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Ms. Answerman
The End of the World

by Rebecca Bundy,

 

Dear, Answerperson I would like to know if the One Piece series will be released uncut on DVD after it is shown on "The FoxBox" this fall as I read on your cool site. As you probably know, it will inevitably be edited, so hopefully, we'll see it on DVD!

For the time being, the answer to this hotly-debated question is a resounding “Well, we don't know.” Obviously there's a market here for uncut One Piece DVDs, since there are so many fans clamoring for it (and I, for one, think the unedited version of the show would have a lovely home late nights on Adult Swim!)... but nobody's said anything yet. A year ago I would have had to say that it's not likely at all, but someone has smiled down upon us and things have changed since then. As you may know, this fall FUNimation is going to release uncut versions of Yu-Gi-Oh! and Shaman King, two other shows with considerable teenage and adult constituents. I'd have to imagine that if these two sets sell well, we'll most certainly see an uncut One Piece release; after all, if there's a market for those two, it's safe to assume they'll want to make more money and put out an uncut version of One Piece. I think the solution here is to get people you know (you yourself even!) to buy the uncut Yu-Gi-Oh! and Shaman King sets in order to support the concept and the releases and help convince them. I'd even suggest taking a photo of yourself with the box sets, photocopying your receipt and starting a big letter campaign to 4Kids proving that A) You're willing to spend the money and B) They need to put One Piece out if they want more of your money. That way you aren't just blowing money on the DVDs and you're making a clear statement with your purchase. I mean, online petitions don't work, as we've seen, so maybe it's time to start speaking the only language 4Kids seems to know: green!


Dear Ms. Answerman,

What's up with Anime endings? I've been watching anime for years now and I've seen less then a handful of shows with endings that made sense and were an "ending". So many shows seem to come unglued towards the end, they become messy nonsense and conclude with anti-endings that leave the watcher confused, angry, disappointed, or all three. Is there any particular reason for this? Is this some face of Japanese culture I am just not getting?

-Soliptic

There are a number of reasons for ambiguous endings in anime. A lot of American viewers get frustrated when they invest so much time in a series only to get stuck with an unfulfilling ending; something that doesn't tie up all the loose ends or really even explain what's going on. First and foremost, there's a fundamental difference between American storytelling and Japanese storytelling; one isn't better than the other, they're simply different. American storytelling favors highly lucid, clear-cut endings that tie up every loose end and explain everything. The Japanese (and many other places in the world), if you read their literature or watch their non-Anime films, tend to favor ambiguous endings that don't tell you everything but set things up so you can fill in the blanks for yourself. Sometimes it might seem needlessly ambiguous, but sometimes if you watch closely they tell you what you need to know to “assume” what happens after the show ends. A lot of people get really annoyed with this, some people love it. It's all a matter of personal preference.

The other big reason – and this one's pretty big and sometimes really annoying – is when a series goes to television before the manga series has finished its run. Now, this has to happen for a myriad of financial reasons (rarely is an anime series as popular at the end of its run as it is at the start, which is when you need to launch a TV adaptation for maximum exposure) , but frequently the author hasn't written an ending yet or doesn't want to give away the ending they have in mind, so they give the TV screenwriters creative license to write their own ending or come up with something quick so they can end the show. Shows like Hellsing and Rurouni Kenshin have botched or otherwise unsatisfying endings because the show caught up to the manga story and the screenwriters had to come up with their own ending. Sometimes it works out (Like it or not, Berserk was faithful to the manga and set itself up for a sequel series without screwing up the storyline or introducing some random element to end the series), but most times it doesn't.

And sometimes it just doesn't go well and you wind up with a totally confusing mishmash that makes nobody happy or totally jumps the shark and goes off the deep end. Sometimes they just screw it up, and there's really no other explanation.

But then, one man's trash is another man's treasure; Personally, I loved the ending to Evangelion (both of them!) and Escaflowne, two hotly contested endings that people seemed to love or hate. I suppose, like most things in anime, a lot of it boils down to personal preference. Just gotta watch what you like.


My question is concerning 4Kid's new license, Tokyo Mew Mew. When they first licensed it they changed the name to Hollywood Mew Mew. Then, they changed it back to Tokyo Mew Mew. Then, just recently, 4Kids referred to it as Mew Mew Power. So my question is which title is it going to be called!?

They sure went back and forth on that one for a while, didn't they? Since they're using MewMew Power in all their promotional materials and are selling the brand that way, it looks like it'll be MewMew Power. It's too late at this point to change the name anyway; they're less than a month from the series' broadcast premiere.


Is mahou sensei negima going to become an anime any time soon?
Is KaMiKaze going to be in anime form and last but not least is there an anime adaptation of the early adventures of onizuka I'm talking about the manga Shounan Jun ai gumi?

You're in luck! Xebec Studios is going to make a special short anime for Negima that's due out next April. Along with the anime, Konami is also working on a PS2 game for this series. As far as a TV series is concerned, I find it impossible to believe that there won't be one considering that the manga, by Ken Akamatsu whose every creation has turned to gold for his various publishers, is now a hit on both sides of the ocean. I'm as sure of it as I am anything else that by next year there should be a Negima! TV series.

To answer your other questions, your guess is as good as mine on KaMiKaze. It's a popular manga series but no anime has been produced yet; it seems like a sure-fire hit but you never can tell sometimes with these things. As far as I know or could find, there is no Shonen Jun Ai Gumi anime series, but never say never.


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