Anime Boston 2007

Geneon Entertainment

Saturday morning's Geneon Entertainment panel was presented by vice president of sales and marketing Jim Yardley and producer Terry Ho. To open the panel, the two studio representatives asked attendees to name the seven Geneon series images from which were included in a collage on the first page of the PowerPoint presentation they would use. Several people tried, but nobody was able to correctly identify all seven.

Terry and Jim then alternated between talking about the new series Geneon will be releasing in May and June, and older titles that are being repackaged under the newly-announced Geneon Classics line. This label will include both value-priced series box sets and individual DVDs of anime that had previously only been available as full-series boxes.

The first two Geneon Classics titles will be Doki Doki School Hours (a five-DVD hard collector's box, to retail at $80) and the first volume of the El Hazard - The Magnificent World (four episodes, $14.98). Two more El Hazard volumes will be released throughout 2007, and presumably, the third one will include the four-episode Magnificent World 2. Both of these will be released on May 22.

June 5 will see the release of a forty-dollar I, My, Me - Strawberry Eggs collection and the first (of three) $14.98 volume of Legend of the Dog Warriors. The Ikkitousen Complete Collection ($80, thinpack) and the first volume of the re-release of 3x3 Eyes (also $14.98) will follow on June 12. And on June 19, Geneon will inundate store shelves with Tenchi Muyo! content. The Tenchi Muyo! Movie Collection (all three movies, $30), Tenchi Universe Complete Collection ($50) and Tenchi in Tokyo Complete Collection ($50) are all scheduled for this date. These releases will be joined by the Tetsujin 28 Complete Box ($40), and, closing out the month on June 26, the Vandread Complete Collection (all 26 episodes, $100).

Of course, these same months will also see the release of several first volumes of anime Geneon has recently licensed. Ayakashi - Samurai Horror Tales, an anthology where each separate episode is animated in a different style, will hit store shelves on May 1. Black Lagoon volume 1 will follow on May 22. In addition to the standard DVD, buyers will be able to pick up a version that includes a steel slim-case that will hold all subsequent DVDs. More volumes will be released at two-month intervals. Karin, the anime adaptation of the manga that Tokyopop is releasing as Chibi Vampire is scheduled for May 29, and on the same day, Geneon will bring fans the first volume of Rozen Maiden. Here, the special edition will include a unique felt-covered series box. When They Cry, which the panelists described as "similar to Paranoia Agent", and, drawing on a completely different set of references, "comparable to Blue Velvet and Twin Peaks mixed in with American Psycho and The Village" is scheduled for June 5. The preview clip that was shown to attendees reveals that the subtitle track for this series will retain the use of Japanese honorifics.

Finally, one of Geneon's most eagerly-awaited releases, the second volume of the Hellsing OAV, will be out on June 12. The standard release will be priced at $24.98, but the $49.98 special release will feature a full second DVD of bonus content, such as a roundtable interview with ADR Director Taliesin Jaffe and voice actors Patrick Seitz and Josh Phillips. The steel case the special release will be packaged in will also contain an exclusive 200-page artbook that was prepared specifically for US fans.

As the panel almost exhausted its allotted time, Jim and Terry unveiled Geneon's one Anime Boston 2007 licensing announcement - the 13-episode TV series "The Familiar of Zero." Directed by Yoshiaki Iwasaki (Love Hina), from a script by Takao Yoshioka (Elfen Lied, Happy Lesson, Rave Master), this J.C. Staff-produced series reunites as its two main characters Rie Kugimiya and Satoshi Hino, who recently worked together as the leads in Shakugan no Shana.

This panel report has been verified by the panelist.