Anime Focus #1 – Supanova Sydney 2011 Announcements

I will be starting a new feature titled Anime Focus, where-in I focus on various anime related topics and hopefully provide some interesting food for thought. I will cover topics such as anime industry announcements, current and past anime series, upcoming anime seasons, etc. Please note that this is not a review, it is simply an analysis and should be treated as such. There will be no score out of 10 or rating, just simple analysis and opinion.

For the first edition of  Anime Focus I will be discussing the recent Supanova Sydney 2011 announcements made by Madman Entertainment and Siren Visual. Both companies announced several acquired anime titles and for this Anime Analysis, I will go through them one by one and provide my thoughts on each and what it could mean for each company.

I will begin with Siren Visual’s acquisitions:

• Dennou Coil
  This is a series that up until now I had never heard of. But after reading the synopsis I am willing to give it a try. The general gist of the plot is that its set in the future and augmented reality has become a large part of society.
  From reading that synopsis it tell’s me that this series will tackle the questions of what is the meaning of reality, life, death and all that comes in between. But then again, I could be wrong. Time will tell I suppose.
  From a business stand-point this will undoubtedly sell well for Siren’s hardcore otaku market. Whom probably are already very familar with this series. Overall it looks to be an interesting series, that I’ll definitely be giving a go.

• Bunny Drop
  Also known as Usagi Drop, this is my personal most anticipated title Siren has acquired. Being a fan of the manga I can not wait to see the animated adaptation.
  Bunny Drop tells the story of a man who ends up having to take care of a young girl. That is the simplest way to put it. But let me say that this is one series not to be missed and might very well be one of Siren’s biggest series since Durarara!!
  For Siren this series is huge as it is both greatly anticipated by the anime community and the manga itself is critically acclaimed. Without a doubt I will be streaming this and purchasing the DVD whenever it is released.

• Angel Beats
  For years fans have lauded over Angel Beats and damn near begged both Madman and Siren to release it. Finally one of them has and it surprisingly turned out to be Siren.
  I am personally not a fan of this series so I will be most likely giving it a pass, but I have no doubt in my mind this series will do wonders for Siren as it is incredibly popular and has been requested so many times that I’m shocked it took this long for someone to license it.
  The series is set in the after-life in an after-life school of some sort and follows a boy named Otonashi who has lost his memories after dying.
  The premise doesn’t particularly interest me, but with so many people raving about it, it must be good.

Now onto Madman Entertainment’s acquisitions:

• Chaos;Head
  If this series is anything like Steins;Gate. I want to watch it. I will admit that I embarrassingly didn’t know that the creators of Steins;Gate had made anything before it, nor that they were both based off visual novels. But I must say I love Steins;Gate, so I’m definitely going to check out Chaos;Head.
  Chaos;Head follows the story of a young man named Takumi who accidentally stumbles onto the scene of a murder and finds himself wound up in a tangled web of mystery as more murders begin to come to light. Soon enough he finds himself in the sights of the perpetrator.
  I wasn’t expecting Madman to announce this series at all, that is for sure. But the fact that they did, does indeed make the Steins;Gate fan in me quite happy.
  
  
• B Gata K Hei
  I’ll be frank here. I am not at all interested in this series. I don’t particularly care for these type of anime (harem). The only thing that seems like it isn’t an entire retread of past harem/fan service fests is that instead of having a perverted guy as the protagonist it has a perverted girl. But even that isn’t entirely new ground.
  I’m not too sure why Madman has decided to license this over some other much more viable options, but as they say “fan-service sells”.
  If the picture to the left doesn’t interest you, this series probably isn’t for you. If however you love fan-service and don’t particular care for plot or characters, by all means give this a go when it comes out. But otherwise, like me, steer clear.

• Hetalia World Series + Paint it White (Movie)
  I never personally fell for the Hetalia craze that swept about recently, so I don’t have a lot of interest in the series or the movie. But for fans of the series, this is big news. I know a lot of fans out there love the series and Madman is doing a great job showing it the love it deserves. Although I do not personally find myself interested in it, I can understand why it is so popular.
  For those who don’t know, Hetalia is a comedy series which features human personifications of real world countries. I know on the surface this can come across as a little deterrent, as it gives off the image of racial stereotype humour. But from what I have been told, that isn’t the case here, or atleast not entirely.
  This is one that will undoubtedly sell well for Madman as they have already built an Australian fan base for the series, who will be sure to pick this up.

