Ms. Answerman

The First, Last, and Forgotten

Back when the rumors of Inuyasha ending were confirmed, I received a number of distraught emails wondering about how the series would end and whether or not it would stay true to the manga. I'm happy to report that the last episodes did stick to the events of the most recent Inuyasha volumes (35 and 36), albeit they seemed too rushed. In the manga, the events of the last three episodes were spread out over two volumes, giving readers a bit of time to breathe with “filler material”. In the series, the filler episodes were all clumped together, so what you get is a long lull of character development (though I use this term lightly since ‘Miroku hitting on girl and Sango getting pissed’ has been developed more times than I care to remember) followed by a short burst of story/battles to finish everything off. Personally, I thought it was a rather unsatisfying way to end the TV series. With the manga still going though, fans will have to brush up on their Japanese to see how the series truly ends.

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Do you know if there are going to be any more Chobits episodes after 10 dubbed? Thanks

Last I checked, the final DVD (up to episode 26) was released half a year ago and included both an English and Japanese tracks on it. I'm guessing though that you've been watching it via The Anime Network and just forgot to include that in your email. To my knowledge, TAN has the rights to show the entire series. I'm not exactly sure why they haven't finished up with the rest, but you have two options: You can wait for them to show the rest of the series or you can go out and buy/rent/borrow the rest of the DVDs. From what I've been told, Chobits starts to pick up after episode 10, so you might want to consider the later suggestion.

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Howdy Ms. Answerman,
Was reading in September's Newtype (US) that a ninth volume of Neon Genesis Evangelion manga was released in Japan sometime this summer. Do you know if there is any chance VIZ will be releasing the translated version in the US or if someone else will be, or whether it will make it here at all? I haven't, least last time I checked, found anything at Viz's site, but I really would like to find out anything.
Thanks,
A somewhat but not really obsessed NGE fan

Unless the contract with Viz for the manga has expired, there's a good chance that they'll release volume nine as soon as they can. It'll take a bit to translate it and get it into a publishable state, so your “somewhat but not really” obsession with Evangelion will have to wait a little longer. If you can't wait and decide to cross over into the sweet realm of a more-than-somewhat obsession, you can always buy the ninth volume and let that satiate you until you get a translated release.

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Why do most domestic releases have English 5.1 or DTS, but the Japanese audio is only in stereo? Do most people watch anime in English? Do I have to get region 2 DVDs to have Japanese 5.1 audio?
B.C. Kowalski

Most people prefer to watch anime in English since it's their native language, so distributors spend their money, time, and attention on the desires of the majority. Unless you have one hell of an incredible sound system, it won't make THAT much of a difference (though I'm sure there are those of you who would disagree) and you should stick to buying domestic releases. A lot of series also don't have a 5.1 mix in Japan, so even if you imported the R2, you might not get 5.1. There are also a number of series out there that are worth watching in English. If sound is your biggest concern, give the dub a try and see if you enjoy it.

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Hello, I have been an anime fan for a long time and I look at your responses to questions regularly and I have a question of my own. Why are some anime movies like Cowboy Bebop: The Movie, Escaflone The Movie, and Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence only in some theaters? Where I live, the nearest theater to me does not show Ghost in the Shell will it ever?
Thanks so much,
Casey

Anime movies fall into the same category that independent movies do. There are always going to be people who want to watch them, sometimes more if a movie has someone popular in it, but in general cannot make a profit if they're spread out too thin (or don't have the money to bombard theatres with their shows). Anime and independent movies also have to compete with bigger titles and their advertisement, something that smaller movies cannot do. A limited release means they don't have to pump everything into advertising and can rely on word-of-mouth instead.
If the nearest theatre to you isn't showing Innocence, do a little bit of searching online to find the closest theatre to you that is showing it. If it's a bit of a drive, get some friends together and make a day of it.

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Hidey-ho, Answerman. I'm something of an anime fanatic and have been considering a career in the field. I was wondering if you might be able to recommend some US schools that would be well suited to learning about writing and directing anime features, or perhaps some resources where I might be able to learn more about finding an appropriate school.
Also, I have something of a concern about my lack in ability to draw, but was hoping to focus on writing and directing. In your opinion will this hinderance greatly hamper my success in this field?
I appreciate any help you can offer me. Thanks
Matt Waits
Austin, Texas, USA, Planet Earth

I hate to break it to you and the countless others who continue to write to me about this, but there are no schools in the US that focus on anime since anime is not made in the US. Anime is made in Japan, Korea, and various other asian countries, as is manga. If you want to major in directing or writing in general, there are plenty of great schools for either (USC comes to mind for directing, though any state college or university will have decent programs).
As far as your ability to draw, you don't want to become an animator do you? Some knowledge in the area is necessary (a director should know the basics any actor would know), but it doesn't mean you have to be good at it yourself. Like I said above, though, it won't matter unless you can somehow manage to get accepted into one of the top Japanese colleges. If you're not fluent in the language and haven't spent at least a few years over there, you aren't going to get accepted.