More of What Might Have Been

Joe and Jun getting to know each other from a 2008 screen test for Gatchaman. Starts at 0:29.



Thanks, Springie!

What Might Have Been

Now that Imagi is dissolved, certain things start surfacing, such as this trailer to the Gatchaman film that will no longer happen:

Isao Sasaki Makes Appearance at Honolulu Festival

Isao Sasaki (the voice of Condor Joe and singer of many anime themes including the themes to Gatchaman II and Fighter) will be making an appearance at the Honolulu Convention Center on Saturday, March 13, between 3:15 and 3:30 pm for the Honolulu Festival. I haven't heard of him making appearances at foreign events before.

Wish I could be there!

For more info:

http://www.honolulufestival.com/

Facebook link

Zero Da, Zero Da, Zero Da! JT Uses the Gatchaman Theme to Promote Coffee

The Gatchaman theme song is being used to advertise a new coffee drink, the JT "Roots Triple Free" (triple meaning 0 calories, 0 fat and 0 sugar). The lyrics have been tweaked to promote the song ("Zero da" instead of "Dare da"), though you can see the original lyrics posted beneath the commercial version. They've also riffed off the Gatchaman title type. The commercial features a comedy group called The Neptunes and the song is sung by singer/songwriter Sunplaza Nakano*.

You can see the commercial in its entirety on the Roots Triple Free Web site. The shorter TV version is here.

Thanks, Tatsunokofan!

* Sunplaza Nakano = Nakano Sun Plaza, a large mall in Tokyo that's the home of Mandarake, the ultimate anime/manga otaku mecca and a great place to shop for Gatchaman stuff.

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."