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TSPROTOCULTURE ADDICTS #93

Air © Visual Art’s / Key / Angel Seekers. Code Geass © Sunrise / Project Geas • MBS. Character design © 2006 CLAMP. School Rumble © Kobayashi Jin / Kodansha • Marvelous Entertainment • Sotsu Agency • TV Tokyo.

PROTOCULTUREA N I M E N E W S N E T W O R K ’ S

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プロトカルチャー

SPOTLIGHT14 SchoolRumble

Shounen vs Shoujo Romance❙ by Carl Kimlinger

20 RoyalcoloRS

The Story of Saiunkoku❙ by Bamboo Dong

26 becKInterview with Greg Ayres & Brina Palencia❙ by Bamboo Dong

ANIME VOICES4 letterFromTheeditor5 Page5editorial6 contributors’Spotlight98 letters

NEWS7 anime&mangaNews

92 animeReleases

94 RelatedProductsReleases

96 mangaReleases

MANGA PREVIEW41 Psychobusters

ANIME WORLD69 underTheRadar ❙ by Brian Hanson

68 The10bestmechaShowsyou’veNeverSeen

❙ by Daryl Surat

REVIEWS77 manga

83 anime

ANIME STORIES45 aIR ❙ by Jason Green

48 coDeGeaSS ❙ by Miyako Matsuda

52 D.GRey-maN ❙ by Miyako Matsuda

54 GhoSThuNT ❙ by Miyako Matsuda

56 haTaRaKI-maN ❙ by Miyako Matsuda

59 my-oTome ❙ by Miyako Matsuda

62 lacoRDaD’oRo ❙ by Miyako Matsuda

66 NoDamecaNTabIle ❙ by Miyako Matsuda

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Issue #93 ( September / October 2007 )

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ICES LETTER FROM THE EDITOR

Issue #93 (September / October 2007)

E d i t o r i a l S t a f f

Publisher / Advertising Christopher Macdonald [CM] ( editor@animenewsnetwork.com )

Editor-in-chief / Production Manager Claude J. Pelletier [CJP] ( editor@protoculture.ca )

Managing Editor Zac Bertschy [ZB]

Associate Editor Bamboo Dong [BD]

Contributing Editor / Translator Miyako Matsuda [MM]

Assistant Editor Valérie Cools [VC]

Interns Natalie Khor, Steven Thach, Gary Thompson

C o n t r i b u t i n g W r i t e r sJason Green, Brian Hanson, Carl Kimlinger [CK], Theron Martin [TM], Carlo Santos [CS], Daryl Surat

L a y o u tClaude J. PelletierIstvan Pusztai (cover, 14-28)

C o v e rProvided by FUNimation. School Rumble © Kobayashi Jin / Kodansha • Marvelous Enter-tainment • Sotsu Agency • TV Tokyo.

S p e c i a l T h a n k sJason Alnas, Anne Armogida, Jeff Bowring, Bob Brown, Kevin J. Carney, Evelyn Dubocq, Susan Hale, Lance Heiskell, Erik Jansen, Bill Lai, Osamu Maseba, Chris Oarr, Peter Payne, Tamara Shumate, Eddie Stemkowski, and Richard Tong.

How To Reach UsP.O. Box 143, Station B

Montreal, QC, Canada, H3B 3J5

P.O. Box 507Champlain, NY 12919-0507, USA

www.protoculture-mag.com

Letters & Comments: comments@protoculture.ca

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プロトカルチャーHello again, Protoculture Addicts!

You may have noticed that this month’s issue is a little late finding its way into your hands; you found yourself scouring the magazine rack at your local bookstore, week after week, wondering where your bi-monthly PA fix was. Why are we late this time? The answer is simple.

Convention season.

Every summer, we – meaning the staff of both Protoculture Addicts and Anime News Network – find ourselves hopping all over America (well, okay, Baltimore and Southern California, respectively) to cover the year’s biggest anime conventions. This year, Anime Expo, Otakon and San Diego Comic-Con all fell within the same month – meaning we were on the road more than half of the month of July. I slept in hotel beds more than my own.

