Fanime 2008 Gurren Lagann Focus Panel

[Chris Beveridge]

Reported by Jason Yeh

Hosts: Robert Napton (BEI), Toshifumi Yoshida (BEI)
Guests: Hiroyuki Yamaga (president of Gainax), Yasuhiro Takeda (Gurren Lagann producer), Hiroe Tsukamoto (Aniplex)

This panel was the second of 3 Gainax related panels over the course of the convention, and followed the premiere showing of the subtitled only version of episodes 1-6. Robert started things off by introducing himself then showing the opening credits animation for Gurren Lagann. Toshifumi provided translation of the two Gainax guests. Both Yamaga and Takeda introduced themselves and briefly stated what their work entails on Gurren Lagann. Toshifumi then introduced himself and said he's looking forward to working on the show. Hiroe mentioned she is helping with the localization of the anime in North America. She was pleased with the reaction of the audience during the preceding showing. A second guest from Aniplex also attended the panel, however I missed his name and he did not say much.

After introductions, Robert officially announced the TV airing of Gurren Lagann on Sci-Fi starting July 28. The TV airing is scheduled for 14 weeks with 2 dubbed episodes per week. They were not able to announce the English dub cast at the convention, but stated Bang Zoom is working on the dub.

The panel proceeded straight into Q&A after the TV announcement. Someone asked if there is any chance of a HD release (blu-ray) of Gurren Lagann, but there is not any info yet. Another person asked about the dub cast and Toshifumi apologized for not being able to announce it because things are still in flux. He commented that a voice actor at different convention during the same weekend kept text messaging him about the same issue.

One audience member inquired about the licensing situation and why Gurren Lagann switched from ADV to Bandai. Hiroe stated there were basically business reasons for the switch and that ADV and Aniplex mutually agreed to cancel their contract. Someone asked if special editions of the dvds would come with soundtracks. Toshifumi said he's not sure and mentioned he's still new at Bandai and learning the ropes. He actually questioned the audience for feedback on what they wanted in special editions. One person suggested sunglasses, but Toshifumi replied there probably would be issues fitting them in the box. Later during the panel, someone else asked about Gurren Lagann body pillows. Robert said he would make a note of the idea.

One person brought up the topic of influences from other Gainax shows in Gurren Lagann. Neither Yamaga nor Takeda fully understood the question, but stated they did not want to make another show like Evangelion. Toshifumi pointed out that the girls in episode 6 look very familiar, and the Gainax guests responded by admitting they will parody themselves. Another audience member asked about videogames for Gurren Lagann. Takeda replied that he has no idea, but that he has also been instructed not to say anything about games.

Someone inquired how Gainax maintains the animation quality in Gurren Lagann since it looks very expensive and consistent. Yamaga responded by basically saying they have a very tight budget and never make shows past 26 episodes because otherwise the company will go bankrupt. The question of how Simon's name will be pronounced in the English dub came up. Hiroe stated the name will be pronounced the same way as in the Japanese dub.

One audience member asked if Bandai Entertainment will release more shows in a similar fashion as Gurren Lagann (subtitle only first, followed by bilingual later). Toshifumi emphatically said he hopes not. He mentioned that he was handed Gurren Lagann when he first started work at BEI and was told the project was three month behind. 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 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.

Someone asked if the R1 release will include the alternate bathhouse episode (ep. 6). Toshifumi pointed out that they just showed that exact episode during the preceding Gurren Lagann premiere. He also said they may include both versions of the episode in the bilingual release. Another person inquired if the recap episode will be included as well, and Toshifumi answered yes. Someone else asked about the episode that came with the Japanese Nintendo DS game (ep. 5.5). Aniplex replied they are trying to get it.

An audience member commented on the unique mix of rap and opera for the Gurren Lagann score and asked how it came about. Takeda stated the composer, Taku Iwasaki, didn't want to work on a robot show. The director, Hiroyuki Imaishi, really wanted to work with Iwasaki and told him to do as he pleased. Takeda admitted that the staff wondered how they would use the music after hearing the first track. In the end, they thought things worked really well. Takeda also mentioned that the insert booklets for the soundtrack cds include a lot of notes by the composer. He commented that people will understand the music more should the soundtracks be brought over and if the booklets are translated.