Answerman

Return of the Answerman

Woo! I have returned. I apologize for the grievous amount if setbacks and delays the past few weeks have produced - needless to say, for at least awhile, Answerman should continue uninterrupted every Tuesday and Friday. I decided to swap from Wednesday to Tuesday, given that the Friday column was up for nearly a week, and the Wednesday column up for a mere two days. Regardless, here are today's questions:

Hey Answerman, I've seen both Evangelion and Trigun in their entirety in low quality internet downloads or VHS. I really want to buy the DVD's, but I'm concerned about the looming threat of a boxed set release. I don't want to commit to starting with the DVD's if the entire thing is going to come out with some nice collector's bonuses. You have any word or intuition on whether either an Eva or Trigun boxed set are on the way?
Thanks!
-Ben

What is with you people and boxed sets of things? I swear I get at least 20 questions a week on whether something released on individual discs will get released as a "boxed set". Boxed sets are rarely if ever significantly cheaper than buying the individual discs and rarely do they ever come with anything extra aside form a box to put the discs in. Evangelion sold well and still sells well as individual discs. ADV has yet to release a boxed set of anything so I think the probability of an EVA box set is low. Pioneer DOES have a Trigun boxed set planned. However the box set won't have chromatic covers like the individual releases did. The set retails in November. No extras are planned at this time. If you like the show, buy it. A boxed set coming out isn't a "threat"… it exists so people who haven't bought the show can buy it in one big package.

Dear Answerman can you please tell me a bit about these tv series and if the will be released in the us?
   -doremi -Detective Conan -noir -Angelic Layer -To Heart

thanks

First, I'll give a brief rundown of each series, Oja Majo Doremi (A useless witch Doremi) is basically a magical girl show that's the equivalent of Sailor Moon. It's been running a long time in Japan and is very popular. Detective Conan is a children's show that's been running even longer, with a theatrical movie released every year or so. It follows the adventures of Conan, a super-smart kid who solves mysteries. Noir is about two female assassins and is currently enjoying a popular television run in Japan. Angelic Layer is the latest TV series from CLAMP. Mr. Rob Shannon of the Tucson Animation Screening Society best described it as "Card Captor Sakura meets Pit Fighter Barbie." I couldn't have put it better myself. To Heart is based on a dating sim game, it's yet another of the "milquetoast has every cute girl in his school chasing after him" anime series.
None of the series you've mentioned have been licensed, with the sole exception of Noir, which ADV has been waffling back and forth on. Detective Conan was licensed by Fox for a while, but they dropped it.

I've been dying to know if the movie or ova of Enishi vs. Kenshin came out subtitled or dubbed yet? I heard it was a OVA! Others I heard came out to be a movie! Which is true?

Hoo boy. This new Kenshin OVA is going to be a real pain in my backside until it comes out. There's a new Kenshin OVA being produced by Sony. It's set to come out in December. It does not deal with Enishi. The producers have said that it's an original series and retains the visual look of the first OVA series. So, essentially, neither of the things you heard are true; the new Kenshin being produced DOES NOT deal with Enishi.

Hi

I'm a big Love Hina fan and I was dying to know if there were any plans to make a second season. There's so much more story left in the manga that needs to be put into anime form. Speaking of the manga, I know there is at least up to volume 12. How much more is on the way? Is it still being made? Thanks a lot.

The producers of the Love Hina anime have officially stated that the Love Hina Spring Special was the "final episode" of the Love Hina anime. They indicated that plans for a second season or more "special" episodes were not underway. The manga is still running - it's nearly impossible to determine when exactly at what volume a manga series will end. Sometimes they end early, sometimes they run long. The series is still very popular in Japan so the manga will come out for some time, but I wouldn't expect any new anime to come about until something is officially announced.

Hey, Answerman. As a newbie to anime, I was wondering if you could suggest to me some series worth watching. (I like all genres) All I've really seen are hacked up Outlaw Stars, Dragon Ball Zs, and the ever popular Neon Genesis Evangelion. Thanks a million.

           Rhiannon

And now for the Answerman's Indulgent Question ™ of the day. Rhiannon, run, don't walk, to your local anime video rental shop and get Revolutionary Girl Utena, Cowboy Bebop, Escaflowne, and Rurouni Kenshin. If those series don't make a serious otaku out of you, nothing will.

I just rented the dvd video "Angel Sanctuary" and the story kind of leave you hanging at the end. Do you know if they are going to release the conclusion of the story on video anytime soon?

Thanx
T.B

I seriously doubt they could finish off the Angel Sanctuary story in anything less than a full 26 episode TV series - if you want to see the complete Angel Sanctuary story, buy the Japanese manga and read the translations available on the net. The OVA is a woefully underproduced and underwritten version of one of the most complex manga stories I've ever read. There are no plans for more anime anyway, so if you want to find out what happens, you'll have to check out the manga.

Zac,

Do you have any idea on whether Cowboy Bebop will be edited like all the other anime on CN?

Yeah, but probably not as much, since it's going in to the Cartoon Network "Adult Swim" block. CN still doesn't know what will be edited but suffice to say, edits will have to be made. Heck, even the Japanese TV broadcast of Cowboy Bebop was edited.

Will the movie Spriggan be release in theaters or DVD. Have written to ADV and have been told it will come out soon. I have already seen the movie but, it was all in Japanese and I could not understand it. When will the English or subtitled version come out?

Thanks Darrell

ADV said they were thinking about a September release date for Spriggan at AnimeExpo 2001. Now, ADV doesn't have a great track record for sticking to release dates, so that's as good as you'll get for now. They told you it'd be out soon; just be patient.

Any chance that the HunterXHunter and/or One Piece anime will be released in North America?

Good lord, I hope so. No plans yet for either series but I'm personally crossing my fingers and praying to any number of Pagan deities that One Piece will get licensed soon.

I've been wondering for quite awhile if there's a secret Maze OAV or movie that nobody's heard about. See, there's this soundtrack I bought (which I've seen labeled on some websites as the 'Theatrical Soundtrack'), which doesn't appear to be from the TV series or OVAs as it has completely different theme songs. Also, in the liner notes there are pictures of these three blonde girls who aren't in the TV series or OVAs. They show up again on some pencilboards. Is it all some weird conspiracy to confuse me, or is there actually more Maze?
-Sarcasm-hime

Okay, a friend of mine brought this up a while ago. I've seen that "theatrical soundtrack" before, and this same friend did some research on this unknown Maze movie. Apparently there was a short Maze movie released in theaters along with "Welcome to Lodoss Island!", a movie based on the chibi-Lodoss manga stories. He went hunting for the Laserdisc, and couldn't find it - out of stock or nonexistant at every place he looked. So, in short, this movie does exist - it's just next to impossible to find. If anyone out there has any information, please, let me know. I'll post it here.

Right, so, that's it for this week. See you on Friday.