Answerman

Pac-Mania

Ms. Answerman is out sick this week, so here I am. Again.

In any case, I'd like to put a nasty misconception to rest. Every time we get an email here at Answerman HQ, it's addressed to ‘Mr/Ms/Answerman/Answerwoman’ or some variation thereof. This is not necessary. One of us will get it. One of us will answer it. It doesn't matter who you address the question to. And please, stop addressing letters to our cats. We only did that a few times, and that was months ago.

I'm also repeatedly told that Ms. Answerman should be 'Ms. Answerwoman', as though somehow ‘Answerman’ was not a surname but a gender signifier. That's what the ‘Ms’ is for, folks. Answerman is a surname.

Think about it this way: did any of you write letters to Namco requesting that 'Ms. Pac-Man' be changed to 'Ms. Pac-Woman'? Is the 'Ms.' in the name just not enough for you? Do you need not one but TWO gender signifiers in a name? No. No you don't.

One unlucky fellow responded to this analogy with 'There's a Ms. Pac-Man?'. I can only shake my head in shame and regret that today's younger generation knows not of the wonder and mystery of Ms. Pac-Man. What ARE they teaching our children in schools these days?!

Anyway, on with the show.

Hi Ms. Answerwoman! I just have three quick questions about X/1999 about
you. How many volumes long is the manga series? Is the TV series finished,
or still in production? Last one - are there any DVD's released in the US
of the X/1999 TV Series? Thanks for all your help! -Linz

There are 12 volumes of the X manga available in English, and they're all being re-released in Viz's new smaller, cheaper format, so you won't have to hollow out your bank account to get the whole series. The Japanese release is up to 18 volumes, and isn't quite finished yet, but it's doing a few victory laps before heading in to the stables. As for the TV show, it's been over for years now, where have you been? The final volume of the TV show was released on DVD in the US a month or so ago, so you can buy the whole thing now at any Suncoast you might happen across. I'm surprised that someone who's as interested in the show as you are hasn't, you know, gone to a store and looked at the shelf. Seems like the thing to do to me.

My drum teacher told me one time that the movie The Ring was inspired by a Japanese animation. Is this true, and if so what animation?

No. The Ring is a remake of Ringu, which is based on a novel, which has been translated into English, you can pick up the English translation at bookstores like Amazon; there's also a manga that has been translated by Dark Horse, you can get it right now from any manga retailer. Ringu is the incredibly popular Japanese original horror film. Basically it's the same thing as the American film, minus the huge budget and Naomi Watts. DreamWorks put it out on DVD at the same time as their remake, so it's on nearly every rental shelf in the country. There are three other Ringu movies in Japan. Ringu 2, the sequel, Ringu Raisen, and Ringu 0-Birthday. None of these have been brought over to the US yet. There are also two separate Ringu TV series in Japan, but neither of them are anime. Heck, even the Koreans did a spinoff called Ring Virus, which I hear was incredibly dull. Those wacky Koreans! What will they think of next?

Hi, I'm just wondering if anyone has the toy/merchandising rights to FLCL stuff? Because I've seen some evidence of the existence of a Canti resin kit that I'd really get ahold of, and given the difficulty in finding relatively obscure Japanese merchandise when you don't speak Japanese, and the expenses associated therewith, I think I'd rather get a local version if there's a chance it'll come out?
Or is FLCL too niche to merit much in the way of that sort of thing?

-Shadowtext

Synch-Point currently holds the marketing license for FLCL and they've put out a handful of products, including two highly articulated and detailed action figures of Haruko and Canti, an FLCL clear poster, and a few other items. All of these were available in stores everywhere (Suncoast, Sam Goody) a few months before FLCL really hit the big time on Cartoon Network. They had all dried up by the time the Adult Swim kids were swarming on FLCL like ants on a dropped ice cream cone, so nobody got one. You can still find them at conventions. As for your resin kit, good luck. I don't know anything about tracking down Japanese resin kits and the odds that it'll get released here are exactly zero, since resin kits are already an incredibly small niche market. Good luck, pal!

Hi,

I'm wondering about the release dates for the next box sets of two somewhat
long series, GTO Vol 5-10 and Maison Ikkoku Box Set 3. Do you know when we can
be expecting either of these? Thanks in advance.

-James Hickson

Maison Ikkoku box set 3 is coming out on April 6th. It'll retail for 49.98, the same as all the others. GTO has no set release date yet, so you'll just have to wait. Hey, that was an easy one! Check ANN's release list, releases like these are usually in there the moment dates are known.

This might be a stupid Question but is there more than 6 episodes of FLCL it
is 4 years old so who knows what has happened between then and now. Even if
it is only in manga that would do and if not is there any rumors of the
series picking back up again thanks.

There are two volumes of FLCL manga out now from Tokyopop, and that's all there is. There isn't any more FLCL, there probably won't be any more FLCL, so I wouldn't hold my breath.

Man, this job is easy sometimes. See y'all next week!