ouran bind-up. And the question asker wants Tactics, but that’s not super-long or finished for now.
What’s up with the light novel line? Like the manga, some of them are being re-evaluated but they plan to continue some, like Twelve Kingdoms. But they’re still working it out with the rights holders in Japan.
Questions on Battlestar Galactica (for which there is apparently an exclusive toaster being sold at San Diego Comic Con, scary!). The new manga is set in season 3, and it has not been determined if it’ll be pre-New Caprica(sp?) or post, but it’ll be an anthology of shorts.
I can’t even describe this question. This guy wants to find the UK office, and he wants them to do manga versions of ancient Egyptian scrolls, or something?…Tokyopop is handling this waaay better than we are, I can’t stop chuckling.
How about the reaction on the Kodansha news, will it affect Tokyopop– especially titles like Beck. As far as they know there should be no effect; they haven’t gotten any news from Kodansha, so speculation on that front was apparently wrong. It’s mostly business as usual for Tpop, since they don’t get a lot from Kodansha these days anyway.
Whose idea was it to publish tankobon instead of just single issues? Lillian says VIZ actually had been doing it for some time and Tpop (back when it was Mixxzine) did floppies, but eventually it was probably Stu who made the decision for Tpop, since he usually does. He also standardized the price and trim size.
Any update on the Return to Labyrinth and Dark Crystal manga in terms of releases? Labyrinth 3 is due out in December, and Crystal volume 2 should be sometime early next year, probably.
Same question but on Mamotte Shugogetten, which is still on the schedule. Volume 2 should be out soon. See, these questions I normally get annoyed by: “just check the website!” But it’s so hard to do that with TOKYOPOP. Lillian mentioned that they’d be updating the site soon, but they’ve been saying that for a while, so we’ll see.
Two final questions: next one, will you please stop releasing yaoi in the US? He’s wearing an Anime Pulse t-shirt…hmmmmm! I might sell him to Yaoi Press.
Last question: do they have an affiliation with Capcom? And will they please do the MegaMan manga? Lillian says it’s a good question, they have a relationship with Capcom, so it’s a possibility.
Well, I promised to have it up tonight, so here it is! The main points I gleaned from my interview with FUNimation CEO Gen Fukunaga:
You heard it here first! Hit the jump for the full transcript of the interview, in which we talked about FUNi’s coup, the future of the anime industry, and Gen’s favorite titles from FUNi’s recent acquisitions. There are a couple of references to Gen’s keynote speech, so here’s my report on that. And now, on with the transcript!
A quick update over at the Bandai Entertainment blog regarding the merger of BEI’s AnimeVillage and Bandai Visual USA’s dot-anime site. Apparently they’re mostly shifting over to using the dot-anime design, layout, URL, etc. while BEI will fulfill all orders on the site; this is all coming in the very near future. Anime Village’s website will start forwarding to dot-anime as soon as the transition period is done.
Also note: a couple of hints in the source of the blog entry!
!–Streamlining operations and there’s actually a rhyme and reason to this.–
!–Otsuka squadron has been assigned to the newly uncovered target.–
Make of it what you will!
Canned Dogs reports that a leak from Bones has let slip that a sequel season of Fullmetal Alchemist is in the works. (Would it pick up after the movie? After the first anime? Where the anime split off from the manga? No clue!)
And a Darker than Black 2. Call it rumors for now, but…damn. I’m not sure if I’m excited or terrified.
So I started in late thanks to AWESOME MEXICAN FOOD! and then I had FAIL INTERNETS! So I missed the licenses for Juné/801 except the last few, so you’ll have to wait for me to grab those. I DID catch Toko Kawai’s Cut, Clan of the Nakagamis 2, Lonely Egoist by Masara Minase, and a few other titles I didn’t get names for: Heavens Smile, Suggestive Eyes, Hey Sensei (by Yaya Sakuragi), Love Syndrome, and Love Potion. Full list as soon as I can get it!
They’re opening up Yaoi Club, and if you sign up early you MIGHT get some kind of coupon, which is awesome. On to the Q&A…
Ring Finger novel 4 just came out in Japan a year ago, and novels are harder to translate, but it’s in progress. 5 isn’t out yet in Japan. Our Kingdom 6 and Kuroshima-sensei’s Passion are delayed thanks to Biblos’ bankruptcy. Art of Loving 2 hasn’t been created yet.
Will there be a fourth book in the Finders series? They don’t know– it’s a CPM title! (If it’s anyone’s…)
They try to ignore scanlators, and don’t want to start sending C&Ds out, which is a stance they can only do as long as books sell! So buy ‘em if you read them online.
Someone just asked to interview the DMP staffers…heh. They’re crazy busy because they’re also manning their booth, which is seeing maaaad traffic.
Cold Sleep has two more volumes, both Biblos titles and therefore in limbo. There might be good news by the end of the year.
Mobile phone yaoi? Maybe. Are they looking at grabbing Drama Queen’s licenses? Not until DQ officially closes its doors, if that happens.
Here’s the license list:
Desire - Dangerous Feelings (Yabai Kimochi) by Shoko Takaku
Moonlit Promises (Yakusoku no Tsuki) by Souya Himawari
Double Trouble by Yukari Hashida
Where Has Love Gone (Ai wa Doko Itta) by Ryou Tsunoda
Then Comes Love (Soshite Ai ni Naru) by Riyu Yamakami
Pure Heart (Junjou) by Hyouta Fujiyama
The Way To Heaven (Tengoku ni Ikeba Ii) by Yamimaru Enjin
Clan of the Nakagamis 2 by Homerun Ken
Object of my Affections (Dare wa Sukina Hito) by Nanao Okuda
Love/Knot by Hiroko Ishimaru
Longest Time (Nagai Aida) by Tohko Tateno
Live for Love (Ai ni Ikitai Dake Nanosa) by Itsuki Sato and Jun Mayama
Eat or Be Eaten (Kuu ka Kuwareruka) by Yamimaru Enjin
Spiral of Sand (Suna no Rasen) by Yuna Aoi
Honey/Chocolate by Nanao Okuda
Manhattan Love Story by Momoko Tenzen
Planet of Earthquake (Kikai Jikake no Ousama) by Miou Takaya
The Lonely Egoist by Hikaru Masaki
Heaven’s Smile (Sora Kara Furumono) by Aki Senoo
Suggestive Eyes (Sono Ki ni Sasenaide) by Momoko Tenzen
Love Syndrome (Renai Shoukougun) by Yura Miyazawa
Love Potion (Biyaku na Honey) by Sakuya Fujii
Hey Sensei by Yaya Sakuragi
Cut by Toko Kawai
Oh thank god, I think that’s all of them…
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