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Anime Boston 2005
Anime Boston - FUNimation Productions

by Bamboo Dong,
Representatives: Lance Heiskell, Adam Sheehan

FUNimation wooed fans early on Saturday morning at their panel with plenty of donuts... and calisthenics. The panel kicked off with a summary of all the upcoming releases for the coming year, speckled with plenty of side commentary and jokes to keep attendees entertained.

Afterwards, they showed a sneak preview of the new dub for Tenchi Muyo! Ryo Ohki OVA 3. The first disc will be released on July 5th of this year, with the first three episodes. Sheehan briefly talked about the dub cast and said that the new voice of Ryoko would be played be Mona Marshall.

A sizzle reel was showed for some of their upcoming properties, including the original uncut Dragon Ball Z, Burst Angel, Gunslinger Girl, Baki the Grappler, Kodocha, The Galaxy Railways, and Samurai 7.

Heiskell also talked about upcoming FUNimation merchandise, including two Fruits Basket shirts featuring Yuki and Kyo that would be at Hot Topic. He also showed two of their newest felt caps, Momiji and Shigure. While he didn't have an example to show, he also said that there would be a reversible Hatsuharu cap.

There will be plenty of other series merchandise available too, including Burst Angel figures of Meg and Jo, a Fullmetal Alchemist and Case Closed trading card game, 2006 calendars for Case Closed, Fullmetal Alchemist, and Fruits Basket, and new shirts and messenger bags for a variety of series.

FUNimation is currently trying to drum up a “grassroots movement” to try and get a second season of Fruits Basket made. Attendees stopping by their booth in the dealer's room were welcome to make origami cranes, which would be shipped by the boxload to the Japanese production staff and manga creator.

There was one new acquisition announced, the Gonzo-made Sunabozu, which will be Desert Punk for the North American release.

The representatives also mentioned that FUNimation was “going Gonzo” this year, and would be announcing other Gonzo licenses at other conventions this year.

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