The Cockpit - Episode 3 - The Origin

Episode 3 of The Cockpit is here and man is it a special one. As many of you might know the first volume of Gundam The Origin was just released in the US about 2 weeks ago from Vertical. To celebrate that release I got together with Ed Chavez the marketing director there to discuss the release. 

This ended up being an incredible conversation. We started by talking about how the release came about and how they felt about getting to do the release. We then discussed what makes The Origin such a special title and how exciting it is. Ed also gave us some insight into what it was like to work on such a big title like Gundam and all the different companies that have to be dealt with in doing that.

Ed also shared some of the awesome extras that are going to be included in some of the later volumes that all sound awesome. We rounded this discussion out by talking about how important this release is and that it is the fans chance to prove that Gundam is still a brand that matters in the US and that we need to support it all the way through so we can see more stuff like it in the US!

Give it a listen and make sure to share your thoughts! I had a fantastic time talking to Ed and I hope you enjoy listening. If you haven't checked it out yet there is a preview of the first chapter on Barnes and Noble. And don't forget to go out and preorder the next three volumes while you listen!

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The Cockpit - Episode 2B - Lets Go Passion

Here it is everyone, Episode 2B of The Cockpit! In this episode Al and I finish up our discussion on Nadesico. We began talking about the Gekiganger 3 OVA. Going over what made it special and the odd fact that it took forever to get released here. The OVA also treated you to a full length Gekiganger story which was great. After that we talked about the blank three years that cover what happened between the television series and the movie. We explain some of it and a lot of why this information is missing. The last thing we discussed was The Prince of Darkness, the Nadesico movie. We talked about why it was such a shock to fans of the series and how confusing the story is. We talked about why it has such a bad reputation among fans of the series. And we even had some positive things to say about the movie!

So go check it out. We are both big fans of Nadesico and I think that came through pretty loud and clear in both parts of this podcast. We were also able to include a little rant about how everyone should preorder Gundam The Origin at the end. And don't forget to check out Reverse Thieves for more of Al. Hope you enjoy the show. 

Intro - Gekiganger 3 Theme - Let's Go Gekiganger 3

Outro - Gekiganger V Theme - Shori no V da Gekiganger V

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Have you Preordered The Origin yet?

So if you haven't heard the great guys over at Vertical are going to be releasing Gundam The Origin in the US later this year. They announced this back in the summer and it seemed like it had a decent amount of excitement surrounding it in those early months. What makes this such an exciting release is that Vertical is going to be doing it in limited edition hardcover volumes. These are going to feature a number of the special features that were present in that japanese release, including interviews with various anime and manga creators. Ed over at Vertical was also making a big point of saying that more titles of this kind could end up getting licensed if The Origin does well. 

The problem though is that it doesn't sound like the preorders are quite as amazing as they were hoping for. This is the last week where preorders are going to help determine what the final print run for volume 1 is going to be. Today Ed tweeted that it is looking like the print run for volume 1 is going to be around 5000. Now I know that can sound like a lot but it really isn't. He said it isn't the lowest they have done but you get the feeling that it definitely isn't the kind of number they were hoping for. Another important thing to remember about that is that traditionally the print run goes down as series reach their later volumes. What that means is this is going to end up being a pretty small run of the complete series. And remember that this is going to be a single run release so they will not be reprinting and rereleasing this down the road. Once they print that 5000 that is it. 

Basically my point is that if you are a mecha fan and want to see more of this stuff released in english you need to run out right now and preorder a copy of Gundam The Origin. All signs point to this being one of the absolute best manga releases in years both in content and quality of the release. We need to send a message that we are willing to pay up for this stuff otherwise we just won't be seeing anymore mecha in the US. To be completely blunt this is a put up or shut up moment for mecha fans. A major release for one of the biggest franchises in mecha doing well makes people take notice. So please everyone get out there and preorder The Origin. Right now volume 1 is less than $18 on amazon.

Amazon   Right Stuf    Barnes & Noble

The Cockpit - Episode 2A - You Get To Burning

Finally I am back with episode 2 of The Cockpit podcast! Sorry for the wait. I am joined once again by the great Alain from the Reverse Thieves. We got together this time to talk about Martian Successor Nadesico. This series is a favorite of both of ours from the 90s and we were really excited to talk about it. As you can see this is actually episode 2A and that is because episode 2 ended up being too long so it got split up into two parts.

In 2A we discussed all the stand out characters from the series and how interesting some of them are. We then moved on to a discussion of the story. I will say that the story discussion does turn into a bit of a summary at times so I will warn you that this is very spoiler heavy. As you might have guessed part B is going to cover both the Gekigangar 3 OVA and The Prince of Darkness Movie. So listen up and enjoy the show!

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Mazinger Z on the way to the US

So as I am sure many of you have heard the guys over at Discotek have announced that they will be bringing over the classic Go Nagai television series Mazinger Z. I feel like it was a big surprise. I don't think it is one of those titles that anyone thought would get picked up. Discotek clearly have a good relationship with Toei and have gotten some really cool titles thanks to that though.

Two thoughts about the license of Mazinger Z popped into my mind when I was talking about the news with Alain though. The first is something that he brought up and that is just that what were the odds that the classic Mazinger Z from 1972 would have been licensed before the awesome retelling from Yasuhiro Imagawa, Shin Mazinger. I am a huge fan Imagawa and really loved Shin Mazinger. It remains my number one license wish. I still hope for it and who knows maybe Discotek will do it!

The other thing that crossed my mind was a thought on actually sitting down and watching all of Mazinger Z. The thing that I am worried about is that Mazinger Z is basically the prototype for long super robot shows for kids and I wonder if I would ever actually watch it all. Now I love these shows but there is something to say for trying to actually sit through 92 episodes. Don't get me wrong I am going to buy this release the second it is out but I honestly doubt I will ever sit through all of it. It will just join Gatchaman on my shelf of too long shows that I can't sit through but have to own. On the other hand I am gonna watch the shit out of Cutey Honey!