What were your favorite announcements from Anime Expo 2015?
Not too many people asked this year. I suspect they think I only watch K- and J-dramas these days. (Not true!) But I’ve missed writing about anime and manga, so here are the acquisitions that made me cheer out loud as I watched my social feeds and opened the press releases.
Legend of the Galactic Heroes
novels (Viz Media/Haikasoru) & anime (Sentai Filmworks)
People have been asking for the anime for so long – and the anime is so long – that many Western fans gave up hope they would ever have the chance to watch it legally, much less own it. I also think they didn’t even dare to hope for the award-winning novels that served as the anime’s source material. (I know I didn’t!) That’s one reason for excitement. The other is the content itself.
The word “epic” gets thrown around a lot by pop-culture fans, but Legend of the Galactic Heroes is quite possibly the definition of the term. It’s a sprawling, serious space opera with military battles and strategy, complex political machinations, consequences, and human drama on both sides of the conflict it depicts. I love these kinds of stories – in any medium – so I’m looking forward to the Legend of the Galactic Heroes novels and anime series.
More reading: The Fandom Post (re: novels), Anime News Network (re: anime), Wikipedia
..AS WELL AS our acquisition of LEGEND OF THE GALACTIC HEROES! Some of the best news I could have every announced, hope you guys enjoyed it!
— Sentai Filmworks (@Sentaifilmworks) July 2, 2015
FukuFuku: Kitten Tales manga (Vertical Comics)
I love cats. I love manga. Therefore, cat manga – especially from Konami Kanata, the creator of Chi’s Sweet Home – is an automatic buy. >^..^<
More reading: Anime News Network, The Fandom Post
Princess Jellyfish manga (Kodansha Comics)
While I enjoyed the anime adaptation (via FUNimation), I felt as if it was mostly exposition and only scratched the very surface of its characters. I can’t wait to read the manga by Akiko Higashimura and, hopefully, become better acquainted with Tsukimi and her friends.
More reading: Anime News Network, The Fandom Post
Check out our new series announcements from #AnimeExpo panel! http://t.co/s9ZtZWqnMJ pic.twitter.com/7tIhcTztIn
— Kodansha Comics (@KodanshaUSA) July 6, 2015