Today was amazing, that link pretty much sums it all up. Got some amazing interviews! See you all tomorrow at the first day of the con!

• David Hayter
• Shoko Nakagawa
• Hiromi Kato
• Jyukai
• Masahiro Ando
• Masamitsu Hidaka
• Toshihiko Seki
• Akemi Takada

Please put any questions you may have for any of the guests below in the comments and I will try to get them answered. I need all questions in today! If you are going to AX I hope to see you there! Don’t forget to come to our panel on Friday!

Here is a reminder for all of you in the LA area. My interview on Ramen Revolution will be airing tonight on channel LA 18 KSCI-TV at 12:30 tonight! Make sure to watch to see my first ever TV appearance!

That’s right! Anime Genesis and Anime Diet will be rocking AX this year with the most amazing panel you are ever going to attend at AX! Come and see Benu, Mike, Jeremy, and Ray (will be there somehow…) live on stage! It’s all going to be on July 4th 2008 at 7pm in LP 4 (LACC 411), that’s the theater in the LA Convention Center. Check out the schedule on the Anime Expo website for more details. The panel is listed as Anime Genesis Live! on the schedule.

Feel free to play the promo on your podcast.

I Benu, am announcing my entry into the 2008 presidential race. Gendo “Mike” Ikari may offer a change you will believe in, but I offer change that will actually happen. I am very honored to be the chosen candidate for the Haruhiist party.

This guy just killed Akihabara the way Charles Manson killed the sixties. And we’re all under arrest now…

Patrick thinks this was the worst time for something like this to happen: there was already alot of tension over recent events in Akihabara as it is. But he also said he didn’t think the media would “peg this as a return of the Murdering Otaku archetype.” They recently found out, though, that the killer in fact liked anime, and his only possessions were some doujin manga they found in his apartment. Now many are scared that the killer will be pegged as a crazy otaku murderer and the media will start blaming anime and manga as the reason for the crime. Some even are claiming that this could be the end of anime, manga, and the otaku culture as we know it in Japan and the US and even suggest that it will lead to an eventual collapse of the industries on both sides of the globe.

My thoughts and prayers go out to those that were hurt by this horrible act of violence.

Do you think this is it for otaku culture? Or are people overreacting?

Anaheim, California (June 9, 2008) ‹ Love Jyukai? Fans of Yoko Ishida?  Want
to experience Kyoto?  Get wild in Osaka? See the all that is anime/manga in
Tokyo?  Attend the Tokyo Anime Fair?  Be part of the Tokyo Game Show?  Anime
Expo® 2008 and Intermixi Japan Tours will be giving away an ultimate trip to
Japan to a Jyukai Concert premium ticket holder at the Jyukai Concert with
special guest Yoko Ishida at Anime Expo® 2008!  The lucky winner will be
announced at the Jyukai Concert held at Anime Expo® 2008.  Anime Expo® 2008
will be held from July 3-6, 2008 at the Los Angeles Convention Center in Los
Angeles, CA.  More information can be found on the website
www.anime-expo.org.

One (1) lucky Jyukai Concert premium ticket attendee will win an all expense
paid trip (including roundtrip airfare, hotel, excursions, some meals and
much more) courtesy of Intermixi Japan Tours.  Winners will be able to
choose from the following seasonal tours (as available):

·     Kame Hame Kansai Tour
·     Neo Tokyo Tour
·     Tokyo Game Show Tour

For full description of tours, please go to www.intermixi.com.

Current list of official Guests of Honor include up and coming director
Masahiro Ando, legendary American voice actor David Hayter, famed POKEMON
director Masamitsu Hidaka, the dynamic duo known as Jyukai, renowned
animator Hiromi Kato, celebrated veteran voice actor Toshihiko Seki, the new
Japanese ³It-Girl² Shokotan and the legendary character designer Takada
Akemi in Anime Expo® 2008¹s amazing line up of Guests of Honor.

Attendees that have pre-registered can also update their information and add
on orders for main event tickets via the Anime Expo® 2008 Online
Registration Area at www.anime-expo.org.

Free shuttle services for all hotel attendees will be provided. Regular
non-hotel attendees will have access to utilize the free shuttle services
during designated hours as well. All schedules and routes will be posted in
the lobby of each shuttle hotel. Frequency of service is pending local
traffic, road conditions and can change without notice.  Also, no shuttle
service provided to the Holiday Inn City Center and the Figueroa Hotel (both
are within walking distance of the Los Angeles Convention Center).

Attendees, Press and Industry Members are also encouraged to view the video
coverage site of the 2007 convention at www.AXBackstage.org.

