Hey there, Father Geek here with Scott Green and another fact and fun filled AICN Anime Report, our regular mid-week column chucked full of info on all things anime and manga. Check it all out below...

Berserk Info

Anime on DVD has learned some information regarding Media Blaster's release of the series Berserk. From what we can tell, they're shooting to start releasing the series in February and as single discs. Discs should run 5 episodes each. And to allay the continual fears, there will be no editing of this series.

The medieval action drama appeared on late night TV in Japan and has a very adult sensibility, and targets an older demographic than most anime TV series. The series has violent senses, including several of sexual assaults that many feared would be removed from a domestic release.

DBZ Voice Actor Chat

According to Dragon Ball Z.com an official internet chat will take pace on Thursday, August 9th with Chris Sabat, voice of Vegeta, Piccolo and Yamcha. The chat will take place on Thursday from 6 -7 pm EST. The online char room holds 500 people and requires participants to register to the Club . Each chatter will be allowed to submit 3 questions.

Starting Thursday Celebrity Chat will be on a regular schedule for the second and fourth Thursday of every month. The next 3 celebrities will be:

Meredith McCoy - voice of Android 18 - August 23

Kyle Hebert - voice of Adult Gohan - September 13

Eric Johnson - voice of Trunks -September 27

No DB More Delays?

After many delays it looks like the original Dragon Ball will begin airing on Cartoon Network August 20th.

The first 28 episodes are

• 1 Secret of the Dragonball
• 2 The Emperor's Quest
• 3 The Nimbus Cloud of Roshi
• 4 Oolong the Terrible
• 5 Yamcha, The Desert Bandit
• 6 Keep an Eye on the Dragonballs
• 7 The Ox-King on Fire Mountain
• 8 The Kamehameha Wave
• 9 Boss Rabbit's Magic Touch
• 10 The Dragonballs Are Stolen
• 11 The Penalty is Pinball
• 12 A Wish to the Eternal Dragon
• 13 The Legend of Goku
• 14 Goku's Rival
• 15 Look Out For Launch
• 16 Find That Stone!
• 17 Milk Delivery
• 18 The Turtle Hermit Way
• 19 The Tournament Begins
• 20 Elimination Round
• 21 Smells Like Trouble
• 22 Yamcha vs. Jackie Chun
• 23 Monster Beast Giran
• 24 Krillin's Frantic Attack!
• 25 Danger From Above
• 26 The Grand Finals
• 27 Number One Under the Moon
• 28 The Final Blow

Dragon Ball features Dragon Ball Z's protagonist as a wild monkey tailed child who travels where his curiosity will takes him, with his kung fu skills, and extending pole, and he occasionally turns into a giant ape when he looks into the light of a full moon. The series is more whimsical and humorous than Dragon Ball Z, and more closely linked to the Monkey King or Journey to the West legend. Guku is joined by Oolong, a cowardly shape changing pig, Yamcha, a desert bandit, Bulma a haunty young girl, and eventually Krillin, a competitive young monk.

Bid For Power Dragon Ball Z Mod Canceled

A project that has been exiting Dragon Ball Z fans for quite a while is the Quake 3 mod Bid For Power. Initially many were skeptical about a mod that would allow players Dragon Ball Z like game play, with flying, chi blasts and Dragon Ball characters, but as the mod developed to started to appear like the game would soon be becoming a reality. When Infrogames acquired the game license to the series legal difficulties started to appear on the horizon. The games developers recently canceled the game after receiving a cease and desist order.

Bid For Power Situation From bidforpower.com:

"However, they seemed receptive to the notion of allowing Bid For Power to be released so long as certain conditions were met. We were put in touch with Infogrames who asked us, among other things, to recreate Bid For Power on Wild Tangent, a java-based engine, which would then be posted on the Dragonball Z website for people to play. This engine is incapable of running something as detailed as Bid For Power and we would have had to start work from scratch. Most of the team rejected the idea and talks went downhill from there. Without contact with Infogrames or Funimation the progress of Bid For Power slowed down even though we were sitting on a finished product and had been for some time.

We began dealing with Funimation directly in April when they asked us to send videos of gameplay to them so that they could have TOEI Japan review it. We sent the videos and heard nothing until we emailed them in July asking that we be allowed to release in August, since no objections had be made from TOEI Japan that we knew of. We were then sent another Cease and Desist order by way of Funimation. "

The quality of past Infrogames products, and early indications of their upcoming Dragon Ball Z games have left fans morning the mod's demise.

