On April 4, a gaggle of eager fans filed into the Panel A to see FUNimation present their latest and greatest. The room was packed to capacity, to the point that latecomers were being turned away at the door.
The panel began with a welcome by hosts Lauren Moore and Tara McKinney.
After a brief welcome to the event, fans received their first surprise. A trailer began rolling for Danganronpa: The Animation, much to the audience’s delight. The cheers only grew louder when Greg Ayres walked into the room, clad in a Monokuma costume. It was here, in this panel that the dub cast would finally come to light.
The mood lightened, as the three hosts bantered a bit, and Ayres revealed that the full dub had been finished for some time
Suddenly, Ayres stood up, realizing that he had left another panel to make the announcement. He thanked the crowd, who responded with applause and cheers as he left the room.
With Ayres’s exit, the atmosphere seemed to settle down, and Moore and McKinney pressed on. They exchanged playful, often silly banter, as they discussed FUNimation’s online services, from the company’s store, to the streaming platform, to the new PlayStation 4 App.
Among the comments and promotions, the two took a moment to explain FUNimation’s new SubPass, which offers streaming subtitled content for $4.95 per month. As Moore eloquently put the pricing, “it’s like buying a sandwich.”
The subject shifted again to the current season, and FUNimation’s Broadcst Dubs initiative, as well as the new Dubbletalk online show. This quickly shifted to talk of the Spring 2015 season, specifically to the subject of simulcasts.
At the time, FUNimation had three titles remaining to unveil for the Spring 2015 anime season. These would later be revealed as Ghost In The Shell: Arise – Alternative Architecture, Ultimate Otaku Teacher, and Blood Blockade Battlefront. At the time, though, they were represented as greyed-out question marks on the slide.
After a bit of hinting from Moore and McKinney, a trailer was shown for Show By Rock!!
The topic then shifted to the current releases on the market, which included anticipated properties like Ben-To, Hellsing Ultimate, and Tokyo Ravens.
The panel continued forward in this manner, offering just enough teases to keep people interested, but no real surprises. Still, the mood was lively, and the panel proved to be an entertaining experience, with an energy that could be felt in the fans as they headed out to the halls of the Hynes.