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Otakon 2002: Central Park Media Panel
posted on by George Phillips
The rest of Utena begins this November..
The CPM panel at Otakon, run by Justin Sevakis and John O'Donnell had little new information to provide that wasn't already announced at Anime Expo.
In July, look forward to the Record of Lodoss War OAV DVD re-release. This new release will be far superior to the original Image Entertainment release, and is filled with extras, including a "comic comparison", showcasing the differences in designs and emotions of the manga and the anime series.
The biggest titles for August include Geobreeders and Project A-ko. The latter is restored to its original theatrical full-screen presentation, and contains a commentary track by the director. The show has also been digitally remastered, and faded colors on the VHS release now look very vibrant.
September will see the release of Himiko-Den and the long-awaited M.D. Geist boxed set. Justin Sevakis spent 3 months of work, creating numerous extras, including an alternate angle that matches the M.D. Geist manga to the animated movie. One of the newly announced features is the "Dancing Geist", dubiously called the "best feature of the disc", although John said that you have to buy the boxed set to find out what, exactly, it is.
Grave of the Fireflies is the biggest release in October, with many excellent and rare extras that American fans had never seen. One of the most important is an exclusive interview with Takahata, the director of Grave of the Fireflies. The famous movie critic, Roger Ebert, also provided an exclusive look at just how emotionally powerful Grave of the Fireflies is. Other features include "then and now" photos, comparing actual locations used in the movie to what they look like today.
After more than 2 years of waiting, fans will finally receive more Revolutionary Girl Utena. John cited contract problems being one of the largest reasons for the delay. Starting in November, however, CPM will begin releasing the last 26 episodes of Utena. The DVDs will be released in a 4/3/3/3/4/3/3/3 format, preserving the two unique 13-episode story arcs. The dub cast is the same as the cast found in the original Utena dub. However, the voice actors have grown significantly stronger and more experienced since the early days, and their new performance should reflect this growth.
CPM is very apologetic of The Slayers DVD audio goof-up, particularly because the recently released replacements still have several different audio errors. Another new set of replacement discs is available, one that will fix all of the problems. If you wish to trade in your set for the new, completely fixed discs, check CPM's website for more information. You can either bring your defective discs to CPM at a convention, or via Right Stuf. CPM will be attending GenCon, CN Anime, and BAAF later this year, as well as numerous other conventions.
While CPM had no new acquisitions to announce, they said to look forward to the titles they announced at Anime Expo: Yami no Matsuei, Alien 9 (the anime and manga), DNA^2 and Nekojiru-sō. All of these titles should be released in 2003.
On their Anime 18 adult product line, CPM had little to say, other than announcing a few new titles: Gibo (Stepmother's Sin), Rejuvination, and the final episodes of Night Shift Nurses. CPM has responded to some criticism raised about editing Night Shift Nurses, and will be releasing these last episodes uncut. Justin Sevakis, however, said there's quite a bit of "sick, disgusting" content. "Wow. Ew.", Justin said, in response to the desire for the uncut title.
In July, look forward to the Record of Lodoss War OAV DVD re-release. This new release will be far superior to the original Image Entertainment release, and is filled with extras, including a "comic comparison", showcasing the differences in designs and emotions of the manga and the anime series.
The biggest titles for August include Geobreeders and Project A-ko. The latter is restored to its original theatrical full-screen presentation, and contains a commentary track by the director. The show has also been digitally remastered, and faded colors on the VHS release now look very vibrant.
September will see the release of Himiko-Den and the long-awaited M.D. Geist boxed set. Justin Sevakis spent 3 months of work, creating numerous extras, including an alternate angle that matches the M.D. Geist manga to the animated movie. One of the newly announced features is the "Dancing Geist", dubiously called the "best feature of the disc", although John said that you have to buy the boxed set to find out what, exactly, it is.
Grave of the Fireflies is the biggest release in October, with many excellent and rare extras that American fans had never seen. One of the most important is an exclusive interview with Takahata, the director of Grave of the Fireflies. The famous movie critic, Roger Ebert, also provided an exclusive look at just how emotionally powerful Grave of the Fireflies is. Other features include "then and now" photos, comparing actual locations used in the movie to what they look like today.
After more than 2 years of waiting, fans will finally receive more Revolutionary Girl Utena. John cited contract problems being one of the largest reasons for the delay. Starting in November, however, CPM will begin releasing the last 26 episodes of Utena. The DVDs will be released in a 4/3/3/3/4/3/3/3 format, preserving the two unique 13-episode story arcs. The dub cast is the same as the cast found in the original Utena dub. However, the voice actors have grown significantly stronger and more experienced since the early days, and their new performance should reflect this growth.
CPM is very apologetic of The Slayers DVD audio goof-up, particularly because the recently released replacements still have several different audio errors. Another new set of replacement discs is available, one that will fix all of the problems. If you wish to trade in your set for the new, completely fixed discs, check CPM's website for more information. You can either bring your defective discs to CPM at a convention, or via Right Stuf. CPM will be attending GenCon, CN Anime, and BAAF later this year, as well as numerous other conventions.
While CPM had no new acquisitions to announce, they said to look forward to the titles they announced at Anime Expo: Yami no Matsuei, Alien 9 (the anime and manga), DNA^2 and Nekojiru-sō. All of these titles should be released in 2003.
On their Anime 18 adult product line, CPM had little to say, other than announcing a few new titles: Gibo (Stepmother's Sin), Rejuvination, and the final episodes of Night Shift Nurses. CPM has responded to some criticism raised about editing Night Shift Nurses, and will be releasing these last episodes uncut. Justin Sevakis, however, said there's quite a bit of "sick, disgusting" content. "Wow. Ew.", Justin said, in response to the desire for the uncut title.
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