Ms. Answerman

Just a Small "Thank You"

Due to a somewhat hectic week, I've opted to leave out an opening rant in favor of getting in some extra time with Answercat and Answercat Jr. I would however like to offer a small 'thank you' to Masashi Kishimoto regarding the most recent Naruto chapters in Japan. Thank you for making it so that Sakura no longer sucks ass.</spoiler>
Welcome to this week's column!

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Hello,
I was just wondering if E’s Otherwise is being released sans artbox. I mean, ADV has released tons of shows lately with the artbox so what gives? Can I buy this now and not get pissed off later by seeing the release of a better version?
Thanks, Matt

Currently there aren't any plans for an artbox along with the first DVD, though it's always possible that one will be released later that'll include all of the DVDs. If you're still intent on buying the DVDs while they come out, you can always check out animenation.com to see if an empty art box goes up on sale there.

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Dear Ms.Answerman
Recently I begun reading the Ichigo 100% manga translations avaliable over the internet, however once gotten, they can only be read on the computer. I was wondering if you know when, or if at all, the Ichigo 100% manga will be released in the U.S., English translation. Also, is there an Anime series for Ichigo 100%? Or any plans for one in the future?
Sincerely,
X_Sensei_X

Certain Borders stores have copies of the Ichigo 100% manga in Japanese, which isn't hard to ‘read’ once you've read the translations. As for translated manga, there haven't been any announcements but it's definitely a possibility, since it's a Shonen Jump title, that Viz will license it at some point in the near future.
As for the anime, a movie/OVA was created for last year's Jump Festa. I've had trouble finding anything official regarding when it'll be released on DVD (or much information at all for that matter), but a few places (which could very likely be rumors) have stated a March release. I wouldn't be too surprised if Ichigo 100% is turned into a TV series since it does seem to be a pretty hot title right now.

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Hey Answerlady-
I was wondering how common it is for anime to have a different storyline than the manga upon which it's based. The most recent instance I can think of is Legendz, which is TOTALLY different (character and story-wise, that is) between the anime and the manga. Mostly the reason I'm asking is because I want to know if the producers are trying to generate a different sort of feel between the two, or if they're just trying to cash in on the same stuff through different media. Thanks!
~GG

Series generally try to stay true to their source, but it isn't uncommon for a director to stray from the original. Sometimes there are different stories to tell that the manga, for various reasons, cannot tell so the anime takes advantage of this and gives the audience a new story. Some manga series, such as Hellsing and Fullmetal Alchemist, were still being published at the time the anime series came out. They make various decisions and changes so that the manga ending isn't spoiled while sometimes adding new moods and ideas that the manga doesn't incorporate. Legal issues have also arisen and forced the anime producers to make drastic changes so that they could not be sued. Money generally isn't a main reason for changing a storyline around since countless series that follow the original manga have done well as far as revenue is concerned. I'd guess that making drastic changes would actually scare off fans of the manga if they feel that the series isn't being true to the characters and/or original story.

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I've heard both "ohaio / ohaio gozaimasu" and "konichiwa" used as "good morning". Is there a difference in meaning between the two, or a rule for when one is more appropriate?

Officially, ‘ohayou’ means ‘good morning’ and ‘konnichiwa’ (or ‘konnichiha’) means ‘good afternoon’. Konnichiwa can also mean ‘good day’, which is why some will use it regardless of the time of day. If it's later in the evening, you generally use ‘konbanwa’ (or ‘konbanha’) to welcome someone with a ‘good evening’ or bid farewell to someone with a ‘good night’.
For your added info of the week, Japanese isn't the only language that changes their greeting depending on the time of day. French, as an example, uses ‘bon matin’ in the morning, ‘bonjour’ in the afternoon, and ‘bonsoir’ in the evening. English also uses ‘good morning’, ‘good afternoon’, and ‘good evening’, as well as an additional ‘good day’ for those who like to be on top of things no matter what time of day it is.

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Ms. Answerman,
Do you know if xxxHOLiC or Tsubasa will be animated? I am wondering how they would how they would handle the crossover aspects of these series.

The Tsubasa anime will begin airing in Japan in April, while the xxxHOLiC series will be made into a movie. Our heroes in Tsubasa cannot get to where they need to go without Yuuko's help, so she'll have to play some part in the anime (unless they completely cut her out and replace her with someone else, which isn't very likely). They'll either limit her cameo (along with Watanuki and Mokona) to the initial ‘trade’ or they'll rely on the audience being familiar enough with xxxHOLiC to understand why food and such is traded between Sakura's group and Yuuko's.
For the xxxHOLiC movie, there's more than enough material not relating to Tsubasa that could be used to tell a 1 ½-2 hour story. I'd wager that they'll cut out the ‘trade’ sequence in favor of various other stories that explain how Yuuko works.