//////////////////////////////ANIME STUFF\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ "Opinion and Information on Japanese Animation & Manga Media" ISSUE 19 9/12/1993 This is the 19th in a series of files of comments and reviews of anime (Japanese animation) items that we have bought. Please direct all comments to us by E-mail or post us a message in the Forum. We also welcome any reviews, artwork, or comments you would like to have included in the next ANIME STUFF issue. Also please send us any comments about any incorrect information contained here. A correction will be placed in the next ANIME STUFF. The ANIME STUFF Staff... - Tom Mitchell : Publisher, Editor, Writer, Graphics, CompuServe & GEnie Distributor CompuServe Address : 75156,1067 GEnie Address : TOM-M - Albert Wong : Writer, Index Research CompuServe Address: 72657,2103 Internet Address: Albertw@chips.com, 72657.2103@compuserve.com, Prodigy Address: WJTM10B - Marijan Adam : INTERNET Distributor INTERNET Address : >INTERNET:adam@venice.mps.ohio-state.edu or Kimagure@venice.mps.ohio-state.edu GEnie Address : M.ADAM1 Contributing Authors for this Issue: - Curtis H. Hoffmann Appearing in this issue courtesy of Hitoshi Doi. Internet Address: doi@jrd.dec.com - Howard Tom CompuServe Address: 76366,2125 /////////////////////////////OTAKU NO ORICLE\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ Hello everyone! And once again, welcome to another issue of Anime Stuff. I have a few things I'd like to tell you about and get off my chest in this editorial note. I think I'll sum it up this way; The Anime Good, The Bad, & The Ugly! The GOOD: For me, the biggest news from Anime Expo '93 had to be the announcement by Pioneer LDC of Japan that they are planning to enter the Japanese anime market in the U.S. by bringing some of their anime titles here on Laserdisc. That in itself was great news, but the thing that astonished me was how they planned to present their anime on LD! Wait until you hear what they are planning to do to take advantage of the format's full capabilities! The laserdiscs will be both sub-titled and dubbed into English while still containing the original Japanese soundtrack. With these features you will have your choice on one single piece of high-quality software of how you would like to view the anime! Now everyone will be satisfied! Here's how they are planning to do it; First, taking advantage of the new FCC requirements that all new TVs must now have Closed-Caption capabilities, the LD's will feature subtitles using this technology. You will have the option of turning them on or off so that they will not interfere with the artwork! BRILLIANT! Next, the original Japanese soundtrack will be preserved on the laserdisc's digital audio tracks, while an English dub will reside on the analog tracks. Certainly the best of both worlds! Gourmet fans who appreciate and understand the Japanese tracks will be satisfied by hearing the typically better voice acting and sound engineering on the original soundtrack, while folks who want the English dub can flip to the analog tracks for an audibly translated version. Because of these methods the picture and sound quality of the original Japanese releases will also be preserved for the American market due to less generational loss in the dubbing and mastering process. I hope to see some of the other companies in the U.S. anime market adopt these methods for their own LD releases in the future. The BAD: Carl Macek is certainly one of the most dreaded personalities in the U.S. anime community. The father of Robotech continues to insult fans lately by showing up at anime con panels and saying that his "translations" are not for the fan, but rather for the greater American public. He says he couldn't care less about what fans think. Then what the hell is he doing at the cons? The following is an excerpt of what I felt makes Carl edit anime films they way he does from a message I posted to a fellow fan on CompuServe. We were discussing the differences between the dreadful dubbing of Streamline's SILENT MOBIUS, and Carl's earlier and brilliant dubbing of TOTORO as seen in Troma's recent movie release: "...there's no reason that it should be that way. That's the shame of it. In the name of making it more palatable to American audiences, Macek has to get his mark on a film. That's the only reason he does it. Something for his own ego. Silent Mobius is the best example so far because to truly make it acceptable to Americans by his usual standard, much of the film would have to be re-edited. Instead, he edits out nothing, and just changes some dialog and story elements that only _he_ thinks should be changed. Why bother, unless it's his egotistical attempt to improve what's already there. Totoro, on the other hand, is probably as straight a translation as you will ever see, and it's thought to be brilliant by some important _Americans_, while those same _Americans_ are calling Silent Mobius crap. (grumble)" Carl is certainly capable of great translation as seen in Tokuma's tight quality restrictions that he had to work under on TOTORO. Left on his own, anime becomes not the imported art for