After changing gears from previous roles, I'm now the head of viewing rooms. As such, I'd like to throw out some ideas about the viewing rooms for Banzai 2010, as well as hear feedback.

The current plan is to have two rooms. In both of these rooms, we hope to have 1080 HD capabilities. Thus, one of my biggest pushes is to have HD content running in at least one room at any given time. Currently, the selection of titles available in the US on Blu-Ray isn't the biggest, but it is increasing. This will also mean that there will be a selection of fansubbed imports, as well as an attempt to try out some of the newer streaming sites that offer content in HD.

While I wish to showcase the beauty of HD and advances in technology, I also plan not to forget other titles. I've already had people come to me requesting that "old school" titles. Do not fear, I am a fan of much of the "old school" as well. Fortunately, some of these titles have been/are being given new life with the wonders of HD as well.

And so, here is a list of BD titles (either currently available or known to be available soon) I'm currently in process of considering. Some will likely be canned early on due to content considerations:
Gunbuster / Diebuster
Claymore
Escaflowne: The Movie
Ghost in the Shell / Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence
Gunslinger Girl
Heroic Age
Kurokami
Samurai 7
Sky Crawlers
Tsubasa, RESERVoir CHRoNiCLE

Imports:
ef - a tale of memories
5 Centimeters per Second / The Place Promised in their Early Days
Utawarerumono


There will likely be some shows from US companies, hopefully a premiere or two.

What do you think of some "themes" as well? These would be blocks (usually an hour) for things like "Fresh from Japan" (ie. series running in Japan at the time of the convention), "So Moe, Gonna Die" (Do you think you know moe? See some hand-selected WMDs of moe overload), "Once Seen, Cannot Unsee" (There's some straaaaaange stuff out there. See what makes even seasoned veterans go 'OMGWTFBBQ')


In the event of getting import copies, I'd like to hear from anyone who has experience with de/re-Muxing video. I have the computational horsepower, just not necessarily the know-how.

Just Some Ideas

Baccano
Eden of the East
Kampfer
Umineko
Saint Knights Tale

I'd like to have a block of time on each day devoted to older series and shows. I have quite a few of them, and I'd like to introduce people to them if possible. Perhaps 3-4 hours on Friday and 3-4 hours on Saturday?

A what's new in Japan block would also be nice.

Bakemonogatari
Evangelion
Kyouran Kazoku Nikki
Tsubasa
Cardcaptor Sakura
Chobits
Code Geass
Azumanga Daioh
Some version of dot.hack//
Kannagi
Chi's Sweet Home

ef - a tale of melodies (since they showed memories last year)
Durarara!!
Kimi ni Todoke
Bakemonogatari
Evangeion 2.0: You Can (Not) Advance

Maybe Prince of Tennis, Bleach? Like one of the movies for Bleach?

I'd be all for this idea. The Classics must always be recognized and respected. Some possible classics could be:

Iria: The Zeiram Animation
Blue Seed
any of the Tenchi Movies
Ronin Warriors
Gunsmith Cats
Black Magic M66
Battle Angel Alita
Unico In the Island of Magic
Harlock Saga
Catnapped
also have never seen Robot Carnival, which sounds interesting.

anyway, a few of my suggestions:

Bakemonogitari
Berserk
3x3 Eyes
Soul Eater
Memories (Magnetic Rose, Stink Bomb, Cannon Fodder)
The Girl Who Lept Through Time
Escaflowne: The Movie
Interstella 5555: 5tory of the 5ecret 5tar 5ystem
Gurren Lagann (now that it's out in English)


If at all possible, a larger showing room for the second night of the Con featuring Ponyo probably wouldn't be so bad either (I haven't scoped out the Layton convention center yet, so I don't know if there's a "large" viewing room or any of that.)

assuming it's possible, of course; I don't know if Ponyo is too new/recognizable by US copyright laws to be shown at the Convention <_<"

"Once Seen, Cannot Unsee" (There's some straaaaaange stuff out there. See what makes even seasoned veterans go 'OMGWTFBBQ')

Perfect example.


Cat Soup.