This year¹s Red & Black Sponsors are FUNimation and ImaginAsian Television.
Platinum Sponsor is Imagi Studios.  Gold Sponsor is Digital Manga
Publishing.  Silver Sponsor is Gaia Online.  Patron Sponsors are Central
Park Media and COPIC Markers.

About Anime Expo®
Located in Los Angeles, California - Anime Expo®, the nation¹s largest
anime/manga convention, serves to foster trade, commerce and the interests
of the general public and animation/ comics industry.  This event serves as
a key meeting place for the general public to express their interest and
explore various aspects of anime/manga, as well as for members of the
industry to conduct business. AX 2008 will be held July 3 ­ July 6, 2008 at
the Los Angeles Convention Center in Southern California. More information
can be found at its website (www.anime-expo.org).

About Society for the Promotion of Japanese Animation
The Society for the Promotion of Japanese Animation (SPJA) is a non-profit
organization with a mission to popularize and educate the American public
about anime and manga, as well as provide a forum to facilitate
communication between professionals and fans. This organization is more
popularly known by its entertainment property ­ Anime Expo®.  More
information can be found at its website (www.spja.org).

About Intermixi Japan Tours
Intermixi Japan Tours have been established to provide both the casual and
intermediate traveler an alternative, pop cultured look at the ³land of the
rising sun². While not ignoring the cultural history of Japan, Intermixi
Japan Tours shows you the side you will never see anywhere else. Intermixi
Japan Tours current yearly schedule will be the summer, fall and winter
season. Please contact for special tour inquiries. More information can be
found at its website (www.intermixi.com)

The statements made in this press release that are not historical facts are
“forward-looking statements.” These forward-looking statements are based on
current expectations and assumptions that are subject to risks and
uncertainties. The Company cautions readers of this press release that a
number of important factors could cause Anime Expo®/SPJA¹s actual future
results to differ materially from those expressed in any such
forward-looking statements. Such factors include, without limitation,
product delays, industry competition, rapid changes in technology and
industry standards, protection of proprietary rights, maintenance of
relationships with key personnel, vendors and third-party developers,
international economic and political conditions. The Company may change its
intention, belief or expectation, at any time and without notice, based upon
any changes in such factors, in the Company’s assumptions or otherwise. The
Company undertakes no obligation to release publicly any revisions to any
forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date
hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.

For something a little more “manly”, be sure to check out the GURREN LAGANN,
also at the Bandai booth! Kicking off its US debut, Cosplayers from ACP will
be representing the cast of GURREN LAGANN and offering promotional goods to
attendees, as well as posing for pictures. There may also be “unexpected
surprises” in store for attendees, so be sure to show up! If you have a
GURREN LAGANN costume, ACP encourages you to show up for what is to be a
gathering of epic proportions.

About Lucky Star
LUCKY STAR is a 24 episode television series from Kyoto Animation, the same
anime production company that created the anime series for HARUHI. LUCKY
STAR¹s main character is Konata Izumi, a lazy high school girl who isn’t
interested in anything besides anime and video games. The series is
described as the ultimate “otaku anime” — it pays tribute to anime culture
and other series with in-jokes and hilarious references.

About Gurren Lagann
The 27-episode science fiction, comedy action series centers on Simon,
Kamina, and Yoko, youths who live in an underground village on a future
earth.  They become embroiled in a conflict with surface “Beastmen” who
pilot mech known as Gunmen, one of which they take for themselves and name
GURREN, and lead the battle against the Beastmen.  Recently the series won
“best television series” and “best character design’ at the 2008 Tokyo
Animation Fair (TAF)

About Bandai Entertainment
Bandai Entertainment Inc. is a subsidiary of Namco Bandai Holdings (USA)
Inc. and the premier distributor of Japanese animation on DVD and
programming for television broadcast in North America. Titles include THE
MELANCHOLY OF HARUHI SUZUMIYA, COWBOY BEBOP, OUTLAW STAR, ESCAFLOWNE, GHOST
IN THE SHELL: STAND ALONE COMPLEX, GUNDAM SEED DESTINY, MY HIME and many
more.

About American Cosplay Paradise
Founded in 2000, American Cosplay Paradise (ACP) serves as an extensive
database for cosplayers, people who dress up in costumes. Members contribute
pictures of their costumes, which are sorted by series and character for
easy searching. With live photo and video coverage of the various anime
conventions in the US, ACP is one of the leading resources for finding
costumes of your favorite anime, manga, and videogame characters. For more
information can be found at its website (www.acparadise.com)

About Anime Expo®
Located in Los Angeles, California - Anime Expo®, the nation¹s largest
anime/manga convention, serves to foster trade, commerce and the interests
of the general public and animation/ comics industry. This event serves as a
key meeting place for the general public to express their interest and
explore various aspects of anime/manga, as well as for members of the
industry to conduct business. AX 2008 will be held July 3 ­ July 6, 2008 at
the Los Angeles Convention center in Southern California. More information
can be found at its website (www.anime-expo.org).

