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(Reprinted from AE newsletter)
It’s official, Robotech has returned. On November 21st, 2006, Funimation will be releasing the DVD version of the 90 minute movie “Robotech: The Shadow Chronicles”. This will follow a limited theatrical release at film festivals across the country. After 20 years the groundbreaking animated series will make its triumphant return, chronicling the adventures of Scott Bernard as he searches for Admiral Rick Hunter’s Robotech expeditionary force.
Kevin McKeever, Product Coordinator for Harmony Gold, was on hand to give us the goods on what is expected to be a stellar production. Kevin was also able to give us an inside look on the business side of Robotech, including the trials and tribulations leading up to the film’s release.
Some fans may recall the announcement at Anime Expo 2005 that a distributor had been found for the movie and that an announcement was going to be made at the San Diego Comic-con later that year. Of course, Comic-con rolled around, and no distributor was announced. This was because the distribution deal they were about to sign did not include a guarantee of release clause. This would relegate the finished, ready-to-distribute film to a vault for at least five years. The deal understandably fell through. Fortunately, Funimation stepped up to the plate, and now the continuing story of Robotech will finally see the light of day.

(Reprinted from the AE newsletter)
Anime conventions can sometimes be too much fun for attendees and staffers alike. It takes a special kind of gusto to keep the convention running smoothly for all 72 hours of its operation. The 24 hour video rooms, the dances, the concerts, all are put on thanks to the tireless efforts of staffers like Andre Chan, who we ran into Sunday morning as he was fought a losing battle for simple consciousness. Andre had slept all but 2 hours, and these were divided into 15 minute shifts.
“We’re basically doing video rooms, and making sure that everything is secure,” said Andre. His colleagues typically sleep “sometimes in the video room or pick a bench like he did (points to a sleeping colleague on a nearby bench)”.
Andre reportedly ran 6 video rooms in a 46 hour run that required only sugar and water. No caffeine or red bull is necessary to keep our staffers going. So when you’re out there cosplaying, watching panels, or just wandering the halls, be sure to give a proud salute to those boys and girls in the dark blue T-shirts.

Michael Dobson(Ranma 1/2, Beast Wars), Trevor Devall,(Gundam Seed, Inu Yasha) and Cathy Wessick (Cybersix, Ranma ½) were a little at loathe to talk about their current gigs as voice actors at their panel on Saturday. This was not due to an increasing amount of hentai production at Ocean studios, but an increasing abundance of work in the video game industry. This comes as no surprise, as Vancouver is increasingly becoming a hub of video game production. Publishers like EA, Vivendi Universal and even Nintendo are increasing their presence in the city, even as Canada’s rising dollar is driving away film and television productions. The productions themselves are very secretive due to the highly competitive nature of the business, according to Cathy Wessick. The actors sign air-tight Non-disclosure agreements that keep them from mentioning any part of the production they worked on. Voice actors have no idea what they are performing even before they get to the studio. The ability to perform a script on short notice coupled with the ability to work in front of a microphone gives voice actors an advantage over film actors. This advantage sometimes results in a voice actor being hired for a movie-licensed game in place of an actor that actually played a role in the film. With the power of consoles increasing, as well as the demand for realistic voice acting, it’s a sure bet that we’ll see more of our favorite voice actors in upcoming video games.

(Reprinted from the Convention Newsletter) Anime evolution is known as a frequent haunt of voice actors due to the number of anime dubs produced right here in Greater Vancouver. Alistair Abell and Kirby Morrow were welcomed by a crowd of screaming fans yesterday afternoon. Scott Mcneill, the consummate surprise guest, showed up a few minutes into the presentation, heading an entourage of loyal fans. These stars of such anime classics such as Inu yasha and Dragon ball Z fielded provided some well-received fan service as well as answered questions from the audience. Kirby and Alistair talked about their upcoming roles in Hack: roots and the new Highlander series, while Scott revealed that he will be playing Grumpy bear in an upcoming animated incarnation of “The Care Bears”. Sources say that this new Grumpy bear will sound like wolverine. According to the panel room chalkboard, Kirby is sexy, and Scott has sexy biceps.

