Bandai News from Sakura Con

Bandai and Viz will release Jin-Roh to theaters starting May 25 in New York, San Francisco and LA. It’ll open in Seattle on June 29th. They are hoping to get the Escaflowne movie in theaters by the end of the year. Bandai does not yet have the rights to the upcoming Cowboy Bebop movie.

Betterman, Magical Stage Fancy La-La, Saber Marionette J to X, the Silent Mobius TV series and Brain Powered are all due for DVD release some time next year.

The first DVD volume of the Gundam MS08 OAV series is complete, but will not go on sale until July. The original TV series will debut on DVD in August, and a DVD boxed set of the original movie trilogy will be available in November.

Crest of the Stars has been delayed until June and will follow a bi-monthly release schedule.

Anime Village will be releasing more DVD “value sets” along the lines of Haunted Junction and Don’t Leave Me Alone Daisy (entire series for roughly $40), but not in the near future. The Cowboy Bebop DVD boxed set is scheduled for release this fall. Premiums and supplementary material has still not been finalized.

Bandai will be bringing Love Hina, and possibly Love Hina merchandise, to America, but they are not yet certain if the American license will include the TV specials.

The original Gundam TV series and the 0080, 0083 and MS08th Team OAV series will all be broadcast on the Cartoon Network beginning possibly as early as June. Pilot Candidates is scheduled for premier on the Cartoon Network in October.

Bandai is considering a line of domestic version anime soundtracks.

Source: Anime on DVD