Forum - View topicA7's Anime Expo 2003 Report
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areaseven
Encyclopedia Editor
 Posts: 1486 Location: Makati, Philippines |
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I just returned from my first-ever pilgrimage to the Anime Expo 2003, and I must say that this was one of the best experiences in my life as an anime fan. As I expected, the crowd was huge and there were tons of cool stuff on display. But right now, here's a lowdown of the distributor panels:
ADV Films/Suncoast/The Anime Network While Suncoast was selling ADV titles, ADV representatives from the top of the two-story panel threw free Lady Death T-shirts and Najica panties. The Anime Network is currently holding a raffle with a brand-new Honda Civic Si Hatchback as the prize. Other than that, nothing else but trailers of ADV titles. AnimEigo They had a whole bunch of DVDs on hand, including titles you can buy individually if you can't afford the boxed sets (i.e. You're Under Arrest, Macross). I asked the representative if there's any chance that AnimEigo will remaster Bubblegum Crisis. He said that M2K - not AnimEigo - is the one holding the license, so we'll have to wait until that license expires. And finally, AnimEigo has The Dagger of Kamui available on DVD. AnimeNation They had Risky Safety in stock. That's about it. Bandai Entertainment Overall, the best distributor panel at the Expo. Lots of Gundam models on display. Console games for Lupin III, Ultimate Muscle and Inu-Yasha were also out for fans to test. One side of the panel had a karaoke corner, where fans sang to songs from Love Hina, .hack//SIGN and other Bandai titles. The panel was also flanked with a long line of fans waiting to see a special Bandai anime trailer which featured future releases such as Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex, Yukikaze, Tenshi no Shippo and Wolf's Rain. Free T-shirts for Witch Hunter Robin and Argentosoma were given to those who stood in line. Central Park Media Didn't pay too much attention to this panel. ComicsOne Not much with manga; mostly on Chinese comics such as Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and Shaolin Soccer. They had some bad-ass swords on display, though. FUNimation You couldn't miss them because they had a Dragon Ball Z Hummer at their panel. FUNimation was giving away free DVDs to five lucky fans that filled out their surveys. Manga Entertainment Staff member Keith Burgess was on hand. Aside from that, there wasn't much to talk about on this panel. Media Blasters Samurai Deeper Kyo was heavily promoted here. Also, they had a clearance sale on their VHS titles (three for $10). Pioneer Entertainment Heavily promoted at their panel were Heat Guy J, Mao-Chan, Someday's Dreamers, Sakura Wars: The Movie and some live-action flick I forgot the title to. The panel gave away free DVD samplers, playing cards and Heat Guy J fans (the device you use to wave air on your face, BTW). The Right Stuf International I didn't pay too much attention to what they had on hand, but I talked to Shawne P. Kleckner. He said that TRSI has no plans to release the director's cut version of His & Her Circumstances episode 14. He also didn't say anything about possibly licensing the Yamamoto Yohko TV series. Super Techno Arts Company was on hand to promote their DVD release of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure. TOKYOPOP They played Initial D and GTO, but that's all I noticed. Urban Vision As expected, Ninja Scroll: The Series was heavily promoted. The English dub actually sounds decent. I talked to their rep about the AnimeFlunkies dilemma and he's mentioned the exact same thing reported here on this site late last month. Viz, LLC I managed to talk to staff member Toshifumi Yoshida and I complimented him on his translation works that date back from the time U.S. Renditions was still around. A free copy of the Inu-Yasha manga was given to fans who filled out the panel's survey. |
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areaseven
Encyclopedia Editor
Posts: 1486 Location: Makati, Philippines |
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Shortly after the convention center closed, fans flocked to the Marriott Hotel to check out the other panels. I was on hand at the Macross panel and here's what happened.
Hour One Interview with Noboru Ishiguro, director of the original series. He didn't stay too long, as he had to prepare for the Legend of Galactic Heroes panel, but discussed his experiences in working with the Macross production team. Also, the Macross World.com booth was assembled. Shortly after Ishiguro-san left, fans went to the booth to check out goodies like Graham's 1/48 Valk prototypes, the Joke Machine recasts, and Toycom's Escaflowne prototype. Hour Two Mahiro Maeda (Last Exile, The Animatrix: The Second Renaissance Parts 1-2) was on hand to talk about his days as animator for the original series and the opening sequence of the movie. He told us about the sleepless nights of looking through the animation errors (obviously from Anime Friend) and correcting them. In addressing a question of choosing between 2D and 3D, he mentioned that 3D works for larger ships while smaller units (i.e. planes, Valkyries) look better on 2D (don't know what he thinks of Macross Zero though). After the interview, Maeda-san kindly autographed my Macross Design Works book. The Rest of the Panel While the large-screen TVs played Macross Zero episode 2, fans flocked around the booth. Using the VF-1A Max Type, I demonstrated the 1/48's transformation process to those who haven't seen it yet. Overall, I had more fun than last year as I interacted with more fans and got to meet with people behind the original series. I definitely will attend next year's AX, and I hope to see you guys at the mini-con later this year. BTW, I talked to a representative of the HobbyLink Japan panel and he told me that Bandai is preparing to release Macross Zero here later this year. |
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