Anime Talk

Welcome to the first installment of a new column here on DVDTalk!  With anime becoming so popular, a couple of reviewers here thought it was high time for this genre to have a column all to itself.  So after a little cajoling, a little pleading, and finally a lot of blackmail, we've managed to create a regular feature devoted to anime here at DVDTalk.  We envision this as being a place where you can get all the information you need concerning anime DVDs in a brief and concise manner. 

In this inaugural issue you'll find the latest anime bargains, reviews of the latest DVDs, a list of upcoming releases, and a look at the 2005 Anime Overdose Convention by Chris Tribbey.  If there is something you'd like up to cover in the column, have comments or questions, or just want to tell us what you think of this new endeavor, please e-mail us.  We'd love to hear your feedback.

Angelic Layer Vol. 1 + art box

Marmalade Boy Ultimate Scrapbook 1

Air Master Vol. 1

$24.98

Toei

Air Master Vol. 2

$24.98

Toei

Cromartie High Vol. 1

$29.98 ($44.98 SE, manga and art box)

ADV Films

Dragonball Z TV Vol. 42 - Great Saiyaman Opening 

$19.98 ($29.98 SE, art box)

FUNimation

Five Star Stories Vol. 1

$29.98

ADV Films

Fushigi Yugii Vol. 5

$24.98

Geneon

Gungrave Vol. 5

$29.98

Geneon

Nana 7 of 7 Vol. 5

$29.98

Media Blasters

Neon Genesis Evangelion Plantinum Edition Vol. 6

$29.98

ADV Films

Petite Princess Yucie Vol. 3 

$29.98

ADV Films

Shura no Toki Vol. 1      

$39.95 (SE, wall scroll, art box)

Media Blasters

Slam Dunk Vol. 1 

$24.98

Toei

Slam Dunk Vol. 2 

$24.98

Toei

Wandaba Style Vol. 2 

$29.98

ADV Films

Burn-Up Scramble Vol. 3 

24.98

Geneon              

Ghost in the Shell: Standalone Complex Vol. 5 

$24.95 ($29.95 SE, collector’s box, ID card, DTS disc)

Bandai/Manga

Gundam SEED Vol. 8 

$29.98

Bandai

Gundam SEED Vol. 9  

$29.98

Bandai

Hanaukyo Maid Team Vol. 2  

$29.98

Geneon

Please Twins Vol. 3  

$29.98

Bandai

Princess Tutu Vol. 2   

$29.98

ADV Films

Rumiko Takahashi: Anthology Vol. 2  

$29.98

Geneon

Star Ocean EX Vol. 2  

$29.98

Geneon

Twelve Kingdoms Vol. 10 

$29.98

Media Blasters

Wedding Peach Vol. 10 

$29.98

ADV Films

Wolf’s Rain Vol. 6   

$29.98

Bandai

Zoids Chaotic Century Vol. 7

$14.98

VIZ, LLC.

Ann as Inuyasha

What started as a small gathering of anime fans in Campbell, Calif. In 1997 has quickly turned into a mecca for San Francisco Bay Area anime faithful. DVDTalk reviewer Chris Tribbey, on assignment for another publication, gives us a brief look at the first day of Anime Overdose.

1:15 p.m. The opening ceremonies for Anime Overdose 2005 are already underway, and I’m still haggling with the desk clerk at the Golden Gateway Holiday Inn in downtown. The fax confirming payment for my room (Queen bed, smoking, no mini bar) is nowhere to be found, the clerk tells me. Between helping other customers, she checks the fax machine, which my editor tells me has been rung three times now.

I’m thinking two things after I get off the phone with the person footing the bill: I should have paid for the damn room myself, and I should have worn jeans, a Samurai Deeper Kyo T-shirt, and tennis shoes, instead of a button-down, slacks and Alfanis. I’m easily the most overdressed person in the lobby, and one of only a handful that isn’t dressed in Cosplay.

