Answerman: Hasty

Making it quick this time, folks.

Dear Answerman,

I had a question about Pioneer's 'Hand Maid May'. I've rather enjoyed the series so far, and while I was looking at fansites, I noticed referances to an 11th "bonus" episode. Do you know if Pioneer is planning on releasing this episode as well? I checked their site, but there was no information that seemed to indicate one way or another.

Ben

There's no reason Pioneer won't release the 11th episode. It's considered a normal part of the series; it isn't mentioned on their site because we can take for granted that they will. If they don't release it, I'll be shocked.

Dear Answerman,

I was wondering if you could help me. I am a die-hard Nadesico fan, and have tried to find out when the Nadesico movie is officially going to be released. Unfortunately, my efforts have been in vain. Thus, I was wondering if you might have any information about the release date of this movie. If not, could you tell me who, if anyone, has licensed it (I am assuming ADV)?

Sincerely

Ikemook

ADV has only said that they're "working on it". No release date is available yet.

hey answerman! i heard your the information on the net, well i have a question for you.
i recently bought the Gunsmith Cats OAV, i thought it was great, i was wondering if they plan on making any more Gunsmith Cats DVD's in the future or if they're linked to any other anime?

THANX

SARGENT SLEDGE HAMMER

There aren't any plans currently for more Gunsmith Cats, but you can always check out Riding Bean, Sonoda's original work. AnimEigo released this one a while back; it has many, many connections to Gunsmith Cats.

hello there

I was wondering when the 2nd Ova series of Rurouni Kenshin will be releasd to America and be subbed. Is that the one that shows a grown up Enishi who returns to fight Kenshin and kidnap Kaoru?

Please reply *_^
Thanks

We know the Japanese release date is in December for the first episode, with the second episode following in January. It's an original story based on the first OVA series and isn't a retelling of the "Revenge" arc.

Greetings, Knowlegeable One!

I'm looking for help in identifying a Studio Ghibli short film. A friend of mine recently acquired a 6 DVD boxed set of Studio Ghibli films--eleven movies, plus the "On Your Mark" music video and the short film I'm trying to identify. Although I seriously lust after it, I realize that it's a bootleg-- someday Disney might actually release these in the US (although given their current pace, I'm not going to hold my breath waiting), and some of them are commercially available already albeit not on DVD.

Anyway, the film I'm trying to identify appears immediatly after "On Your Mark" as part of the same DVD track. I can't read Japanese so I have no idea what it is. It's a short film that's broken into three segments of about one minute each. The opening credits for each segment feature a green pig-like creature and the number 40. The film itself contains no dialogue and tells its story through action and music. A young boy playing with a model airplane is approached by a fox who trades him a seed for the plane. The boy plants the seed, which grows into a tiny house. Starting with a chick, various animals enter the house, which grows larger each time to accomodate them. Soon the boy and dozens of animals are living in a veritable mansion. The fox returns with a slightly peeved expression and returns the plane to the boy. All of the animals except for the fox vacate the house. As the haughty fox stands proudly in an upper window, the house continues to grow, until it nears the sun, bulges, and then evaporates leaving the fox to tumble to the ground.

That's basically it. It's a cute film. Any idea at all what it is?

--- Stewart Tame

You're watching Sora Iro no Tame, a little short Miyazaki did with Ghibli for Nippon TV Network to commemorate the station's 40th anniversary. Thanks to Nausicaä.net for the info.

You've mentioned a couple times that Kodomo no Omocha's length will be a big obstacle to it getting released here? how do you figure? dbz has 291 and it's incredibly popular. granted a lot of its fans are non-otaku, but i really don't see why the # of episodes should be a problem for this or any series, as long as people want it

once again, thanks and keep up the good work!

nate-sama

DBZ is also about big buff dudes beating the crap out of eachother. Kodomo no Omocha is a comedy-drama-romance story with some very dark undertones and a story that tells itself in several long arcs. The show isn't episodic at all and contains very little to no action whatsoever. It isn't nearly as marketable as DBZ is. Length is not the only factor here.