that masses that he tries to promote, but rather a stage for his ego, a way for him to make a mark on a film. He calls himself an artist for his editing. We call him a "trashlator". Despite your feelings about Carl Macek...anime saint or Satan...there is certainly something wrong. At a local showing of Stream Line's adaptation of Silent Mobius there were two reactions to what was originally a serious and moody science fiction horror film: Laughter, and disgust. Laughter from new viewers who found the campy and stiff translation of the dialog funny, and disgust from fans of the original film who had hoped to enjoy a rare chance to see it on the big screen. Several walked out. The UGLY: When anime was just starting to spread among fans in this country, fan copied videos were the only way to spread it around. It was cheap, and low quality, a moral grey area under the circumstances, and certainly illegal. But for many who could not afford the original imported copies it was the only hope for seeing Japanese anime, and fans pined for the day when it would be sold here legally and affordably. Now we have several companies, large and small, beginning to deliver a large catalog of high quality, affordable sub-titled and dubbed anime to U.S. fans. Certainly a boon to the overall anime market as our favorite artist now have legitimate outlets to U.S. fans, and U.S. fans turned entrepreneurs can live the American dream of turning something they love into a living, bolstering their futures and ultimately the U.S. economy and business relations between Japan and the U.S. For the American anime fans, these are wonderful times. And yet I have been shocked to see on the computer networks that fans are exchanging pirated copies of U.S. dubbed and subbed materials. For people accepting such tapes, I have a few choice words for you. You are amoral criminal scum, and certainly no true anime fan. Now that anime is becoming legally available in this country, how can you call yourself a fan when you are raping your favorite artists and American entrepreneurs by denying them their income...a chance to make a living doing what they love! They work so hard to provide you with entertainment, and yet while you say you love anime, you crap on the very people who make it. I can't believe that folks can now justify doing this! I don't want to hear that US anime is too expensive! What whining babies! We have it so good compared to what the Japanese fan has to pay. I love this hobby and greatly admire the people who make it and market it. As a student and working full time, I work hard to be able to afford my hobby and support the artists that give me so much pleasure. I don't want to hear any stupid arguments on this point. I am an anime fan, and I support the anime industry. I have hundreds of legitimate ORIGINAL Japanese anime LDs and CDs, and I never collect any pirated dubs. It's an expensive hobby, but I've earned it and it gives me so much pleasure and entertainment back! And I take pride in the fact that through buying legal copies, I've supported a lot of brilliant and industrious people. I know the ground I stand on when I say that you are no true fan of anime when you accept a pirated copy to keep. If you love anime, prove it, earn it, and buy it! Enough of the fire and brimstone, you may now proceed to enjoy the rest of this issue of Anime Stuff. We have some really nice articles for you this time around. In particular, be sure to check out my interview with "otaking" Chris Swett, and Albert Wong's notes on his time spent at Anime America '93. And once again, Curtis Hoffmann provides us with another fascinating article! This time he takes a look at the real-life parallels between modern Japanese culture, and how it's portrayed in anime. Gee, I shudder to think that there might actually be girls in Japan that sound like C-Ko. (^_^; - Tom Mitchell Editor & Publisher //////////////////////////////GRAPHICS NOTE\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ Here's the listing of extra graphics files included with this issue of Anime Stuff. If these files didn't come with your download of Anime Stuff, then your copy is not an official and complete version. Gosh, who knows what else you could be missing? AS19COVR.GIF - 522 x 681 x 256 colors GIF graphic file: The graphic cover for this 19th issue of Anime Stuff, featuring a very pixilated view of something zooming it at Chris Swett at the 1991 Comic Market in Japan! AS19G01.GIF - 320 x 216 x 256 colors GIF graphic file: A digitized shot of the subject of our Anime Life interview in this issue. It's a picture of Chris Swett selling his first publication at the 1991 Winter Comic Market. His first Comic Market. Look how crowded it is! I think that smile on his face is more from stunned shock than anything else. (^_^) ///////////////////////////////ANIME LIFE\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ Anime Stuff Interview with Chris Swett Begun via CompuServe Electronic Mail on 11/27/1992 (This interview took place before Chris took off to Japan, and just as he was becoming the Sysop for the CompuServe anime group. Chris is one of the few people that I have