Ms. Answerman

Keepin' It Real

This week we're going to skip the rant and go straight to the questions! Also, since we skipped pictures last week, this week EVERY QUESTION has a picture! Woo!

What you need to know is that the Dragon Ball(Z/GT) series is no longer being produced. You also need to know that you can't just walk into a production studio and watch while the anime is being made, or somehow listen in while series are being dubbed in the US. These types of things are not open to the public. Your best bet would be to visit the Ghibli museum (http://www.ghibli-museum.jp/) and they only take advance reservations. Bandai also opened up a museum recently, one that has two floors of stuff from the Gundam franchise; I'm sure they have some exhibits on the animation process in there.

Going to Japan isn't something you can do over a weekend for a few hundred dollars. It's expensive to fly and stay there, even if you make your reservations months in advance through discount services online. It'd probably be easier (and cheaper) to take your boyfriend to a convention where there are workshops that explain the animation process and guests to listen to who have experience in the anime industry.

I heard CREST of the Star manga is licensed by Tokyopop, when it will be released?
Does this include Banner of the Star manga?
Based on Wizard's Anime Insider article Top 10 Anime You Can't See, how good is the chance of Legend of Galactic Heroes becoming commercially avaiable in US in your opinion?

CREST of the Stars has been licensed by Tokyopop, but they haven't announced a release date yet. I'm pretty sure this announcement does not include Banner of the Stars, but it's always possible that they'll pick this up at a later date depending on how well CREST sells. As a matter of fact, that's basically guaranteed. When Bandai was releasing CREST, they basically came out and said that they'd also purchased an option to the second two series and would release them as time and demand permitted. You can expect the same deal here.

As for Legend of the Galactic Heroes, if 1,500 people sign this survey, then there's a good chance a subtitled version of this series will be released in the North America.

Hello Answerman,
A few months or so ago I remember hearing a rumor that the anime One Piece was going to be liscenced by FUNimation. So far, it seems that FUNi hasn't been doing anything with the anime, which brings me to my question: Did FUNimation really get the rights to dub One Piece or was that just an empty rumor? Thank you for reading and (hopefully) answering my question.

FUNimation does have the rights to One Piece, but they haven't made any further announcements regarding the show. Some people seem to think that they're waiting on it, testing the waters with Yuu Yuu Hakusho and seeing how that does. After the huge success of Dragon Ball Z, FUNi is riding high, but they need to be careful when introducing gigantically long shonen action series into the market; they need to wait for Yuu Yuu to be well past its prime before bringing another one in. Don't be too surprised if this series follows in Rurouni Kenshin's footsteps and leaves fans waiting for years to see a final product released over here.

Is ninja ressurection the tv series of Ninja Scroll or something else entirely?

It's something else entirely! Ninja Scroll TV is the tv series for Ninja Scroll. Ninja Resurrection is a completely different show that focuses on different issues and has different characters. These series are normally associated with each other because both are for mature audiences and have the word ‘ninja’ in their title, but that's where the similarities end. ADV desperately tried to market Ninja Resurrection as the "sequel" to Ninja Scroll because it featured a ronin character with the same name as Jubei, except the Jubei in Ninja Resurrection was supposed to be the historical Jubei, not the one in Ninja Scroll. It was a pretty crass marketing move on their part and they've been getting hell for it ever since. You're not the first person to be confused by this.

Hey there, just wanted to know if you knew of any animes that are western themed or pirate themed. I've heard of Gun Blaze West and One Piece, but nothing more than that. Now I know why there aren't that much western themed animes, because its obviously WESTERN for a reason. But still, I was wondering if there was at least a few animes, or even mangas that take place in those areas/settings. Thanks hombre, er, matey, er... Ms. Answerman!
- nintendestined64

Actually there are a lot of western/pirate themes in anime and manga, and even more which have one character who is the cowboy or pirate of a group. Trigun and Cowboy Bebop are two popular series that play heavily on western themes, but if you've heard of Gun Blaze West and One Piece I'm guessing you already know of Trigun and Cowboy Bebop.

Dear Mrs. Answercritter,
I'm a big fan of Uzumaki and was wondering what other manga's its creator has made or if Uzumaki had ever been made into a movie or anime. Also, what other good horror manga/animes would you recommend?

Gyo (available soon from Viz), Tomie, and Flesh Colored Horror are just a few other manga titles that Junji Ito has created. He has a penchant for creating totally bizarre and yet utterly horrifying worlds, as is evidenced by Uzumaki and the strange bloody fish-people in Gyo. He has a small but devoted fanbase in the US and with the upcoming release of Gyo, he might reach even more fans. Keep an eye out for it when it hits the shelves. Uzumaki hasn't been made into an anime (but it HAS been made into a live-action horror film circa 2000, so if you can find an import, check that one out), so I'd suggest you check out Berserk, Hellsing, or Petshop of Horrors to fill your anime/manga horror needs (and yes, both the manga and the series/ova are excellent for these three titles).

Hi there,
I was wondering if there has been any word about sekai no Seikai no Senki season 3(Banner of the Stars season 3). I know for sure that the novel for season 3 came out in 2001(http://www.geocities.com/gatewaytoseikai/p_summary-t_senki3-l_en.html) just wanted to know if there has been any word from the producers.
thanks, 47

I haven't heard anything about a third part to this series. There's a chance this part of the book won't be made into a series since it's already been two years, but it's always possible another season will show up. Rumors have been flying around lately that Bandai is interested in making more, and the series is still very popular, so the chances are probably better than average that this will see production at some point, although when, nobody knows.

Hey. I wasn't sure if anyone has licensed Scrapped Princess and wondered if not, if you knew of anyone that might be interested in it.
Jon Gibson

No one has licensed Scrapped Princess yet. As for predictions of who might license it, it's hard to tell. Any of the larger companies might put this on their list of releases, while smaller companies might want this as one of the few series they release. Chances are, whoever has the best relationship with WOWOW, the cable channel that produced the series, will get it. My guess would be either Pioneer or Bandai, since I believe they've cornered the market on WOWOW titles (Like Cowboy Bebop), which tend to be higher quality and therefore more expensive (WOWOW is a satellite channel and, like HBO, pays a premium for better programming.)

Hello Miss Answerwoman. I was writing to find out whether they stopped production of Inuyasha. Adult Swim just concluded the 16-episode block and I don't see Cartoon Network getting any new ones for a while and the DVDs are taking forever and a day. I hate it like hell but I have patience so is the series over?

Also do you know when the Rurouni Kenshin Kyoto Box Set will be released? I think sometime next year. I just really want it...

Inu Yasha won't be over for a very very long time. Currently it's passed 120 episodes in Japan, with no end in sight. I know Cartoon Network/Viz isn't pumping out this series fast enough for its fans, but it's good to hear that some fans have a little patience when it comes to their favorite series.

The first Kenshin boxset is being released in November, but they haven't announced when the boxset for the Kyoto arc will reach the shelves. If you really can't wait for these DVDs, I'd suggest you buy them separately instead of waiting.

Until next week, keep the questions coming!