I have a wealth of DVDs I am willing to lend (provided you can return them to me, of course) just take a look here.

In terms of having blocks, I'm not sure. It seems like a good idea, but at the same time I like having various things spread out so you don't have to spend a lot of time in the viewing room at once to catch what you like. Then again, I usually just end up watching whatever is on when I'm free sooo...anything works really.

I've just started watching Mayoi Neko Overrun.
here's a link to the ANN page for it

http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encycloped...me.php?id=11175

Also:

Cutey Honey
Lucky Star
Umineko (um, well, if there's a late night or carded block...)

Thanks for taking suggestions!

What about some miyazaki movies? maybe some older ones people arent so familiar with like pom poko whisper of the heart and my neihbor the yamadas.
if only one gets chosen pom poko should be it. It is one of my absolute favorite movies of all time!

Basilisk
Air
Code Geass
The Wallflower
Blood +
Chobits
Gokusen
Peach Girl
Bokusatsu Tenshi Dokuro-chan
Trinity Blood
Ah! My Goddess

Gensomaden Saiyuki, I like the english version actually.....

Sky Crawlers is one of my favorites :3

I can't believe you have 5 Cm/S The Place Promised in Our Early Days!

The Girl Who Leapt Through Time is good as well.

Maybe look for Summer Wars?

Heh. A Pokemon movie would be nostalgic. Any of the first 3.

Digimon Movie 2 or 3.
Shinreigari - Ghost Hound (its really something out of the norm and enjoyable)

I love slice-of-life anime comedies, I don't have a long enough attention span for long running series where you have to watch every episode to get what's going on xD

One show I'm really itching for others to see is Minami-ke. Was this shown last year? I don't remember xD.


Also, just an idea I'm throwing out there, but we should have a Japanese drama block. The viewing rooms usually show the first 1-2 episodes of the series right? Instead there can probably be one episode of 1-3 of a good J-drama, since they usually run for an hour long each.

You guys are in for a treat. The viewing rooms are in very capable hands this year. PrimarchBentley is one of the few anime fans I've met in person that has his finger on the pulse of what's new in Japan while also maintaining an open mind about old school favorites. Really looking forward to seeing what he puts together.

I applaud the effort to bring HD to the viewing rooms.

There are countless perks to being an otaku in Japan. At the top of my list is being able to see anime on film in actual movie theaters. We seldom get that privilege here. Watching anime in 1080 on a HD projector brings us several steps closer to recreating that experience on our own terms. Very exciting.

But we can do rated R movies later in the evening right? I know there were complaints about the video game room being 18+ after 10:00 PM last year, however we have TWO viewing rooms which give us the option to play something for younger audiences in one room whenever we show a more mature title in the other room. Everyone wins.

Mamoru Oshii seems to be the anime director best represented on Blu-Ray. In the United States there's the three movies mentioned above, and in Japan there are English subtitled Blu-Rays for Patlabor 1 & 2, and Avalon. Would love to see one of his movies worked onto the schedule.

Gunbuster and Diebuster are two excellent choices. Forget Giant Robo, Macross Plus or the Rurouni Kenshin: Trust & Betrayal OVA, in my opinion Gunbuster is the greatest stand alone OVA of all time. Anyone who considers themselves a fan of Evangelion owes it to themselves to watch Gunbuster. Blu-Ray or not, I suggest sticking with the original OVAs rather then the movie compilations.

Xam'd has been available for rent on the PS3 network for close to two years now. To provide a legal source, I was going to offer to rent the first two episodes and bring in my PS3, but it looks like the series is finally getting a Blu-Ray release in September.

My final anime suggestion- Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn! Gundam's triumphant return to the original Universal Century timeline. This thing ROCKED! If I'm not mistaken, it broke the record for best selling OVA ever. Want to show the beauty of anime in HD? Look no further. Also the English DUB is really good.

Switching gears a bit. Has any consideration been given to programming live-action content? It's becoming more and more common to see one or two live-action movies at anime conventions.

I like the idea of themed blocks. The live-action movie Linda Linda Linda, which is about four high school girls in a band would go really well back to back with the anime series K-On! which is about... four high school girls in a band.

