Ms. Answerman

The Interpreter

Since I can never get through reviewing all of the new shows I've seen each season, I've decided to shorten the comments so that more titles can be covered.

Sousei no Aquarion ~ Lots of mixed feelings on this one. No points for originality (Eva anyone?) but the animation is superb and there's enough unknown stuff going on to keep an audience interested.

Emma ~ Everyday Victorian-era people live their lives and stumble upon love. If you like soft, sweet stories that focus completely on their characters, then this one is for you. I especially adore the attention to historical and cultural details.

The Law of Ueki ~ I'm sure the world really needs another DBZ/Flame of Recca/Hunter x Hunter/etc etc etc type show. Not to mention that the artwork is sub par and the characters are about as interesting as moldy bread. No, I take that back. Even moldy bread is more interesting.

Tsubasa Chronicles ~ Basically follows the manga, so fans of the manga or CLAMP series in general should check it out. Not their best work, however, since the anime feels too rushed during critical moments and too slow during everything else.

Speed Grapher ~ Who doesn't love sex, violence, and a heap of messed up characters? Beautiful animation, complex characters, and the beginning of a possibly interesting story all add up to will probably be a great series.

Now onto the questions!

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I know I might just be hoping for nothing but I wanted to know, will there be any more future episodes of Vandread besides the second stage? Like the third stage? I don't assume there will be but I still have some hope.
Thanks.

It's very common for series to end in ways that leave the doors open for the possibility for future stories, whether they're in the form of more episodes, new/continued manga, or novels. It also gives fans the opportunity to come up with their own ideas and talk about how things could go on from the end point, which encourages people to become creative and continue loving these series. This causes a lot of fans to hope for another series, though more often than not it's wishful thinking. Vandread is one of these titles that'll probably never see a sequel, but at least fans have plenty of Vandread-related media and goods to consume.
As a side note, I could've just said “No, there is no plan for a third stage at this time”, but then my response wouldn't have been nearly as interesting to read.

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I was looking at some network listings for various animes that run in Japan the other day and I noticed that Japanese anime comes on quite late at night. For instance Noir came on at 1:30 AM or so as did many others.
Now, these late night animes, are they "four walled by the anime production company"; ("four walled" is lang for renting the space to show a fim such as in a movie theater or buying time on television and selling the advertising yourself.), or do the networks buy syndicated programs and put them on that late for peope to Tivo?
To be more specific, how are animes financially produced and/or syndicated and why so late at night?
Tony

Long before Tivo, anime series would run late at night in Japan if the content of the series was believed to be too mature for younger audiences. Shows like Berserk, which almost weren't shown on TV at all due to the blood, violence, murder, etc. would air as late as 2:30 at night while kiddy shows would find audiences in the early morning or just after school lets out.
As for HOW the Japanese view their anime, they have two choices: stay up to watch it or program some sort of recorder (for a long time this was VHS) to record the show and watch it sometime the next day. If you want to impress your anime friends with your otaku-ness, the first option is a must so that you can discuss the show the next day with others who stayed up. In Genshiken, the characters bask in their otaku status by staying up late to watch it, record it, then take it into the club the next day and watch it AGAIN before discussing it. Most, however, simply record it and wait until a decent hour to watch it.

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where can i go to learn about anime? i'd like to have a history. thanks, maria

I could go on and on and on about the history of anime, but it'd be a lot easier if I provided a few links and a book one should check out if interested in learning more.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anime#History ~ This also includes a lot of information about anime in general. I've used wikipedia a few times before to verify or get specifics for answerman questions in the past, so even those who are familiar with the history should check the link out and see what you can learn on any subject.
http://www.animeinfo.org/animeu/hist101.html ~ First decent site I ran across on google.com.
“The Anime Encyclopedia: A Guide to Japanese Animation Since 1917” by Jonathan Clements and Helen McCarthy ~ This seems to be one of the most comprehensive guides to anime history available anywhere and would be worth picking up if you find that the websites aren't detailed enough.

Editor's Note: Protoculture's Anime Guide is also a very good guide to the history of anime, year by year and was reviewed by ANN here. Of course, we may be partial to this title because we're closely linked to Protoculture, but the review was published long before any relationship between Protoculture and ANN.

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Dear Answerpeople:
I recently have become quite obsessed with Chrono Crusade, and was wondering if you could clear up this rumor for me—
Are there really only 8 books in the series?! I had seen a comment or two about the series somewhere, and the post-er had mentioned something about the final volume, followed by a statement implying it was book 8... I was wondering if this is true, because it seems to have such a deep storyline at this point, that it couldn't be even halfway completed in 8 volumes!!
~Sincerely,
Tennyo C.

There are really only 8 volumes in this manga series and from what I can find, the series ends here. One of the things I love about manga is how versatile it can be with story lines and information. A lot can be crammed into a little bit of space without bogging down readers, so eight volumes is more than enough room to tell a decent and complete story. Unlike anime, which can get bogged down with ratings and huge costs, mangaka can actually finish their stories in a way that's satisfying to them if they can maintain an audience (and their own sanity/health). Since I haven't read the series I can't tell you if it wraps up everything or not, but I'd suggest you read it for yourself and see if it all works out in the end.

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And since I'm listening to a song that reminds me about Hellsing, here's a Hellsing question. Which came first in that case, the anime or the manga? I'm in love with that show even though I've only seen a few episodes and I was just wondering what the major differences are. And what's with all the name uses and references in the show? Was it just another way of making the show interesting, or was there some deeper meaning in it? I get the whole Alucard, Dracula thing, and I get the Wingates Hellsing thing, etc, but what about the Rip Van Winkle stuff, etc. Or maybe I'm delirious. Anyway, there are my questions. Sorry if they're repetitive or lame, I'm working on a tired brain here. ^______^
Terri

With the recent Hellsing news I thought I'd go over a few of the basics.
The anime is loosely based on the manga by Kouta Hirano, with seven volumes so far. The characters who make an appearance in the anime maintain the attitudes, histories, and powers that they have in the manga. While the first half of the series also closely follows the original, the second half takes a turn for the worst and has absolutely no connection to the events that play out in the manga.
Rip Van Winkle is a pretty well known character who slept for a number of years before waking. While it's a fictional piece (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rip_Van_Winkle), people do suffer from hypersomnia and narcolepsy, though it's never been long enough to beat Rip's record. I thought I'd use wikipedia to search out some other names and see if I could find any connections. Alexander Anderson shows up twice in history, first as a Scottish mathematician then later as an artist. Schrödinger is likely named after Erwin Schrödinger, who came up with the Schrödinger theory (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schr%F6dinger). If you're a big Stargate:SG1 nerd like I am, you'll also know that Samantha names a cat after him. Finally, Zorin Blitz's last name says a lot about her style of fighting and has absolutely nothing to do with the game from FFX.