ADV Dates

ADV has announced that Princess Nine Vol. #1 will street on 10/23/2001. This disc will contain 5 bilingual episodes and retail for 19.98$. Blue Seed 4: Nightfall will be release on 10/2. Arc the Lad Vol. #5 has a street date of 10/16/01 with 5 episodes on the disc. Generator Gawl Vol. #4 now has a 10/09/01 street date, bringing this series to a conclusion. Sorcerer Hunters DVD volume 4 will also be release released on 10/9. The dub only Powerstone will be released on 10/30

Princess Nine is a shojo(girl's) series about a girl's baseball team. ADV is using the series to test the water to see how well shoujo series can perform in the US.

Anime on TV

Fox will begin running Transformers: Robots in Disguise, the English adaptations of the anime series Transformers: Car Wars on September 8th. Kids' WB will begin running Yugi-Oh on September 15th. Yugi-Oh gained attention as the fad to replace Pokemon in Japan. Its based on a card game and features a player of the card games who must solve various puzzles, and beats games to become a champion. Some find the series enjoyable, others find it tedious and too merchandise based.

Big Apple Anime Fest Info

Toshio Maeda and Koichi Ohata will be guests of honor at the Big Apple Anime Fest, occurring October 26-28, 2001 in New York city. Toshio Maeda and Koichi Ohata have gained notoriety as the creators behind anime used in Madonna's Drowned World Tour as background videos on large screen monitors during Madonna's performances. The clips were chosen by Veneno, the production company responsible for the Drowned World Tour video, and facilitated by Central Park Media.

Toshio Maeda is the creator of Legend of The Overfiend(Urotsukidoji series). From the press release "His classic film, Legend of the Overfiend, is the most recognized adult anime in the world, and is considered the foundation for the entire "erotic-grotesque" genre of Japanese anime. This masterpiece will open the Midnight Anime Concourse segment of the Big Apple Anime Fest, at the Directors Guild Theater on Friday evening, October 26." Koichi Ohata is the directory of MD Geist, expert on cult movies, and author of several books on the subject.

Cowboy BebopBox Set - $200

Right Stuf is now listing a $200 retail price for the November release of the Cowboy Bebop box set. David Chu of Bandai has confirmed this and stated the box set will be released 11/20.

New Kenshin OVA in December?

Mr_ryo of Toriyama's World has informed Anime News Network that, according to the latest Weekly Jump, a new Rurouni Kenshin (Samurai X)OVA (direct to video release) is set to be released in December.

According to Weekly Jump, the "Seisou Hen"(Passing of Time Saga) will be a continuation of the first OVA (Tsuioku Hen-Memory Saga) and will also conclude the anime.

Mr_ryo adds, "That is all the information that has been released so far. It is unclear whether this means we will see Enishi (antagonist of the character of the anime release not adapted into anime), but that may be doubtful because they mention that it is an original story." Given the length of the "Revenge" chapter which featured Enishi it is unlikely the story will be told as an OAV (which tend to be shorter than a season of a TV series). If it were to tell a new story it could conceivably take place during Kenshin's days as the political assassin known as the Hitokiri Battousai during Japan's Meiji revolution, after he turns from assassin to body guard, or the years of wandering between giving up killing, and meeting up with the characters TV series. The manga series suggest that the formative events in Kenshin's life has been told, but there are still interesting events in his life that were not shown.

New Full Digital Japanese Animation Thriller Reaching American Shores This Summer and Fall 'Blood: The Last Vampire'

From the offical press release:

'Digital filmmaking has entered a new era. The world will come to consider this work as the standard of top quality in digital animation.' - James Cameron, director of Titanic CHICAGO, Aug. 2 /PRNewswire/ -- Manga Entertainment announces today the release of Japan's first fully-digitally-animated feature film Blood: The Last Vampire for theatrical and DVD release this summer and fall. Produced by the visionary animators at Japan's Production IG Studios (Ghost in the Shell), audiences will also have the opportunity to see the film 'digitally projected' when Blood: The Last Vampire headlines this year's RESFEST, the international digital film festival touring the U.S. this fall ( www.resfest.com ). Blood: The Last Vampire will also have a live 24-hour Internet streaming event (Video on Demand) on Tuesday, August 28 at www.sputnik7.com .

