Bandai Entertainment held their press conference at this year’s New York Comic Con and definitely wowed their most hardcore of fans. This panel was done by Bandai president Ken Iyadomi and marketing staff Robert Napton and Loy Fruel.
Here, they showed trailers of their products and made several announcements.
For starters, Gundam UC episode four will be available on December 2 with Bright Noa making a return; The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya on DVD/Blue-ray is now available; K-on Volume 4 will be available on November 22 on DVD and Blu-ray. Star Driver is coming in November.
Other announcements made pertained to “Tales of the Abyss,” the anime based on the hit video game. Volume 1 is out now on DVD and two manga series based on Tales of the Abyss, Ash the Bloody and Jade’s Secret Memories also set to be released. Ash the Bloody volume 1 is available now and Jade volume 1 is coming soon.
The biggest news however was that the original Gundam series will be available on DVD in two volumes featuring all episodes and the original Japanese language track. Volume one is available now. “Mobile Suit Gundam 00 The Movie- Awakening of the Trailblazer,” the first Gundam movie in 19 years, is now available in the US on DVD and Blu-ray. “Akira,” one of the biggest animes ever, is being released for the first time on Blu-ray
Special guest from the Gundam UC English dub voice actress Stephanie Sheh and director Michael Sinterniklaas were also in attendance and spoke about their experience working on Gundam UC. The crowd went crazy when they came out. For them, it was as very tiring experience but enjoyed it nonetheless. This is truer considering both are Gundam fans.
Sinterniklaas stole the show with his wit (“episode four just blows up in your faceâ€). He also grows a “Gundam beard†that he says shows how long he’s been working on an episode. He even asked Stephanie where her Gundam beard was.
It’s also nice to note that New Yorkers prefer Zeon over the Federation when it comes to who they root for in Gundam.
This panel was one big Gundam fan service that had the fans on their feet. With the announcement of the original Gundam being released and the two Tales of the Abyss manga, Bandai will keep anime/manga fans busy for a long time.
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