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Here are my notes from the ADV panel.
ADV is not going anywhere.
They separated from their business partner Sojitz, and Sojitz took a lot of titles with them. But ADV has procured a new partner, whose funding has allowed them to start negotiating for a new group of Anime acquisitions.
The 2nd industry panel was a moderated panel.
Technology, Entertainment and Licensing
Ken Iyadomi – President & CEO, Bandai Entertainment
Vu Nyugen – VP Business Development & Strategy, Crunchyroll
Trulee Karahashi – Society for the Promotion of Japanese Anime
Asako Suzuki – Director of Manga, CMX
Moderated by Justin Sevakis, Director of New Media, Anime New Network
Licensing is becoming more, not less, complicated. Multiple parties want approval and control rights about how things are released. The Japanese distributors have no real internet strategy because they fear the impact on DVD sales as well as piracy.
We’re here at AX, and so far the con is… lackluster. But there were a couple industry panels today, the 4th, that were interesting. Here is my recap of the first.
Keynote speech by Gen Fukunaga, the President of Funimation.
The Japanese market is the most competitive Anime market in the world, because Manga drives the Anime. This is because Manga is exposed to millions of people first to determine what might be good things to animate.
After my last day in Kyoto I caught the Hikari shinkansen to Shin-Osaka (New Osaka) station. There my friend Mori-san picked me up and drove me to his house in Kashiwara-shi, which is a city to the SE of Osaka. It’s about 30 minutes by car, and right on the Yamatoji line that runs between Osaka and Nara. His parents Ryo and Toyoko are very nice people. Ryo knows a decent amount of English, and they both speak clearly enough that I don’t have trouble understanding their Kansai-ben.
Ok, ok. I know, I’m way behind on these updates. All I can say is sorry and jump right into it.
After NYC, we went to Philadelphia to see the birthplace of the nation, and visit Marajsky. First off, the Liberty Bell.
This week we do some reviews (gasp) and talk about stuff. We review Busou Renkin, .Hack//Roots, Hanoka and Chigo does a preview review of Harukanaru Toki no Naka de ~Hachiyou Shou~.