Blood: The Last Vampire is unlike anime features of the past. While the character designs and backgrounds were created using traditional drawing techniques, these elements were painted, compiled and filmed using computer technology. The process was enhanced by the inclusion of digital lighting effects and revolutionary computer generated models, plus a variety of innovative camera techniques.

The highly technical standards used in the film also extended into the musical score and sound effects which were mixed in Hollywood, CA. A 'first-time' for an anime film, Blood: The Last Vampire features a number of American characters with more than ninety percent of the film's dialogue written and spoken in the English language. The leading role of Saya is voice acted by Youki Kodoh (Snow Falling on Cedars).

Manga Entertainment has captured this brilliant anime feature on DVD and enhanced the release with special features such as: ``The Making of Blood'' Documentary; Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound, 16X9 Anamorphic Digital Transfer, Image Gallery, Original Japanese Theatrical Trailers, Web Links and DVD ROM content. Available in retail stores August 28, 2001 for $25.00 (DVD) and $20.00 (VHS).

Blood: The Last Vampire takes place in the fall of 1966. The Vietnam War is underway and the U.S. military machine is being supplied out of the Yokota Air Force Base -- a plot of U.S. land within Japan. Within the compound, the atmosphere is charged with violent intensity as F4 combat planes take off hastily one after the next. Meanwhile, a series of suspicious suicides are reported in town. www.bloodthemovie.com .

Digital Manga and Akadot Move Ahead on English Language Version of Newtype At Anime Expo 2001 this past July, Digital Manga, Inc. and Kadokawa announced that Digital Manga, Inc. would publish an English language version of Newtype Magazine, the leading anime magazine in Japan.

Though details about the project are still being finalized, Digital Manga has just brought on Akadot editor Luis Reyes to be managing editor for the magazine. Reyes is now searching for an editor-in-chief for Newtype and assembling a production, distribution and sales staff. Akadot, Digital Manga's autonomous online anime news magazine, will continuing running as usual, but it will also have a small presence between the pages of the new English language Newtype.

DMI reiternated is plans to include Newtype's trademark full-color spread features on the lastest information about anime in Japan. .

Akadot will also play host to an online portal for Newtype, but specifics have yet to be worked out.

More details to come. Check in with Akadot (http://www.akadot.com) on Aug. 22 for a more in depth feature on the plans for the English language version of Newtype.

Akira Hits #1 in Sales

digitalmediafx.com has reported According to Sound Scan, a video industry analyst group, Pioneer Entertainment's Akira is the number-one selling DVD for the week of July 29, 2001. First released in 1989, Akira was restored by Pioneer Entertainment at a cast of $1 million for the release on home video and DVD on July 24. Akira's sales beat out recent theatrical films Family Man and Sweet November.

ICV2.com reports Pioneer's Akira Special Edition DVD, Limited Edition Tin is sold out at the wholesale level just one week after its release. Diamond Comic Distributors, which took a major position on the product, reported to ICv2 that as of 4 p.m. CDT today, they had fewer than ten Akira tins left in inventory. Pioneer told ICv2 back in June that they had completely sold out of the limited edition (100,000) tins some two weeks before the order cutoff date. A check of Ebay revealed that Akira Special Edition Limited Edition Tins are selling above retail at just over $40.

Apes Can't Win Against Miyazaki

According to IMDB Hayao Miyazaki's latest animated feature Spirited Away held off a forceful challenge by Planet of the Apes in Japan last weekend, according to Screen Daily, the online edition of the British trade publication Screen International. Notwithstanding the appeal of Miyazaki's film, the box-office performance of Apes proved spectacular as it earned $5.5 million on 326 Japanese screens, an average of $16,871 per screen.

St. Tail DVD Boxed Set Announced

Tokyopop stated the first DVD volume of St. Tail will be released as a single DVD for $29.98 and also as a boxed set that includes the DVD and a copy of the first St. Tail manga graphic novel (which normally retails for $9.99) for a retail price of only 1 cent more, $29.99.

A Look at Domu

Before starting Akira Katsuhiro Otomo created Domu, about strange killings in a Japanese housing project. In aniticiopation of Dark Horse's re-release of the collection of the manga series, Newarama has posted an article about the series at here

Trun A Gundam Motion Picture

Newtype Asylum reports that the official, Japanese Sunrise website mentions that Turn A Gundam will be adapted into a two part theatrical movie, due out in the spring of 2002. The two movies, "Earth light" and "Moonlight Butterfly", will air together as part of a double feature.

