A-Kon Report
A-Kon began friday and there's been no shortage of news since, so let's get to it, shall we? Starting on the ADV front, some great news has surfaced about the Evangelion DVDs. They're holding back on the release of the second DVD, which may sound bad, but it really isn't when considering their reasons for doing so. In response to the feedback they received on the first DVD, they've decided to attempt to go back to using subtitles, or less digital overlays at the very least. While this will undoubtedly result in a delay, it's better they take the time to release a quality product rather than just ignore the concerns of EVA fans.
ADV also talked a bit about the upcoming Spriggan movie, saying it is on schedule to be released in theatres this summer, covering all major markets. The planned theatre run is said to be larger than the one Princess Mononoke received. The Kenshin movie, Samurai X, will also get a relatively strong media push, being advertised on TV by Sony. ADV intends to take advantage of this by tying in the dub with Sony's marketing of the movie.
ADV Fansubs also announced that they'll be attempting to get back on track with their release schedule. After an accelerated period of releases, they'll get back to their one title a month policy. There still won't be any DVD releases of these titles until the dubs are complete though. They want to get a few things in order, since some series will require a subscription to the whole series.
They had a few more tidbits of info to impart to the A-Kon goers as well. They've picked up the rights to Devilman Lady, a series that holds true to the original Devilman series and has everything that made Devilman a success. They also announced that they were in negotiations to bring both Nadia and City Hunter series to TV. These negotiations are being hampered by issues of content editing. Also on the TV front, ADV would neither confirm nor deny the rumors about their efforts to create an anime channel. They did say that if such a thing were to exist, it would most likely not be on Cable, but rather on Satellite due to content issues.
Next up is Bandai with information on some DVD releases, video games, and promotions. Bandai has said that the Cartoon Network is still debating whether to show Gundam Wing: Endless Waltz in one part or three. Endless Waltz is the actual ending of the Gundam Wing series, featuring the same characters from the TV series in the way of a 3 part OVA. Bandai is also looking at an action figure release for Gundam Wing, consisting of five action figures available with the proofs of purchase from 3 VHS tapes or 2 DVDs. The details on this, however, are still being ironed out. Gundam: The 08th MS Team is still on schedule for release early next year and work is progressing on the playstation game Gundam Battlemasters.
There was also quite a bit of info on other titles too. Production has begun on Saber Marionette J-X, the follow up TV series to the original Saber Marionette J TV and OVA series, and it should be out in early 2001. The DVDs of Saber Marionette J and Saber Marionette J Again are both waiting on the release of the dubs for each show. T-shirts seem to be a popular item lately and Bandai isn't one to miss the bandwagon. They'll be giving away a T-shirt with the upcoming release of Jubei-chan (why doesn't anybody give away anime themed socks though?). Outlaw Star will enjoy a slightly different release from the norm, coming in the form of three sets with two discs a piece to avoid compression issues. Bandai America is working on getting Sunrise's Dinozaur out in America, but there's no information on the subject of release format yet, with the possibly of it getting the dub only treatment.
Moving on with the A-Kon info, here's Pioneer's attempt to shock and stun anime fans everywhere. They will be handling the release of Cardcaptors (yes, it's a hacked up name, but we might as well get used to it. Hey, it could've been worse **cough**Samurai X**cough** =P ), with plans to release two version of the show. There will be an edited VHS and DVD release, probably much like what the Kid's WB will show, and an unedited VHS an DVD version, being more true to the actual Card-Captor Sakura (you just knew I'd find a way to work the real name in there somehow ^_-). We may even be lucky enough to have the unedited version actually go by its real name.
Pioneer has also picked up the rights to the Fushigi Yûgi OVAs. They will attempt to include the omake segments, which are downright hilarious and arguably the best part of the OVAs, but it's unknown whether they'll make it in or not. A box set will also follow up the October / November release of the series.
A number of other releases have also been confirmed and announced. Dual will be released this September on 4 volumes, with the DVD release planned for the same time. Black Heaven is set to for release in October on 4 volumes, enjoying another day and date DVD release. The box set of 3x3 Eyes should be out in time for the holiday season, as is the case for the Pretty Sammy OVA. This set may include the Mihoshi special as well, which would be a nice treat indeed. Pioneer has also begun work on an Armitage III: Polymatrix sequel movie, but there's no information on plot or release schedule available as of yet.
Now this next bit is simply excellent and has raised my opinion of Pioneer by leaps and bounds. What can it be, you ask? Some awesome new anime? A promise of really, really good translations? Nay, it doesn't have much to do with anime at all actually. Pioneer has signed the band Bôa to a record deal, the band responsible for the opening song Duvet for Serial Experiments Lain. Bôa is an excellent band and is well worth a listen for any fan of anime music, or simply fans of good music for that matter. A new Bôa album is due out before the holidays, but in the meantime, they'll be making an appearance at Otakon, an upcoming convention scheduled for August 4th through 6th in Baltimore.
We'll wrap up today's convention coverage with a few other interesting tidbits that have come out of A-kon, including some great news from Viz for fans of the Neon Genesis Evangelion manga. It is set to resume this October, having been on hiatus due to a temporary halt in production of the Japanese release. AnimEigo gave an update on their release of the Macross TV series. Shin Kurokawa has spent 2 months in Hollywood remastering the series. There are still a few flaws to work out, but the completion of the final digital master draws ever nearer. Many agree that VHS is on its last legs, but Media Blasters has stated that they plan to transfer their catalog to DVD only as long as their titles have decent sales. They also cleared up the fact that they will NOT be releasing an uncut version of the disturbing movie Kite. I guess all those petitions were in vain, and I'll need to look overseas for my digital Kite fix.
Let's hear it for A-Kon! Hip Hip, HOORAY!! Plenty of good news out of A-kon and not too much bad. It's nice to see that companies are starting to listen to the fans and still getting things done without delays bordering on the absurd. Kudos to Moridin for keeping track of it all, but I'm left to wonder if we'll see more news yet coming out of the last day of the con.
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