While researching a long post a few months back, I came across an advertisement inside the final issue of Newtype USA for Gurren Lagann volume 1 from ADV Films carrying the now phantom release date February 26, 2008. Twelve pages later was a four-page feature and fifty pages after that was a review of vol. 1, which had been declared “DVD of the Month”.
TTGL was intended to be ADV’s next big action success and the initial dub cast had already been revealed in January (as well as a loud announcer trailer) but it got caught up in the Sojitz licensing fiasco and fell into licensing limbo. Bandai snapped up the rights a few months later and has proceeded to handle it very well, swiftly putting out sub-only nine-episode sets to please the big fans and hybrid volumes in double-single bundles just like how they began releasing Code Geass on DVD.
In this episode of Reading Out Loud, I read the featured article and the review (along with the sidebar to the review) as well attempt to project how the rest of ADV’s roll out might have gone in contrast to Bandai’s current effort (while repeating some of the background info I gave above). After the jump is a timeline of the series’ development and some tangentially related stories. Also: a chart of the voice actors I listed off during the final segment.
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Music Used:
“Ookami ga Kita!!” (from Gurren Lagann BEST SOUND)
“Mawatte Mawatte Mawatte Mawatte Tetete…” (BEST SOUND)
“Douda! Ore no Trumpet wa Sugoi Darou!!” (BEST SOUND)
Giant Gorg opening theme (YouTube link)
“Nessa no Areno wo Nukete dai Gurren Dan ga Iku no da” (BEST SOUND)
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This also emotionally resonated with me. I’d love to have a poster of this.
The Lagann Dub and the Decade Ahead
July 29, 2008 in Commentary, Dubside by Tom Langston (calaggie) | No comments
Last night, I tuned into Sci-Fi Channel to watch the TV premiere of the Bang Zoom-produced Gurren Lagann dub. I actually thought it was pretty good and something I’d watch weekly but then again, I am more forgiving of dubs than other, more purist fans may be. Kamina didn’t seem to possess all the machismo that he should’ve and Leeron’s voice may have played up a certain angle a bit too much but Simon (aka Simoun), strong Yoko, and the extras sounded good. Now we have to wait for next week to see how Viral, Kittan and his sisters stack up. (Other bloggers’ reactions: DTZ loved it, CJ called it “bearable”, xephfyre played it safe, Author-san: “quite palatable”, and Mr. Miao rightfully hates on the commercials.)
While I’m on the subject, I’d like to talk about the short Gainax interview that ANN posted yesterday. At the end of it, TTGL product manager and Gainax co-founder Hiroyuki Yamaga said, “We hope to be working on Gurren Lagann for the next decade. This work we know as Gurren Lagann will continue.” They have already released most of their Parallel Works project (which has been halted until just before the Sept. 6 premiere of series recap film #1 of 2), a DS game last fall (review from a Destructoid C-blog), a cancelled MMORPG involving first-person digging of tunnels, and a manga adaptation drawn by Kotaro Mori. It’s obvious that the studio will focus on its other projects including Shikabane Hime over the next few years but this franchise is too popular not to expand upon sometime in 2010 or 2011, although I hope it won’t get overly revised like Eva did.
Tags: dubs, future, gurren lagann