ADVision never has a big booth at Otakon. They let Suncoast handle sales for them in the Dealer's Room, and they participate in Industry Panels at the event. Dave Williams, one of the producers for ADVision, was there, and mentioned Otakon in his blog yesterday, along with links to the torrents for Madlax and Godannar. You'll need this codec to view these.
You're right about the layoff's, but I believe it's more of a period of streamlining as opposed to degradation. The anime industry enjoyed a period of success over the last few years. The market is just flooded at this point, and we'll see a period of market correction at this point. The industry should stabilize and the companies that are left will be stronger and better organized.
I agree. The anime market in the US is up to the point that the number of available titles to licensors is close to zero. Heck, some companies are even co-producing titles just so they can have titles to sell in America.
I've always been impressed with their transit system. They seem to be the model of efficiency and effectiveness when it comes to their mass transit system. Certainly, NYC could learn a thing or two from the Japanese. We're getting a fare hike on top of booth reductions at the moment. Meanwhile things keep improving over in the land of the rising sun.
Don't like the transit people pushing people into the train during rush-hour in Japan, though. Sure it's efficient, but it's also extremely uncomfortable. If you're visiting, do yourself a favor and ride the rails during off-peak hours.
Perhaps part of the reason that the original XBox didn't get adopted quickly earlier is because of that high price point. Of course, the PS2 had already been out for awhile as well. I'm sure the PS3 and XBox360 will be priced in the same ballpark and be released around the same time this go around, so it'll be interesting to see who gets the bigger piece of the gaming pie in the short run.
*every* train during rush hour will have people racing to catch a train and stick an arm or bag in the doors to try to get on board. Thus, a system that flags a central operator after 3 pinches would create even more chaos than exists today.
I hope that Main Frame Entertainment, the company responsible for the CG on Transformers Beast Wars and Beast Machines, will be involved in the project. They did an excellent job on those two series, and I was especially impressed with the work on Beast Wars. Great writing there too.
I've heard that Haley Joel Osment may be cast as the lead role. He was excellent in some other voice-over roles, like Sora from Kingdom Hearts. It'll be interesting to see what this joint production will look like.
It's definitely another April Fools post. Just look at the name of the author of the article, Siddhartha Finch. For those that don't know, perhaps the most famous April Fools article appeared in Sports Illustrated 20 years ago. In fact, there was an article about it today in the NY Times (free reg required; yada yada yada).
I love the doodled graph on the main page. I didn't notice at first, but the shiny effect around the Infinity+1 and the coffee stain really add realism to it. It's these little touches that make Google what it is today.
Nice review
on
Firefox Hacks
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· Score: 4, Informative
Well, Sony definitely has that going for them. However, their strategy of forcing alternate media formats into (Betamax, MiniDisc) the market has been less than stellar. They're also diverging from the formula that contributed to their success in the video game industry. The PS1 could play CD's, and the PS2 could play DVD's. What can the PSP play? Answer: the proprietary UMD.
One thing I neglected to mention in the original story: I don't think the use of big-name actors is necessarily a good thing. There's a world of difference between good acting and good voice acting. The truly great actors can do both well, but they are few and far between.
I understand that it gives the marketing guys an angle to promote the show, but I fear they undermine the potential of the movie by doing so.
I'll tell you why noone wants to watch English dubbed anime -- because it is crap.
I'll agree that there's a lot of crap out there, but there is also stuff that is dubbed well too. You do a disservice to the hard-working actors and directors that take pride in the job they do. As the companies gain experience, the dubbing jobs have been progressively getting better. It's amazing the difference a few years makes.
Compare the first dubbed episode of Ranma to the latest episodes of Inuyasha and you'll see what I mean. Both series are dubbed by the same company (Viz) by the same voice director using the same dubbing studio (Ocean Studios). The difference is dramatic. The voice talent pool has been growing as well.
Surely I'm not the only person who has noticed how dull and lifeless the voice actors usually are in English dubs.
Yes, they sound duller than their Japanese counterparts, but that's a cultural thing. If the English voices were instructed to use the same timber and intonations as the Japanese actors, they'd be accused of extreme over-acting. What is normally accepted in Japanese language and conversation doesn't translate well into English.
It seems they try to time their words to fit the mouth movements of the characters, making the speech sound very unnatural.