For most people, conventions are a chance to unwind, see your friends, buy some mer-chandise in the dealer’s room, attend some informative panels, check out the latest industry acquisitions and maybe catch a glimpse of some brand-new anime. For the press – and the industry as well – convention season is a nonstop whirlwind of browbeating labor. We’ve got to attend every major panel, cover every major event (and a lot of the minor ones), interview everyone at the show who’s worth talking to, do the requisite post-show drinking and schmoozing, and then wake up the next day and do it all over again. This year, things were extra complicated thanks to Anime News Network’s brand-new video content, which had our video editors (along with PA associate editor and on-camera personality Bamboo Dong) up until 6am every evening. There’s fun to be had, surely, but it’s a heck of a lot of hard work, and everything – and I mean everything – else gets shoved aside to focus on the task at hand.

After San Diego Comic-con, which concluded at the tail end of July, your faithful PA staff – jetlagged, bloodied, bruised and beaten after a solid month of airports, airplane food, starchy hotel linens, second-rate hotels, and several gallons of cocktails each, still had a mountain of work left to do on Protoculture Addicts… hence why we were a wee bit late this time.

Still, there’s a lot to look forward to in this issue. Freshly-minted contributor Carl Kimlinger lets us in on the secrets of love shonen style, Brian Hanson ponders why heady anime like Mind Game never seem to get licensed for US release, and Bamboo Dong takes us on a tour of Japanese literary history with The Story of Saiunkoku… all that plus the usual truckload of content you’ve come to expect from us.

Our next issue, due this Holiday season, is special: it’s Protoculture Addicts’ 20th anniversary, and we’re celebrating in style. Look for some fun exclusives, a look back at the last two de-cades of PA, and a big fat article on the history of Protoculture Addicts’ namesake, Robotech. Although I’ve only produced a handful of issues of this magazine and I register as barely a blip in the magazine’s history, it’s an honor to be working for the only anime magazine in English that can claim to have been around since 1987. We’re really excited about the 20th anniversary issue, and so should you be!

Once again, consider this a heartfelt apology for the lateness of this month’s issue. We’ve healed our wounds, gotten a decent night’s sleep, sobered up thanks to months of intensive rehab our collective will of iron, and we’re ready to attack the next issue head-on. See you in 2 months!

Zac BertschyManaging Editor, Protoculture Addicts

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PROTOCULTURE ADDICTS #93

“PAGE FIVE” EDITORIALS U B S C R I P T I O NSix (6) issues: $30 US/Can (in Canada add $1.80 GST; in Quebec add $4.19 GST & PST) or $45 US overseas. For First Class / Air Mail subscription add $10 in the USA and $35 overseas. Send check or money-order to one of the addresses above. Payment by credit cards & PayPal available from the web site: www.protoculture.ca/PA/PASub.htm. For inquiries email to order@protoculture.ca.

D I S T R I B U T I O NIn Canada: Cosmix ((514) 744-9494), Disticor ((800) 668-7724), Marché Clandestin (www.mcanime.com), Middleman Media ((416) 203-2926), Sci-Fi Anime (www.sci-fi-anime.ca), Snap! ((416) 588-4006). In U.S.A.: AAA Anime (www.aaaanime.com), Anime Nation (www.animenation.com), Complete Strategist ((212) 685-3880), Diamond (www.diamondcomics.com), Disticor ((800) 668-7724), Kinokuniya (NY: (212) 765-7766, SF: (415) 567-7625), Made In Japan (www.madeinjapan.us), Nikaku Animart (www.nikaku.com), Right Stuf (www.rightstuf.com), Robert’s Anime Corner Store (www.animecornerstore.com), RPV ((714) 671-1270). In England: Esdevium (011 44 125226116). For more information: www.protoculture.ca/PA/PADis.htm or email to sales@protoculture.ca.

L E G A L I N F O R M A T I O NProtoculture Addicts is a bimonthly magazine dedicated to Japanese animation and manga and is published by: Protoculture, Inc.

Protoculture Addicts is ©1987-2007 by Protoculture, Inc. • No part of this magazine can be reproduced without permission from the publisher, except for review purposes.