About Society for the Promotion of Japanese Animation
The Society for the Promotion of Japanese Animation (SPJA) is a non-profit
organization with a mission to popularize and educate the American public
about anime and manga, as well as provide a forum to facilitate
communication between professionals and fans. This organization is more
popularly known by its entertainment property ­ Anime Expo®. More
information can be found at its website (www.spja.org).

I just saw this so called documentary on fansubs. I was expecting this to be something on the history of fansubs but instead it’s just an excuse to complain about how horrible modern fansubs are as opposed to fansubs back then. The host “Otaking”, apparently a professional translator, takes us through why he thinks modern fansubs are horrible by trying to point out how the translations are horrible and far from anything of professional quality. He does this by taking clips from various fansubs and trys to point out mistakes and things that fansubbers do that distract your eyes, such as drop down translation notes. Some of the points he makes about translation are also highly debatable but is right on with some of the things he says about them.

He makes some good points overall, but I don’t think we need a 30 min. video trying to tell us what most of us already know.

What do you think about subtitles in fansubs compared to professional ones?

[Via Japanator]

I never really got the point of these automatic Super Mario World videos. These are made by hacking a rom of the game and placing things in the exact place so Mario bounces, lands, and hits things exactly. Akasha posted this awesome video set to Nico Nico Douga on the fan site today. It reminded me that someone showed this to me the other day and I was going to post it here but I forgot. This video was so well done and awesome that I couldn’t ignore it.

Do you like these automatic Mario videos or do you think they are stupid and pointless?

http://www.ramenrevolution.com/ 

ORLANDO , FL , May 15, 2008 – The Anime World Order podcast is proud to present an audio interview with Noboru Ishiguro – the President of Japanese animation studio Artland, Inc. As a veteran of the Japanese animation industry for over 45 years, in this exclusive interview Mr. Ishiguro discusses some of his most famous science fiction works such as “Superdimensional Fortress Macross: Do You Remember Love?”, “Megazone 23 Part One,” “Legend of the Galactic Heroes,” and “Space Battleship Yamato” which was adapted in the US as “Star Blazers.” Also, he talks about his creative influences, modern digital production techniques, the possibility of additional “Yamato” sequels, how Japanese animation has affected American animation and film, and the validity of animation as a medium for science fiction.

Visit http://animeworldorder.blogspot .com/2008/05/bonus-interview -with-noboru-ishiguro.html to download a podcast of this episode, Archives of all previous Anime World Order episodes and show notes are available at http://www.animeworldorder.com. Listeners may also choose to subscribe to the Anime World Order podcast via the iTunes Music Store, Podcast Pickle, Digg, or any RSS feed aggregator.

ABOUT ANIME WORLD ORDER
Anime World Order is one of the longest-running and most popular fan-produced podcasts targeted at dedicated enthusiasts of Japanese animation (”anime”) and comicbooks (”manga”), having received favorable mentions on websites such as Ain’t It Cool News and Anime News Network as well as print publications such as Otaku USA and the Japanese language publication Weekly ASCII.  Currently in its third year, each episode features listener feedback, news, reviews, and roundtable style discussion of titles both classic and contemporary. Additional material related to anime and manga fandom is also provided in the form of convention reports and interviews.

“Anime World Order is extremely informative and entertaining. The hosts are not only knowledgeable, they display a true love for good anime which is infectious to the listener.”
- User review on iTunes

Due to subject matter and language, the Anime World Order podcast is for mature audiences and is labeled as Explicit on iTunes.

It seems that someone over at Kyoto Animation heard me when I complained about the change of director for the second season of Haruhi. The offical Haruhi site has been updated with a change of staff for the upcoming sequel. Tatsuya Ishihara has been named as the “brigade chief representative” and the former confirmed director Yasuhiro Takemoto has been named “brigade chief assistant”. This is so awesome! Haruhi is now going to be just as awesome if not more awesome as the first series.

Source: ANN

Anaheim, California (May 9, 2008) ‹Anime Expo® 2008 announces the attendance
of Masahiro Ando as an official Guest of Honor to this year’s Anime Expo®
2008 held from July 3-6, 2008 at the Los Angeles Convention Center in Los
Angeles, CA. More information can be found on the website
www.anime-expo.org.

