ANIME TODAY Interviews GURREN LAGANN Producer Toshifumi Yoshida of Bandai Entertaiment
Posted on: Friday, May 23, 2008
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Episode run down:
Joining us this episode will be Toshifumi Yoshida, who recently joined Bandai Entertainment as a producer. Toshi’s been in the North American anime and manga industry for more than 12 years and after a short hiatus, he’s jumped right back in with the production of hotly anticipated release of Gurren Lagann.
But first is What’s Hot in the World of Anime and Manga with Chad and then a new Uso Deshou mystery plot. Shawne’s got his sites set on summer with his current saving on items from VIZ Media and then dive into the first part of our interview with Mr. Yoshida.
We’ve drawn the five winners of our Del Rey Manga Dark Wraith of Shannara contest, and we’ll be bringing them to you next. Vexille is the next title that Marie’s shining her spotlight on, and then Nick and Rich will give you a rundown of upcoming conventions. Toshifumi Yoshida then rejoins us for the second portion of his interview, and finally we’ll all return with a selection of customer reviews from our online store.
What's Hot?
In a crime ridden future the citizens of Tokyo are legally allowed to carry firearms – but so are the criminals. It is the powerful organization RAPT's job to dispense quick justice on those who violate the law. But deep in secret labs, an even greater threat looms - monsters are being forged using a new science, combining flesh and machine to create the perfect enforcers for a world without free will. In response to the rampant crime, shadowy organizations, and biomechanical terrors, four brave women step forward. Their pasts may be a mystery, but Jo, Sei, Amy, and Meg are the best chance a wounded city has of saving itself from a dark future. Watch these four angels save Tokyo with guts, grace, and a whole lot of guns when the Burst Angel Complete DVD Series plus OVA is released as part of Funimation’s Viridian Collection on June 10th.
Ah, how the mighty have fallen! Caged inside a little boy's body and banished to earth by the almighty Odin, the still-proud and still-powerful trickster god Loki has learned to make a living. He now runs the Enjaku Detective Agency. Joined by his trusted assistant Yamino and a beautiful (but accident prone) high school girl named Mayura, Loki uses his supernatural heritage to pay the rent by probing the darkest corners of the paranormal, the occult, and the peculiar. Detect the unexpected when the Mythical Detective Loki Ragnarok Thinpak Collection streets on June 10th.
New faces and old favorites pepper this random assortment of odds and ends that complement the first season of the comedy, School Rumble! You won’t believe the absurd antics that got left out the first time around, although crazy does seem to be the theme of this show! It’s a dog eat dog world as Yoshidayama tangles with Harima, and Tenma’s little sister Yakumo discovers she’s not the only one who’s barking mad! Poor Imadori just might have met his match with Lara, whose bark is nowhere near as bad as her bite! There’s even a history lesson as Class 2-C takes a trip back in time…Too bad for Karasuma that curry hasn’t been invented yet! Catch all the over-the-top hilarity that wasn’t included in season one when the gang heads back to the classroom for the School Rumble OVA DVD: Extra Class on June 17th.
The last thing Kei and Masaru remember was being struck dead by a subway train while saving the life of a drunken bum. What a waste! And yet somehow they're still alive…or undead…or reanimated. Whatever the case, it seems their current situation is being dictated by an omnipotent orb with a nasty message: "Your lives are over. What you do with your new lives is up to me!" And what this orb called "Gantz" intends to do, is force them to play games of death by making them hunt down aliens living among the general populace. It’s kill or be killed in the stylish, gritty, and violent story of Gantz, the basis for the popular and controversial anime of the same name. When murder is the only way to stay alive, does anybody really win? Find out when Gantz Graphic Novel 1 starts its twisted game on June 25th.
Save 25% or more on these titles by preordering them from RightStuf.com at least 10 days before their street dates. Get another 10% off by joining the Got Anime purchasing club for Frequent Buyers.
Shawne's Specials and the Start Summer With A Bang sale!
Start your summer off with a bang! Stock up on hot titles (at cool prices) with bargains on DVDs, books and graphic novels from Viz Media. Super favorites like Bleach, the Black Lagoon manga, Buso Renkin, Death Note, Honey and Clover, Naruto and Vampire Knight!
From now through June 1st, take 40% OFF the retail prices of all DVDs and 33% OFF the retail prices of all books from VIZ Media! Plus, this sale includes both current and upcoming releases - get your buying done now rather than later!
Just use the following reusable coupon code bang when you check out through RightStuf.com!
Those frugal minions that are Got Anime members can stack their discounts for even more savings -- stack the 10% discount for members on top of the sale, and you get 46% off the retail price on DVDs, and 40% on books! You can start saving with your first order - check out www.gotanime.com for details.
To see the list of eligible items, just click on the "Start Summer With a Bang!" graphic on RightStuf.com. Bargain bin items and items in the weekly special are not eligible for the sale.
The time continues to fly by, and as I sit back and watch another year added to the Dark Lord o-meter I’m reflective of how lucky I am to have such a great job, great people to work with, and happy customers to serve. And when the Dark Lord feels festive, wallets everywhere cringe with worry. Fear not, as my plan to give you great values and super deals will continue into the summer.. Where anything may happen.
See all of Shawne's Weekly Specials!
Check out the Bargain Bin!
Toshifumi Yoshida, Producer for Bandai Entertainment
Bandai Entertainment: http://www.bandai-ent.com
Bandai Entertainment Blog: http://www.bandai-ent.com/blog/
Right Stuf Contests and Updates
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Congratulations to the 5 winners in our contest for copies of Del Rey’s graphic novel collaboration with fantasy artist Terry Brooks, Dark Wraith of Shannara!
