Ani-Gamers :: anime, manga, video games - blog, podcast, news, reviews, columns

Folks who listened to our last podcast episode will know that Ani-Gamers was unfortunately not approved for any interviews at Otakon 2009. So, to make up for this situation, Evan attended a group press conference held by Otakon Press Ops, with guests Noboru Ishiguro, Masao Maruyama, Yukio Kikukawa, and Hidenori Matsubara. The "press conference" part means that, unlike an interview, this meeting entailed a variety of news outlets taking turns asking questions of the guests. Keep an ear out for Evan at the press conference, and enjoy the show!

Show notes (including summaries of each guest's body of work) and links can be found after the break.

DIRECT DOWNLOAD - RSS Feed - iTunes - Send us Feedback! - More episodes

(Runtime: 1 hour, 3 minutes)

[0:00:00] Intro: Voice actor Kyle Hebert (recorded at AnimeNEXT 2009)

[0:00:08] Opening Song: "R.O.D Theme" by Taku Iwasaki (R.O.D. OVA opener)

[0:00:21] Evan provides some background info about the recording for listeners, including brief descriptions of the careers of each guest at the press conference, who are Noboru Ishiguro (director: Space Battleship Yamato, Macross, Legend of the Galactic Heroes), Masao Maruyama (founder/producer at Madhouse), Yukio Kikukawa (producer: Legend of the Galactic Heroes), Hidenori Matsubara (character designer: Ah! My Goddess, Gankustuou; animation director: Rebuild of Evangelion).

[0:03:45] The press conference proper gets started with a question from Anime World Order's Gerald, and the rest of the folks in the audience quickly launch into questions of their own. The conference topics range from very specific (Ishiguro's reasons for naming a city in Orguss "Atlanta") to very general (the difficulties in creating an anime studio). Other than the previously-mentioned AWO, the outlets present at the press conference included the Advanced Media Network, Ogiue Maniax, and the Reverse Thieves.

[1:00:36] Ending Song: "WORLD END Instrumental" by FLOW (Code Geass R2 second opener)

[1:01:15] Outro: This was the funny stuff that happened directly before we started the press conference, when we actually asked questions of the translator. Highlight: Carl (Ogiue Maniax) asks about "translation influences."

Continue reading... | Write a comment

So the title of "largest anime convention on the East Coast" wasn't enough to convince you to attend Otakon? Its reputation as the premier fan-run con just didn't sway you? Well, the Baltimore convention, to be held on the weekend of July 17-19, just might change your mind with a triple-whammy of guests, all announced this evening.

First up is Mr. Noboru Ishiguro, the celebrated anime director whose sparkling resume includes such science fiction classics as Space Battleship Yamato (season one), Super Dimension Fortress Macross, Legend of the Galactic Heroes, the 1980's Astro Boy remake, Megazone 23 Part I, and much much more.

On a related note, anime producer Yukio Kikukawa will also be at the convention. While his list of titles is far more humble (only three according to the Anime News Network), he holds the special distinction of having been producer of 1980's science fiction epic Legend of the Galactic Heroes during its 110-episode run.

The third and final guest announcement to come out of Otakon today is that of Hidenori Matsubara, a character designer and animator who worked on character design in Oh My Goddess. In fact, I am particularly interested not just in Matsubara's character design credits (which also include Gankutsuou: The Count of Monte Cristo), but also in his work as animation director on none other than Rebuild of Evangelion, Gainax's most recent reboot of the Eva franchise.

Three guest announcements on one day, and one of them is an absolute megaton! To be honest, I'm getting more and more excited about Otakon every day. Ink, Uncle Yo, and I will all be at the show, so we will definitely have some interviews with some folks from the fantastic guest list. If you have any suggestions for who we should speak to, drop us a comment here in this thread or send us an email at evanm [at] anigamers [dot] com.

And if you've decided at the last minute that you want to attend Otakon, you still have a few days left to pre-register!

Continue reading... | Write a comment