Hokay, Kadokawa is getting started soon, and they passed out flyers saying that they’d have one new announcement…and…I see Rob Napton from Bandai Entertainment up at the panelist table, so….should be interesting, whatever it is. I’m running through a list of recent Kadokawa anime in my head. Or hey, maybe Bandai Entertainment (or somebody) finally scored the Lucky Star manga.
And now we’re getting started (a bit late because the last panel ran over). What oh what will Kadokawa announce? Actually maybe Bandai doesn’t have something, Rob Napton seems to have left and there’s a Haruhi hug pillow up there; maybe he was just delivering? Well, we’ll see.
Panelists are Chiako and Yuko from the Kadokawa licensing team. They’re talking a bit about the company, and they’re going to announce six new titles with animation samples, so I’m betting we actually have already heard of them, so we’ll see…
So! New, sexy titles (their words not mine): H2O ~Footprints in the Sand~, Good Luck! Ninomiya-kun (aka Goshuushou-sama Ninomiya-kun)…more coming after we get a little preview. Next up is Rental Magika…And then there’s Coo ~Our Guardian~, which is also known as Wagaya no Oinarisama. And Junjou Romantica (being called Romantica ~Pure Love~, even though Tokyopop kept the Japanese name), and yes, it’s BL. And finally…Spice and Wolf for the win!
So the question is, what company will Kadokawa pick to do the production and distribution in the US? Bandai Entertainment, or someone else?
And now, special guest from Bandai Entertainment– Rob Napton! SURPRIIISE! And also Ocean Studios’ Jennifer Fairweather, since they dubbed The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, which they just showed the preview for. They’re going to add more theaters to the theatrical release, so keep an eye out on the official website. The special edition of the DVD will offer a lot of bonus stuff that came with the movie in Japan.
Fairweather is talking about the dub cast: Emily Hearst is Makoto, Andrew Francis played Chiaki, Alex Sehara playing Kousuke, and a few others. Napton also wants to note that the Seattle release is going to be at the Varsity theater August 29th through September 4th (I’m going!).
And so they’re done…so I guess we’re moving into the giveaway. They have a Haruhi dakimakura. @_@; Moving on to the Q&A!
Is it possible to see Gamura vs Godzilla? I can’t hear the answer because the guy isn’t talking into the microphone at all but I think it sums up to “we don’t own Godzilla so we can’t do that easily.”
Will the DVD release for Girl who Leapt through Time have Japanese subtitles? He wants to use the film to help teach Japanese to his students, and the Japanese DVD didn’t have Japanese subs. But no, alas.
Are there any American publishers in mind that they try to work with, because they’ve worked with Bandai Entertainment and FUNimation in the past…when will the US distributors be announced for these series, basically? They can’t say right now but it’ll all be released in the US very soon. Follow-up: how is working with Bandai? What kind of question is that? Napton from off to the right says that it’s great! And so does the guy who doesn’t talk into the microphone, who also just introduced himself, not that I heard it since he’s not talking into the microphone…I think he’s being corrected now. Oh, his mic was off. But his short answer is “we love Bandai.”
Kadokawa JP just announced a content sharing deal with YouTube for derivative content, any plans to bring it to the US? They’re hoping that there’ll be a step forward from the way YouTube is currently being used by fans and they hope it’ll be mutually beneficial.
Do they have plans to release a Blu-Ray disc of The Girl Who Leapt Through Time? They hope to do so soon but no specific mentions just yet…oh look, the president of Kadokawa Pictures USA just jumped in and said they hope to get it done with Bandai next year.
Reader Kuro just got up and started sucking up by thanking everyone for putting The Girl Who Leapt Through Time in theaters and asked if the new licenses be sub-only or dubbed? They hope dubbed but they’re not sure yet.
Some guy is trying to ask about Lucky Star’s OVA, which is currently in production in Japan, a single 30 minute episode, and I didn’t catch his actual question or the answer. Another thanker is at the mic.
A Haruhi fan is up, is this the requisite season 2 question? Yes indeedy, although he asks about there being a rumor of a season two. The longer you wait, the better it’ll be, they’re saying…and yes, there will be a season two.
TokiKake question who was annoyed it didn’t show at Expo– maybe at Otakon or another con? They’re working on it. Napton said something but I couldn’t hear it from back here where the power outlets are. Any chance of it coming to Phoenix? Maybe, they’re trying.
Yet another thanker (what is this, FUNimation?) TokiKake is based on a light novel, H2O is based on an eroge, etc. What is Wagaya no Oinarisama based on? Short answer: light novel! That was easy.
A general question: how does Kadokawa Pictures USA work? How is it different from other Japanese companies? They try to maximize the benefits of having the books as well as anime rights, among other things.
Another quick one about TokiKake: will it hit the Bay Area? Answer: Yes! Well, that’s cool, I was expecting another “maybe, can’t say, working on it!”
And that panel is over– my last one for the con, huzzah! I’ll get up my interview with Right Stuf’s Shawne Kleckner tonight or early tomorrow, and I’ll get out the Hideyuki Kikuchi interview as early as I can, probably later in the day tomorrow.
