I do apologize for the belated update, given that Otakon was roughly a week ago, but sometimes after being removed from one’s daily routine for several days (four in my case), life, work, and sleep all require a little catching-up.
Kicking things off, let’s collect the rather anemic licensing news from this year's geeky gathering…
Vertical, Inc.
- Mystery Manga “T” Vol. #1, release date 7/19/2011
- Mystery Manga “M” Vo. #1, release date 9/20/2011
- Mystery Tezuka Manga Vol. #1, release date 7/26/2011
Normally I wouldn’t mention the lack of any true announcements, but since Otakon only had four North American industry panels, I figured highlighting Vertical’s mystery titles couldn’t hurt.
Vertical really is one of the only decent publishers of manga left in the U.S., and now more than ever, they’re particularly worth supporting because—with series like Twin Spica, and 7 Billion Needles—Vertical is finally starting to again venture-out from under the giant Tezuka rock they’ve been using so long for a financial refuge. So buy their new books, whatever they might be…
Funimation
- Strike Witches season 2
- Shukufuku no Campanella
- Ōkami-san to Shichinin no Nakama-tachi
- Hetalia World & Hetalia the movie
- Summer Wars
- Evangelion 2.22
Funimation—as has been the case as of late, and I guess not unexpected considering they’re currently backed by a large public company (at least until Navarre sells them sometime between now and December 2010)—was the only company to hit Otakon with a mass of new licenses, almost all of which are pretty decent.
Strike Witches season 2, Campanella, and Ōkami-san are all new series in Japan that just started airing within the last month—Funi will be streaming all three domestically and is committed to eventual DVD releases. Already being a fan of the show, I’m looking forward to Strike Witches 2 (hopefully there won't be a censorship scare, as recently occurred with one of their other titles); Ōkami-san, based on a popular light novel series, is looking like a winner and should please anyone who enjoys sappy romance and tsundere girls; and Campanella is yet another show derived from an eroge, except without all the good adult bits, so yeah, it’s awful.
Summer Wars has me totally excited, especially if we get a Blu-ray; it’s a beautiful film from the same group that brought us The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, a few years ago. And of course, there’s Evangelion 2.22, the umpteenth attempt by Gainax and Hideaki Anno to drain just a bit more milk from this fifteen-year-old cow—should they release a Blu-ray, which I'm sure they will, I’ll buy it, mostly because there just isn't enough anime on the medium here in America.
Aniplex USA
- R.O.D. Blu-ray collection
Aniplex USA, the North American subsidiary of the Japanese anime and music distribution company, has been making some waves here in the land of hamburgers and Coke, through their partnership with Bandai to release Kannagi and the Gurren Lagann movies. And while it wasn’t announced at this con, they’ll soon be adding to their catalog Durarara!!, a recently completed, modern-day, supernatural anime with exquisite character designs by Suzuhito Yasuda, of Yozakura Quartet fame.
The company’s actual Otakon announcement was a Blu-ray collection of the Read or Die OAV and TV series. I dug the OAV, myself, though the television show was rather lackluster. Still, I’d caution fans of either before getting too excited: both R.O.D. OAV and TV hail back to 2001 and 2003, respectively, well before the push for HD media—neither where made with HD TVs and Blu-ray in mind, as can be seen in these comparison shots of the Japanese DVD & Blu-ray discs: Linku.
Bandai
- Sora o Kakeru Shoujo
- My-Otome 0 ~S.ifr~
- Bakumatsu Ibun-roku Code Geass (manga)
The only thing surprising about Bandai’s panel was that it took them this long to finally announce the My-Otome OAV (from 2008) and SoraKake Girls (the big Sunrise show from 2009). I could never get into either of the two My series, but SoraKake Girls was turning into a pretty cool show that I just couldn't seem to finish last year—so looking forward to that one.
Probably the biggest news for me, however, that came from Bandai’s panel is they’re currently planning to release everyone’s favorite high school light-music club, K-On!, on Blu-ray. Yes, Mio and delicious Azunyan in eye-popping high-definition!
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And thus ends my roundup of licenses. In case you’re wondering about the banner image: that is my hand, sticking-out from a pile of squishy hotel bedcovers, and the bottle of water I was hoping to quickly empty, in a weak attempt to cure the massive hangover resulting from hours, and hours, and hours of drinking. If you're interested in my overall impressions of this year's Otakon, then by all means, keep reading...
Last July 30th to August 1st marked my tenth (almost consecutive) year attending the “Convention for the Otaku Generation,” Otakon. I don’t consider myself a convention person, one of those individuals who waits with heated anticipation for the con season to begin, then makes the rounds to as many of these themed festivals as is humanly (and financially) possible. I do, however, generally enjoy going to such events, with Otakon having been the main attraction in my late-teens-to-early-adult years. But the ache in my bones is telling me it’s come time to say saraba to the three-day celebration of anime and manga in the city that houses the remains of Edgar Allen Poe.
Over the years, I’ve had varied participation with Otakon: I first went as just an average fan, spent a few installments as quasi-staff (thanks to my involvement with their video game room), had a quick turn as press, before settling back into fan mode for this latest run. Keeping in mind Otakon was, and by some still is, considered the premier East Coast anime/manga convention, and although my station at the con has consistently changed, it’s difficult to pin-down one exact difference that has soured my overall opinion and enjoyment of this annual gathering.
To be completely honest, one component is certainly my age. Thanks to the popularity surge of Japanese entertainment in the mid-to-late 90s, and broadband Internet’s effect on file sharing, the fanbase for anime and manga has greatly expanded beyond the older geeks born in the 70s and 80s. I have to admit, being surrounded by so many young teens—and notions that I may well be ogling a scantly-clad cosplayer, who I would not be able to legally escort to a bar and buy a drink—is a tad disconcerting. Part of me feels I’ve just gotten too old to be thrown into what now consists of the mass-fan populace.
But beyond my own fuddy-duddy disposition, Otakon has without a doubt lost a good deal of its former luster. Thanks to the extreme downturn of the domestic anime and manga market and the rise of prestigious conventions in the New York area, Baltimore’s con has consistently seen more and more of its professional talent slip or get stolen away. This year’s con had a measly four industry panels (Aniplex, Bandai, Funimation, and Vertical) and only a hodgepodge of mediocre Japanese talent—admittedly, it’s no easy task finding popular Japanese artists, voice actors, directors, and-the-like with time enough in their busy schedules to fly all the way to America’s east coast for a quick appearance, but well, obtaining such stars really is the burden of those putting on the show.
As it currently exists, Otakon is largely a convention that draws tons of regional cosplayers; it’s a place for high-schoolers to mingle and listen to brethren testify about their love of a specific anime, manga, or fetish from the panel pulpit; and it’s a con that still occasionally draws some major music talent—not so much this year, though…the Yoshida Brothers, really? (And yes, I realize Home Made Kazoku played during the dying embers of Sunday, and that Yoshiki and Sugizo did a mini-performance at the cosplay masquerade.)
For what it’s worth, I did enjoy my time this year, surrounded by good friends, but due to a lack of interest amongst the total squad, I spent more time being around Otakon than actually in Otakon. Of course, who’s to say what the future holds. If you do see me next year, with a sobering coffee in one hand and camera in the other, traipsing through the halls of the Baltimore convention center, you’re more than welcome to call me a hypocrite.
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