• Tales of Vesperia (Movie)
  I’m a huge fan of the Tales series and this one looks great. I’m not sure whether I prefer the Tales games or the Tales anime series. Both are quite solid, my favourite of both being Symphonia. I will definitely check this out upon release and suggest fans do the same.
  I’m unsure whether this will be a hit or not, I’m guessing it will fall down to marketing of the release. Regardless I will be picking it up as a Tales fan. Here’s hoping Madman brings us more Tales in the future.
  Tales of Vesperia will be a prequel to the game of the same name. What is interesting to note is that this is the first film adaptation of the Tales series. So it will definitely be interesting to see how well this does, once released.

• Nichijou – My Ordinary Life
  Nichijou is one of the new series straight from Japan that Madman announced. At this point it’s hard to tell whether we will get a sub-only release for the mean time until it is dubbed or they will simply be streaming it online at the Madman screening room. I’m leaning more towards the latter.
  This series cries out Azumanga Daioh in appearance and feeling to me. I am not the biggest slice of life fan you’d find but I thoroughly enjoyed Azumanga Daioh and this really reminds me of it.
  Nichijou – My Ordinary Life, is quite simply a slice of life series. What sets it apart you ask? Well it apparently features some bizarre characters and setting whilst the characters all act as though it is a part of ordinary life.  Keep an eye on this one!
• GOSICK
  This is another series straight from Japan that’s release format is up in the air right now. But let’s not worry too much about that for now. This series is super popular right now, only eclipsed by the last two titles on this list. Madman has picked this up at the perfect time to capitalise on its popularity.
  The series follows Kazuya Kujo and Victorique as they solve mysteries in a 1924, french speaking country called Sauville. If you like mysteries, this series is definitely for you.
  I personally will be checking this out upon release, not just because I am a mystery fan, but also to see what all the hype is about.
  For now I’m going to guess we will see this on the Screening Room before we see a DVD release of it.

• Steins;Gate
  Like Nichijou and Gosick this one is straight from Japan, in fact it is still airing right now. This series has become one of the most critically acclaimed of the current anime season, with it’s brilliantly conceived characters and storyline.
  Steins;Gate is the latest work from the characters of Chaos;Head and like-wise it based on a video game. However it is probably best you don’t look up information about the game if you don’t want the series spoiled.
  Steins;Gate follows Okabe Rintaro a self proclaimed Mad Scientist who manages to create a make-shift time machine out of a microwave. The implications of time travel play a large part in this series and to say anymore would ruin the adventure.
  This will probably get a Screening Room release before DVD, but once it hits shelves around the country, it’s gonna hit hard. This is undoubtedly going to be one of the most successful series of all of the acquired titles by Madman at Supanova.

• Deadman Wonderland
  Last but absolutely not least is the stand out fan-favourite announcement from Madman. This series is absolutely huge world-wide right now and for good reason. Put simply, it’s stunning.
  This series has set the Madman forums and facebook page abuzz with Deadman fever, even though all they revealed was that they have licensed it.
  For those who haven’t been hit be the Deadman hype train, the series is about a young boy named Ganta Igarashi who finds himself framed for massacre and imprisoned in the worlds most deadliest prison, Deadman Wonderland, where you are nothing but a pawn in a psychotic warden’s game of life and death (in most cases death).
  If there was any single announcement that would rock the anime world, it was this. As with Steins;Gate it will most likely see a Screening Room release before DVD. But you never know until confirmation. Also like Steins;Gate this is without a shadow of a doubt going to be one of Madman’s most successful acquisitions.

And that is it, for the acquisitions of Madman and Siren Visual. Overall, Madman has stacked the deck against Siren Visual, but Siren has licensed some strong series themselves and shouldn’t be taken lightly. No matter whether you consider this a competition between the two companies or equal playing ground, the fans win regardless. We have so many great series announced that have not even been announced in the US. This is a great sign for the growing anime industry in Australia and a great outlook as we move towards the future of anime. So until next time, stay in focus!