Answerman

The Show Must Go On

Congratulations to Tempest on his wedding. Hey, if that guy can get married, there's hope for all of us. :)

Of course, Tuesday's column wasn't posted for obvious reasons; I hope that all of my readers and indeed everyone is safe and well today. If you have loved ones in New York or are a New Yorker yourself, or were involved in the Pentagon, my heart goes out to you in this time of tragedy.

Life must continue; we must press on. With that in mind, here are today's questions:

Do you Think that Marmalade Boy will ever be brought over to the United States and Dubbed?

Neil Sher

The Marmalade Boy manga is being translated now by Tokyo Pop, but the anime remains a mystery. Nothing's impossible, though, so keep an eye out.

I had a question, and wasen't sure who to ask.
Why are anime dvd's so expensive? Is it simply one of those "the people like it so we'll charge more" deals? I have run into this problem lately, and feel cheated when I spend most of a paycheck on something that is no different than the video release (Eg. Trigun).
Why would someone charge $30 for a 3 episode dvd with little more added than a japanese voice track, while at the same time other series (Eg. Outlaw Star, Bowboy Bebop) have been released in a slightly more cost effective format (8-9 eps, or 5-6 eps for about the same price).
I know that it is my choice to buy what I do, but I at least want to feel like I'm geting my money's worth when I spend alot on something I like.
(side note: any chance Trigun will be released in a collected version, rather than a transfer of the original videos?)

Anime DVDs are on average about 10 bucks more than a normal American release. This happens for several reasons. One, most companies that release anime are still relatively small and have to make production costs back. Two, the material being sold came at a severe licensing cost, and they have to sell so many units at such a price to make their initial investment back and still manage a profit. Series that they think will sell well, IE, Outlaw Star and Cowboy Bebop, get higher episode count releases because they know they'll sell in volume. There's a trend now towards releasing more episodes per DVD; just be patient. And yes, A Trigun collected boxed set is on the way.

Ok, if you can answer all (or any) of these questions, I will be much impressed. Here goes...

1)I have heard rumors of a Yu Yu Hakusho OVA. It is rumored to contain reanimated versions of the best fights from the TV series, and omake. Is there any truth to this?

2)Who has the rights to Magical Stage Fancy La La, and when will this be released in America?

3)I know Animeworks has the rights to the Ninku movie, but do they have the rights to the TV series? I want to know if there is any hope of ever seeing it on this side of the Pacific.

-Thanks,
ProdigalSon

The YuYu OVA is a rumor and nothing more. Mahou no Stage Fancy Lala is being released by Bandai. Animeworks currently has no plans for Ninku TV but the movie was just released on DVD alongside the first YuuYuu Hakusho movie.

Please tell me, have I lost my edge and drifted into insanity, or am I just the only one in the world to have ever seen Generator Gawl? I've only seen the first to episodes to, are there more?(I assume there are more) Where can I get these elusive dvd's & vhs's? And is the series still is production? Please tell me, I feel so lost about it. It seemed like such a good series!
::goes off into a rant on generator gawl::

-Tankies from everyone's favorite author wannabe
-Lane

You and the thousands of other people who have bought ADV Films' highly advertised and popular release of the Generator Gawl DVDs. There are 13 episodes total and the fourth and final Generator Gawl DVD is scheduled for release this fall. There are currently no plans to continue the series.

Yes, I would like to know why ADV is so slow in releasing their shows? IT has been mothes now that Gawl and other release have not been out. Also when you go to there web page its updates are far behind. Is ADV going out of buisness or in a money crunsh. Over this do you know when they will release Gawl, Burn UP W X-cess, and the other titles there holding? This reminds me of Orin when they went under.
BAT

You're just impatient. Seriously, that's the problem. ADV takes no longer to release an anime title than a major movie studio takes to release a feature film. Otaku want everything now, fast, perfect, and free. They'll release everything in due time; just keep your pants on. This is becoming a sore issue for me; check ADV's website, people. They take a few months, sometimes up to a year, to release something new. Get over it. Wait. The world will not end if you don't have Burn Up X-Cess in your hands tomorrow.

Sorry, but another Evangelion question, this one is about both the series and the movies. I noticed that in End of Evangelion, the animation is not the same as the animation in the series, most noticeably in the Evas, the shoulder armor is shorter and thinner, and the evas at points appear to have gained weight, I was just wondering why this was? Did they get a new artist? or did they just feel like changing that? Or something I didn't think of?

Thanks Answerman
Russell

Often times in anime they'll get a new character designer for the movie version of a TV series. They'll make the character designs a bit flashier or easier to animate by feature film standards; often they'll change the look of the show completely. There's no real significance, it's just a minor aesthetic change.

Hey, Answerman-
I was wondering if you knew of any stores that carried the Utena duelist ring. I've heard that Anime Kakumei carried them, but it seems that they have closed down, so....
Yukino ^_^

Honestly the only places I've ever found the Utena duelist rings are conventions. I've seen them many times at Expo and A-Kon... usually the smaller accessory booths carry them.

Hi Answerman!

I've read on the fansubs.net message board that Kamikaze Kaitou Jeanne has been acquired. But no one's named a company yet. So, I turn to you for the answer. ^_^

Thanks for your help.

Sounds like a rumor to me. I haven't heard about KKJ being licensed yet; couldn't find anything on the web, either. None of my contacts in the industry seemed to know anything either. Is it possible you misread something?

Answerman,

Based on past articles i've seen on the Anime News Network as with various sources, it seems that Disney isn't going to release Studio Ghibli's film "Spirited Away" in the states. Also, by reading Inside.com's article "Burnt Once by Anime, Disney Is Shy About Releasing New Japanese Blockbuster in the U.S." it also gives the impression that they don't want to release any more releases of Studio Ghibli's films at all. Now it that appears to be true, would the Disney/Tokuma Publishing contract be broken? Also, if that happens, would companies like Manga, Bandai, and Pioneer make attempts to obtain a contract with Miyazaki's Studio Ghibli? I'm a little confused about that.... or is Disney planning on releasing movies such as Nausicaa and Laputa on VHS and DVD and avoid any theatrical releases?

Also... the first question for the "Answerman: Lazy Labor Day" column... what series was that about?

--XellGadis

What "Disney is planning" is anyone's guess. That article confused a lot of people. The "impression" they give is just that; an impression, not necessarily the truth. I wouldn't get crazy or ask too many questions about this yet; things are still in the mysterious planning stages and nobody really knows what Disney's next move it. We're all just going to have to wait.
Oh, and that first question was about Magic Knight Rayearth.

Hey Answerman,
Is it me or are there a lot of superficial similarities between Berserk and Bastard?

It's you. Berserk is a masterpiece and Bastard is at best pedestrian entertainment. :)

See y'all next week!