Sakura Con 2011: Funimation Industry Panel

Hosted by Funimation representatives Joshua Morris and Joel Rodriguez, this panel was the usual fare for Funimation's industry panels at conventions: announcements of new releases and answering a variety of questions from convention attendees.

The first question asked was if Funimation is still for sale. The panel hosts announced that Funimation has recently been purchased by an investment group led by CEO Gen Fukunaga (the link directs to a press release, for those interested in more details).

When it comes to jobs at Funimation (yes, they were asked about this), the representatives indicated that Funimation is always hiring. Openings are regularly posted to major job sites such as Monster and LinkedIn. Those interested in applying can also e-mail their résumés to Funimation. Please keep in mind that local applicants are given a higher priority.

Regarding Japanese credits not included on a DVD or Blu-ray release, this is directly related to the materials received for video release. Materials received for the theatrical release of properties (e.g. Evangelion) may differ, but Funimation can only include items on the video release based on what the license for video release covers and the materials received specifically for that release.

Canadians will be happy to know that Funimation.com videos are once again available for viewing in Canada. US visitors will have the video source re-directed from Hulu.

Readers may also be happy to know that the Trigun video release used the old Geneon dub track, it was not redone. However, representatives did mention that in cases where they redo or revisit a series (such as with Slayers), they do try to bring back as much of the old cast as possible.

Announcements:
Shin Chan season 3, part 1 is available for pre-order. Release date is July 26th.

The Treasure Hunter is coming to DVD in fall 2011. This live-action film stars Jay Chou, who also played Kato in The Green Hornet. The international trailer is available here. (ignore the dates on that trailer)

Fairy Tail will have a fall 2011 release date. The ADR Director is Tyler Walker and the protagonist, Natsu, will be played by Todd Haberkorn. An exclusive wallpaper is available on the Funimation site and a trailer for Fairy Tail is available on Crunchyroll.

Regarding Funimation's Relief for Japan efforts, various items are available for auction in their ongoing fundraising campaign. All money collected in these efforts will go directly to organizations involved with the relief efforts in Japan. For those interested, the money is also tax deductible. A new set of auctions is planned for the beginning of May. So far, they have raised $11,300.

Photo credits: Shin Chan DVD cover from Amazon.com, Fairy Tail promo image from Funimation.com, Treasure Hunter promo image from Funimation.com.