Turn A Gundam is a 50 episode Gundam tv series that aired on Japanese TV during 1999 and 2000.

The series takes place in the new calendar year of in the year 2345. According The Gundam Project's description of the series yts bean two thousand years since humanity has populated space, and the technology has been abandoned. The Moonrace has rediscover the technology to travel to other planets, as well as the technology for armored mecha suits. With these they hope to return to Earth and conquer it. Earth's militaries are equipped with automobiles and biplanes, but a young driver find a mobile suit relic that may be the key to repelling the invasion. It's directed by Gundam creator Yoshiyuki Tomino, with character designs by Capcom's Akira Yasuda (Street Fighter II), mecha designs by veteran Kunio Okawara and guest Westerner Syd Mead (of Blade Runner fame), and music by Yoko Kanno (Macross Plus, Escaflowne).

Utena Movie DVD Release Explanation

Central Park Media has updated their recent announcement to explain that the limited edition version of the Utena movie DVD that will include an AnimeZone sampler DVD and come packaged in a transparent pink DVD case will not be the first production run of the normal DVD but actually an entirely separate release, limited to only 10,000 copies produced and released on the same day as the regular edition Utena: Apocalypse of Adolescence movie DVD which will come in a standard DVD keepcase and will not include the bonus DVD of anime trailers. The limited edition and regular edition Utena movie DVDs will both be released on October 23rd and both carry a retail price of $29.99.

Official Cowboy Bebop on Adult Swim Press Release

From the press release:

Cartoon Network Acquires Cowboy Bebop for Adult Swim - Series Will Make Its U.S. Debut September 2 At Midnight During Cartoon Network's New Animation Block

Cartoon Network introduces Cowboy Bebop, an episodic anime series that will air in one-hour blocks, premiering on Sunday, September 2 at 12 midnight (ET, PT) during Cartoon Network's Adult Swim, the network's new adult-targeted line-up. Netw Taking place in a future where the population of Earth has migrated into space, Cowboy Bebop deals with the exploits of the ship Bebop and its bounty hunter crew as they take on various assignments in a hyperspace world rampant with crime and opportunities. The show follows the exploits of bounty hunters, Spike and Jet, as they roam the galaxy with their dog, Ein, tracking down criminals. Cowboy Bebop is a production of Bandai Entertainment. Netw Cartoon Network extends its mission as the world's leader in animated entertainment on September 2, when it splashes down with ADULT SWIM, a new block of animated programming aimed at adults ages 18-34. The block will air only on Sunday and Thursday nights from 10 p.m.-1 a.m. (ET, PT). In additi! on to Cowboy Bebop, Adult Swim will include programs such as Space Ghost Coast to Coast, Home Movies and Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law. Netw Netw Bandai Entertainment Inc. is the premier distributor of Japanese animation home video in North America. They have distributed such notable titles like Mobile Suit Gundam series, Escaflowne, Cowboy Bebop, and Big O. Bandai Entertainment Inc. is a subsidiary of Bandai America Inc., toy manufacturer of the hit television series, Power Rangers and Digimon. For more information, please visit the Bandai Entertainment Web site at www.Bandai-Ent.com "

Metropolis Opens November 9th

Sony Pictures will release Metropolis starting November 9th 2001, a representative indicated a schedule of the screening will be forthcoming. From the press release:

Based on the classic manga (comic) by Osamu Tezuka, the Godfather of Anime and Manga, Metropolis was brought to the screen by two of the most respected figures in Japanese animation today: Katsuhiro Otomo (Akira) and Rintaro (X, Galaxy Express 999). In fact, Rintaro began his career working for Tezuka on his popular Astro Boy (Tetsuwan Atom) television series.

In the late 1940s, long before Astro Boy and Kimba the White Lion established Osamu Tezuka as one of the most influential animators of all time, the legendary illustrator created the classic manga Metropolis. Set in the future, Metropolis is a grand city-state populated by humans and robots, the cohabitants of a strictly segmented society. Amidst the chaos created by anti-robot factions, detective Shunsaku Ban and his sidekick Ken-ichi are searching for rebel scientist Dr. Laughton, to arrest him and seize his latest creation, Tima, a beautiful young girl. When they locate them, Shunsaku quickly comes to realize that the eccentric scientist is beyond their reach, protected by a powerful man and his fierce desire to reclaim a tragic figure from his past.