Kamikaze Girls seems to get suggested almost every year. I didn't get around to seeing it until earlier this year and now count it among my favorite Japanese movies. It's hilarious, touching and brimming with energy. It has a Yoko Kanno score and really fun animation from Studio 4°C. I liked it so much I imported the region free Blu-Ray from the UK. Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QvTxyok0j2o

How about some Tokusatsu? If anime and manga are sister mediums then tokusatsu would be like a first cousin. Tokusatsu literally means special effect cinema and includes everything from kaiju movies like Godzilla to television superheroes such as Ultraman or Kamen Rider.

The early 70s live-action TV series Kikaida might qualify for the "Once Seen, Cannot Unsee" block. A hilarious product of no budget filmmaking.

At the opposite end of the spectrum, the 2006 TV series GARO is oozing with Japan cool. It's a horror-themed martial arts show with top notch special effects, costume and monster designs. It's kind of like a live-action Karas but with a much more coherent plot. GARO is the perfect segue into Japanese live-action for people that dig Final Fantasy, the early parts of Bleach or old school CLAMP like Tokyo Babylon.

The Heisei Gamera trilogy is often held up as the pinnacle of kaiju cinema by devoted fans of the genre. In these movies, Gamera the giant flying turtle with rockets in his pockets and friend to all children was given a realistic make-over and placed in movies with a more believable Sci-Fi edge. All three movies rock.

And finally my last suggestion (I swear). The most recent Ultraman movie: Mega Monster Battle: Ultra Galaxy Legend The Movie. Yes the title is quite a mouth full. It's a huge cross-over movie which has something on the order of 30 or so different Ultramen showing up at various points. Tsuburaya Productions really stepped up their game to produced Hollywood level special effects but at the same time they kept the classic rubbersuit aesthetic for the heroes and monsters. While there's a really deep mythology to the Ultraman universe this movie can be watched without any prior experience with the franchise. The Japanese Blu-Ray has English subtitles. Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UncQsq4xomc

Just a couple suggestions for series I've come across recently -

Kaichou wa Maid Sama - Not sure who is licensing this one or if it'll be available by this fall, but it's a really fun shojo series that I've been enjoying immensely. I thought it would be just another moe blob maid anime, but It's a lot of fun and entertaining.

Black Rock Shooter - The OVA just came out and while I was skeptical about an ova based on a vocaloid song, the result is actually pretty cool. The story was interesting, the animation and fight scenes were well done, and I really enjoyed it.

Cat Sh** One - If the name wasn't amusing enough, the premise and the way it's being presented are pretty unique as well. It's actually a serious and realistic drama about the recent wars (the original covered the Vietnam war I believe), however it stars a cast of cute and fluffy bunnies rather than human soldiers. The animation is all CG and surprisingly well done. I haven't seen a lot of this series, but I think it could be a fun and interesting addition.

Wow, there was so much hype about Black Rock Shooter, I'm surprised but glad to hear that it was actually good! There are a lot of titles in here I've never heard of that sound interesting. Sheesh, I spent hours in the viewing rooms at Anime Oasis; I can see the potential for that all over again! Just about anything classic, off-beat, or recent is cool with me, but I'll make one request I don't think AB has done in the past:

• the Rose of Versailles

Just a thought. ^_^

Reading through some of the suggestions here, I am all for Bakemonogatari (one I've been meaning to see), Black Rock Shooter and Umineko. Soul Eater would be pretty cool too. But whatever ends up going into these viewing rooms I'm definitely gonna want to catch some of it! ^^ Ended up wandering into a showing of Saiyuki last year and it got me started on the series =3

Just saw the list.

ZOMG.

Unlimited Blade Works (sub)

...

Let me smother butter all over your naked body then we can make sweet monkey love.

(one question. Are we going to get treated to surround sound as well?)

Yeah the amazing thing is that the Blu-Ray for the Fate/Stay Night: Unlimited Blade Works movie just hit the market in Japan like... a week ago? So kudos to PrimarchBentley (the guy handling the viewing rooms this year) for capitalizing on that and delivering a hot new movie that actually played in Japanese theaters earlier this year.

