Earlier on the day straight after the Madman Panel, I shared with you a list of what they had announced at the Gold Coast Supanova 2012 event held at the Gold Coast Convention Center this weekend (More information on that in my full review this evening). Two product managers for the company – Sly and Daniel hosted the panel which began with promoting already known titles and now available titles including Madoka Magica and .hack//Quantum along with some of their manga and Eastern Eye titles.
The following three animated films were announced at the event, two which will appeal to anime fans while another adopts a more interesting animation strategy which will still hopefully be worthwhile watching:
Gin Tama: The Movie
Gintama: Shinyaku Benizakura-hen
Odd Jobs Gin has taken on a lot of odd work in the past, and when you’re a Jack of All Trades agency based in a feudal Japan that’s been conquered and colonized by aliens, the term “Odd Jobs” means REALLY ODD jobs. But when some more than slightly suspicious secrets from the shadows of Gintoki Sakata’s somewhat shady former samurai past and a new pair of odd jobs collide, the action is bound to get so wild and demented that only a feature film will do it justice!
This is only confirmation of the movie release and not of the actual anime series which has been released with English subtitles only by Sentai Filmworks in North America. Unlike the series however, this will be a bilingual hybrid dub release (Assumingly just English and Japanese) and of course if this sells well, we might just be seeing the entire series on store shelves in the near future.
Oblivion Island: Haruka and the Magic Mirror
Hottarake no Shima: Haruka to Mahou no Kagami
Your favourite teddy bear. That model kit that took so long to complete. The picture book you used to read over and over again. The shining stone you found that day in the park. Where do all your childhood’s treasures go when you grow up? In this story, we meet fantastic creatures that gather all these little objects that fall into oblivion as they are forgotten by their owners when they step into adulthood. These creatures sneak into our world from a different dimension, and unseen by humans, they take all the ditched and forgotten “treasures” into their world. Here, they use their booty to build their own city, a fairy tale-like place called… Oblivion Island!
This is not a series I was actually ever expecting to see in Madman Entertainment’s roster, however looking at the preview video they showed it actually looks like it may be a pretty good film. I look forward to seeing how the CGI visuals turn out when it is released later this year or next year.
Sengoku Basara: The Last Party
The story of the film is set after the conflict instigated by Toyotomi Hideyoshi ended, but not before the Battle of Sekigahara determines who shall be the Shogun of Japan.
Following on from the previous releases of the series (Seasons 1 and 2), Madman Entertainment have made their third and final title acquisition for the day Sengoku Basara: The Last Party. As you can see, all three of their new announcements were for films, with the series primarily being announced at Melbourne Supanova.
These were not however the only things announced at the event, questions and statements through the course of the 50 minute long panel revealed a few more details on several of their upcoming titles:
Regarding Cardcaptor Sakura
One day, Kinomoto Sakura, a 4th grader stumbles upon the mysterious book of Clow. Upon opening it and reading the name of The Windy aloud, Sakura scatters the cards to the winds. Sakura is elected and appointed by Keroberos, Guardian of the Cards to capture the remaining cards. With her friend Tomoyo and rival Syaoran, Sakura begins an adventure that will forever change her.
As you may very well be aware, Madman Entertainment announced only a short while ago that the company had acquired the rights to and would be releasing Cardcaptor Sakura (Uncut) on DVD in July 2012. While this has not been set in stone, the release may be delayed until around September. This is due to the company setting out to acquire the highest quality masters they could, which will of course improve the quality of their DVD release. More details on this I assume will be relayed by the company later if this happens.
Regarding the Release of Code Geass OVA’s
On August 10th of the year 2010 the Holy Empire of Britannia began a campaign of conquest, its sights set on Japan. Operations were completed in one month thanks to Britannia’s deployment of new mobile humanoid armor vehicles dubbed Knightmare Frames. Japan’s rights and identity were stripped away, the once proud nation now referred to as Area 11. Its citizens, Elevens, are forced to scratch out a living while the Britannian aristocracy lives comfortably within their settlements. Pockets of resistance appear throughout Area 11, working towards independence for Japan. Lelouch, an exiled Imperial Prince of Britannia posing as a student, finds himself in the heart of the ongoing conflict for the island nation. Through a chance meeting with a mysterious girl named C.C., Lelouch gains his Geass, the power of the king. Now endowed with absolute dominance over any person, Lelouch may finally realize his goal of bringing down Britannia from within!
You may be aware that Madman Entertainment have released the dubbed version of the Code Geass series, however with the OVA series for the series has not been able to be dubbed as original dubber Bandai Entertainment have more or less closed up for new anime titles. They have said they will be waiting to see if another company in North America takes the initiative to dub the other series – but at the very least would like to see it receive a subtitled release over here. No official word yet.
Share your thoughts on these announcements in the comments below!