More than fifty years since it was first imagined, Tezuka's vision of the inability of scientific progress to fulfill basic human needs -- in spite of its mechanizing even the most fundamental aspects of life -- confirms him as a prophet as well as a fabulist. Written by Otomo and directed by Rintaro, the retro-futurism of the story - as well as its precautionary tale -- is spectacularly rendered in its visual style, combining the best in Japanese cel animation with the latest in digital technology.

Director: Rintaro Born 1941 in Tokyo. Entered Toei Animation in '58. Went to work for Osamu Tezuka's Mushi Productions in '60 and directed episodes of classic animated series such as "Astro Boy" and "Kimba, The White Lion", He was also director on other television series such as "Space Pirate Captain Harlock"(1978). Since the late '70s, he has concentrated his efforts on feature animation work and has directed a string of enduring masterpieces such as "Galaxy Express 999"(1979), "Harmagedon"(1983), "The Blade of Kamui"(1985), "Phoenix"(1986), and "X"(1996).

Screenplay by: Katsuhiro Otomo Born 1954 in Miyagi prefecture. In 1973, started his career as a comic writer. Won the Japan Sci-Fi Grand Prix in 1983 with "Domu" and in the same year started serializing "AKIRA" which has earned him worldwide recognition. His first work for animation was as character designer for Rintaro's "Harmagedon" in 1983. He went on to direct his own "AKIRA"(1988) which became an international sensation. Since then he has made the live-action feature "World Apartment Horror"(1991) and animation film "MEMORIES"(1995) among other projects before turning to screenwriting for "METROPOLIS". He is currently working on his next directorial project, "STEAM BOY".

Bastard Preview

Viz will be reprinting Kazushi Hagiwara's Bastard!! starting this November in 64 page collections. Newsarama has posted an preview at here Viz's plans call for a 72-page issue #1, retailing for $3.95, with future issues clocking in at 64 pages and printed on high quality paper. The Viz edition of the series will be translated by Fred Burke, and will be based on the retouched Bastard!! Perfect Edition which was recently released in Japan, rather than the older, original graphic novels.

Viz's solicitation copy for Bastard!! #1: Wizard reads: "The kingdom of Metalicana is under attack, besieged by the dark forces of four evil armies sweeping the world. As orcs and giants besiege their citadel, the desperate defenders turn to a legend that a virgin's kiss may awaken "Dark Schneider," an ancient evil sealed within the body of Lucien, a seemingly normal 14 year-old boy. Yoko, Lucien's teenage stepsister, does the deed and as the castle falls, Lucien metamorphoses into a silver-haired demigod! Dark Schneider, the chaotic, lecherous wizard has returned, only barely restrained by the magic that forces him to obey Yoko! But a world of demons, dragons, and the four evil generals awaits him...and bloodstained Metallicana may never know peace again..."

Kazuhiko to adapt Ishinomori's Skull Man

The Tokyo Pop manga (comics) reports that from his deathbed, the legendary Shotaro Ishinomori (creator of Kamen Rider aka Masked Rider and Cyborg 009 hand-picked Kazuhiko Shimamoto to revitalize his dark, seventies anti-hero The Skull Man. The resulting series will be released by Tokyo Pop in the US.

"After starting on The Skull Man, I immersed myself in researching Mr. Ishinomori's work even more than ever," Shimamoto said in the foreword to the first volume. "Before I could establish the character of Skull Man for myself, before I could make his story my own, I had to show the world that I was the ultimate Ishinomori fan and advocate."

The series is dark revenge story about a man whose body and soul were taken from him. Tokyo Pop's descriptions make the series sounds like a grim and gritty 90's American comic.

"Willing to sacrifice the lives of the innocent in his dark quest for retribution, he is an anti-hero with a dark, but magnetic presence. Orphaned as a young boy, the Skull Man lives in a shadowy world of homicidal mutants and seductive assassins in the vein of American superhero-noir like Batman or Spawn.

As the series by Shimamoto starts, a beautiful female assassin arrives to eliminate a bureaucrat hiding out in a hotel. Unaware she has been followed, the assassin is suddenly confronted by a mysterious man. She is unable to run and has no choice but to kill him. At point blank range, she shoots - but the mysterious man is unfazed. The stranger continues following her until he transforms into a wolf and attacks her. Who is this monster and where did he come from? "

Ceres, Celestial Legend

Viz Communications and Pioneer have announced the release dates for Ceres 3. DVDs will continue to be bilingual and be released simultaneously with the VHS version.