Cosplay, for you non-anime fans out there, is where fans dress up like their favorite characters. These fans look incredibly bright and colorful, and wear perpetual smiles. Everyone seems, well, happy. They’re like the opposite of Rocky Horror Picture Show fanatics (and first-timers to Cosplay don’t have to paint a red “V” on their foreheads).

I’m here for the DVD Release Report, an industry and retailer publication that focuses on new DVD news and announcements. I have meetings scheduled with people from FUNimation and ADV, though this is mostly a meet and greet; I’m not expecting much in the way of announcements, since this is a small convention, compared to the Anime Expo in Anaheim or Otakon in Baltimore. Only a few studios are represented at Anime Overdose; it’s a fan convention for the most part. The editor of the Release Report could care less about the fans; I say Cosplay, he thinks of a children’s play area at a big retail store. He doesn’t know anything about anime, and I’m pretty sure he finds the entire genre to be both silly and frightening.

Just a glance around the lobby shows several Inuyashas, more than one character from Fullmetal Alchemist, and at least one Rurouni Kenshin. Some people have gone the simple route, and are wearing just a Cosplay cap, while others have gone full out, sporting face make-up, elaborate costumes, fangs, hooks, and hair dos that would make many stylists cringe in horror. These kids could care less what anyone else thinks: this is their idea of a vacation, a non-stop party celebrating their favorite form of entertainment. For me, anime is just another fun set of shows, something to be enjoyed between other movies. For these guys, this is a way of life.

Finally the clerk comes out of the back room with a fax, confirming that, yes, indeed, I’m not a crazy person off the streets wasting her time. She gives me my room key, and I head to the elevators. Winding my way through all the anime fans, it’s easy to spot the “regular” hotel guests. They have looks in their eyes that could be amusement or simple caution. One of them asks me what’s going on, apparently because I look like a sane, normal person in his eyes. “It’s an anime convention.” “Anime?” he says. “Yeah, Japanese cartoons.” “Oh. I thought I had wandered into the Castro,” he jokes, referring to the homosexual district of San Francisco. Two girls, one dressed like Sailor Moon, the other dressed like some sort of demon, hear him, and give him a nasty look. I wait for the next elevator.

Becky Briges as Daishi from Psycho le Cemu and Sam as Aya, both of Arizona.

3 p.m. I’ve checked in, dropped off my bags in the room, and armed myself with camera, notebook and laptop. I’ve covered pro sports, political conventions, large-scale protests, the VSDA video trade show in Vegas, and a myriad of other gatherings over the years, but this will be my first anime convention. I’m not sure what to expect.

Friday is a light day on the schedule: only a handful of events are lined up, with all the industry panels, anime experts and the like appearing on Saturday and Sunday. Right now, there are two events going on: Japanese Video Games with producers Saki Nimiya and Hirofumi Murasaki, and Introduction to Psycho le Cemu, the big-name Japanese band that will be performing twice this weekend. I drop by both.

At the intro to the band event, the room is pretty packed, with maybe 50 fans seated, while two Overdose people – dressed like members of the band – work to get the audio and video working for a presentation. While they call a tech guy in to rework the wiring, they entertain the fans with an impromptu puppet show. When they finally get the presentation up and running, fans begin clapping and moving along with the music video, which shows Psycho le Cemu in a futuristic world battling CGI monsters. The people in the room obviously love this band. I’ve never heard of them, but they’re playing tonight and Saturday. I’ll check them out.

Fans of Psycho le Cemu watch a video presentation of the band.

I head over to the other room. There are about two dozen people, all guys, listening to Nimiya talk about Playstation and Nintendo hand-held systems in Japan. These things are TINY, and put your basic Gameboy to shame. He passes a couple of the systems out to the crowd, who ooh and ahhh over the toys. “It’s exciting stuff,” Nimiya says. I’m not overly interested in this panel, so I head out to interview some of the Cosplay kids.

Japanese video game producer Saki Nimiya shows a hand-held video game system to fans.

