{"id":17375,"date":"2019-08-08T06:23:40","date_gmt":"2019-08-08T06:23:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/scarlet-rhapsody.com\/?p=17375"},"modified":"2020-03-14T06:38:29","modified_gmt":"2020-03-14T06:38:29","slug":"anime-expo-19-take-me-to-the-top","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/scarlet-rhapsody.com\/?p=17375","title":{"rendered":"[Anime Expo ’19] Take Me To the Top"},"content":{"rendered":"

One of the series that got a big push at Anime Expo was Gundam.\u00a0 There was plenty of 40th<\/sup> Anniversary Gundam stuff happening at the convention.\u00a0 The Bandai\/Blue Fin booth had a whole section dedicated to Gundam history.\u00a0 This included a large RX-78-2 Gundam statue to pose with, a timeline of Gundam TV series with information about each, prototypes of new toys and model kits, and displays featuring new Gundam video games.\u00a0 In addition to that, they had a tutorial area to learn how to build Gunpla kits similar to the panel last year, but run far better.\u00a0 There were also new shirts and hats available, but many of them sold out.\u00a0 I really wanted to get a Zeon hat, but they went fast and I wasn\u2019t in the mood to grab the Federation hat instead.\u00a0 Beyond the booth there were plenty of screenings for stories out of the current Gundam universe as well as panels discussing the history and future of the long running franchise.<\/p>\n

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One of the Bandai panels I did attend was their game panel.\u00a0 The vast majority of titles they showed off were anime related or stylized, which isn\u2019t much of a surprise.\u00a0 One of the highlights for me was the announcement of a Gunpla Battle themed mobile game that is coming soon.\u00a0 While it is essentially a Build Fighters simulator it isn\u2019t being marketed that way.\u00a0 Instead it is being sold based on the customization and variety of unlockable units.\u00a0 It will be interesting to see how the game comes out and even more interesting to find out if the pre-release campaign succeeds and they give away the Wing Gundam for free.\u00a0 Beyond that, they showed off a new One Piece game that got several people hyped especially when they gave away figures to the most hyped fans of the long running pirate series.\u00a0 While there weren\u2019t any new announcements, it was nice to see some gameplay and discussion about some fun upcoming titles.<\/p>\n

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One of the best parts of Anime Expo is checking out the premiere of various new anime movies\/series as well as the occasional dub premiere.\u00a0 This time we were lucky enough to catch the second two movies in the \u2018gritty\u2019 Lupin saga Goemon\u2019s Bloodstain and Fujiko\u2019s Lie.\u00a0 They were presented back to back both with their dub version on the big screen.\u00a0 Both movies were dark and built upon the events of Jigen\u2019s Gravestone.\u00a0 It\u2019s nice to have a darker tone version of Lupin as well as movies that give focus to each character and the challenges they face.\u00a0 While there was no announcement of the next movie the fans made it known that they were excited to see the next entry.\u00a0 After the screening several of the voice actors answered some questions and gave prizes for trivia.\u00a0 I was able to answer the question about the character\u2019s weapons and I won a Fujiko\u2019s Lie shirt that doesn\u2019t fit me.\u00a0 If you ever wanted to see Lupin done in a Tarantino style then you really should check these movies out.<\/p>\n

You can see our interview with TMS here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Our last panel of the convention was the Netflix anime panel.\u00a0 This was a very mixed experience.\u00a0 They showed off four new, original, titles that got a very lukewarm response from the audience.\u00a0 It is sad that the most memorable of the series only had concept art as it was very early in development.\u00a0 The first series was a Trigun rip-off based on an indie US comic.\u00a0 The second was a really interesting sounding series based on a Pilipino comic series that focused upon battling the various spirits and monsters of the Philippines.\u00a0 The third series was about steampunk cyborg boxing and was actually based on a manga and had a Japanese producer promoting the show.\u00a0 The final series was a Mexican remake of Afro Samurai done by Robert Rodr\u00edguezes\u2019 cousin.\u00a0 They really tried to push that series by announcing a Hollywood stunt cast line up, but no one in the audience really seemed to care.\u00a0 When only one of the four original series is actually a true anime (made by and for the Japanese) it doesn\u2019t fill the Anime Expo audience with that much hope for future projects.\u00a0 People came wanting to hear about new licenses or redubs like the recent release of Evangelion, but instead they got a long commercial for series that most people in the audience won\u2019t likely watch.\u00a0 If Netflix wants to capture the anime audience then they\u2019d be better off grabbing Gundam, Sailor Moon, Utena, Mazinger, Pretty Cure, and City Hunter to boost their line up of other classic and modern anime series.\u00a0 Anime fans want their anime to be authentic to Japanese style and culture, nuff said.<\/p>\n

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