Answerman

Insert Halloween-Related Subtitle Here

 

Allllright... well, thanks to a big spurt of work for our dear Ms. Bundy, I am once again answering your questions. Let's get started, shall we?

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Dear Answerperson,

I have a few questions about that wonderful bit of shoujo fluff known as Princess Tutu. First, if you've seen it, how did you like it? Even if it did air on the Kids TV network, I personally think the Brother's Grimm-esque story and the music is enough to endear it to an older audience (I'll never think of the same thing while listening to Waltz of the Flowers again :) ).

Secondly, in the credits it says that it was produced by HAL. Now is this the same HAL of the Kirby's Dreamland fame (the videogame franchise)? Also, who do you think has the best chances of picking up the license for the states? Thanks for fielding this on.

Much respect,
Myung Kim

P.S. Speaking of shoujo fluff, any initial reactions to the live action Sailor Moon?

I've skipped Princess Tutu for now. I have to admit; I saw the name and ran screaming in the other direction. I'm allergic to coquettish cuteness and the title ‘Princess Tutu’ makes my flesh crawl. I've heard a lot about it (then again, if you type an anime title in to Google you'll get a thousand fansub blogs speaking volumes of glowing praise for every show ever created), so I might give it a shot when and if it hits America, but for now, I'll go ahead and spare myself another insulin shot.

As for HAL, you've got your wires crossed. HAL Laboratories produced the Kirby games, the Kirby anime series and several other games for Nintendo's other consoles. Hal Film Maker produced Princess Tutu, as well as other series like Boys Be and the 30-minute feature Slayers Premium, along with several others. They're unrelated studios.

Ah, the Sailor Moon live action series. I'm damned if I do and I'm damned if I don't on this one. I laughed about how cheaply produced the entire thing was and got attacked by a legion of fangirls all telling me that it's “supposed to be that way” (so are the bad alien movies on Mystery Science Theater 3000, but they still make fun of 'em) as though something being cheesy and hilariously lame means you can't point out how cheesy and hilariously lame it was. So I scaled my comments back and got called out by a number of people for being “soft” on the series, claiming that somehow it was my duty to bash the show since it was obviously really bad. The most intriguing thing about it is this: every fangirl I come across who loves the show says “It's so bad, but I love it! I must be the only one, I'm so insane!”. They all say that. It's amazing how many people can think they're the only person who feels that way. Regardless, I saw the first one. It was totally harmless, utterly silly and in my opinion, not worth watching beyond the first episode (and even then only as an oddity) unless you're a big Sailor Moon fan, in which case I say, drink up lest yet suffer another drought.

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Do you know if the Airmaster TV series has been canceled or put on
hiatus...i haven't been able to find any episodes past 17 anywhere and it is
driving me nuts! I love that show, it has some really well done fight
sequences. I'm hoping that the reason i can't find any right now is due to
the possibility that maybe it had been licsensed or just stopped to do
another season. I appreciate any info. you can give me...

Arigato Gozaimasu,

Kurokageshi

P.S. What has Kentarō Miura-san been up to?

Oh, so YOU'RE the guy that likes Air Master.

I know for a fact Air Master ran beyond 17 episodes; I'd seen episode titles up to number 25 or 26 somewhere on the web. Unfortunately I can't reproduce these results, butI can tell you that indeed there is more Air Master, it just isn't available right now. I don't see anyone licensing this title any time soon, but you never know; stranger things have happened. It's definitely a B-lister, so don't expect ADV, Bandai or Pioneer to license this thing. Never say never, though. As of right now, it's totally up in the air.

Air Master. Shudder.

Kentarō Miura is still busy working his black magic on everyone's favorite dark fantasy series, Berserk, which routinely whips up the manga sales charts every time a new volume comes out in Japan. Something tells me he'll be working on that for a long, long time. Which is, of course, a good thing. You, sir, have disparate taste in anime.

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Dear Answearman,

I'm a big Outlaw Star fan and have been trying to get my hands on the manga. I read on a pretty good OS site that the manga ran for 5 volumes. The thing is, try as I have, I've only been able to get my hands on volumes 1-3. I even asked a friend of mine who currently lives in Japan to look for me and even he's never seen more that volumes 1-3. So could you clear it up once and for all for me how many volumes of the OS manga there are?

