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Cel Shaded
Jason Yadao
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‘Fullmetal’ proves magical at first Anime Awards
The votes have been tallied, golden statues dubbed the Mechas were handed out Feb. 24 and it's official: Anime fans love their "Fullmetal Alchemist."
The story of two brothers, their tragic past and the alchemy that weaves through their lives cleaned up at the recent American Anime Awards. Fans votes gave the tale five awards out of 12 categories.
Vic Mignogna, the voice of Edward Elric and soon to return as a guest at the local Kawaii Kon anime convention, won best-actor honors, while he and his co-stars shared the award for best cast. The show also won for long series, DVD package design and theme song ("Rewrite," by Asian Kung Fu Generation, the closing theme of Episodes 42 to 51).
The nearest competition to "Fullmetal Alchemist," with two Mechas each, was "FLCL" (best comedy anime and best short series) and "Zatch Bell" (lead actors Dave Wittenberg and Debby Derryberry claimed honors for best comedy actor and actress).
Also winners were Mary Elizabeth, the voice of Motoko in "Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex 2nd GIG," for best actress; "Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children," for best anime feature; and "Fruits Basket," for best manga.
Peter Fernandez, producer, director and voice of Speed and Racer X in "Speed Racer," earned an Outstanding Achievement Award ...
High-cost 'Haruhi'
For fans of "The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya" who want to see the episodes in broadcast order, the privilege will be rather costly. An announcement posted at asosbrigade.com, the show's Web site, revealed that broadcast-order discs will be available only in $60 special editions.
Why all the fuss? When the series was broadcast in Japan, events were shown out of chronological order. This sequence was referred to as "Kyon order," for one of Haruhi's companions and the series narrator. Next-episode previews featured Haruhi and Kyon arguing over which episode would be shown next.
When the series was later released in Japan on DVD, the episodes were rearranged in "Haruhi order," or strict chronological order. Since then, countless debates have raged over the Internet over which method is more effective in sharing the story.
That U.S. fans will even have the option to purchase "Kyon order" DVDs should be considered a blessing. According to an informational page on asosbrigade.com, the original U.S. licensing contract required episodes to be released on DVD in "Haruhi order." Only after further negotiations with the licenser were rights to "Kyon order" DVDs secured.
DVDs will be included as a bonus with "Haruhi order" DVD volumes 2, 3 and 4, along with soundtrack CDs, iron-on decals and pillowcases. Is it worth $30 extra? It's all a matter of personal preference ...
Cel Shaded, a look at the world of Japanese anime and manga, appears every Monday. Reach
Jason S. Yadao at
jyadao@starbulletin.com