9/25 - Ceres, Celestial Legend 3: C-Genome. DVD Extras: Artwork, Exclusive Yu Watase Interview

10/16 - Ceres, Celestial Legend 4: Resolve DVD Extras: Japanese DVD commercial footage, line art

11/13 - Ceres, Celestial Legend 5: The Progenitor DVD Extras clean opening and ending, line art

The series is the story of Aya Mikage and her twin brother Aki who thought they were two normal teenagers until one incredible day turned their lives around forever. Aya discovers that she is a descendent of Ceres, a tennyo (celestial maiden or angel) who was captured a hundred years ago. Only now Ceres' wants her revenge and she plans to use Aya to do it.

It is based on manga by Yu Watase, who is probably best known in the US for Fushigi Yugi. (Both manga series are being released domestically by Viz.) Fushigi Yugi is the story of a girl who is transported by a book into a mystic version of China, were she become the priestess of the red phoenix god Suzaku. In order to protect her patron company she must assemble the seven celestial warriors of Suzaku. The mission is complication by the warriors of the blue dragon god, her best friend's entrance into the mystical land, and various romantic entanglements.

TOKYOPOP Manga releases

October

• Miracle Girls Graphic Novel 3
• Sailor Moon Graphic Novel 11
• Sorcerer Hunters 6 Graphic Novel
• 10/23 Vampire Princess Miyu 2
• 10/23 Saint Tail 2

November

• CardCaptor Sakura Graphic Novel 5
• Clover Graphic Novel 3
• Parasyte Graphic Novel 8

December

• Saint Tail 3
• Saint Tail Graphic Novel 3
• Sorcerer Hunters Graphic Novel 7
• Vampire Princess Miyu 3

Kenshin on Latin American Cartoon Network

Cartoon Network Latinamerica officially announced the premiere of Samurai X (Rurouni Kenshin) on September 3th, from Monday to Friday at 18:00 Central Time. The show will be replacing Men in Black. The official page can be see at here

The series has previously been broadcast in Colombia, Chile and Venezuela, but there are rumors about a redubbed from an Colombian to a Mexican studio.

Thanks to César De la luz for the information.

ADV Tightens Control on Fansubs

A fansub is an anime title that has been translated and subtitled by fans. They have played a key role in the history of anime in the US. Many legitimate anime producers started off a fansubbers, and a number of titles, such as Fushigi Yuugi, Kenshin, and Berserk, have become very popular due to fansub distribution before being acquired for release in the US. Fansubs have traditionally been distributed on VHS by changing blank tapes or by paying for the cost of the tapes. Most fansubbers will only distribute titles until they have been licensed by a domestic company.

The role played by fansubs has recently changed. High speed internet access has allowed people to distribute digital versions with more speed and anonymity that exchanging VHS cassettes. Growth in the domestic anime market has lead to series being licensed more quickly than in the past, and titles are being licensed that many fans never expect would.

Enforcement of copyrights by domestic rights holder has been lax in the past, with the exception of Bandai's tight control on the Gundam properties, and ADV's Andy Kent (known online as Avatar) , who has a presence online in places were fansubs may be distributed to warn potential offenders of legal action if ADV's titles are pirated. This includes titles that ADV has license, but not begun distributing, or announces to distribute.

Recently Kent has begun informing online distributors of fansubs that he is gathering information about the parties to pass on to ADV's legal department, and to contact their ISP to terminate their access. Elite Fansubs http://www.elite-fansubs.com/ has posted the transcript of an IRC discussion with ADV's Andy Kent. (The conversation refers to the title Noir, which ADV announced they had licensed, but quickly retracted the statement.)

Kent pointed out that ADV's goal is not really to catch bootleggers, but to persuade people not to bootleg, "The idea isn't to kill all anime piracy, just to get people who don't otherwise care to not serve stuff", "A bit of publicity means I do a lot less work; I'd rather people didn't DO it than catch them at it."

ADV has not responded to questions about whether Kent's actions were implementation of a company policy. Given that the majority of sales are made to those interested in dubs, and that the majority of those interested in subtitled anime cannot or would not download copies online, the motivation behind such as effort seemed puzzling. When asked about how much damage fansubs do to their business, and whether time and resources invested in policing and enforcing pay off better then promoting a title, David Williams of ADV stated "It can make a BIG difference in your relationship with the Japanese licensor."

In a side note the Houston press has run an article about anime, and ADV, focusing on ADV, and Any Kent in particular at here with a side bar about anime parodies at here