That's what the whole dubbing (ADR: Active Dialogue Replacement) process is about. If only we didn't care as much about matching lip flap. The Japanese lip flaps often don't match up as well as the audio on the English dubs! I suspect we are too concerned with the finished product ending up looking like a low-budget kung-fu movie.
I watch a lot of anime. Always in Japanese with English subs. Which brings me to the next point - why do foreign movies have to be dubbed? Few things annoy me more than people who will not watch a movie simply because they "have to read" it.
Foreign movies have to be dubbed because the market conditions dictate it. There are statistics that show that dubbed version of movies will outsell subbed versions. And it's not even close, most of the time. Luckily, for us diehard fans DVD's give us the best of both worlds.
Ah yes, the class Princess Bride. Here's the entire "Battle of Wits" scene:
MAN IN BLACK: But if there can be no arrangement, then we are at an impasse. Vizzini: I'm afraid so -- I can't compete with you physically. And you're no match for my brains. MIB: You're that smart? V: Let me put it this way: have you ever heard of Plato, Aristotle, Socrates? MIB: Yes. V: Morons. MIB: Really? In that case, I challenge you to a battle of wits. V: For the Princess? MIB: [nods] V: To the death? MIB: [Another nod] V: I accept. MIB: Good. Then pour the wine. V: fills the goblets with the dark red liquid MIB: pulls a small packet from his clothing, handing it to Vizzini. MIB: Inhale this, but do not touch. V: I smell nothing. MIB: What you do not smell is called iocane powder. It is odorless, tasteless, dissolves instantly in liquid, and is among the more deadlier poisons known to man. V: Hmm. MIB: [takes the goblets, turns his back. A moment later, he turns again, faces Vizzini, drops the iocane packet. It is now empty.] MIB: [rotates the goblets in a little shell game maneuver then puts one glass in front of Vizzini, the other in front of himself.] MIB: All right: where is the poison? The battle of wits has begun. It ends when you decide and we both drink, and find out who is right and who is dead. V: But it's so simple. All I have to do is divine from what I know of you. Are you the sort of man who would put the poison into his own goblet, or his enemy's? V: Now, a clever man would put the poison into his own goblet, because he would know that only a great fool would reach for what he was given. I'm not a great fool, so I can clearly not choose the wine in front of you. But you must have known I was not a great fool; you would have counted on it, so I can clearly not choose the wine in front of me. MIB: You've made your decision then? V: Not remotely. Because iocane comes from Australia, as everyone knows. And Australia is entirely peopled with criminals. And criminals are used to having people not trust them, as you are not trusted by me. So I can clearly not choose the wine in front of you. MIB: Truly, you have a dizzying intellect. V: Wait till I get going! Where was I? MIB: Australia. V: Yes -- Australia, and you must have suspected I would have known the powder's origin, so I can clearly not choose the wine in front of me. MIB: [very nervous] You're just stalling now. V: [cackling] You'd like to think that, wouldn't you? You've beaten my giant, which means you're exceptionally strong. So, you could have put the poison in your own goblet, trusting on your strength to save you. So I can clearly not choose the wine in front of you. But, you've also bested my Spaniard which means you must have studied. And in studying, you must have learned that man is mortal so you would have put the poison as far from yourself as possible, so I can clearly not choose the wine in front of me. MIB: You're trying to trick me into giving away something; it won't work. V: [triumphant] It has worked -- you've given everything away -- I know where the poison is. MIB: [fool's courage] Then make your choice. V: I will. And I choose -- [And suddenly he stops, points at something behind the MIB]. V: -- what in the world can that be? MIB: What? Where? I don't see anything. V: [switches the goblets while MIB's head is turned]. V: Oh, well, I-I could have sworn I saw something. No matter. MIB: [turns to face him again] V: [starts to laugh] MIB: What's so funny? V: I'll tell you in a minute. First, let's drink -- me from my glass, and you from yours. MIB: Yo
If you're watching live TV, you can't. But typically if I want to watch live TV, I'll pause it during a commercial, switch to something else on the Tivo's HDD for a few minutes, then resume the live program and fast forward the commercial. At that point I'm no longer watching live TV, but I've avoided being brainwashed by the commercials in real time.:)
What about the other movies that Stan's had a hand in? I'm fairly certain he had a huge hand in the creation of the Fantastic Four which should be released in a few months. And what about Daredevil and Elektra?
Slashdot Mirror
ADVision never has a big booth at Otakon. They let Suncoast handle sales for them in the Dealer's Room, and they participate in Industry Panels at the event. Dave Williams, one of the producers for ADVision, was there, and mentioned Otakon in his blog yesterday, along with links to the torrents for Madlax and Godannar. You'll need this codec to view these.
