Posts Tagged “gainax”

It is pretty clear that FUNimation’s roll out of their new license Shikabane Hime onto streaming video websites on Friday trumped what little bit of buzz ADV planned to generate with its Monday license revelations, not only because the title debuted only three weeks ago on Japanese television but also because of the strings and behavior involved in what will be the company’s most ambitious venture into digital distribution yet.

Let me make this clear before I proceed: I will not intentionally imply or assert that FUNimation has any ill intentions despite what the title of this editorial might suggest through subtle reference to contemporary politics; I simply wish to flesh out the many promises and concerns I have about their influence on how the handling of Japanese animation in North America will evolve in the near future. I will give them respect when due but I will also not hold back on expressing any pertinent criticisms.
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AnimeOnDVD recently posted a report written by Jason Yeh of a Gurren Lagann focus panel that held at Fanime and within it, there was this interesting portion involving producer Yasuhiro Takeda:

Someone commented that Kamina is an over-the-top character and asked if he was initially designed that way. Takeda answered yes and stated the staff had to also be careful not to have Kamina overshadow Simon, the main character. He let out a slight spoiler while talking about the matter, which resulted in an audience member yelling out “spoiler”. Takeda stated he didn’t care if the show was out of not in the US [sic] and would answer questions if people asked them. He pointed out the 40 or so Gainax employees sitting in the back of the room, who were waiting for him to slip up and say something he shouldn’t. Takeda asked the employees to stand up and the audience applauded in response.

Thanks, oversensitive audience guy. Takeda comes from an industry where many, if not most, fans keep up with the series they watch as they air (just as some dedicated people in the western otaku blogocube do) so it should come as no surprise that he feels no mercy for “spoiler” criers a year after Gurren Lagann began airing. His opinion is further confirmed from a comment by Gainax president Hiroyuki Yamaga at last year’s TTGL Fanime panel where he admitted he didn’t care if people downloaded fansubs to see how the series continued.

On another note, I found it funny that there were about forty other Gainax employees at the panel but then I read in the previously 2007 panel report that Yamaga promised to make all efforts to bring more staff members to 2008’s panel. The company sure brought enough this time around.