Anime Weekend Atlanta - Full Report

By Chris Beveridge     September 23, 2001

by Mariela Ortiz



First - apologies for the lateness of this - I got plunged into a full
rehearsal schedule as soon as I got back and it played havoc with my sleep
schedule!



I had never been to an AWA before this year, many other anime cons, sure, but
never this one - so I went in with some expectations, but mostly a clean
slate. And I must say, I came out pleased.



A note about the trip there - I want to congratulate each and every person who
decided to go to this convention - especially if they flew and/or were from
NYC. I know I never (not for one moment) debated not going - but I know it was
a hard decision for others in light of all that happened.



That said - I flew on the emptiest plane I'd seen in a while!



Thursday night was spent mainly settling into the hotel, meeting folks and
noting that AWA was a con after my own heart - practically every panel I
needed to go to was in the afternoon. Ahhhhh sleep!



Friday -



A light day, one industry panel for me to attend (and at 5 PM, woo!) I learned
the layout of the con - the hotel is attached to the convention center - which
is very very convenient, don't have to go to the yucky outside world. Except
to eat >_< but that is another story. While I wouldn't hold an Otakon at the
GICC, the space was good for AWA. Main events room sat a great many people,
halls weren't too crowded (attempts to make people take pictures of cosplayers
in front of designated backdrops were mixed) and the dealer's room was
spacious.



Animeigo :

Panel was run by Robert Woodhead and Scott Carlson



At the con they were showing YUA TV episodes 5 (dubbed) and 20 (subbed). Which
is telling because it means work is being done on it!!! (Despite Macross) In
fact roughly half the show has already been subtitled.

The reason this can be done (despite Macross) is that Animeigo has been
expanding its production capabilities - hiring more minions, errr, people,
which will help them in getting more of their back catalog out on DVD.

Speaking of that back catalog - the UY movies and OVA set (with its empty
space for a movie put out by some other company) is set for early next year.
KOR TV they hope to have in replication by November and shipping in January,
more info on their web site as that project progresses (I make a note here
that this series will be have Macrovision on it, hence it's been dropped off
my buy list, boo)



Bubblegum Crash is in authoring - and apparently on a DVD-9. Which is a big
deal since Animeigo was rather wedded to DVD-5s. We'll see what this means for
the future. They got a brand new Digibeta master for Otaku no Video and really
hope to have that out by Christmas. They also hope to do some neat things with
the disc - like the ability to watch just the anime bits if you desire. While
not anime - they are also getting new transfers for Lone Wolf and Cub - so
expect those to come to DVD in the next year or so.



As for the rest of the back catalog - they intend to get to it. Robert joked
about putting out a compilation disc "Animeigo : The S--- You Never Bought" He
was particularly annoyed at everyone who didn't buy Crusher Joe (sorry, guilty
as charged!) - a title he hopes to do on a double sided disc, movie on one
side, OVAs on the other.



And Oh My Goddess 2 is in replication.



Macross, Macross, Macross - they showed footage, it looked pretty. They showed
the box design, they claim it will be thicker than the UY ones. And the front
will have a removable lenticular card (ooooooooo). Robert told a tale of Shin
watching Macross on his projector set up and going at it with a magnifying
glass looking for flaws. I pray he was kidding. And for those of us who love
our liner notes - 30 double sided liner note cards are planned for this set!



As for the future (that would be after Macross) - well, they kinda want to
finish Macross first. Robert pointed out they would love to do the Macross
movie - if someone could figure out who really has the rights to it. And they
would like to do that new YUA TV series that is airing now - but they don't
think it is fair to license something they know they can't get to anytime
soon. So thoughts of new projects are on hold till Macross is out of the way
and YUA TV is mostly done.



Other quickies, Robert auditioned for Strikeman in YUA TV but didn't get it.
We may get to see that as an extra, hee hee. And Scramble Wars (the half of
the OOP Super-Deformed Double Feature they still have the rights to) will
probably be tossed onto AD Police or Gaiarth once they make the jump to DVD.



Other stuff on Friday :



I had a nice talk with John Sirabella in the Dealer's room about really bad
anime, why I'm not a WK fangirl (he doesn't believe me,) and when the next
Kenshin disc is coming out (when you are nice to us, he says!) I must say,
watching him skip the MB logo on one of the discs was hysterical!



Actually went to Opening Ceremonies, an interesting affair involving high
speed candy tosses, but no burning of Magic cards (apparently normally a
tradition.) Kelly Manison, an ADV VA, was unable to make it to the con, but
sent along a funny video including the Naga laugh (shudder.) The ceremonies
proved very much that AWA gets a neat array of fun guests.