Also, since I'm on the subject, do you think the OS manga will ever be released in English? The manga is MUCH more adult then the anime ever was so I personally doubt it. However, I've been wrong about this sort of thing before. I'm just curious as to your opinion.

Thanks,
The Infinite Tsunami

It seems as though the adventures of Gene Starwind and his pals are about as popular as the plague right now, so most of the old Outlsaw Star information depositories out there have dried up and blown away like so many other once-popular series. I was able to dig up a few items though: it seems as though there's enough Outlaw Star manga left unpublished in old back issues of Young Jump, which at this point are going to be really old and deteriorated, to fill out a fourth and fifth volume, but they were never published. I couldn't tell you why. Perhaps the manga wasn't as popular as the show, or interest dropped off after a while; in any case, the only place to see that is by digging up those old Young Jumps, to which I say Good Luck, sir, you'll need it.

Unless, of course, the manga gets picked up by a US publisher and they decide to recover the old master copies of the original manga. If they do that, you can bet you'll see all five volumes here, but maybe something happened to the original artwork and that's not only why they can't publish volumes four and five but also why the manga won't ever see the light of day in America! Well, really, this is all speculation, but your guess is as good as mine. Have fun storming the Japanese landfills for those back issues.

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I've noticed that anime in Japan seems to air at funny times. Shows like Pokémon air at 19:00 which I can only assume means 7:00 pm. Meanwhile shows like Last Exile aired at around 00:30 (which I assume is 12:30 am), Ai Yori Aoshi ~Enishi~ airs at 01:20 (they list 25:20 on those Japanese websites which I assume means 1:20 am) and some even later than that! Now coming from North America I can safely say that no new shows air at such weird times, but yet it seems commonplace for anime. So my question is, how does this work? How do anime make money? Anyone who has seen Last Exile can attest to the amazing production values of that show... do people really love staying up so late in Japan or is the DVD/Video market just that bountiful?

Believe it or not, the Japanese are almost as picky about what their children watch as we are. They too think that a lot of anime is a little too much for kids, and thusly, it thrives on television in late night slots that have been embraced by the Japanese fans. Stuff like Last Exile and Ai Yori Aoshi just aren't really kid's fare, so they put them on late. The Japanese PTA acts as a watchdog group, sometimes singling out certain shows for being too dark and violent (a little show called Neon Genesis Evangelion got slammed and subsequently censored due to the PTA's displeasure). So, next time you complain that they've cut all the hardcore sex and drug use out of the American television release of Zoids, just remember that the situation isn't that different in Japan. For the record, the Japanese DVD and Video markets are extremely healthy and a show will make most of its profits from the DVD sales (just like in America. See, we aren't so different after all!).

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Hey Answerman I have been hearing rumors on the net that Macross was getting the remake treatment was going to be released within the next year or so with updated animation and voice acting is this true or is someone selling me porky pies.

Uh, someone's.. er... selling you “porky pies”. There's a new Macross OVA coming out right now called Macross Zero, which Bandai is releasing in the US at some point in the future, but they aren't remaking the original Super Dimensional Fortress Macross. I think the legions of Macross fans out there would cry blue bloody murder if they ever did such a thing.

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Okay Mr(s) Anser(wo)man I got two for ya.

(1) Do you know of any plans for a Lunar 3 to be made? It's my favorite video game series, and would be a shame to see it be through.

(2) When are new Inu-Y....Heh, just kidding. I've heard that if IGPX did well enough, Production I.G would consider it to become a series on CN. I watched it, and found it quite entertaining, if unoriginal. Would you know how well it did, and P.I.G's plans regarding the series are?

Technically there haven't been any new Lunar games produced since the early 90's, when the original Lunar Silver Star Story and Lunar 2: Eternal Blue (Which sounds a lot like everyone's favorite sequel title, Breakin' 2: Electric Boogaloo) came out for the Sega CD. Those were then remade by Working Designs and re-released with piles of totally extraneous bells and whistles for American fans. Basically, the series has been over since way back when, you're just buying re-releases. There are no plans for a Lunar 3, as far as I know. Maybe Working Designs will stop releasing crummy 4th-rate shooters for the PS2 and put out something people might actually want to play. Lastly, this is an anime column, and while some people might say “Hey, that's a video game question!”, I play games all the time just like any good nerd would, so please don't hesitate to send me anime-related game questions. I love 'em.