Margil P of Westminster, Maryland; Martin M of Coral Gables, Florida; Shirley T of Houston, Texas; Tracey W of Wonder Lake, Illinois; and Billy C, Moss Point, Mississippi
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Also, a big congratulations goes out to the winners of our Death Note Live-Action Movie contest: Bruce H. of Sunnyvale, California; Leia B. of St. Louis, Missouri; and David H. of Lancaster, California! Hope you enjoyed seeing the film on the big screen!
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Next, it’s time to suit up and join Kaname, Sousuke and the mercenary group Mithril in a new fight against those determined to shatter world peace. Full Metal Panic! The Second Raid just came out as a box set earlier this week, and FUNimation and Right Stuf are excited to offer listeners the chance to win one of four copies of the new set!
To enter – and find out more about the Full Metal Panic! The Second Raid Box Set – check out our Contest page in the “What’s Hot” bar at RightStuf.com – before June 19th. We’ll announce the winners during the June 20th episode of Anime Today!
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Marie's Spotlight: Vexille
With the snow gone and the temperatures finally starting to heat up, that can only mean one thing: it’s time for studios to start rolling out their big summer action flicks. Even the anime industry isn’t immune, and Funimation does the season justice with Vexille, released just this week to DVD.
In the year 2067, the United Nations, alarmed at experiments being performed in Japan, outlawed all bio-android research. In response, Japan withdrew not only from the UN but from the world entirely by instating a complete communications blackout and erecting an electronic oceanic barrier to keep out foreigners. For the next ten years, the only contact the outside world had with the country was in the form of buying robots exported by the technologically superior company Daiwa.
Now, in 2077, evidence has come to light that Japan’s research into human/robot hybrids may have continued, and something even more sinister is going on behind the scenes. An elite team from SWORD, a branch of the USA military, has been selected to infiltrate the country and find out just what Japan’s been hiding. And that’s the easy part. The hard part will be staying alive once they get there.
Vexille is unabashedly an action movie. If you’re not the sort who enjoys fiery explosions, rocket-powered chase scenes, and killer giant swirling metal worms that destroy everything in sight, you will probably not enjoy Vexille. On the other hand, if you do like all of those things, Vexille will be more than happy to pull out all the stops to send you on a rollercoaster ride of entertainment.
Immediately setting Vexille apart from other anime films is its animation style. The movie is rendered entirely in cel-shaded 3D. The character designs look like something from the sci-fi half of Final Fantasy, and whoever designed the robots obviously put an incredible amount of care and thought into them. If you haven’t seen any of the previews or ads for the movie, picture some of the CGI cutscenes from the more striking recent Japanese RPGs and action games, and that’ll give you a good idea of what Vexille looks like. As a gamer and sci-fi fan, it’s a style I really enjoyed, but I will grant it’s not going to appeal to everyone and might leave the gamer in you looking for a controller during some of the racing scenes.
Where the movie truly shines is in it’s settings and action sequences. There’s not a sweeping vista that wasn’t beautifully crafted or a speeding dune buggy that doesn’t feel like it was imported directly from the future. Fights scenes take place not only in a variety of interesting spaces but also where the scenery will look the best meeting its own destruction when it’s caught in the lethal crossfire.
If you notice any similarities between Appleseed and Vexille, there’s a reason for that. The two movies share a number of key staff, including the director and even some of the bands that contributed to the soundtrack. Interestingly enough, however, despite Vexille’s obvious ties to Appleseed, the franchise that really came to mind while watching it was Resident Evil in terms of tone, characters, and the many elements incorporated from the survival horror genre. I’d specifically say which elements, but that would give away some of the movie’s more intriguing plot twists, and twists they are. Also reminiscent of Appleseed and Resident Evil are Vexille’s two strong female leads, Maria and the eponymous Vexille. Either one of them could have carried the movie, and having two heroines kicking ass and taking names made me a happy reviewer indeed.
When it comes to watching anime, I’m usually a pretty big sub fan, since I’m all for watching things in their original language. However, I have to admit that when it comes to action movies, I’d rather be admiring the battle choreography than reading subtitles. So I was quite gratified to discover the dub for Vexille is actually very good. I especially liked Christine Auten and Colleen Clinkenbeard as Maria and Vexille respectively. Both get deep enough into their roles that I honestly didn’t recognize either of them until I checked the credits. Incidentally, the background music is the same on both the Japanese and English tracks. Composed by Paul Oakenfold and featuring contributions from an array of trance and techno bands, the soundtrack underscores the action well, especially during some of the crowd scenes and the finale.
Tailor-made for summer, the only thing Vexille is missing from the blockbuster checklist of blazing firepower, tough-as-nails heroes, and literal racing against the clock is Angelina Jolee. Check this one out if you enjoyed the aforementioned Resident Evil – either the games or the movies – Metropolis, or Ghost in the Shell. And naturally, if you liked Appleseed, Vexille should be a no brainer.
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Music this episode featured from:
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Funtique by Silk Road
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Fresh Cuts from Japan CD 2
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00:00 --- 02. FANTASTIC
02:17 --- 08. CASINO
06:19 --- 10. JET STREAM TOKYO SKY
08:52 --- 06. Kyu-zith-rodio
23:31 --- 04. Sutaraku one
25:09 --- 01. intro
30:36 --- 03. Tondeke-donzuba girl
32:28 --- 06. Kyu-zith-rodio
40:20 --- 05. Ryusei-rain
43:27 --- 07. Animal funk
44:27 --- 11. Shounenn-zidai (Down on the funk)
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