The panel unofficially started off with a bit of humor, as Stephen Tang from Geneon was leaving the stage and asked Jerry in passing if he heard that Geneon had just announced Jubei-chan 2.
First from Bandai was a trailers disc presenting trailers for Dear Boys, Dan Doh!!, Galaxy Angel Zeta, DiGi Charat Nyo, Please Twins!, Overman King Gainer, Mobile Suit Gundam Seed, and Scrapped Princess. The U.S. trailer for Innocence was also shown.
Next, Jerry went into some details on upcoming releases. Zentrix will be released over two collector's editions. He reconfirmed that the Zeta Gundam box set will be out by the end of the year, and will contain a poster and a special item that he wouldn't reveal, but said it could be placed right on a desk. The various upcoming collections (WHR, .hack//SIGN, Escaflowne, etc.) are limited, and no more will be produced after the end of this year. He mentioned briefly the Video On Demand channel that is being done in cooperation with Cartoon Network. The Gundam F91 release will be a two-disc special edition release. New details regarding Bandai's DICE property include the fact that it is a Bandai production with the TV series (to start in early 2005) being animated by Xebec, and that a toy line is slated for the end of this year. Merchandise for other shows is also being looked into.
Jerry reconfirmed that the manga division would consist of both existing manga and new original manga to be produced based on licensed properties. To the amusement of the audience, he then produced a FedEx package containing contracts for the manga division that had "just arrived," and handed it over to the two Sunrise representatives that were standing at the back of the room.
Time for Q&A, with Jerry preempting the usual Gundam questions by saying that all the shows would be released here eventually.
New licenses:
It was in the middle of Q&A that Jerry announced Bandai's new licenses: Fantastic Children (which is a co-production), Avenger, and Planetes. He also hinted that there would be two more announcements before the end of the year. Due to some confusion, it was clarified later that Avenger is the recent Koichi Mashimo/Bee Train series.
Upcoming releases:
Scrapped Princess is scheduled for an early 2005 release, with no word on disc count yet. A special item will be included, but no details were revealed. It was confirmed that there will only be one more volume of Yukikaze, and that Bandai is waiting for the fifth episode to be completed. The limited collections will contain exclusive bonus items (and will not include any bonus items already released), and will be bricks rather than box sets (and as such, the original packaging artwork would not be included). When asked if the fans who had bought the individual discs would be "screwed" out of the new bonus items, Jerry hinted that that would not be the case. Bandai currently still does not have the license for any Galaxy Angel beyond G.A. Zeta. There may be a Big O II set coming this year.
Merchandise:
Bandai is working on more merchandise for Cowboy Bebop, including some more plushies (for other properties as well). No action figures for Witch Hunter Robin are planned at this time. Regarding Gundam models, Jerry hinted at holdups within Bandai (parent) but that different grades and more models are on their way. Distribution is a problem, and only Diamond is currently planned for distributing higher grades, but Bandai is looking to expand. There is more Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex merchandise coming. Regarding video games, there is the GBA Gundam Seed game this month, and Gundam Battle Assault 3, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex, and Cowboy Bebop coming later.
Misc.:
A fan started to ask about the defective Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex release, but was brushed aside rather abruptly. When asked about fansubs, Jerry stated clearly that they are illegal, but that Bandai's current (and more upcoming) lawsuits are aimed at bootleggers. Bandai still has no plans to start a soundtrack line, but instead will keep bundling them with DVDs. No current plans for Thinpaks; Bandai is just looking for the right release. Will there be more Love Hina... ask Maki Terashima-Furuta (from Production I.G). Will there be more Witch Hunter Robin... the Sunrise reps said no. Will there be more trailers included on DVDs... it's being addressed right now.
Jerry:
Jerry being Jerry prompted quite a few fun personal questions. His favorite Gundam series is 0080. The most fun part of his job is talking to fans, while the least favorite part is going back to the office and talking to everyone else (tongue in cheek on that one). Someone asked what he would do different if he were in charge of Bandai, to which he replied that he couldn't answer that out loud. He doesn't know what his golf handicap is, but he does count a Callaway Big Bertha Plus and an Odyssey 2-Ball Putter among his set of clubs.
After the panel, I asked Jerry about the recent playability issues with s-CRY-ed volume 4 and .hack//Legend of the Twilight volumes 1 and 2. He informed me that it had been determined that the problems were player compatibility issues and that there would NOT be any replacements. I forgot to ask if any effort had been made to prevent the same problems from happening with future releases.
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