Finn-Con@MDC: Anime & Gaming Expo at MDC North

Time

Title & Description

Kaiba (Season 1, Episode 1)

Kaiba (カイバ) is a Japanese science fiction anime television series produced by Madhouse. The series is created, written, and directed by Masaaki Yuasa, it was broadcast for 12 episodes on WOWOW from April to July 2008. In North America, the series is licensed by Discotek Media. The story revolves around an enigmatic character named Warp, and takes place in a strange world mixed with a universe where changing bodies and trafficking memories are possible. In 2008, Kaiba won the Excellence Award at the 12th Japan Media Arts Festival.

Kūchū Buranko (Season 1, Episode 1)

The psychiatrist Irabu series (精神科医・伊良部シリーズ) is a series of short stories by the Japanese writer Hideo Okuda that features the fictional psychiatrist Dr. Ichirō Irabu (伊良部 一郎, Irabu Ichirō). The stories were originally published in the literary magazine All Yomimono from August 2000 to January 2006 and later collected in three tankōbon: In the Pool (イン・ザ・プール, In za Pūru), Kūchū Buranko (空中ブランコ, "Flying trapeze") and Chōchō Senkyo (町長選挙, "Mayoral election"). Of these, Kūchū Buranko is particularly acclaimed, having won Okuda the 131st Naoki Prize (given for a book published in the first half of 2004). However, as of January 2011, only In the Pool has been published in English, though the other collections have been published in other languages, including German and French. Works in other media based on the stories include a feature film, television drama, stage play and animated television series.

Anime Shorts: Tonari no Seki-kun: The Master of Killing Time (Season 1, Episode 1 & 2)

My Neighbor Seki (となりの関くん) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Takuma Morishige. The series follows a girl named Rumi Yokoi who is constantly distracted by her neighboring classmate, Toshinari Seki, as he indulges in elaborate hobbies and somehow never gets caught in the process. Originally published as a one-shot in 2010, it started serialization in the November 2010 issue of Media Factory's Comic Flapper magazine. Vertical publishes the manga in North America. An original video animation by Shin-Ei Animation was released bundled with the limited edition of the manga's fifth volume on January 4, 2014, and a 21-episode television series adaptation aired in Japan between January and May 2014. A spin-off manga series serialized from July 2020 to May 2023.

Xam'd: Lost Memories (Season 1, Episode 1)

Xam'd: Lost Memories, known in Japan as Xam'd of the Forgotten Memories (亡念のザムド), is an anime series, conceptualized by Bones and co-developed by Sony Computer Entertainment, Aniplex and Bones, which made its debut on Sony's inaugural launch of the PlayStation Network (PSN) video download service at E3 in the United States on July 16, 2008, in Japan on September 24, 2008. The series received its television premiere across Japan on MBS, CBC, Tokyo MX and other Japanese broadcast networks from April 2009, featuring new opening and ending theme sequences. Xam'd: Lost Memories spanned a total of 26 episodes. On its launch week, its pilot episode was the most downloaded video on the PlayStation Network at E3.

Now and Then, Here and There (Season1, Episode 1)

Now and Then, Here and There (今、そこにいる僕) is a Japanese anime television series conceived and directed by Akitaro Daichi, with a screenplay by Hideyuki Kurata. It premiered in Japan on the WOWOW television station on October 14, 1999 and ran until January 20, 2000. It was licensed for Region 1 DVD English language release by Central Park Media under their US Manga Corps label. Following the 2009 bankruptcy and liquidation of Central Park Media, ADV Films rescued the series for a boxset re-release on July 7, 2009. However, the ADV re-release is now out of print. The series is available for purchase through iTunes, YouTube and Google Play. Now and Then, Here and There follows a young boy named Shuzo "Shu" Matsutani who, in an attempt to save an unknown girl, is transported to another world which may be the Earth in the far future. The world is desolate and militarized, survival is a daily struggle for displaced refugees, and water is a scarce commodity.

Anime Shorts: She and Her Cat, Ohayo, and On Your Mark

She and Her Cat (彼女と彼女の猫), is a 1999 Japanese original video animation created and directed by Makoto Shinkai. Shinkai's first own directed work, it is a five-minute story about the relationship between a male cat and his female owner told from the cat's perspective. Shinkai made the film to help a romantic interest overcome a difficult situation, and his time living in a small apartment defined the scenario. The team of four animators used Shinkai's hand-drawn illustrations and Adobe After Effects for 3D visual effects.

Ohayo (おはよう), meaning Good Morning in Japanese, depicts a woman waking up from her sleep while processing the fabric of the world around her. It is the final film directed by the famed Satoshi Kon shortly before his death. If anything, the most remarkable thing about Ohayo is that it tells a complete story in its one-minute, and one that even feels refreshing to watch. It's not the final film he would have intended, but it's a lovely note to go out on.

On Your Mark (ジブリ実験劇場) is an animated music video created by Studio Ghibli for the song "On Your Mark" by the Japanese rock duo Chage & Aska. The song was released in 1994 as part of the single "Heart". In 1995, Hayao Miyazaki wrote and directed the short film for the song as a side-project after having writer's block with Princess Mononoke. The anime music video is non-linear, providing multiple reiterations and alternate scenes to depict the events. The music video added sound effects to the audio track, but contains no dialogue. Miyazaki purposely misinterpreted the lyrics to present his vision of a world where the surface becomes inhospitable and humans live in an underground city. He made the video cryptic to evoke creative interpretations among viewers.

Blue Period (Episode 1, Season 1)

Blue Period (ブルーピリオド) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Tsubasa Yamaguchi. The series has been serialized in Kodansha's seinen manga magazine Monthly Afternoon since June 2017 and has been collected in fifteen tankōbon volumes as of November 2023. The series is licensed in English by Kodansha USA. An anime television series adaptation produced by Seven Arcs aired from October to December 2021. A live-action film adaptation is set to premiere in Japanese theaters in August 2024. By November 2021, the manga had over 4.5 million copies in circulation. In 2020, Blue Period was awarded the 44th Kodansha Manga Award in the General category and the Grand Prize of the 13th Manga Taishō award. An anime television series adaptation was created on January 19, 2021.

The Promised Neverland (Episode 1, Season 1)

The Promised Neverland (約束のネバーランド) is a Japanese manga series written by Kaiu Shirai and illustrated by Posuka Demizu. It was serialized in Shueisha's shōnen manga magazine Weekly Shōnen Jump from August 2016 to June 2020, with its chapters collected in 20 tankōbon volumes. In North America, Viz Media licensed the manga for English release and serialized it on their digital Weekly Shonen Jump magazine. The series follows a group of orphaned children in their plan to escape from their orphanage, after learning the dark truth behind their existence and the purpose of the orphanage. The Promised Neverland was adapted into an anime television series produced by CloverWorks and broadcast on Fuji TV's Noitamina programming block. The series' first season ran for 12 episodes from January to March 2019. A second season ran for 11 episodes from January to March 2021. A live-action film adaptation was released in December 2020. Amazon Studios is also developing an American live-action series.