I chat and photograph about a dozen Cosplay fans, who are simply swarming the convention at this point. They don’t mind be photographed at all, though not all of them want to be fully identified. “I don’t have anything to hide, but some people at work may not like what I’m into,” one girl tells me. So you dress up like an anime character … what’s so wrong with that?

Patricia Silverman, of Napa, Calif., as Haku from Naruto.

I have a few minutes before I’m supposed to meet with FUNimation, so I wander around the exhibit hall. DVDs from several regions, toys and posters galore, collectibles, wall scrolls, even swords are on sale. I see a ton of DVDs I’d love to own, and if that Battle Royale DVD isn’t a bootleg, it’s coming home with me. I’m glad I brought some cash, cause I can fill several holes in my collection. That and one guy is willing to trade DVDs, and I’ve brought a dozen I’d like to get rid of. Who says I can’t have fun while working?

4 p.m. Jon Baumgardner, marketing and media specialist with FUNimation, takes a break from running the company’s booth, and we head to the Cosplay contest sign-up room to chat. FUNimation is the only American studio here in force, which is surprising. Where there are anime fans, there’s money. More studios should be working the room.

Baumgardner and I chat for about 45 minutes, talking about future releases from the company, the industry in general, and some current titles out in the market. “We want to play a part in growing the industry itself,” he tells me, while he grabs a snack of soda and a Snickers. “And that’s the way the industry should be.” He points to companies like his and ADV, which have been packaging special edition DVD releases with manga from companies like VIZ and Tokyopop.

He expresses a lot of excitement about the DVD releases of Fullmetal Alchemist, which is getting just as much press in Japan as the U.S. right now. The series is being aired (and edited for content) on Cartoon Network right now, and the episodes are outpacing those that are available on DVD. “It’s one of those titles that lends itself to a much more wide audience,” he says. Part sci-fi, part horror, part comedy, part drama, Fullmetal truly is a good series. FUNimation should start sending DVDs to DVDTalk, so our anime reviewers can write about them.

Baumgardner is in charge of marketing a new girls with guns series, Burst Angel. “It’s a little mature, though it doesn’t have nudity or sex scenes,” he says. I’ve gotten the advanced press kit for this series, and it looks bad-ass. I can’t wait to give it a full viewing. He’s excited about it because it’s one of those titles – like Samurai Champloo and Ghost in the Shell: Standalone Complex - which have separate audio tracks for voice actors, music and ambient noises, giving companies the opportunity to really separate the audio channels. “In house we can’t do it, but when we get the separate tracks from Japan, our sound engineers can improve on the sound ten-fold,” Baumgardner said.

The conversation moves to box sets, which are getting more elaborate each month, with new goodies included. “Other companies and ourselves have put out a number of different box sets,” Baumgardner said. “We’ve taken the time, energy and marketing to treat these titles right.” There’s the Fullmetal collector’s tin, Burst Angel will include a matt-basing box set, glossy, with a cell phone strap, two charms, and the first DVD volume, and Gunslinger Girl will include a high-quality cloth poster. Most of the companies are getting more inventive with their box sets and SE’s, and Baumgardner expresses excitement about the way the domestic anime industry is treating its releases. “It’s showing we’re all moving in the right direction,” he said. We chat about his company’s anime club group, convention habits, and plans for the summer, before we wrap it up.

A viewing of Tree of Palme is going on when I finish, but I’ve already seen it. In fact, I have the DVD with me. I decide to start writing.

8:30 p.m. Two Negra Modelos and three-quarters of a pepperoni pizza later, I’ve written enough to give DVDTalk’s inaugural anime column a little spice. I’ve got a karaoke contest downstairs to check out, and I’m still lively enough to pay a visit to the dance party going on until 2 a.m. I freshen up, walk outside my room, and see this …

What you’ll find in the halls of hotel anime conventions at any given hour: Seek of Psycho le Cemu

I make him wait long enough so I can grab my camera and take his picture. He nods to me after I shoot, and heads back down the hall. I head downstairs.

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