While we were all settling in, various things were going on in the background. Con staff fussed with a DVD player that wasn't cooperating: We got to see the now-infamous Kage OS OP of the DVD several times as it refused to switch chapters, causing delay in the panel. During the wait, as Ikuhara ran back to help fuss with the DVD, an Utena cosplayer ran up and gave Chiho and Ikuhara roses (red to Chiho and white to Ikuhara) and someone gave Chiho some Pixy Sticks, which she ate! ^^ Ikuhara wore this psychedelic blue-patterned shirt that would look so wrong on anybody else but looked great on him. Finally, after about 15 minutes of fuss the staff were ready to give up, but we who had seen the film begged for just five minutes. Also, someone brought another copy of the DVD which worked right, then we got to see various bits from the movie: the dance sequence, a bit of the 'race to the end of the world', trailers. People cheered and applauded. ^^ (I) is Ikuhara, (C) is Chiho. Again, some slight paraphrasing. I did leave out a couple of questions that were either too confused to get a clear answer, or that didn't seem relevant. I've also removed Sailor Moon questions since this is the UML. :) Q: What was the purpose of Miki's stopwatch, what did it mean in TV? A: (C) I don't know either... A: (I) It was just there! Q: Can you comment about the Freudian symbolism in Utena? Was it deliberate? A: (C) You mean, like the swords and roses? I hoped Ikuhara would answer.. I'm not really sure, you have to ask Ikuhara. A: (I) Top secret. A: (C) I wanted to put the important things that are experienced during growing up into the story. Q: What is the character Touga to Utena and Anshi? A: (C) Touga and Utena.. Utena is what Touga wanted to be and failed to be. A: (I) There is no good answer to that question... Touga is basically a character that was popular with girls- a playboy. Utena kinda had a feeling toward Touga. As the story progressed, Utena became more mature than Touga, and Touga had never been jilted before. It's a tough question... very philosophical. Has anyone seen through the end of Utena? (Ed: A few hands go up) Mm... Not a lot. Did you notice the shift in Touga? (Ed: More confusion at this point as the guests spoke for several minutes between themselves, with nothing translated for the audience, except an explanation that 'they have different opinions') Touga had a crush which was one-sided. Q: Would Utena choose what is honorable and right over love in the end? A: (C) Yes, exactly what you just said. Q: In the movie I've heard there's no Nanami, and if not, why? A: (I) In the image of a cow, she's there. Q: In the manga there's an explanation of why Utena came to Ootori, but in the TV there's no explanation- why? A: (C) I created the manga version well in advance of the TV version. At the time I hadn't really conceived all of the universe... I had 1 1/2 years to work on that but this was before I'd met Ikuhara, then the bulk of the main story was improvised. After all that, there was talk about making the TV version and plot after that was Ikuhara's responsibility. Q: What's wrong with Nanami and her correlation to the animals and will Juri get over Shiori? A: (I) I just like Nanami that way. As for Shiori, that's a hard question... Q: Who is your favorite character and series episode? A: (C) Touga, and episode 27 when Juri duels Ruka. I'm attached to that. A: (I) Episode 16, when Nanami becomes a cow. Q: (I didn't catch this one, but it had to do with Sailor Moon. Something about how he feels about SM in contrast to Utena) A: (I) That was a long question, so do you mind a longer answer? How Utena came about.. I was in a bookstore and saw Saito's work and fell in love with it at first sight. And before seeing Saito's work, I said to myself, "I don't want to work on any more girl's shows but I gotta work with this lady." So the next work that I was going to do I was going to do with this lady.. so I visited Chiho's house without an invitation (Audience laughs; he gives thumbs up') and that was the end of Sailor Moon. When I worked on SM I didn't feel 100% passionate about the series; I didn't control the licensing. Since I control Utena, it's my baby. I'm grateful for Sailor Moon and wouldn't be here without it, but Utena is my major passion. I would like to do more business in the US- most of you fans support the normal anime companies and that's okay, but I want to become a major, to release through major channels. Panel ended. A later discussion in private with the translator yielded some interesting information. Ikuhara-tachi were confused by the vagueness of many fan's questions and the consistent emphasis on wanting characters explained. They felt that the characters had been adequately explained/represented in the entirety of the work. They also seemed frustrated that many people had not seen the whole series- this probably prompted the question about how many people had seen the whole series, and also is assuredly part of the reason that Ikuhara wants to move out of the 'minor' league system of current anime distribution, where things like the Black Rose arc's indefinite delay of release hamstrings his efforts to increase his 'name branding' (more on that in the next report) in the US.