(Reprinted from the Anime Evolution Convention Newsletter)
A frequent attraction at anime evolution is the appearance of Monster Attack Team Canada, the oldest science fiction and anime modeling club in Canada. It started in 1990 as a response to “normal” modeling clubs who believed that science fiction models were too outside the mainstream. The club also has connections in local television and film productions. The work of Monster Attack alumni can be seen in Battlestar Galactica and The X-files among others. The club is also open to beginner modelers as well, where they can benefit from advice from some of the best in professional as well as amateur modeling. Their next meeting is September 30th at the “Ages 3 and up” Toy store in Metrotown center.

Boy oh boy, where to start? Last weekend I was up at SFU (or as I like to call it, Doom Mountain) playing reporter for the Anime Evolution Convention newsletter. A few articles didn’t get into the newsletter, and since they didn’t call reprint rights, I think I’ll post them up here this week. It was an interesting experience, writing press format. If this blog is known for anything, it’s the long and wordy posts. I wrote a total of 6 articles, totaling about 1200 words in about two days. It’s not really record breaking, but it’s a precedent I wouldn’t mind applying around here.

The convention itself was the usual crazy assortment of teenagers in silly costumes against the gorgeous backdrop of Simon Fraser University. If you want my opinion, it’s still the best place for cosplay photography. The local voice actors were back to charm the pants off the female fans, and inexplicably, once again I sat in on a very informative industry panel. The band ZZ had a really great turn out and made fun Canadian tax laws, and Robotech is finally, finally returning to animation.

There’ll be more details as the week goes on. Stay tuned!

The Tome in question: "Everything bad is good for you: How Today’s Popular Culture is Actually making us smarter" by Steven Johnson. By the very act of writing this review on the internet, it would seem like I am preaching to the converted about this book. Most people who read this blog, or use the internet in general, know that instead of popular culture becoming simpler to accommodate a mentally subjugated throng of video game zombies, it is doing the exact opposite, becoming faster, denser, and more complex to serve a population with growing minds and little patience for the pabulum of the lowest common denominator. The variety of media, as well as the speed of it is increasing at a pace that few feel they can keep up. If you are able to cope, it certainly is a credit to your mental capacity. But that is not the kicker of this book.

What Steven Johnson offers us is a new way of analysing media, and in particular, successful forms of media. I’d like to make it clear at this point that I don’t argue with success in media. Any mouth-breathing simpleton with a keyboard can give you a phlegm induced tirade about Britney Spears can’t sing and Luke Skywalker sucks runny eggs, but it doesn’t really tell us anything about media or the criticism thereof. It’s like yelling at the constellation of Orion and calling it astrophysics. While it may be true that reality tv sucks, it’s much more important to know why it’s successful enough to complain about, which "Everything Bad" explains, along with modern films and video games.

According to the book the reason reality tv is so successful is not visceral thrill of watching people embarrass themselves, but the system of group dynamics that forms as soon as you get all of these strangers together. Shows like "The Apprentice" and "Survivor", gain staying power from the complex system of alliances and rivalries that viewers would discuss at length at the watercooler, in the carpool, on-line or when they are making their bets with the bookie of the office pool. The reactions and facial expressions of the contestants (albeit with a little creative editing) add to the mountain of clues people will sift through to predict the next episode.

This kind of complexity is showing up increasingly in scripted shows as well, considering the success of such shows as "24", "The Sopranos", and "Lost". Gantt charts comparing "Dragnet", "Hill Street Blues" and "The Sopranos" demonstrated the increasing number of plotlines going on in your average drama. Networks had previously wanted to keep storylines as simple as possible, but with the advance of syndication, DVD, and personal video recorders, these shows now had to keep viewer’s interest after multiple viewings.

So when you’re creating the next television show, video game or movie, it’s a good bet that complexity will help, rather than hinder your efforts in making an effective piece of media. This book gives a top-down perspective on how much media has changed in the past 50 years with a few hints on where it’s going. It also reminded me that one of these days I do need to read the works of Marshall Mcluhan.

Is there a better way to enjoy the freedom of weekend than to honor the heroes that fought so hard for that freedom so many years ago? As this intrepid group of young men will show you, indeed there is not.

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