Aniplex USA Madoka Premiere

(Editor's Note: This is a very rough draft page that will be considerably revamped over the next several days. Expect omissions, some inaccuracies, and a poor draft format for now).

Introduction

Location of the Otakon and Madoka's USA premiere

On July 29, 2011, Aniplex USA showed the premiere of Madoka Magica for the first time in the U.S. , at the Otakon 2011 anime and manga convention hosted in Baltimore, Maryland [1]. The first three episodes were shown with subs, followed by a Q&A session with Madoka's executive producer Atsuhiro Iwakami. On Saturday, Iwakami will be hosting a panel on Madoka followed by an autograph session with fans.

Observations of the Episodes Viewing

• The fans filled most of the room, estimating at least 200 attendees. Of those, several dozen attendees raised their hands at the question as to whether this premiere was the first time they'd seen Madoka.
• Atsuhiro Iwakami was introduced and he said he was glad to be there. One thing noteworthy is he said in his intro was that he'd never seen Madoka on a big screen like that before, not even in Japan.
• The difference in big screen was immediate to the audience, whether it was with gasps at Madoka henshin scene in the OP to cheers at Mami's fights with witches.
• The episode shown were from the Blu-Ray, with never before seen subtitles. Subtitles had the following features:

• Use of Mr. and Miss rather than Japanese honorifics
• In the dialogue, "magical girl" rather than mahou shoujo or puella magi is used
• In some cases, translation differed from a literal interpretation in the Japanese to American concepts/slang to convey an equivalent message
• Subtitles could be lengthy and sometimes shown on screen too briefly to be read completely
• Audience was positive and enthusiastic in response to key moments whether it was cheering, applauding or laughing.

Summary of Observations of the Iwakami Q&A

• When asked a question about Yuki Kajiura and whether her work on Madoka influenced his decision to use her for Fate/Zero, Iwakami mentioned with this is the second time working with Kajimura. The first time had been on Kara no Kyokai, the Garden of Sinners. He mentioned that using her for Madoka they decided early on and was something Urobuchi specifically requested.

• Iwakami described his role with Madoka was to bring the team together (Shinbo for directing, Ume for character design, Urobuchi for script) and that the creative effort of the team working at 100% capabilities, plus the efforts of the production staff, musical talent and seiyuu made the success. He felt that he was blessed to have such a great staff and cast to work with on the anime.

• When asked about the importance of Madoka's family, with a mention on the role reversal of Madoka's parents, Iwakami replied that Madoka's mother was a very important character and would be past what was shown in the three episodes. He stated that it was important to Urobuchi that in Madoka's background that her family was a strong support and her mother was a strong character.

• A fan asked what it felt like to produce the best anime ever. Iwakami's simple reply, "Thank you."

• He validated a guest question that Urobuchi's deception before episode 3 was part of a concerted effort to make the anime surprising to viewers.

• Iwakami mentioned that he gave Urobuchi directions that the script should be dark, have surprises and some deaths.

• When asked about whether he expected Madoka's success in Japan and overseas, he said that with an original anime script there is no guarantee of success. But there was a very good staff working on it and the reason for the success is the work speaking for itself.

• When asked what was his favorite character, he answered that this question vexes him because he knows he's expected to say he likes them all. But truthfully, his favorite is Madoka.

• When a fan asked whether the other characters would have a similar character profile like Madoka's 100 Q & A, he answered that they would be added to the official Madoka website.

• A fan asked about the witch barriers and noted the similarity of striking visuals to other works like Bakemonogatari. Iwakami replied that Inu Curry, who had worked on Bakemonogatari, was responsible for the witches. He said originally in the script there were suppose to be tentacle monsters like in The Mist but Inu Curry made some changes and they became the witch barrier mazes you see in the anime.

• When asked about seiyuu response to how dark the anime was, he said they were surprised but also had fun. He also complimented them on their talent and said they were part of the success of Madoka.

• A fan asked if he would take a contract with Kyubey and if so what wish. Iwakami answered that he would know not to make a contract with Kyubey. And that in reality, he is living his dream in making anime, so he does not need to make a wish.

• The question was asked if Madoka will be dubbed. Aniplex answered yes.

• A fan asked about the differences in Mami's room from broadcast to BD and whether there was a reason behind it. Iwakami said the series director, Yukihiro Miyamoto, asked for production enhancements, e.g. added details. This included more in the background in Mami's room.

• He also mentioned that Inu Curry was also the person who came up with the idea of Mami's teacup for the fight and that there are other details like that which were added by Inu Curry.

• When asked whether the ending was changed because of the earthquake, he said no, that was the original ending.

• Verified that the mix of Urobuchi serious and dark story with Ume "sugary sweet" designs was intentionally done.

• He stated that the language heard in the music was a made up language by Kajiura, "Kajiuraese" and not real.

• He verified production staff was very surprised when overseas fans cracked the runes. He said even obsessive Japanese fans had not gone that far. He also said the runes were original art which Inu Curry came up with.

• When asked about the witches powers, he said they are based on what their powers were like as magical girls.

• The last question addressed a scene in the final episode where various historical magical girls are shown. The attendee wanted to know the identity of a character who appears with pink hair and dress in a castle. Iwakami was unsure without seeing the scene but said that all the historical characters featured should be recognizable to American fans except possibly the Japanese Queen Himiko. [2]

• Concluded session thanking everyone for being able to share the experience of seeing the first three episodes. (Ironic audience laughter to this)

Gallery

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  Long lines at the Otakon stretched four city blocks for at the door registration on Friday morning

Examples of Madoka Cosplay:

• Otakon Cosplay 01.JPG
• Otakon Cosplay 2.JPG
• Otakon Cosplay 04.JPG
• Otakon Cosplay 03.JPG
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