Protoculture Addicts acknowledges that the copyrights and trademarks of the materials mentioned or pictured herein remain the property of their respective owners and does not seek to infringe on their rights. Whenever possible, copyrights of the pictured products are listed at the bottom of each page and they are used here solely for information, promotion or review pur-poses (what is know as “fair use”). • All rights to articles & artwork revert to their respective writers & artists upon publication • Contributors are responsible for their views which are not necessarily those of Protoculture Addicts.

Legal deposit at Bibliothèque et Archives Nationales du Québec & National Library of Canada, 2007.

Printed in Canada • ISSN 0835-9563

I L L U S T R A T I O N S ’ C R E D I T SAnimage #325: 202; #332: 60; #339: 46, 186; #340: 3, 26, 64; #341: 14, 23; #346: 21, 23; #347: 83. B-Club 78 (5/92): 1. Code Geass Maniax. Roman Album Special (Animage 8/2007). Code Geass “Zenryoku Fan Book” (Animage 2/2007). Complete Gunbuster (General Products, 1990): 19. Libro de Salut d’amour –Ai no Aisatsu Book- La Corda d’oro (Animage 5/2007). Osamu Tezuka Theatre: The Animation Filmography Of Osamu Tezuka (Tezuka Pro, 1991): 74, 76-77. View Broadly Super Robots Dengeki Selection (Dengeki, 1997): 46, 86. All other illustra-tions come from promotional artwork, cover art or directly from the animation.

Who actually buys all those Evangelion figures with the different color variants, the mildly

different poses, the different points of articulation, and the limited edition props? Who

actually needs every single Rei figure that comes out, just because she’s wearing a differ-

ent pair of panties? Who actually buys all those novelty items, like the music boxes and

the postal service stamps?

Me. That’s who.

I am the sucker who buys every new Evangelion toy that comes out. I am the sucker who

owns at least five different recordings of “Cruel Angel’s Thesis.” I am the sucker who has

all the Evangelion sheet music books, and taught myself to play “Thanatos” on the piano,

the guitar, and the violin.

If I was forced to wear a dorky Nerv patch on my clothes for the rest of my life as a scarlet

letter of shame, I’d probably deserve it.

That’s why I will be pacing my room until someone announces the North American license

for the new movies. As a self-proclaimed Neon Genesis Evangelion fanatic, I can’t help

it, and I know I’m not alone. There are legions of us out there, of varying ages and anime

tastes, who all fell into the Great Eva Trap of 1995. I still remember staring at the TV screen

with my mouth agape, gawking at the first time I saw Unit-01’s watery eye blinking in the

reflection of a building. I still remember that bone-chilling moment when it went berserk

and started eating the Angel. And really, what Eva fan doesn’t remember that moment in

End of Evangelion when “Komm, Susser Tod” starts playing, amidst a sea of crosses?

Come to think of it, the first time I ever posted on the ANN forums (back in the day, when

the Internet was a simpler beast, without the treachery of Youtube and LOLcats) was in

one of those infamous threads about the symbolism behind Evangelion. Those kinds of

threads are still around to this day, but for those of you that recall the internet climate

circa 1997-2000, I’m sure you share my memory for those 40+ page threads about every

little intricate detail about the series. If you participated in any of those threads, you’ll

remember the detail in which we, as a collective fan group, remembered every last frame

of that series. Character backgrounds? Check. Whose soul was in what? Check. Adam

vs. Lilith? Double check.

I haven’t been this excited for an anime release in a really long time, and although a large

part of that is nostalgia (with another large part being pure nerd-joy), I’m also very excited

by what Anno and his team have to offer. He wrote a statement saying, “…As the creator of

this project, [I assure you that] a very new-feeling Evangelion world has been constructed.

For this purpose, we are not returning to our roots at Gainax. I have set up a production

company and studio, and it is in this new setting that we will start again.”

It really is a Rebirth in every sense of the word. A new studio for a new project, one that’s

run its course and is ready to be born again. Gainax has done a lot of amazing things in

the past, and their tale of growth and success is something that the anime community will

be talking about for generations to come, but it’s time to move on and keep going.

As an anime fan, it’s time for me to move on, too. Evangelion’s been good to me for the

past twelve years, but I’m ready for something different. I’m ready for the new toys, the

new CDs, the new DVDs, and whatever new Asuka-themed lunch pail they’ll come up with.

