Otakon Recap

Legion (Former Staff) — August 19th, 2000 — 17:30
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As I was browsing over the recently posted CNAnime Expo 2000 event schedule, which can be seen here for anyone else planning on attending this upcoming Toronto based con scheduled for August 25th through 27th, I realized I had somehow managed to neglect posting about Otakon completely. No news, no impressions, no nothing... **sniff** ...which just won't do at all!

Events surrounding the con didn't go quite as smoothly as could be hoped for (damn American Airlines! I curse thee... and your children... and your children's children! Ah, feels good to get that out of my system), but I finally managed to stubble home after my recent convention pilgrimage: Otakon 2000, my first, but certainly not last convention experience. The entire trip was an invaluable learning experience on what to do and what NOT to do if you want to have a chance in hell of churning out news from the con floor day by day. Suffice to say, our trip out to Baltimore was planted firmly in the "what NOT to do" side of things, albeit quite fun filled, just not conducive to prompt news output, so a post con recap will just have to suffice. An impromptu run in with a sadist of an oral surgeon didn't help much to get things posted in a timely matter, but that's a story for another time and place.

A heck of a lot of news and announcements came out of Otakon this year, so in an effort to keep everything organized and hopefully not forget anything, all info will be broken down into categories by distributor. Enough with the longwinded intro already! Let's get down to the news, shall we?

ANIMEIGO:

  • The acquisition of the right to You're Under Arrest TV was announced.
    • A dual language DVD (both original Japanese and English audio tracks) is planned, with the dubbing being handled by Coastal Carolina using the original OVA cast.
    • Production will start as early as February 2001 following the completion of the Macross TV set, with dubbing not projected to start till later that Spring, the entire production process likely taking a year or so.
    • TV broadcast rights were retained by the Tokyo Broadcasting System making the production of a good dub mutually beneficial to both AnimEigo, in the interest of licensing their dub back to TBS, and to TBS, so they need not produce a separate dub before airing the series.

  • The plans for the Bugglegum Crisis upgrade path have yet to be decided on by M2K, but it's speculated that the new 4 DVD set will come in exchange for the 3 original discs plus about $20. Extras in the new set will include all the music videos from 2032/2033, scans of all the BGC "settei" production drawings in AnimEigo's possession, many of which have never been published, plus a host of other treats. BGC is also scheduled for broadcast on Encore next month.
  • The release order for the upcoming Urusei Yatsura DVD box sets, the first set having just been released and subsequently repressed due to a manufacturing defect on disc two, has changed. The second UY TV set will be released next, with the OVA / Movie set being pushed back in hopes of receiving better source material from Japan, the possibility of which is increased by the recent R2 release of the movies.
  • Robert Woodhead of AnimEigo made a recent post on their mailing list, updating the status of the first UY set. It reads as follows:
    We got new sets in. They are OK but all the disc 2's have coffee ring defects (!) again. We are awaiting more disc 2's. In the meantime we've sent some of the sets out to people with finicky players for them to test. Stay tuned.
  • Otaku no Video is sitting high on their priority list for upcoming DVDs, physical liner notes being planned for the DVD release of this Gainax OVA.
  • Both Kodomo no Omocha (YES! I love my fansubs, but I want... no, NEED a digital Kodocha fix!) and Hana Yori Dango are being closely looked into as possible future acquisitions.

ADV:

  • POP/Cinram, the authoring house behind Cowboy Bebop and Bubblegum Crisis 2040, has started work on the second Evangelion DVD, going over the masters for the show and sorting out the various issues that came up with the first disc, which was produced by a different authoring house. No decision has been made on the overlay issue as of yet, but should they choose to forgo digital overlays in future volumes in favor of soft DVD subs, a re-release of the first disc is a possibility. After they're satisfied with the second DVD and get it to retail, subsequent EVA discs are planned for release within 30 days of one another to make up for the long delay after the first disc.
  • Scheduled for a February theatrical run, ADV hopes to give Spriggan a relatively wide release.
  • Another title with the possibility of a theatrical release in its future is the You're Under Arrest movie, but no details or time frame are currently available.
  • Both Gamera 2 and Gamera 3 are tentatively scheduled for a summer 2001 release, with simultaneous VHS and DVD releases planned along with the DVD of the first movie, but a theatrical run will be investigated before the home video releases occur.
  • ADV has been busy trying to get some of their licensed shows on TV, working on a number of series with several different networks, one of which is Encore that will be airing a yet unannounced show. The broadcast rights to a couple of other 26 episode TV series have already been sold, with an announcement regarding the details of these sales expected within the next few months.
  • ADV Music will be launched prior to the upcoming Christmas season, the Irresponsible Captain Tylor soundtrack being planned as one of the initial releases.
  • ADV Fansub titles will soon be making their way onto DVD, with Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water planned for release next year and City Hunter TV planned for some point afterwards.
  • ADV has provided financial backing for as many as 7 series in Japan, as well as having secured the domestic rights to these same series, with Sin and Lady Death being but two of these ADV backed series destined for US release in the coming year.
  • The emerging trend of subbed anime being released exclusively on DVD is being taken a step further in the case of Robotech, this dubbed series (or rather, this collection of altered series) being a DVD only affair. The pilot episode Codename: Robotech, used to sell the broadcast rights of the series to various TV stations, will be the only exception to the DVD only release model, planned for both DVD and VHS since it never received a wide spread US release before, as did the rest of the series. Audio commentary tracks by the US voice actors are also planned for the DVD release.
  • At the con, the Rurouni Kenshin OVAs were looking at a possible November release, the exact date being still subject to change, but ADV has since issued a press release nailing the date of the first DVD, set to retail at $29.98, down to October 10th. The DVDs are planned for release across 3 discs, the first containing the first two OVA episodes, and the second containing the last two, while the third will contain the movie, Requiem for Patriots.
  • Rounding out the other titles mentioned by ADV were the recently proofed first disc of the Nadesico TV series, as well as the movie, Prince of Darkness; Gasaraki, the first volume of which is scheduled for release September 19th; Bubblegum Crisis TV, monthly DVD releases scheduled to start September 12th; DVD releases for both Blue Seed and Cutey Honey, each series set to span a pair of discs; both Slayers Return and Slayers Gorgeous; Secret Service; and finally Princess 9, a baseball series set for release around April 2001.

    • What's this? Only two distributors!? Not to worry, as there's still plenty of other con news yet to come, but I couldn't let ElfShadow sneak in another fansub update without throwing in a little variety. Next up is news on the Bandai front, including impressions on the recently aired episode of Escaflowne on Fox, Manga, Pioneer and more. Better late than never... I just keep telling myself that =P