It’s been a while since I attended AX myself (back in ’05), and once again I ended up spending Independence Day weekend (also known in some circles as Will Smith Weekend) far away from the LA Convention Center. I almost felt like I was there, though, what with all the news streaming in from various panels and press conferences, a great deal of which centered around FUNimation and their various acquisitions. For now, let’s take a couple items at a glance from three different companies:
– Bandai Entertainment announced the dub cast for Gurren-Lagann, which includes Yuri Lowenthal (Prince of Persia: Sands of Time, Persona 3) as Simon, and Michelle Ruff (Rumble Roses XX, Bleach: Shattered Blade) as Yoko. You can check the full list out at ANN.
– FUNimation, hot off the heels of their Geneon announcement, also picked up a ton of AD Vision titles, including Coyote Ragtime Show, Devil May Cry, 009-1, and Guyver: The Bioboosted Armor TV. As before, ANN has the full list of titles.
– Production I.G. made the announcement that Atsushi Takeuchi (mecha design on Appleseed and Cromartie High) will be directing the 12th episode of Star Wars: The Clone Wars. Odds of this being better than the upcoming CG film—and this is merely my humble speculation—are incredibly high.