The jury is still basically out on IGPX. Cartoon Network hasn't said anything about it yet, although I'd imagine that if it's popular enough, we'll either get more shorts or longer versions of the shorts you've already seen. Nothing is ever set in stone, though, so we'll just have to wait and see what happens.

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Dear Mrs. Answerman,

G'day! I've a couple of questions, that I really, really hope you haven't answered before. I haven't seen them, anyway.

1. Okay. I just went through Shoujo Kakumei Utena (or Revolutionary Girl Utena, if you like translating stuff). I finish the series, and think, 'hey, there's a movie, isn't there? Let's watch it too!' Which I immediately proceed to do, and, after watching it, am very confused. Are the series and movie related, story-wise, in any way at all? Other than characters, I see no real similarities. On a side note, the whole turning into a car thing was just ridiculous.

2. I've seen the first 13 episodes of Airmaster, which I'm assuming is the first season. Is there a second season? There had better be, because that ending...they were in the middle of a fight, for crying out loud! I've looked around, and haven't been able to find any mention of more to the series. Light on the subject would be appreciated.

Thanks for your time!
Jason Merchant

Oh, good lord, not the car question again. The series is based (very loosely) on the original four-volume Utena manga series by Chiho Saitō. She then wrote an off-shoot manga, called Revolutionary Girl Utena: Adolescence Apocalypse, which the movie is based on. If you can't see the really obvious similarities in the stories then.. er.. watch them both over again, buddy. They follow the same basic storyline. Anthy is the Rose Bride. Utena comes in acting like a prince, challenges the duelists for her hand, and together they escape Ohtori Academy. I mean, the movie's really different from the TV series; it's more stylized (as if that were possible, but somehow they managed) and more condensed, and a little trickier if you aren't thinking hard while watching the movie.

For the record, the whole “turning in to a car” thing wasn't ridiculous, it was cool and brilliant. The whole movie is an allegory for breaking out of adolescence and the period of rigid conformity, becoming your own person; maturing. Anthy needs Utena to show her the way out. Utena literally becomes Anthy's vehicle for doing so (which is a painful process for Utena) and together they escape (with a little help from their friends). Does it make sense now? No? Well, watch it again. And again. And again. I hear drinking heavily during the 10th viewing makes things crystal clear.

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hello

i was wondering if they were going to make more episodes of the berserk series.. It was going great until it took forever to get to the point on how guts is the way he is now and i would be so happy if they were in the midst of makeing new ones...so please if you get this i hope you will reply back as soon as possible.

thank u

You have many questions and although the process has altered your consciousness, you remain irrevocably human. Ergo, some of my answers you will understand and some of them you will not.

Concordantly, while your first question may be the most pertinent, you may or may not realize it is also the most irrelevant.

Your life is the sum of the remainder of an unbalanced equation inherent in the programming of the Matrix. You are the eventuality of an anomaly, which, despite my sincerest efforts I have been unable to eliminate from what is otherwise a harmony of mathematical precision. While it remains a burden assiduously avoided, it is not unexpected and thus not beyond a measure of control. Which has lead you..
Inexorably..
Here.

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Dear Madame Answerman, or Sir Answerman if that is the cirumstance,
What is the correct order of the Slayers manga?

P.S. read your article all the time

Sincerely,
Sachiel13

Slayers manga goes a little something like this:

Chōbaku Madōden Slayers: Books 1-8, which chronicle the adventures of Lina, Gourry, and all of those fine folks.
Slayers Special, which is all about Lina and Naga, before Lina ever met Gourry.
Slayers Premium, which is a one-shot special.

And, there's a new one running in Dragon Magazine (that's the Japanese Dragon, not the US one, so just put that d20 away, mister) called Slayers: Knight of Aqua Lord, that might get animated and might get licensed. Who knows?

Anyway, I'm pooped. Rebecca might be back next week. Happy Halloween!