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Ms. Answerman
First Day

by Rebecca Bundy,
As you all know, I'll be working on the Answerman column while Mr. Answerman focuses on work and school. He'll be helping me out until I'm ready for the deep end of the pool with your questions and will still answer questions now and again. He's put a lot of hard work into this column, and I plan on making sure that this column remains one of the best question and answer columns out there.




Hello Answerman. I really enjoy CLAMP's X series, but something confuses me about it. The Manga in Japan is still ongoing, there are more to be released. How does the manga continue if Fuuma dies at the end along with everyone else? Do you know anywhere I can find the manga? Also how do they make a TV series if the manga is finished yet? It's confusing and finding info on it is difficult. Thanks Answerman.

Unfortunately, I'm not a mind reader, so I can't tell you what CLAMP has planned for the rest of the manga series. Translated issues of X can at many comic book stores across the country, and in places like Suncoast. Making a TV series when the manga's still running is simple enough, believe it or not. The writers either sit down to come up with an ending, or they ask the manga creators how they'd like the anime to end. Since most manga writers know how their series is going to end, they can give a general idea of how the TV series should end without ruining the ending of the manga. If they don't know, then the writers for the anime are normally allowed to end the TV series as they see fit.




Dear Answerman

What's up,I just got a few questions for you today.First off,I had recently heard that the Golden Boy manga is a hentai manga,I trust you dude so i'm asking you cuz I hate being excited for nothin =) but if it is do you know if there are any translations to it?Also,another thing I heard is that a sequel to Blood: The Last Vampire is being worked on as we speak(yes yes I know I shouldn't believe rumors but still I can't help wondering sometimes,lol)anyway I would REALLY appriciate it if you would answer these.

Your #1 Fan Tim

The Golden Boy manga turns hentai around volume two or so. It hasn't been licensed for release in the US just yet, but it probably will be released here someday. Somehow it disturbs me that you're “excited” over this. Apparently a second Blood anime is in pre-production, but not a whole lot has been said on that since the initial announcement. There were Blood games were released in Japan a while ago to horrible reviews and low consumer interest, so I don't think they'll ever be released here. You can get the manga, though, which expounds on the storyline found in the movie.




It could just be me but is the opening song to Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex being sung in a language other then Japanese?? It just sounds like a totally different language then Japanese. Am I going nuts??

You're not crazy, yet. Yoko Kanno's song is not in Japanese, but a mixture of Russian and Greek. This isn't an unusual choice for Kanno, since she's known for incorporating instruments and languages from other countries.




Good'day, i have a question concerning Hikaru no Go. It almost seems as tho these guys are taking advertising dollars to put in virtual ads for companies like Mcdonalds and Nike. I dunno, some dialogue just sounds like shameless advertising plugs, like this one:

Isumi> But i became even closer to Le Ping thanks to Tums
Waya> Tums?
Isumi> When Le Ping Had a stomach ache i gave him one. Remember how they work great when you take them?

Meanwhile they are eating at a Mcdonalds for like the 20th time in the series. So is this just the unique style of the writers, maybe they like the manga to be "westernized", or is this shameless advertising invading anime?

I seriously doubt that they're trying to ‘westernize’ an anime or manga that is based upon a game primarily played in Asia. In the anime they eat at NcDonalds Hamburgers once or twice, but that's a parody, not shameless advertisement. This is true with the other ‘ads’. Have you ever heard of two people becoming closer because one gave the other person medicine? I'd be worried if you did. Realize as well that Japanese people do eat at places such as McDonalds, buy shoes, and take medicine to help with stomachaches. The writers probably just wanted to reflect this reality in the show.




Hello, Answerman,

Lately a handful of anime companies, such as Tokyopop, have been publishing
domestic versions of anime soundtrack CDs, such as the soundtrack to
Bubblegum Crisis 2040.

This begs the question: Why hasn't anyone bought the rights to bring over
Yoko Kanno's works? I'm aware of the Macross Plus soundtrack at one time
being available in America, but none of her other musical works such as
Escaflowne or Cowboy Bebop are available - and many would say they are
superior. What are "they" waiting for?

Thank you very much.


‘They’ were waiting for a demand in the US for anime soundtracks. There wasn't a demand for anime soundtracks, thus American companies wouldn't have made much of a profit. Recently, however, there's been more of a demand. It's now common for box sets to carry soundtracks. Escaflowne: The Movie and Cowboy Bebop are two good two examples. As long as companies can make a decent profit from releasing CDs, you can expect to see more soundtracks released in the US.




Answerman-sama!

HELP ME! Well, ya don't need to but I wanna know: are there any good,
non-hentai Shojo-ai series out there? I loved Utena, and that's very light,
but I need more... I also wanted to know why many american companies IGNORE
the cry many fans send out for american release of certain manga, like Angel
Sanctuary, Trigun, Berzerk, Hunter x Hunter, Kenshin and other stuff.
Wouldn't it just make sense to appease they fans that are crying out for it,
waiting to buy?

Nelson Bland

Shoujo-ai anime series aren't as popular as yaoi, so it's hard to find other examples outside of manga series. Card Captor Sakura involves some light shoujo-ai, as does RG Veda, another CLAMP series. RG Veda had two short movies based on the manga, and they're both available on one DVD. For your second question, these series have not been licensed yet. There really isn't a lot more to say on that; eventually, they'll get licensed. Just keep your pants on.

Until next time, keep the questions coming!

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