Right Stuf, Inc. is pleased to welcome the writers of FUNimation’s Shin chan – Jared Hedges, Joel Bergen and Alex Muniz – to episode 65 of ANIME TODAY.

In this new interview, Hedges, Bergen and Muniz discuss the writing process for Shin chan – which currently airs on Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim – and how their work on the show differs from the typical anime adaptation process. Additionally, they talk about how they got involved in the project, what pop culture inspires their writing for the show, and whether or not any topics are “off limits.”

Hedges has been writing scripts for FUNimation since 1999, and his credits include serving as head writer for Fullmetal Alchemist, Samurai 7, Speed Grapher, Moon Phase, Yu Yu Hakusho, and Tsubasa RESERVoir CHRoNiCLE. He was also voted “2006 Writer of the Year” by anime dub fans at AnimeOnDVD.com. Bergen’s anime credits include Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z, Yu Yu Hakusho, Fullmetal Alchemist, Samurai 7, Case Closed, Negima, and Speed Grapher. Muniz has written for AskMen.com and FileFront.com in addition to co-writing several projects, including the Disney Channel's The Replacements and The Emperor's New School, and Nickelodeon's Back at the Barnyard, with Bergen.

Also in Episode 65:

• Chad tells listeners “What’s Hot” in the world of anime.
• Kris and Judy talk about maid cafés and the culture surrounding them in the “Anime and Gamers’ Guide.”
• Shawne reminds listeners about the last days to stock up on catalog DVDs and more from Media Blasters.
• Rich and Nick announce the winners of the Del Rey Manga Fairy Tail contest, kick off a new contest for copies of the graphic novel Dark Wraith of Shannara, and talk about updates to Right Stuf’s sites, including the launch of the Anime Today forum community and the reappearance of comingsoon.rightstuf.com.
• Marie checks out Takeshi Konomi’s manga The Prince of Tennis.
• Judy-sensei returns with a new mini Japanese 101 lesson on café conversation.
• Rich and Nick provide a rundown of upcoming conventions, courtesy of AnimeCons.com.
• Listen to musical clips from the JapanFiles.com release, Sokokara Detekinasai by Budo Grape.
• And finally, ANIME TODAY highlights some of the newest fan reviews from RightStuf.com visitors.

Ready to listen in? Download episode 65 now!

Just joining in? Learn how to subscribe or even check out the ANIME TODAY Archive episodes!

The maid cafe mentioned in this podcast is called "Royal-T" and is located in Culver City, CA. The owner, surprisingly, is not an otaku. She's an art collector, specializing in artists such as Murakami and others in the "Superflat" movement. The Royal-T space is primarily an art gallery. The maid cafe is an ajunct. It's a big part of the space, and a very important feature in the owner's mind. She wants to recreate the experience of Akihabara. This is definitely her own take on the matter, though, as you can tell by looking at the photos available in the "Press" section of http://www.royal-t.org .

It should be noted that the cafe is not actually serving food yet, though they do have maids working there, greeting visitors to the gallery. It takes far longer to get a kitchen built, certified and inspected than anyone believed possible. Currently they're shooting for May 5, but don't count on it. The hours given on their web site are correct and they're open, with maids, but only as a gallery for now.

On the other hand if you want to see what manga and anime have done to the fine arts, this is a sterling place to find out.

Very cool! Thanks for the link!

The anime today pod casts often have me thinking. And if you can't answer the questions I fully understand.

Coming from the broadcast media bizz, I know that we would never dream of interviewing/ showing/ or even acknowledging that there are other stations that exist. We wouldn't want our customers/viewers to stray away.

How exactly is it then, that you guys can get interviews with people who openly work for other companies? I could understand it before Nozomi was around because at the time you were primarily just selling DVDs and other things. But now that you have an arm that is actually distributing things on a more frequent basis, has that kind of cooled your relationships with the other companies? Or are they still pretty much cool with TRSI because you still have your "we sell everything" store?

It is just one of those things that I think about and I find fascinating with the culture that must be behind the doors that people don't normally get the chance to see. Or it could be that you escort them in with armed guards and make sure that they don’t get past the microphone that you have set up in the lobby to do the interview. Hahah

Right Stuf was both a publisher and a retailer before the Nozomi Entertainment label was rollled out. Nozomi showing up changed nothing about what we're doing, and didn't change our relationship with other companies.

-rh

There's a big difference between a main stream network/industry and a niche one.




The same thing could be said about ADV's Newtype/PIQ magazine.



If you have read their Spring and Fall 2007 catalogs. You would learn the whole history of TRSI. They were actually a publisher from the start and the first title they released was Astro Boy. They made a catalog just to sell the title and later opened up their catalog and services to the other anime companies.

If you don't have those catalogs handy, the articles are over in the Anime Resources section of the web site, under "2007 Articles."

-rh