Bring it, Anno. I’m ready to overanalyze anything you can dish out.

Bamboo Dong

Associate editor

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BRIAN HANSON

CONTRIBUTORS’ SPOTLIGHT

CARL KIMLINGER ISTVAN PUSZTAIMIYAKO MATSUDA

Growing up in one of the most savage desert cities in the United States, a young Brian Hanson

decided to spend much of his free time indoors, transfixed by the pulsing, radiating glow of

the television, wherein cartoons and video games dominated the young lad’s mind. Whereas

most children outgrow such childish animated pablum, Brian did not, attempting to amass

a near-encyclopedic knowledge of the medium by watching and researching everything he

could get his hands on. Knowing his lack of artistic talent would prevent him from actually

being an animator, he figured that simply being knowledgeable would suffice.

At the tender age of 15, Brian quite literally stumbled upon anime. Curious about these “Su-

perviolent Japanese Porn Cartoons” that he had heard about on the then-exciting internet,

he wormed his way into an anime club meeting held at the University of Arizona, to which

he continued to be a regular attendee until a few years ago. Since, Brian has tendered his

questionable yet earnest anime journalist talents to places such as Anime Jump and Anime

Insider, and maintains a weekly column on AnimeNewsNetwork. “The Click,” an attempt

to catalog but mostly joke about new anime episodes airing throughout the week on North

American television.

Outside anime, Brian spends his time working his silly day job at a silly bookstore, drawing

silly cartoons, filming silly things with his equally silly friends, riding his silly motorcycle,

and feeding his silly cat. The only fight he has ever been in was the first grade, where he at-

tempted to retrieve his stolen bicycle from the thief in question by slugging him in the back.

This hurt his wrist, which caused much laughter from the bully, who then proceeded to call

him a “weenie” before shoving him away. Brian is a devout pacifist.

Carl lives in the Willamette Valley, Oregon, where he graduated from col lege with a Bachelor’s in an-thropology. An avid film fan, he watched anime

for years, only becoming obsessed when introduced to His and Her Circumstances. Living proof of the human tendency to ap-preciate what they lack, his tastes in anime run strongly towards intricate emotional dramas and gentle humor. For about a year now he has been reviewing anime for the Anime News Network, and relishes trashing bad shows more than he probably should. His hobbies outside of anime include nature appreciation and beating inanimate objects with baseball bats.

Aside from view-ing anime series & live-action movies (as well as travel TV programs!), Miyako’s greatest pleasure is garden-ing. Since Canada’s

winter is almost 6 months long, she was quite eager this spring—almost itching and impatient—to clean up the garden and plant lots of vegetables, herbs & flowers (several varieties of tomatoes, swiss chard, parsley, mint, basil, morning glory, four-o’clock, nasturtium, cosmos, etc.) in her backyard. Having no time or money to travel for the moment, looking at those plants give her great pleasure. Since she became a Canadian citizen in 2003, she’s trying to learn more about local vegetation & plants. On Labor Day, she visited a picturesque lavender field in the Eastern Townships.

I s t v a n P u s z t a i started contribut-ing to Protoculture Addicts since issue #88, although hav-ing only recently discovered his pas-sion for Japanese

culture’s greatest art form – anime and manga. Ever since then, he involved himself in related projects such as ANN’s website and logo redesign in 2006. His first “real” exposure to anime and manga was Bleach and Dragon Ball and his favourite works include movies directed by Makoto Shinkai, Hayao Miyazaki and Mamoru Oshii and Death Note graphic novels by Tsugumi Ohba. He has an almost full-time job in Montreal, part-time studies and responsibilities elsewhere which are keeping him quite busy lately.

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aNIme&maNGaNeWS

It was a controversial year for the nation’s largest anime convention, Anime Expo. Held this year in Long Beach, California, for 4 days over the July 4th weekend, the convention held record attendance, and was host to a number of landmark events, some of which were better received than others.