The big one is in Indiana. They're branching out into other areas though. Here's a link to the Gen Con website.
You're right about the layoff's, but I believe it's more of a period of streamlining as opposed to degradation. The anime industry enjoyed a period of success over the last few years. The market is just flooded at this point, and we'll see a period of market correction at this point. The industry should stabilize and the companies that are left will be stronger and better organized.
ADVision recently made a MADLAX trailer available on BitTorrent.
This story was first posted back on July 6 when the article was first released.
I agree. The anime market in the US is up to the point that the number of available titles to licensors is close to zero. Heck, some companies are even co-producing titles just so they can have titles to sell in America.
Don't like the transit people pushing people into the train during rush-hour in Japan, though. Sure it's efficient, but it's also extremely uncomfortable. If you're visiting, do yourself a favor and ride the rails during off-peak hours.
... definitely should be considered the Mecca for the Slashdot crowd. Or should that be Mecha? :)
Perhaps part of the reason that the original XBox didn't get adopted quickly earlier is because of that high price point. Of course, the PS2 had already been out for awhile as well. I'm sure the PS3 and XBox360 will be priced in the same ballpark and be released around the same time this go around, so it'll be interesting to see who gets the bigger piece of the gaming pie in the short run.
You should see a younger Bale attempt an over-the-top Brooklyn accent as "Cowboy" in Disney's Newsies (their attempt at reviving the movie musical).
*every* train during rush hour will have people racing to catch a train and stick an arm or bag in the doors to try to get on board. Thus, a system that flags a central operator after 3 pinches would create even more chaos than exists today.
I hope that Main Frame Entertainment, the company responsible for the CG on Transformers Beast Wars and Beast Machines, will be involved in the project. They did an excellent job on those two series, and I was especially impressed with the work on Beast Wars. Great writing there too.
I've heard that Haley Joel Osment may be cast as the lead role. He was excellent in some other voice-over roles, like Sora from Kingdom Hearts. It'll be interesting to see what this joint production will look like.
It's definitely another April Fools post. Just look at the name of the author of the article, Siddhartha Finch. For those that don't know, perhaps the most famous April Fools article appeared in Sports Illustrated 20 years ago. In fact, there was an article about it today in the NY Times (free reg required; yada yada yada).
I love the doodled graph on the main page. I didn't notice at first, but the shiny effect around the Infinity+1 and the coffee stain really add realism to it. It's these little touches that make Google what it is today.
Author did a nice job on this review. I will probably pick this book up. Here's a link to O'Reilly's official site for the book. NerdBooks.com has is carrying at 50% off.
Well, Sony definitely has that going for them. However, their strategy of forcing alternate media formats into (Betamax, MiniDisc) the market has been less than stellar. They're also diverging from the formula that contributed to their success in the video game industry. The PS1 could play CD's, and the PS2 could play DVD's. What can the PSP play? Answer: the proprietary UMD.
I understand that it gives the marketing guys an angle to promote the show, but I fear they undermine the potential of the movie by doing so.
I'll agree that there's a lot of crap out there, but there is also stuff that is dubbed well too. You do a disservice to the hard-working actors and directors that take pride in the job they do. As the companies gain experience, the dubbing jobs have been progressively getting better. It's amazing the difference a few years makes.
Compare the first dubbed episode of Ranma to the latest episodes of Inuyasha and you'll see what I mean. Both series are dubbed by the same company (Viz) by the same voice director using the same dubbing studio (Ocean Studios). The difference is dramatic. The voice talent pool has been growing as well.
Surely I'm not the only person who has noticed how dull and lifeless the voice actors usually are in English dubs.
Yes, they sound duller than their Japanese counterparts, but that's a cultural thing. If the English voices were instructed to use the same timber and intonations as the Japanese actors, they'd be accused of extreme over-acting. What is normally accepted in Japanese language and conversation doesn't translate well into English.
It seems they try to time their words to fit the mouth movements of the characters, making the speech sound very unnatural.
That's what the whole dubbing (ADR: Active Dialogue Replacement) process is about. If only we didn't care as much about matching lip flap. The Japanese lip flaps often don't match up as well as the audio on the English dubs! I suspect we are too concerned with the finished product ending up looking like a low-budget kung-fu movie.
