New Layout!

I went to work on Akihabara Renditions this weekend, but seeing as there have been no updates concerning CPM's financial situation since the last post and the con news scenes have yielded little information about classic anime that Akihabara Renditions focuses on, I decided to tweak with the site layout some. I am hoping that the brighter layout will make it a little easier to read and scroll through. I also went through and added some more pictures to my previous articles Near the Start of Con Season, Mad About Macross and Argh, Not again... (Pre-AkibaRen) to make the site a little less text-based and appear more like a news-magazine. I would like to get a logo image in the top frame, but it might only support text, and I've not toyed around with it yet, so it's one more thing for me to look into. At worst, if it comes to it, I might in the future actually purchase and maintain a domain for this. I have some ideas on features to include aside from my own posts, but the price, while cheap, including taking the time for maintenance, isn't really available to me at the moment. Just some more stuff to look forward to here at Akihabara Renditions!

While not necessarily of the Classic Anime persuasion, a personal favorite title of mine, Zipang 『ジパング』, was licensed by Geneon at Otakon this past weekend. Zipang - pardon the naval pun here - stood out in an ocean of what remains mostly mediocre titles by having a compelling, dramatic story, a little bit of sci-fi, and settling for quality (instead of flashy) animation. I am glad to see this series get a US release and hope a lot of others here in the US will support the title. While movies like Barefoot Gen and Grave of the Fireflies give Westerners a different look at the civilian side of warfare during the Second World War, Zipang play an important modern illustration of the soldiers and sailors fighting in the Japanese military during that same conflict. Another look at the other side, but a very different look from films like Gen and Grave that propagate the victim culture Japan suffers(/ed) from after the war.

Though, while classic news is few and far between, there is one notable news story. It, unfortunately, is grouped in with the loss of licenses. AnimEigo announced recently (June 9) at Anime on DVD that despite numerous tries to retain the license, their license on the Kimagure Orange Road 『きまぐれオレンジーロード』 appears to be expiring at the end on July. AnimEigo is also having a block-buster sale on their website to get this title into as many people's hands as possible. If one is looking for a series that defines 1980s anime, this is one of those series that belongs on that list. Unfortunately, for a juggernaut of its time, the residual popularity of KOR hasn't followed in either the US or Japan. This is kind of sad because if you are around many older fans of anime and someone mentions KOR instantly ears perk up. It's just one of those series that even if someone's not seen the series, it's a title that starts discussion. Since these DVDs are going out of print in Region 1, I really hope some new school fans jump on this, too, for a bit of classic anime that may not be back for a long while.