Born in Hokkaido, Masahiro Ando has played a key role in the creation of
many popular animation features and TV series. He has also been involved in
production, mainly with BONES. Mr. Ando is most well known for his
involvement with such features as COWBOY BEBOP: KNOCKIN’ ON HEAVEN’S DOOR,
JIN-ROH, METROPOLIS and GHOST IN THE SHELL. He has also worked on the
storyboard and production of FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST (TV/Film).

Mr. Ando’s current work includes his debut as the director of SWORD OF THE
STRANGER-a historical action animation set in feudal Japan five hundred
years ago revolving around the friendship between two people with tragic
pasts, a fiercely powerful warrior “No Name” (Ronin) who has vowed to give
up his sword and a “boy” who has lost his parents and has a contract out on
his life.

Masahiro Ando joins legendary American voice actor David Hayter, famed
POKEMON director Masamitsu Hidaka, the dynamic duo known as Jyukai and the
new Japanese “It-Girl” Shokotan in Anime Expo® 2008’s amazing line up of
Guests of Honor.

Attendees that have pre-registered can also update their information and add
on orders for main event tickets via the Anime Expo® 2008 Online
Registration Area at www.anime-expo.org.

Free shuttle services for all hotel attendees will be provided. Regular
non-hotel attendees will have access to utilize the free shuttle services
during designated hours as well. All schedules and routes will be posted in
the lobby of each shuttle hotel. Frequency of service is pending local
traffic, road conditions and can change without notice. Also, no shuttle
service provided to the Holiday Inn City Center and the Figueroa Hotel (both
are within walking distance of the Los Angeles Convention Center).

Attendees, Press and Industry Members are also encouraged to view the video
coverage site of the 2007 convention at www.AXBackstage.org.

This year’s Red & Black Sponsors are FUNimation and ImaginAsian Television.
Platinum Sponsor is Imagi Studios. Gold Sponsor is Digital Manga
Publishing. Silver Sponsor is Gaia Online. Patron Sponsors are Central
Park Media and COPIC Markers.

About Anime Expo®
Located in Los Angeles, California - Anime Expo®, the nation’s largest
anime/manga convention, serves to foster trade, commerce and the interests
of the general public and animation/ comics industry. This event serves as
a key meeting place for the general public to express their interest and
explore various aspects of anime/manga, as well as for members of the
industry to conduct business. AX 2008 will be held July 3 ­ July 6, 2008 at
the Los Angeles Convention Center in Southern California. More information
can be found at its website (www.anime-expo.org).

About Society for the Promotion of Japanese Animation
The Society for the Promotion of Japanese Animation (SPJA) is a non-profit
organization with a mission to popularize and educate the American public
about anime and manga, as well as provide a forum to facilitate
communication between professionals and fans. This organization is more
popularly known by its entertainment property ­ Anime Expo®. More
information can be found at its website (www.spja.org).

The statements made in this press release that are not historical facts are
“forward-looking statements.” These forward-looking statements are based on
current expectations and assumptions that are subject to risks and
uncertainties. The Company cautions readers of this press release that a
number of important factors could cause Anime Expo®/SPJA’s actual future
results to differ materially from those expressed in any such
forward-looking statements. Such factors include, without limitation,
product delays, industry competition, rapid changes in technology and
industry standards, protection of proprietary rights, maintenance of
relationships with key personnel, vendors and third-party developers,
international economic and political conditions. The Company may change its
intention, belief or expectation, at any time and without notice, based upon
any changes in such factors, in the Company’s assumptions or otherwise. The
Company undertakes no obligation to release publicly any revisions to any
forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date
hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.

When:

May 17th, 2008 @ 6pm

Where:

The Granada Theater

303 No. Euclid Ave.

Ontario, CA 91762

Tickets:

$15 Online

$20 @ The Door

If your in the area, come out to the taping. You don’t want to miss out on this! The first episode premiers this Saturday night at 12:30 am on LA 18 KSCI-TV. You can also watch the show at the Ramen Revolution website. I hope to see you at the show!

Get your tickets now!

Are you ready for the revolution?

Aya’s Unnamed World single is absolutely her best yet. It surpasses Neophilia on many levels. I agree with Hashihime that Aya’s best music is being ignored. Aya rocks harder then she had rocked before. Its no surprise that her best musical effort yet is being hated on by the otaku once again. At least they think her performance in Nijuu-mensou no Musume is good for once. Her new hair cut makes her look ten times more cute in the video. This single is totally worth importing. Also, Nijuu-mensou no Musume is an awesome show.

If you are wondering why there haven’t been any updates in a while, It’s because I’ve been preparing Anime Genesis for it’s move into…video…that’s right video. Also I have two huge announcements to make that you are not going to want to miss. Really these are two really big announcements. I should make first announcement by the end of the week, so keep checking the site for updates.