And that was all the news related stuff for Friday, heh heh.



Saturday -



Forgive me Mike Toole, for I wanted to go to the Big O panel. But 11 AM and I
did not get along. Instead I dragged myself to the noon . .



DVD Production Panel :



This panel was run by Dave Williams (ADV) and Scott Carlson (Animeigo) Tim
Eldred was supposed to be on it - but his Starblazers interview ran long.



This panel was really really good. I can't stress that enough - other cons -
have a panel like this one!



Typical DVD production :

Video master -> trans -> sub/dub -> digital masters encoded, menus encoded,
audio into dolby then you program (like assembly) -> make image -> DVD-R ->
proof -> make DLT -> send to house -> check disc -> proof -> post date

Plus sometimes you have to clean and fix old masters.



For the most part this adds a month to the typical production time for a
title. But as VHS dies, it makes things easier, as only one version of the
show is produced, the DVD, making retailers lives a lot easier in the end.



Things gleaned from this panel :

ADV almost never uses old masters anymore, ditto Animeigo

Source material makes a big difference in how something can be encoded

CSS Encryption - ADV doesn't, Animeigo avoids, course licensors have last say

DVD-9 are a pain to work with

DVD standards are always changing - keeping eye on web DVD, better and newer
encoders handle anime better

Audio mixing expect more DD 5.1 before DTS

Most difficult DVD to encode - BAOH - it keeps killing authoring houses

Alternate angles working better now, will probably see more in the future

ADVs newer titles have soft subbed signs

DVD specs. on subs suck. Plain and simple suck.

Minimum 1000 run for DVD, 2000 and up more likely - minimum runs for VHS were
actually lower



The site (and book) most recommended for people who are interested in DVDs and
DVD Authoring was DVD Demystified (www.dvddemystified.com/)



ADV -



Matt Greenfield and Dave Williams ran this one.



The panel began with the usual reading of series that are wrapping up and
series that are coming - and no, nothing new was announced, I checked the
tape.



They are in final negotiations for a subbed Sailor Moon release. And while the
long promised Animetrax announcements STILL haven't happened - they did
announce that the Boogiepop Phantom OST was next up.



The other big announcements - the remastered Eva vol. 1. Here is where I start
screaming. It will be available in the Eva box set that is coming out
(twitch.) There will be two versions of the box set, the Premium Box, and the
Standard box (twitch). You will be able to buy the box (either version) with
the new 0:1 - though prices were not announced (twitch twitch). The new
version will include the clean OP and ED as extras at last.



Now stop asking about it!



The often asked for Miyuki-chan in Wonderland OVA will be coming to DVD
soonish - no date was given, but it will be a subtitled only release and
retail for $9.98 - a fair price for 30 minutes. Buy it!



They have thirteen (13) TV series in the works in Japan - but can't announce
any till they are announced in Japan. The pain . . .

A few details surfaced about the new Kenshin OVA. If you're like me - reading
Sony's site is probably confusing and seemingly contradicting so here goes :
The main story told in these new OVA takes place between the OVA and the TV
series as initially reported. However, it makes use of a framing device set in
TV time (roughly Meiji 11) which allows it to include the popular TV
characters. When I asked about the designs that are floating around for a
character who is a MAJOR SPOILER - I was told "Shhhhhhhhhh." And even though
Sony's site says 2 episodes, Matt says that has not been determined.



With more DVD players conforming to specs and more experience making DVDs they
are trying new things - like alt. angles to show original logos and possible
branching when they get to Devil Hunter Yohko (since the dub includes footage
that is not in the sub.) And as has been reported, the Plastic Little DVD will
include an optional Jiggle Counter.



Hints were dropped about Noir.

AD Police TV should be on DVD by the end of the year - all 12 eps. in a 2 disc
set.

More titles will be DVD only, joining the upcoming Princess Nine and Soul
Hunters are Steel Angel Kurumi and Burn-up Excess. VHS is dead, but hey, we
knew that!

It is their hope to get the Zone of the Enders OVA out before the Gameboy
Game.



The panel concluded with trivia to give away DVDs. It never ceases to amaze me
how when asked to name the crew of the Sol Bianca, people seem to leave out
April, and of course, the whole "who is the main character of Arc the Lad"
question >_< (Hint - not Arc!)



Media Blasters :



Panel was run by John Sirabella



This was a pretty short panel, MB has a title they'd like to announce but
licensor has requested they wait till BAAF. (I have a sneaking suspicion about
this title . . .)



Interesting things mentioned - Weiss Kruez (Knight Hunters) is coming out so
soon because the licensor was so gung-ho about it they sent them the materials
even as the papers were being signed. So they decided "what the heck? Let's
start on it." The Berserk cases will be nice and we are definitely getting
those Kenshin TV specials; he mentioned the "Greatest fights" one. Not sure
where we will get them though.



