Ask LadyCat

"He looks even more like her Royal Highness with the cat around him."

 OK.  Yes, I am pathetic.  It seems that I'm a little more behind than I would like with answering questions.  So, I am trying to catch up by doing . . . .

 The Incredible Mini-Column, Part One!

(not easy to do while house sitting, and being away from my computer, but I'm gonna try)

Which will be followed by parts 2, 3, etc. until I feel that I'm caught up enough.  The main difference between these columns and the regular ones is that they're going to be shorter, and more frequent.

So, without further ado, on to the column!

From Aviv Arad:

Hello, Ladycat!

I was happy to read on the site one of us AnimeOnDVD fans got the Maison Ikkoku DVD box - I was anxiousely waiting for a review. I've only recently gotten into the show (I've been trying to fill the gaps in the numerous graphic novels), but was wondering about the webmaster's comment that this title will never see the light of day on DVD here in the US. I know there's a petition page for it, but is it really a lost cause?

I think that one problem that most of us have is that we can't believe that our favorite show isn't everyone else's favorite show too.  This title, in particular, has its definite fans (a relatively small group, but it does have fans).  One of the problems is that this show doesn't have that wide of an appeal in the domestic market.  In general, when people think of Rumiko Takahashi, they think of Ranma, or UY, not MI or One Pound Gospel.  This leads in to another reason:  because the show isn't doing all that well for Viz, they've stopped doing the dub.  With the way things are going at this point in the anime on DVD medium, I think that companies are still a little hesitant to release a DVD with only one language track on it (sub only OR dub only).

Chris is a pretty good judge of the domestic anime market, so I'd trust his judgment.  Of course, things could change, but I wouldn't hold my breath at this point.

From Rohan:

hi Ladycat,

I was wondering if u can tell me who owns the right for this title [Marmalade Boy], do you think it will be a possible release coming to the United states.  recommend anything else like this anime.

Thank you !!

Well, the bad news is that no one currently owns the rights to this title in the US.  The parent company that owns it is Toei Douga (as far as I can tell.  I had a heck of a time finding out even that much, so let me know if I'm wrong).  And, as far as I can tell, it doesn't look like there's a domestic release coming any time soon.

The other bad news is that I'm not all that big a fan of shoujo, and even after I read summaries of the show, I still can't think of anything that's remotely like Marmalade Boy.  If anyone has any recommendations, let me know.

From  C. Hamilton:

Hi Ladycat,

Your site is pretty ok for what its got, you could add some more content like info on different series, a poll (weekly or monthly), a top ten of some description(e.g. weird anime haircuts) but otherwise its good.

Anyway, my question is in the article about I-CON XIX  by Dominick Santoriello, he mentions that Media Blasters have acquired the rights to Maho Tsukaitai! but it doesn't mention what parts it will be. Will it be (a) the six OVAs (b) the follow-up series to the OVAs or (c) both?

If you can't answer because you can't find any info don't worry, It's just I'd like to see a proper translation of the OVAs(I've found three different translations of the opening and closing songs none of which match, and the fansub I saw had simple spelling errors and a dreadful font.)

Well, I am slowly but surely updating my site.  I've got a Quizlet that'll be up as soon as I paste the HTML in.  And I do have a couple of banners up for e-tailers so you can buy stuff through my site.  I was leaving the info on different series to the reviews on Anime on DVD, but if there's anyone out there who wants to write some series summaries for me, I'll create a page or two and toss 'em up there.  If anyone has any other suggestions on how to spice up my site, lemme know. J

Now, to answer your question.  Well, kind of.  The majority of the sites that I found had the title listed as Mahou Tsukai Tai.  Then there are the English titles "I Want to Use Magic", and "Magic Users Club".  About the only information that I found was a tidbit from a long while ago on Anime New Network: http://www.umass.edu/rso/umjams/anmar99.html, which basically says that the OAVs are going to be released domestically by Right Stuf.  But that info is from 3/99, so I'm not sure how accurate it is.  If anyone has any more current info, drop me an email.

Addendums:  Questions so good, they came back!

OK, I've gotten quite a few emails about the Gundam Timeline.  Two corrections.  First,  it was Colony 195, not 159 (I was just going by what was in the question).  Second, the phrase "After Colony 195", actually means 195 years after colonies were established (which I probably would have caught on to if I was reading it as "After Colony, 195").  I've also received a couple of sites that have some good Gundam info.  And here they are:

http://www.gundamproject.com/world/ac_timeline.html 

http://www.gundamproject.com