E3 2001 Bandai Entertainment Interview

• Interview with: Jerry Chu
• Interviewed by: Legion on May 17th, 2001
• Location: Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3): Los Angeles, California
• Publication Date: June 20th, 2001

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Anime Dream:

Starting out, can you go over what's currently being worked on and any new announcements you're able to discuss?

Jerry Chu:

Basically, we have Mobile Suit Gundam... basically the whole Universal Century, One Year War. That includes Mobile Suit Gundam, the original television series, reanimated... well, not reanimated, but remastered. We also have 0080, 0083, Gundam 08th MS Team. Release dates for our DVDs, we've pretty much set for July for MS Team on VHS and DVD. August will be Mobile Suit Gundam, after that will be Star Dust Memory, 0083, and after that will be 0080. Besides Gundam, we're working closely with Bandai America to do the whole Anime Collector's toy line, which will include action figure toys for Cowboy Bebop, Pilot Candidate, which is also coming to Cartoon Network later this year. Um, Blue Submarine, Escaflowne, Big O, and Outlaw Star. So those assortments of toys should be hitting pretty soon. Otherwise, next week we're preparing for our theatrical premiere of Mamoru Oshii's Jin-Roh. Do you guys know what Jin-Roh is?

Anime Dream:

Yes, we do.

Jerry Chu:

So we're planning that for Long Beach (Japanese Anime Film Festival, May 25th), about 30 minutes down from here. Mr. Oshii's coming down, as well as the head of production of Studio I.G., so they're going to be on hand for that premiere. It's going to open... it's tentatively set to open in New York, Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles in late June / early July. I think more news about that will be posted on jinroh.net. Otherwise, other news... we'll confirm it with you guys, but we've already confirmed it before: We do have the rights to Love Hina. Whether or not that's the 24 episodes, plus whatever specials, we don't know yet, soo... actually, we know, we're just not going to say anything yet. But within the next month, if you go to bandai-ent.com's website, there will be a promotion, a fan survey, where you can actually choose what we release in 2002 in January. The first thing that we release in 2002. And one of them will be love Hina. So there's going to be, I believe, Silent Mobius on DVD, Brain Powered on DVD, Better Man, which is a new show we've picked up, Love Hina, and Fancy Lala. So, people can go and vote for that.

Anime Dream:

Moving on to your most recent series to hit TV, how was Big O handled? Was much editing required for its Cartoon Network broadcast?

Jerry Chu:

The way Big O was, there really wasn't any blood or that type of thing, so whatever editing... I don't know specifically what they did in terms of editing, but from what I understand there wasn't too many scenes cut down or anything. Basically, what you see is what's the original.

Anime Dream:

But aren't there two versions? A Midnight Run version and a Toonami version?

Jerry Chu:

I don't know if the Midnight's uncut or not. Usually if they do that they market a show like that. Gundam W, Midnight, uncut.

Anime Dream:

What are your plans for the video release of Big O?

Jerry Chu:

DVD exclusive, on DVD only, and that will be the uncut version.

Anime Dream:

And there's going to be four discs, right?

Jerry Chu:

That's going to be across four DVDs.

Anime Dream:

What's the release schedule looking like for each disc?

Jerry Chu:

It's going to start in June. First DVD comes out in June. Skip July, then August. Skip September, October. Skip November, December.

Anime Dream:

What about the broadcast for Pilot Candidate? Is the name change an indication of further changes in content?

Jerry Chu:

No. Pilot Candidate also... the name change was, I shouldn't say was at the request of Cartoon Network, but we didn't want to have problems with Candidate for Goddess, and having that whole goddess thing. And actually, Pilot Candidate is a much better descriptive term for the show itself, so as for release on that show, we don't have anything set yet. Probably we'll announce something around Expo (Anime Expo, July 5-8) time. We're going to try and show a preview at Anime Expo.

Anime Dream:

How are you planning to handle the name change with the DVD release? A reversible cover perhaps?

Jerry Chu:

That's one of the ideas we're coming up with, to do a Candidate for Goddess on the reverse side. That's one of the ideas we've played around with.

Anime Dream:

And as far as the video itself? Alternate angles maybe?

Jerry Chu:

Alternate angles. That's mainly in terms of...

Anime Dream:

I mean alternate angles for the series logo during the opening sequence, as well as similar title occurances.

Jerry Chu:

That's more of a production issue, and I don't know how they're actually going to get around that. I think... I actually don't know.

Anime Dream:

Any other shows you're in negotiations about or planning to try and pitch for broadcast?

Jerry Chu:

Right now, I mean, we're not really talking about anything else beside Gundam. Everything is focused primarily this year on Gundam and Pilot Candidate, and then afterwards, we'll see how that goes.

Anime Dream:

So the rumors about the possibility of an Escaflowne broadcast on the Cartoon Network in a less edited form are just that, rumors?

Jerry Chu:

Fox still has it.

Anime Dream:

What are you plans for the Cowboy Bebop box set, as far as extras are concerned?

