AX 2010 - Day 1: Bandai Entertainment Panel

Last year wasn’t a great year for anime in Japan as the shaky economy meant that sales in anime were slowing enough that Bandai’s production line slowed down considerably. Oh, but there’s a light at the end of that dark tunnel because Bandai Entertainment is back and the floodgates are open for a rush of titles that are heading our way as well as already in store shelves across North America.

First of all, the one of the biggest news is that Bandai has an official e-commerce store with some great deals as well as points you earn for every purchase you can redeem for special rewards. The site is already up and can be found at http://store.bandai-ent.com.

GURREN LAGANN

Gurren Lagann The Movie: Childhood’s End – Already available on DVD as a Regular Version (List Price: $29.98) as well as a Limited Edition version (List Price: $49.98).

Gurren Lagann The Movie: The Lights in the Sky Are Stars – Available on July 30, 2010 on DVD – List Price: $29.98.

Gurren Lagann TV Series, Complete Collection (Anime Legend) – Available July 6, 2010 on DVD – List Price: $49.98.

MOBILE SUIT GUNDAM 00

Mobile Suit Gundam 00: Season 2 Part 2 – Available July 6, 2010 on DVD as a Regular Edition (List Price: $29.98) and Special Edition (List Price: $49.98).

Mobile Suit Gundam 00: Season 2 Part 3 – Available September 2010 on DVD as a Regular Edition (List Price: $29.98) and Special Edition (List Price: $49.98).

Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam: Movie Complete Collection – Available July 6, 2010 on DVD – List Price: $64.98.

MOBILE SUIT GUNDAM UNICORN

Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn, Vol. 1 – Available now on Blu-ray – List Price: $49.98 – On a side note, voice actor Stephanie Sheh (who not only voices a character in Unicorn but is also the voice of Hinata in Naratu and Orihime in Bleach) was on hand to talk about the series during the panel.

KUROKAMI

Kurokami the Animation, Part 2 – Available on July 20, 2010 on DVD and Blu-ray.

HAYATE THE COMBAT BUTLER

Hayate the Combat Butler, Part 6 – Available July 6, 2010 on DVD – List Price: $39.98

FREEDOM

Freedom, Complete Collection (Anime Legends) – Available July 6, 2010 on DVD – List Price: $39.98

GHOST SLAYER AYASHI

Ghost Slayer Ayashi, Complete Collection (Anime Legends) – Available July 6. 2010 on DVD – List Price: $49.98.

KANNAGI: CRAZY SHRINE MAIDENS

KANNAGI: Crazy Shrine Maidens, Complete Collection – Available now on DVD – List Price: $59.98.

THE MELANCHOLY OF HARUHI SUZUMIYA

The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, Complete Collection (Anime Legends) – Available July 6, 2010 on DVD – List Price: $39.98

The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, Season 2 Complete Collection (Anime Legends) – Available August 2010.

Haruhi-Chan – English dub voice cast has already finished recording so this one is set to be released in the near future.

The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya – Theatrical Release coming soon.

BREAKING NEWS

Bandai Entertainment acquired the rights to the anime K-ON and if you know it you know this one will be pretty big. We’re already excited about this one since the English dub cast that includes Stephanie Sheh and Cristina Vee who were there. Speaking of Cristina Vee, she got to sing some theme songs from two different anime series and she was simply awesome.

MANGA

Gurren Lagann, Volume 6 – Street Date: July-August release

Lucky Star, Volume 6 – Street Date: July-August release

PLUS

Code Geass: Knight (For Girls), Vol. 1 – Street Date: Available now

Code Geass: Queen (For Boys), Vol. 1 – Street Date: Available now

OVERALL OUTLOOK

It looks like 2010 is going to be a big year for Bandai Entertainment and looking at their amazing lineup of anime titles we are already salivating at the thought of getting our hands on many of these titles. While the manga end of Bandai’s announcements only included four titles, we are so looking forward to all of them.

- Sophie Stevens

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