I can't remember what the sound set-up is going to be like, but overall the A/V equipment being used in the viewing rooms is pretty darn impressive for an event our size.

Despite a lack of familiarity with the earlier anime TV series and the original visual novel, I went ahead and watched the movie a few days ago. To be honest I had trouble keeping up with everything that was going on, but fortunately my wife who does know the story was there and helped me through it.

The idea of the "Holy Grail War" being fought in secret by mages and their powerful companions who have been summoned in from various points in time, kind of felt like the premise behind the original Highlander movie mixed up with something like Zatch Bell! of all things.

The movie looks gorgeous, and it really delivered on that front. Top of the line production values. Go see it for the eye candy if nothing else.

Both rooms WILL have 5.1 sound systems and I'm told that they totally rock.

Unlimited Blade Works is one of the titles that PrimarchBentley imported a legitimate (and very expense) Japanese Blu-Ray for. English subtitles have been added in. If you show up, you'll be getting an experience not easily attainable at home.

ghosthoundghosthoundghosthound.
the only thing i truly fangirl over.
serious.

Whoa. PrimarchBentley. I just want to rip off your skin and wear it to my birthday. This seriously made it worth it coming all the way from St. George. There are lots of other neat things at the convention of course, but this is most definitely one of those things I will not miss.

Thanks for the update Eric!

De-lurking to post a few things. I had intended to be on more towards the actual convention itself, but the AMV contest and remuxing process of getting subtitles timed w/ the import titles has really eaten away at my time and been a real learning experience... Many thanks to Eric for keeping a closer eye on things here as well.

OFFICIAL NOTICE
The .PDF schedule posted by Jose and the schedule that will be shown on the monitor above each viewing room (thanks to Joe, from Ops, who will also be handling our Old School blocks) are correct. Unfortunately, the schedule printed in the Mini Schedule is from an earlier version, before we came across some licensing issues (not quite being able to work out some logistics/timing w/ Sony this year, forgetting Paprika was rated R and technically not screen-able by current Anime Banzai standards other than our late night block (as well as forementioned logistics), finding the license to Gunsmith Cats is currently 'status unknown,' finding out that while distributed by Bandai Ent. in the US, screening permissions for Gundam Unicorn is handled directly by the main Bandai HQ in Japan (who don't even have email addresses listed on their site), etc.).

There will be a notice of this change posted on the viewing room doors; feel free to point out this difference to others...


Now, some more informal chit-chat...

I like keeping a finger to the pulse of the current anime market in Japan. I'm glad a number of you are looking forward to some of the import titles (even if a bit creepy at times there, Glitzer... :unsure: ), but remember that the real heroes for these titles that have not (yet) been licensed, are the fansubbers. It's not too hard to pre-order Unlimited Blade Works and figure out shipping times once the release date was known, but the fansubbers are the ones who translated it in the time between its release and now. Credit where credit is due, which I will note during the viewings...

It would be unfair not to mention the US companies at this point, so here it is. Many of us likely wouldn't be here in the first place if it weren't for US releases for anime...

I really would to have loved to show the Macross Frontier movie (even if raw), but it wouldn't have arrived until Mon. after the con, regardless of shipping options... :( Also, all of Kara no Kyoukai will be released in Blu-Ray (with English subtitles) in Feb. The Nanoha movie releases in Nov., and all these 'points' I've been accruing with importers will almost completely pay for it. Maybe a certain US company will get in gear and release Ride Back in BD in the next year... Consider those hints of 'things to come' for next year, subject to the whims of the industry on both sides of the Pacific.

We have a volunteer (whom I know and can work well together with) to run a room dedicated to live-action shows starting next year; the main issue will be space. So, yes, it's being looked into...

Also: while I've been able to get our first 'mature' viewing room times blocked out this year, I need your support to make sure the convention organizers continue to consider the idea. If you can make it to our late night viewings, please do. Having a room full of occupied seats is the best way to show the convention organizers that you're interested in having more of these kind of shows shown at Banzai...


Hope we see you at Anime Banzai this year, and hope you enjoy the shows...