I watch a lot of anime. Always in Japanese with English subs. Which brings me to the next point - why do foreign movies have to be dubbed? Few things annoy me more than people who will not watch a movie simply because they "have to read" it.
Foreign movies have to be dubbed because the market conditions dictate it. There are statistics that show that dubbed version of movies will outsell subbed versions. And it's not even close, most of the time. Luckily, for us diehard fans DVD's give us the best of both worlds.
Ah yes, the class Princess Bride. Here's the entire "Battle of Wits" scene:
MAN IN BLACK: But if there can be no arrangement, then we are at an impasse.
Vizzini: I'm afraid so -- I can't compete with you physically. And you're no match for my brains.
MIB: You're that smart?
V: Let me put it this way: have you ever heard of Plato, Aristotle, Socrates?
MIB: Yes.
V: Morons.
MIB: Really? In that case, I challenge you to a battle of wits.
V: For the Princess?
MIB: [nods]
V: To the death?
MIB: [Another nod]
V: I accept.
MIB: Good. Then pour the wine.
V: fills the goblets with the dark red liquid
MIB: pulls a small packet from his clothing, handing it to Vizzini.
MIB: Inhale this, but do not touch.
V: I smell nothing.
MIB: What you do not smell is called iocane powder. It is odorless, tasteless, dissolves instantly in liquid, and is among the more deadlier poisons known to man.
V: Hmm.
MIB: [takes the goblets, turns his back. A moment later, he turns again, faces Vizzini, drops the iocane packet. It is now empty.]
MIB: [rotates the goblets in a little shell game maneuver then puts one glass in front of Vizzini, the other in front of himself.]
MIB: All right: where is the poison? The battle of wits has begun. It ends when you decide and we both drink, and find out who is right and who is dead.
V: But it's so simple. All I have to do is divine from what I know of you. Are you the sort of man who would put the poison into his own goblet, or his enemy's?
V: Now, a clever man would put the poison into his own goblet, because he would know that only a great fool would reach for what he was given. I'm not a great fool, so I can clearly not choose the wine in front of you. But you must have known I was not a great fool; you would have counted on it, so I can clearly not choose the wine in front of me.
MIB: You've made your decision then?
V: Not remotely. Because iocane comes from Australia, as everyone knows. And Australia is entirely peopled with criminals. And criminals are used to having people not trust them, as you are not trusted by me. So I can clearly not choose the wine in front of you.
MIB: Truly, you have a dizzying intellect.
V: Wait till I get going! Where was I?
MIB: Australia.
V: Yes -- Australia, and you must have suspected I would have known the powder's origin, so I can clearly not choose the wine in front of me.
MIB: [very nervous] You're just stalling now.
V: [cackling] You'd like to think that, wouldn't you? You've beaten my giant, which means you're exceptionally strong. So, you could have put the poison in your own goblet, trusting on your strength to save you. So I can clearly not choose the wine in front of you. But, you've also bested my Spaniard which means you must have studied. And in studying, you must have learned that man is mortal so you would have put the poison as far from yourself as possible, so I can clearly not choose the wine in front of me.
MIB: You're trying to trick me into giving away something; it won't work.
V: [triumphant] It has worked -- you've given everything away -- I know where the poison is.
MIB: [fool's courage] Then make your choice.
V: I will. And I choose -- [And suddenly he stops, points at something behind the MIB].
V: -- what in the world can that be?
MIB: What? Where? I don't see anything.
V: [switches the goblets while MIB's head is turned].
V: Oh, well, I-I could have sworn I saw something. No matter.
MIB: [turns to face him again]
V: [starts to laugh]
MIB: What's so funny?
V: I'll tell you in a minute. First, let's drink -- me from my glass, and you from yours.
MIB: Yo
If you're watching live TV, you can't. But typically if I want to watch live TV, I'll pause it during a commercial, switch to something else on the Tivo's HDD for a few minutes, then resume the live program and fast forward the commercial. At that point I'm no longer watching live TV, but I've avoided being brainwashed by the commercials in real time. :)
Domestic versions are hard to find, but they do exist. You can buy the import versions fairly easily at places like CD Universe.
The mice proposed "how many paths must a man walk down?" which I've always preferred.
What about the other movies that Stan's had a hand in? I'm fairly certain he had a huge hand in the creation of the Fantastic Four which should be released in a few months. And what about Daredevil and Elektra?
I loved that scene. Can't seem to remember which episode it's in though. Exelcior!