Dear Answerman,

Being the President of an anime club, I try to keep careful tabs on what is commercial/is not commercial so I my club can refrain from distributing things that get picked up here. You stated in your latest column that Bandai definitely has licensed the Bebop movie for release in the US, which is a reasonable assumption, but I do not remember seeing any concrete news of that on any of the reliable anime news websites I check or in the newsgroup rec.arts.anime.misc. In fact I believe I've read rumors on r.a.a.m. (which I do not credit, but they wouldn't be circulating if it was widespread knowledge that Bandai has rights) that a major US movie company is considering releasing Bebop in theaters here next year. So my question is, where did you find this out? The Bebop movie is not listed on the licensing list on animeondvd.com which is the only one I know of, although it is not always that up to date.

Eleanor Kai

Let's be reasonable here, folks. Bandai showed the trailer at their panel at AnimeExpo 2001. They released the entire series on DVD to mondo sales and huge popularity. The show is getting even more popular by the second, now that it's airing on Cartoon Network. Bandai made the film in Japan. I'm making a very, very reasonable assumption. I have no reason to believe that Bandai hasn't licensed this film.

I have been wondering what the heck happened to Viz's dubs? I watched the dub for Ceres and felt sick. It was horrible, and flat, and I was shocked because they were also responsible for a very well done job on the Ranma dub (although the more recent episodes are starting to sound sort of flat). Did they change dubbing houses or something?

I was just wondering what the chances are that the Sakura Diaries manga would be picked up. I know that it is way more adult then the TV show, but I loved the show so much and I really want to get the full story (since it was obviouse that certian sections were shortened or omitted). I really like what I have seen of Ujin's work, but I am a little suprised that none of the manga is coming over to the states (although the fact that some of it has been banned seems like a good reason)

Dub quality, as is the case with many other things, is a matter of opinion. What you find flat, others may find brilliant and full of life. The solution? Don't watch dubs. They all suck, in my opinion. As for your second question, the chances that Sakura Diaries will get picked up are fairly slim. It's only kinda ecchi; not really hentai but too ecchi for the mainstream manga distributors. If the show is popular enough, I can see a release; but I wouldn't expect anything soon.

Answerman,

There is just one lil' pet peeve i have and am trying to find a solution for it. In anime, often characters are eating a type of snack called a Pocky. This may sound like a stupid question, but, how do you pronounce that? It's like a war at school. Some people pronounce it as something like (paw-key) and others, myself included pronounce it (poe-key). Do you know the "correct" way of saying it?

--XellGadis

If you want to pronounce it as a Japanese person would, you'd say "Poe-kee". If you want to pronounce it as an American would, it's "Paw-kee". It's an English word, mind you; I always used the American pronunciation. I don't say "Mah-ku-do-na-ru-do" when going to McDonalds just because the Japanese pronounce it that way.

Dear answerman,

one of your readers recently asked why, in anime, character's pupils would suddenly shrink when they were afraid or shocked. their biology teacher, according to what they looked up, says that people's eyes dilate, not shrink, when they are afraid. This may be true.

However, according to scientific study, people's eyes tend to dilate when they are happy and shrink when they are upset. This may be the origin of the "shrinking pupils" in anime.

Also, do you know if there has been any more word on the Wedding Peach licensing rumour? I've been dissapointed that this rumour has been clarified yet.

-Kathy Isham

Thanks for the information, Kathy. That was a real eye-opener.
*rimshot*
No, seriously. Eye really appreciate you sending that in.
*rimshot*
No, really, folks. She's my best pupil.
*rimshot*
Hah, maybe I should put a LID on it.
Get it?
Lid?
*gunshot*
Nobody's licensed Wedding Peach yet, Kathy.

See you all on Friday.