The "Director's Cut" version of Kite was planned for December, but is now
coming out in January. MB is not soliciting anything for December in an effort
to catch up on several slipped release dates.



An interesting tidbit about VHS. MB has dropped sub VHS for most of its
titles, save Magic User's Club and Kenshin (because anything Kenshin will sell
"We should rename all our shows Kenshin",) but they've decided to go ahead
with a sub VHS for Weiss Kruez based on the fact most of their sub VHS sales
have been to female fans. Hmmm, I think more females need to get DVD players!





Other stuff on Saturday, I learned just how bad service can get at the only
restaurant within walking distance of the con, got a whirlwind tour of
Downtown Atlanta from one of my college roommates, caught snippets of Iron
Chef Music Video and spent too much money on DVDs and things from Gravitation.





Sunday -



Cruel world, you let me sleep in two days and then give me a 10 AM panel!



Politics of Manga -



This was a really fascinating panel, run by Carl Horn from Viz. He announced
that Chicago by Yumi Tamura would be running in Animerica Extra starting in
December. Other things were discussed. But they would bore most of you. And I
wasn't very talkative since I had one thought - need water! But it was really
good.



Industry Panel



David and Matt (ADV), Robert (Animeigo)



If that seems kinda small - well it was. Media Blasters had to skip to get
packed up to go - flight to NYC were getting cancelled right and left. Bandai
wasn't able to make the con (Jerry Chu, I'm told, was stuck in Japan) and CPM
didn't make the con at the last minute.



The State of the Industry . . . is Good. (LOL)

In fact its a 700 million dollar industry if I'm reading my notes right. (Note
: bring more audio tape to cons)



A lot of this panel was retread - but a few little things like the likelihood
of getting novels is going up at last (for those of you who don't know - while
the vast majority of anime is based on manga, some popular titles actually
derived from series of novels - Slayers, Lodoss War, Orphen, Crest of the
Stars.) This is due to the unexpected popularity of anime related properties
in book-store chains - Sailor Moon collections for example, have been selling
extremely well.



ADV is planning to go to 10 releases a month next year. May the gods have
mercy on our wallets. Everyone loves DVDs, best thing to happen in ages, if
only to kill the sub vs. dub thing (on the sales level anyway.) More hints
about Noir were dropped. And they started talking about anime web sites and
their effect on the industry - but I had to run because . . . .



Anime Websites Panel -



On this panel were Mike Toole (Anime Jump), Prairie Rose Clayton (Utena.net -
Gentlemen, several other sites, plus she does this professionally), Elizabeth
Kirkindall (Big Big Truck) and Mariela Ortiz (AnimeonDVD.com) oh wait - that's
me!



I got asked to be on this panel about 30 minutes before it - and it was just
the icing on the a great weekend. I'm not sure what I contributed to the
panel, the other folks were just awesome, but it got a good turn out, good
questions, and I got to plug the site. ^_^



Ironcat -



Run by Steve Bennett.



Why am I covering a manga panel again? Cause I'm a manga slut :p



Ironcat is accepting submissions for original projects - check out their web
site for details.



They are starting the Miyu manga they recently picked up this December, the
first of 8 volume which will come out in graphic novel form only AND unflopped
(reading Japanese style.) The plan is to release a volume every 4 months,
which will be faster than serializing it. They will happily publish anything
Narumi Kakinouchi lets them - and I like that.



Hopefully "Yuu and Mi" will be the next Hiroshi Aro (Futaba-kun Change) manga
they will publish.



Plans continue for the "Groundworks of Eva" series, if those do well, we may
see more like them in the future.



Yes, there will be a new calendar. It just got a little delayed with all that
has been going on.



If you are interested in the Hana Yori Dango manga - keep sending those
letters and e-mails to Ironcat. They are using them to convince the Japanese
publisher. In fact, any manga you are interested in - they want to know. So
mail them. ^_^



After that -



I caught some of Anime Squares (who would have thought that would work) and
saw the closing ceremonies.



And then it was over . . .



I really really enjoyed AWA - despite the lack of new announcements. They did
a rather good job of dealing with schedule hiccups (mostly caused by last
minute guest cancellations.) Good people, good panels, good parties (oh did I
not mention those?) Biggest problems - the facilities hadn't really believe
them when they said this would be a 24 hours a day event, and the lack of
places to eat. My biggest regret was not seeing more of the Video Arts Track -
some of the videos I saw were really really good. Well maybe next year! Cause
I wanna go back. ^_^