Jerry Chu:

Actually we're right now working on that. The three major ideas that have been put forth have primarily been an extra DVD with extras, like interviews or whatever. Another idea has been a limited edition action figure, Cowboy Bebop figure. And one is actually to do a soundtrack. Again, you can get the imported Cowboy Bebop soundtrack from any online place, but to actually include the soundtrack in with the DVD. We don't really know how people would respond to that. We haven't really taken the steps to confirm any of these.

Anime Dream:

With a brilliant soundtrack like the one from Yoko Kanno, I imagine a soundtrack as an extra would be well received. Does Bandai have any interest in doing US distribution for OSTs beyond a possible extra like this, similar to something like Tokyopop Soundtrax?

Jerry Chu:

We'd have to deal direct, and actually that's the hardest part in doing anything like soundtracks. I don't know if you guys recall, but back when we were Anime Village we actually made an announcement that we were going to get into the whole soundtrack business, and it really turned out to be too difficult. You have to deal with so many different licensing people; it's not just dealing with one group. You start dealing with the composers and the singers and the music company themselves, the labels, and the studio that created the show. It just got too complicated, so we're going to try and work through it, but we'll see what happens.

Anime Dream:

Any plans for an upgrade / trade in offer for those of us that already own all the Cowboy Bebop discs, but still want the extras from the box set?

Jerry Chu:

One of the things we're looking into doing is some sort of stand-alone box for the people who have actually purchased it. Once again, these are just ideas floating around. We understand that people that have all the DVDs and might not want the soundtrack, or might not want an extra DVD, but they like the idea of having a cool Cowboy Bebop box. We're looking into what we can do with that. We'll probably make more announcements about the box set at Anime Expo, so in about a month.

Anime Dream:

With Jin-Roh on the verge of its theatrical release, how's the theatrical schedule for the Escaflowne movie shaping up?

Jerry Chu:

Next week at the Carpenter Performing Arts Center, we're premiering Jin-Roh on Friday, and we'll be doing a 35 mm preview of the Escaflowne movie. I don't know if you guys realize it, but there was a Newport Beach film festival a few weeks back, where Escaflowne was played and was well received. One of the things we're trying to do now is start putting our plans together for a theatrical release of Escaflowne here in the United States. Whether or not it happens by the end of this year, it all depends on how fast we can work, and if we can get through all the details.

Anime Dream:

Any information on the VHS or DVD release of Jin-Roh available yet?

Jerry Chu:

Too early, way too early. We're all focused on the film right now.

Anime Dream:

I'm guessing it's much the same with Love Hina, seeing that its still likely a long way off, but can you give any details on plans for its release?

Jerry Chu:

Right now, no, because it's primarily just a home video. Love Hina is a 2002 type of thing, so it's a little too early to tell.

Anime Dream:

So prodding for information on what exactly was acquired (just the TV series or the specials as well) would be a lost cause, huh?

Jerry Chu:

Yup.

Anime Dream:

Moving on then, I was surprised to see the home video release of Mobile Suit Gundam TV being dub only, especially considering Gundam is such a focus for you. What was the reason behind this?

Jerry Chu:

It's a licensing issue with Japan. Basically, it goes back to the core issue of only having a dub and not granting us the Japanese language portion. It's that they don't want the program being sent back to Japan at a cheaper price. It's a lot cheaper here... $80 DVDs, so that's one of the major things they're worried about.

Anime Dream:

How have sales been with the Saber Marionette J TV DVDs?

Jerry Chu:

Actually, we're now getting the sales information for the Saber Marionette J and the Outlaw Star DVDs. I don't know if you know, but between three volumes we've put the entire 25-26 episodes series within those three volumes. And it's been doing really, really well. Outlaw Star, we couldn't really tell because it could've been from Cartoon Network. But Saber Marionette J is actually doing very, very well for us.

Anime Dream:

Does the TV series being so well received bode well for a prompt release of the OVA, Saber Marionette J Again?

Jerry Chu:

We're working on getting Saber Marionette J Again out as soon as possible. That all coincides with what we're doing at the end of this year and beginning of next year.

Anime Dream:

Was the reason for release format of Blue Submarine No. 6 similar to what's happening with Mobile Suit Gundam, a licensing issue?

Jerry Chu:

Which part?

Anime Dream:

The decision to release only a single episode per volume.

Jerry Chu:

Yeah, again, that was a licensing issue, and if you really think about the cost of producing each episode of Blue Submarine, they had to make their money somehow. We understand the United States and the market that $20 for a 30-minute program... well, if you want to sell a lot, it's not going to fly. But we had to make do with what we got and we tried to make it right by releasing the Toonami version. Even though it's edited and that sort of thing, we fit it all on DVD, all at a $20 price.

Anime Dream:

Will the Toonami version feature both language tracks or just the dub?

Jerry Chu:

No, it's only dubs. That was the only thing that was shown on Cartoon Network.

Anime Dream:

Were you satisfied with the release of Blue Submarine No. 6?

Jerry Chu:

On Cartoon Network?

Anime Dream:

Both ratings wise from the Cartoon Network broadcast and sales wise for the video release.

Jerry Chu:

It did average, it did okay. I mean, it's not going to do Cowboy Bebop numbers. You know, it could be a lot different if it was all on one DVD and we'll admit that, so... I think we have another meeting here, so...