The convention’s first day, June 29th, opened up the show floor to con-vention goers at noon, with the opening ceremonies taking place at 10am. The convention’s first industry-and-press-only keynote speech and panel discussion – a new development designed to bolster AX’s image as a trade show – fea-tured a speech by Keizo Tsuchiya, the CEO of JETRO, which is the Japanese government’s agency for promoting trade between Japan and other nations. Tsuchiya’s presentation pegged the US Anime industry as being worth $4.35 billion dollars, with the manga industry worth $200 million.

The first industry panel of the day was Viz Media, who announced a DVD release for their popular Death Note series; Seven Seas Entertainment followed Viz’s act with a handful of new license announcements, including Dance in the Vampire Bund, In God’s Arms, a graphic novel version of Wicked City, and a host of new OEL manga. Seven Seas was followed by Bandai Visual USA, who announced their license of the all-CG Gundam side story Mobile Suit Gundam MS IGLOO.

The highlight of the first day of the convention was a premiere concert by S.K.I.N., a J-rock supergroup featuring Japanese heartthrob Gackt, along with Miyavi and Sugizo, two famous guitarists, and Yoshiki, found-ing member of X-Japan, on drums. The concert began 2.5 hours late, with a throng of screaming fans filling up the Long Beach Arena. S.K.I.N. is warmly received by the weary crowd; the concert lasted 45 minutes in total, with the band playing 4 songs and, according to Anime News Network music correspondent Jonathan Mays, most of the show consisted of the band screaming their own name.

Day two was comprised mainly of big industry panels; ADV films an-nounced at the top of the panel schedule their license of the fantasy shojo series Kyoshiro and the Eternal Sky, the new Gainax giant robot anime Tengen Toppa Gurren-Lagann, and Devil May Cry, based on the hit action game series from Capcom. ADV co-founder Matt Greenfield also strongly hinted at the possibility of the company licensing Kanon 2006, with a mention that certain characters in the series Air had been cast specifically with their cameos in Kanon in mind.

Digital Manga was up next, announcing a new manga license: com-edy-drama series Family Complex by Mikiyo Tsuda, and an artbook titled Flamboyant by Burst Angel illustrator Hakua Ugetsu. Not to be outdone, CMX, DC Comics’ manga imprint, announced A.I. Revolution, Angel’s Coffin, A Wise Man Sleeps, CY-Believers, and Kamisama Kazoku. Right Stuf Inter-national followed by announcing a new box set of Lost Universe, a comedy formerly released by ADV Films, and both seasons of Victorian Romance Emma, to be released in Super Gals! Season 2 style in separate box sets. Bandai Entertainment announced both Gundam Seed Destiny Special Edi-tion sets, along with re-releases of AIKa and the new AIKa prequel series.

Day two of the convention also hosted the second keynote speech, this time focusing on the manga market; the speech itself was cancelled, although a panel discussion with prominent manga industry players was offered.

Day Three began with the third keynote speech, “The Future of Anime”, which began with a presentation on the industry’s future prospects by Funima-tion Senior VP of Marketing and New Media, Debra Kennedy, who pointed out that certain research shows 69% of people between the age of 16 and 29 watch anime on a regular basis, with Funimation’s own research showing that 40% of the videos uploaded to YouTube are anime-related; this is all put into stark relief with the revelation that DVD sales are down across the board.

The day’s first industry panel was Funimation Entertainment, who an-nounced Darker than BLACK, Jyo Oh Sei, the XXXHoLiC TV series, and the second seasons of both Tsubasa and Negima!. Geneon – whose catalog is now being controlled by ADV – announced the OVA sequel to Shakugan no Shana, as well as two thirteen-episode seasons of Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha. On the manga side, Dark Horse announced three Blood+ manga series, the Blood+ novels, Ghost Talker’s Daydream (the anime of which has been released in America by Geneon), The Color of Rage by Kazuo Koike, Bride of the Water God, a manhwa, A Wind Named Amnesia, Invader Summer and lastly but not leastly, Gantz, the hyperviolent action series.

Later in the day, controversy struck again when AX guest and famous Japanese pop singer Halko Momoi posted on her Japanese blog that she was being mis-treated by AX staff and that she may cancel her scheduled performance. The fan uproar was deafening; the next day, Momoi posted a retraction, saying that AX had met her needs and that the concert would go as planned.

