Gatchaman Voice Actors Earn Lifetime Achievement Awards

For the 4th Annual Seiyuu Awards, three members of Gatchaman's voice cast will be honored with Lifetime Achievement Awards for their work. These seiyuu (voice actors) are Kazuko Sugiyama (Jun), Nobuo Tanaka (Sosai X) and Tessho Genda (various guest characters throughout the first series, including both Masaki and Oniishi).

The awards ceremony takes place on March 6th in the UDX Theater in Akihabara, Tokyo.

Thanks, Tatsunokofan!

Imagi Shuts Down

Imagi has officially shut down. There is still a possibility they could farm out labor to other companies, but I wouldn't be holding my breath waiting for the Gatchaman movie.

Source: ABC News

Bad, bad news from Imagi

It started with news that Imagi had shut down their LA offices. Now, according to Felix Ip's blog, it looks like Imagi is shutting down and laying off their people in Hong Kong as well. They may find funding and continue with the Gatchaman movie, but right now, it's looking like a long shot.

It was fun to follow while it lasted. My condolences go out to the hard-working staff at Imagi.

UPDATE: According to this post on the Anime News Network:

"According to the Ming Pao Daily News paper, the layoffs are short-term and that the company is still operating on minimal staff as it continues to seek new investments. However, the newspaper also reports that company faces a critical decision next week on whether to be liquidated, depending on the outcome of investment talks. The studio underwent a round of layoffs before the Chinese New Year's holidays last year, only to rehire its animators after obtaining new financing to complete Astro Boy."