For those not familiar w/ it, AX is the largest anime-focused con in the US, and it’s also generally considered the “industry con” (as opposed to other more fan-based cons). For the heck of it, here are a few JK-related rambles about the con. Media Blasters industry panel: This was run by John Sirabella, founder(?) & muckety-muck at MB. For all that JK is supposed to be a 2003 flagship title for them along w/ SDK, there wasn’t a whole lot said. The rundown:
- DVDs will have Ruroken style liner notes. While I don’t own the R1 RK DVDs, from others’ comments I gather that the RK liner notes were fairly thorough & pretty informative.
- Episodes will be divided so that each arc ends on a disc.
- There will be a box, but things are still at the design stage. Currently, they’re moving away from the arc-based box concept and instead looking at a box for the entire series. The one idea he mentioned when I asked in person was that of something made to resemble a bookcase, w/ JK chara bookends. (Hmm, first thing that popped into my head was the Argonath bookends from the Fellowship of the Rings Premium Ed.)
I really wish MB had a PR machine like Bandai, ADV, or Pioneer. I’d have loved to see a 2-story JK banner like Bandai did for Witch Hunter Robin. Heck, I’d have settled a promo poster or even a little flyer. But no, you wouldn’t even have known from MB’s booth that they were putting out JK. >_<
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JK the dub (based on eps 1-2): Well, I assume that most people on this forum are like me in preferring subs, and some of you may even be dub-haters. Still, one also has to acknowledge that a reasonably good dub is important for a show to garner that wider appeal that might in turn encourage companies to bring other parts of the franchise over. Overall, I think the JK dub meets this criterion. While the dub VAs can’t match the many veteran seiyuu in the original, OTOH the dub doesn’t make me wince like some dubs (*cough* Crest/Banner of the Stars). The lineup:
- Youko: Sounds a bit like dubbed Caska (Berserk). Reasonably well acted.
- Keiki: Reminds me of an understated dub Guts (Berserk) at calm moments. To me, the dub VA sometimes came off as being a bit more emotional than Koyasu Takehito’s more remote & cold portrayal.
- Sugimoto: A fairly good match in capturing her edginess, but there’s just something about her voice that annoys me. Eh, well, the original annoyed me a bit too.
- Asano: Sounds something like a young Michael J. Fox (maybe). The voice, to me, screams “nerd” but was acceptable after some initial getting used to it.
- Secondary characters: Nothing much to say, except that none stood out as being distractingly bad. I will say that I had to stifle a giggle when Hyouki spoke; the deep voice is matched to the original, but for some reason my brain kept thinking Optimus Prime (Transformers). ^_^;;;
Interestingly, the dub retained a number of the original terms (Taiho, kaikyaku, shoku, Hekisouju, and Kyokai are the ones I recall). While this preserves the feel of the original in that the viewer has to learn the JK world & its terms along w/ Youko, I wonder if the casual viewer will have much patience w/ the non-English terms.
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Studio Pierrot panel: This was run by a Pierrot rep (a producer or VP, IIRC) from Japan. He wanted to draw attention to 4 shows Pierrot is currently producing in Japan: JK, Naruto, Gakkou no Kaidan, and Tantei Gakuen Q. After a trailer of clips from old ‘n new Pierrot shows done to the Untouchables movie theme, the rep introduced & made a few comments about the new shows. He was a little surprised that people had heard of JK (about 1/4-1/3 of the room of ~150 people raised their hands) and commented that it’s a difficult show to do due to the complex storyline. (Unfortunately I had to bail shortly after this b/c the panel was scheduled partially against the Masquerade. They mentioned showing the JK OP later on, but a large chunk of the panel was going to be devoted to Yuu Yuu Hakusho. If anyone happened to be there for the whole panel, pls provide details!)
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The dealer room: As at this year’s Anime Central, there was very little JK stuff to be found. I did pick up a clear shitajiki, clear poster, and a doujin (before anyone asks: not hentai…or yaoi
). At least the hall was large enough that one didn’t have to wait in line all day to get in or feel like some sort of penned domesticated animal once inside.***
Non-JK related, the highlight of the con was definitely the Kajiura Yuki et al concert. The low…well, some cosplayers have no shame. ^_^;; Certain links have already been mentioned on the IRC channel, and I’ll spare anyone who hasn’t had the…um…opportunity to see them.
Wai! Thank you Atosryac for sharing your convention experience for the sad ones who couldn't be there (hey, all the way in the Netherlands!)