The fourth day of the show, typically the lightest day, was host to the fourth and final keynote speech, this

time on how emerging technologies can help deliver anime and manga content, hosted by Jeremy Ross, Tokyopop’s Director of New Product Development. Fol-lowing the keynote was Tokyopop’s industry panel, where no new announcements were made. Manga Entertainment announced their new co-production, Strait Jacket, which was described as “Leon meets Blade Runner, but steampunk”. The OVA will be directed by Shinji Ushiro. Media Blasters closed out the show’s industry panels by announcing a whopping seven new licenses: Strawberry Panic, Kujibiki Unbalance, Genshiken OVA, Ikki Tousen: Dragon Destiny, Otome wa Boku ni Koishiteru, Angel’s Feather and a new Kite OVA titled Liberator. The studio will also be re-releasing Golden Boy and the OVA version of Angel Sanctuary.

At the convention’s closing ceremonies, con-troversy struck yet again when con management announced that Anime Expo 2008 will take place at the Los Angeles Conven-tion Center, a venue largely considered to be inferior to the show’s previous Orange County locations – Anaheim and Long Beach – due to a lack of nearby hotel space.

Convention Wrap-Up:

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Late in August, a leaked letter sent to retailers by ADV Films appeared on ICV2.com, announcing that beginning October 1st, the

company would be taking over all distribution, sales and marketing duties for Geneon’s entire catalog of titles. While no statements were given from either company, the announce-ment sparked immediate and widespread speculation from the internet fan community. It wasn’t until nearly a week later – the following Wednesday – when an official press release came out, stating that the new arrangement was a “strategic partnership”.

In the release, ADV offered a few details about the nature of the deal; Geneon’s current publishing obligations will con-tinue without incident, and ADV will be working with retailers to make sure the transition runs smoothly.

Excerpted from the release:“This is a great alliance.” said Geneon President and CEO

Eiji Orii. “The efficiencies we’ll achieve ultimately will mean more anime for the fans to enjoy.”

ADV To Take Over Geneon Distribution, Marketing and SalesADV co-founder and Pres-

ident John Ledford concurred. “This alliance makes both companies stronger. Anime as an entertainment category is in competition with every other form of entertainment, and our partnership with Geneon gives us the scale to help widen the anime market in North America.”

Ledford continued, “As we look ahead to an increasingly digital future, scale matters. In bringing anime to new media platforms, ADV Films and Geneon can only benefit from the added clout this alliance brings.”

While few other details regarding the arrangement have been released, the full scope of Geneon’s continued involve-ment in the R1 anime industry remains shrouded in mystery. Little is known about exactly what Geneon will still be chiefly responsible for in the handling of their own titles; likely this information will be revealed as the October transition date approaches.

Funimation decreased its staff by 10% in late July, a move that

followed shortly thereafter the closing of their new website ven-

ture, Anime Online. The layoffs were carried out “to ensure that

we continue to provide the highest quality products for anime

fans while maximizing the company’s profitability,” according

to a Funimation spokesperson.

The anime distributor is owned by Navarre Corporation, who

recently announced the results from the first quarter of the

2008 fiscal year. Net sales were $137 million, which is a 3.7%

increase from the same quarter of last year. The company at-

tributed part of their growth to their publishing segment, which

includes Funimation, Encore, and BCI; combined, they had a

net income of $29.6 million, which is an increase of 13.8%.

Notably, their press release referenced much of their success

Funimation Reduces Staff Despite Positive Salesto, “the release of Afro Samurai, and strong sell-through of

Dragon Ball Z season sets.”

Sales of Afro Samu-

rai helped Funimation

garner a 60% net sales

growth in the first quarter

of 2008, in comparison

to the first quarter of last

year. While the company

expects the second quar-

ter to be less dramatic,

they have high hopes for the third and fourth quarter, which will

coincide with the release of twelve new anime series.

New methods of digital distribution have helped Funimation’s

sales as well; fans can download different series on iTunes, as

well as Total Vid and Xbox Live Marketplace. 75% of all digital

sales for this quarter were attributed to iTunes; there are 11

series currently available, including Samurai 7, Gunslinger Girl,

and Basilisk. The company expects this number to grow to 15

or 16 by the end of the calendar year.

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