So the Aniplex panel is about to start, and reportedly this is when we’ll finally hear the Gurren Lagann dub cast. So sit tight and I’ll give it to you as soon as I can! (Though I’m a little low on battery and might have to sit in the corner of the room to use the power outlet….boo!)

Ok, running a little late but now we’ll begin: the panelists are Aniplex’s Yosuke, Shin, Hiroe, and Bandai Entertainment’s Toshifumi Yoshida, plus voice actor / director Tony Oliver.

We’re currently watching previews for new Aniplex titles Birdy the Mighty DECODE and Sekirei, and Kara no Kyoukai.

So! Tony Oliver is directing the Gurren Lagann dub…but first, the dub trailer. I’ll fill in the cast as we go:

Simon: Yuri Loenthal
Kamina: Kyle Hebert
Yoko: Michelle Ruff
Nia: Hynden Walch
Rossiu: Johnny Yong Bosch
Kittan: Christopher Smith
Kiyoh: Karen Strassman
Kinon: Stephanie Sheh
Kiyal: GK Bowes
Viral: Sam Riegel
Leeron: Steve Blum

I’m plugged into the wall now (whew). We’re in Q&A mode, and I asked about the Gurren Lagann manga, which Bandai Entertainment is trying to get…as well as several other companies, so we’ll see. People have also asked about merch in the full version of the show, which is still undecided.

Let’s see…someone wants to know why “Tengen Toppa” has been removed from the title, and Yoshida notes that “Pierce through the Heavens” isn’t really a good translation of the phrase, and there’s no good way to translate it that’s also short.

The bilingual edition is apparently now due in November, and will be split into six discs (as opposed to the sub-only’s three). Question about hi-def– it’ll probably only happen if high-definition versions of the episodes are available. Keep in mind that TV anime is made for, well, TV– so most of it wasn’t made in high-def originally.

I think this is the last question: about whether the Parallel Works will be made available on the DVDs. Hiroe from Aniplex notes that there’ll actually be a sneak preview of one of the videos at the end of the panel. The guy follows up on whether the TTGL movies will hit the States, but no announcement just yet.

The end!

CrunchyRoll finally proves useful! CJBlackwing reports that CrunchyRoll’s Persona -trinity soul- videos have been marked as licensed by Aniplex (who does only occasional licensing work in the US). Makes plenty of sense, seeing as it was done by A-1 Pictures, a division of Aniplex…and seeing as it’s a pretty popular franchise.

So what really remains to be seen is who Aniplex would pick for localization and distro. IF it’s really licensed.

Edit: Thought I’d add: as one user points out on CJB’s blog, Crunchy Roll’s licensing notes aren’t always accurate– it could simply be that Aniplex was the company that requested the removal.

Aniplex USA, the American arm of anime producer Aniplex Japan, is running a panel and just announced the anime of Persona, presumably the upcoming anime sequel to the Persona 3 PS2 game. Yup, just watched the trailer– it’s Persona -trinity soul-, airing in Japan starting this January.

Now they’re talking about the Kara no Kyoukai movies (Garden of Sinners, based on Tsukihime writer Kinoko Nasu’s novel). Each chapter of the book will get a movie, so there will be a whopping total of seven flicks.

After another trailer, they’ve moved on to another short trailer that was apparently made for Anime Expo. I didn’t catch the name of what it’s about, but it appears to be a ninja-type guy fighting soldiers. It looks like it’s going to be made into a series or movie but they’re not sure yet. And that’s pretty much it.

KuronoK just asked about fansubs, and the Aniplex woman (whose name I didn’t catch) says that as far as fansubs helping the sales, that’s great, but that they do cut into the sales when people use them instead of buying the DVDs. All of which we kinda knew. But she’s impressed by the Gurren Lagann cosplayers.

I asked a follow-up on whether the company has any plans to find a way to shorten the time between JP releases and US, and her response is that it depends on the licensing situation and also if Japan is still in the middle of the production, the master copies aren’t as readily available, which is an interesting point I hadn’t thought of before. Though it seems clear that people can work from copies of the TV broadcast. Anyway, she says it’s a possibility and she thinks it’s a real solution to the fansub issue– a fact everyone seems to have suddenly noticed since that Sevakis editorial…

Two people have asked about trying to get a live-action Fullmetal Alchemist film. It looks like half the room is for the idea, and half is against it. I’m not especially into the idea. Oh, and by the way, they DON’T have any plans for it.

That’s more or less it, and now I’m going to go die for the evening, I think.