Anime Boston 2017 Saturday Recap
By: EyeSpyeAlexAnime Boston’s Saturday was jam-packed with events of all kinds. From panels to interviews, I saw and did it all. The interviews will be coming soon, but check out my recap on the panels and events below!Attack on Titan Season 2 World PremiereAttack on Titan is back and has lived up to the hype. In a room surround by fans, I was able to watch the season two premiere ahead of schedule. They say absence makes the heart grow fonder, and I am in love with season two. It brought back all the favorite characters and violence fans have grown to expect and love. Check out a more detailed review and recap of the premiere here!Funimation Industry PanelFunimation has a ton of new stuff to provide to fans of anime! Boasting a new mobile app, simuldubs, and coverage in Australia and New Zealand, it’s easier than ever for anime fans to watch their favorite shows.Funimation is wrapping up their winter season. Anime that is currently wrapping up includes Fuuka, Chaos Child, and Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid. Funimation is providing new content to fill their slots. Taking their spots for the spring season are Dragon Ball Super, Attack on Titan Season Two, and My Hero Academia Season Two.Meanwhile, Funimation has a ton of content available on DVD and Blu-ray. Assassination Classroom Season 2 Part 1 is now available on Blu-ray/DVD combo pack (check out my review here!). Other also available on Blu-ray/DVD combo pack include: Wolf’s Rain, Ergo Proxy, Ninja Slayer, and the Code Geass Collector’s Edition. Looking for more of your favorites? Be sure to check out the Funimation website for all their content currently available for purchase.Crunchyroll Industry PanelCrunchyroll started of their panel with exciting news: they currently have 1 million subscribers! From there they discussed their outreach programs to help sponsor anime clubs in the community, along with anime movie nights. They also brought up their expo - Crunchyroll Expo- which is happening 8/25 to 8/27 at the Santa Clara convention center in Santa Clara, California.From there, the new season lineup was introduced, along with air times. My Hero Academia started, which started on April 1st, will air on Saturdays at 5:30am. Attack on Titan Season 2 - also aired on April 1st - will air on Saturdays at 10:30am. A new anime called Love Tyrant will begin airing on Thursday, April 6th at 3pm. Love Tyrant is a Death Note parody, and will air regularly on Thursdays at 3:00pm. Berserk Season 2 will be airing starting April 7th. Unfortunately, no time was announced. All air times announced are for EST.When waiting for new episodes to air, Crunchyroll members can access the manga store to read some of their favorites. Accessing manga gets even easier, as Crunchyroll now has their manga store available through the Crunchyroll app.Anonymous Noise World PremiereSaturday was a day full of premieres! This includes a world premiere screening of Anonymous Noise. Anonymous Noise is the new romance anime currently being produced by Sentai Filmworks. Although it felt like a typical romance anime, Anonymous Noise brings a lot of heart to the plot. Viewers can enjoy an awesome soundtrack while following Nino as she tries to find her voice and her long lost friends. Looking for more information on Anonymous Noise? Check out my review here!One Punch Man PanelThere’s still no Season 2 date. Now that that’s out of the way, the One Punch Man Panel was an exciting thing to attend. Robbie Daymond - who voices Mumen Rider - was in attendance, as was director of One Punch, Shingo Natsume. The panel went over the evolution of One Punch Man as it evolved from webcomic, to manga, and finally into the sensational anime many people know and love. The panelists were also asked a myriad of questions from audience members and the panel host, which they answered with gusto.Although there is no Season 2 release date, there is a Season 1 DVD and Blu-ray release date. One Punch Man Season 1 will be available for purchase on April 25th. When purchased from Right Stuf, a free gift is included. The DVD and Blu-ray editions are packed with bonus features, including 6 never before seen OVAs. Girl Power: Feminism and the Magical Girl GenreThis was an interesting and insightful panel. The panelists discussed how eastern and western cultures view magical girls, and how that viewpoint differs when compared to magical boys. In both cultures, magical girls are mascots and codes for feminist. For western cultures, magical girls exist to promote hard work, being good role models, and working together. With eastern cultures, there is a big focus on using magical girls as mascots for advertising. Their existence and worth exists around appealing to the male culture. Conversely, magical boys don't typically have a magical identity; their ability to be magical is secondary to the primary focus of the anime, be it harem, or sport, etc. This panel made me rethink how I view certain anime I watched and loved a child, as well as rethink anime I've watched as an adult. It's such an interesting topic that made me want to learn more about the sexism males and females face in the magical girl culture.