talked to who I would call a true "otaking". He is a person who has truly made anime and manga a part of his life and is taking great strides in bringing more to this hobby for other fans and ultimately the industry itself. At the moment, Chris has settled into his Navy digs in Japan and seems to be having a good time anime and manga shopping, and learning his new staff duties as the first foreign liaison for the massive Japanese comic fan convention, the Comic Market. This interview certainly needs a sequel, and I promise you Chris, it won't take so long to publish next time. - Tom) TM: To begin, are you surprised where your hobby is leading you? Very few fans will go so far as you have for their hobby; from publishing their own book, to going all the way to Japan to live. What is it about anime that motivates you so? After all, 99.9 percent of fans just stop at copying tapes. CS: Geez... that's a really tough question. You know, anime is just a form of entertainment, so I really don't know why I've gone to all the trouble to publish and sell doujinshi. The motivation certainly isn't money because I haven't made any. Yes, I'm surprised where this hobby has led me and yet I continue to follow the Pied Piper like a rat under a spell. I guess my motivation is couched somewhere in the allure of the different, the mysterious. It wasn't all that long ago when I first started watching anime. I couldn't understand anything without subtitles. The plots of most of the video I watched were mysteries and I had to guess at everything. Still, I knew that I *liked* what I was watching. Maybe it was the lack of anthropomorphic animals or maybe the realistic plots of some of the features. I just don't know. I *do* know what I like. (^_^) Doujinshi publishing came out of the challenge of doing something no American had ever done before. Everyone wants to be known for something, to have some tiny piece of fame. I grabbed the opportunity to go to Comic Market and at the same time helped put together what I hope was something of value. It's only a short comic book but it gave me quite a feeling of accomplishment. TM: Could you tell us a little bit about yourself and what you do when you're not watching anime? Like I mentioned in Anime Life before, I think it's interesting to find out about the very different backgrounds among the fans. There does not seem to be any correlation between career choices and the anime hobby. CS: Hmmm.... ok... I'm an Oceanographer and Meteorologist for the Navy and I hold the rank of Lieutenant Commander. If this isn't a "different" background, then I don't know what is. (^_^) No, there's no correlation between anime and my career choice. There *is* a correlation between anime and the locations I choose to be assigned to. What do I do when I'm not watching anime? Right now I'm going to school full-time in order to earn my Masters Degree. The Navy is paying me full wages in addition to tuition, so I'm not complaining. Monterey isn't a bad place to live, either. (^_^) I also moonlight by writing professionally. I don't have much trouble getting published but convincing editors and producers to pay me for the privilege is somewhat problematical. I've written four scripts for Star Trek: The Next Generation on a speculative basis, ie. unsolicited. I didn't sell any of them but I did get invitations to pitch story ideas. I went down to Paramount in person last April and pitched more ideas by phone in August. To date, no sale. I'm currently writing my fifth unsolicited script. I have ten more years in the Navy before I can retire with a pension. I think I can find something else to do at that point that's more in line with my hobbies. (^_^) TM: Hmmm...I know you're a big Rumiko Takahashi fan. Perhaps when you retire, you could write for Rumiko? (^_^) From the looks of your publications so far, I take it that you are a bigger Ranma 1/2 fan than Urusei Yatsura? Although, it looks like your upcoming "Rumic America" publication will have a more general focus. CS: Heh heh... not likely that I'll ever write for anyone in Japan. My best hope is probably acting as an agent for someone. Actually I'm a fan of the latest thing to come along. I'm a big Ranma fan because that's Takahashi's latest. I liked UY well enough to buy the laserdisc box set last year and I'm buying the Maison Ikkoku box set this year. Thinking about it, Maison Ikkoku is actually my favorite Takahashi series. I took a Sony Video Walkman to Comic Market with me last year and watched some fan-subtitled MI episodes while waiting for the convention to open. I drew a crowd of Takahashi fans who wondered how I could understand such a "Japanese" story. I told them it was easy because the character motivations are so real. Yes, RUMIC AMERICA has a more general focus than RANMA IN AMERICA. A lot of would-be artists for RiA asked to submit art from UY, MI or the Rumic World series. This year I pretty much gave the artists free reign. With TWICE AUGUST by Lionel Lum coming up in August '93 and AMAZON GOZONGA by Jason Waltrip scheduled for next December, I'm branching out even further. The Comic Market people aren't going to know where to put me. (^_^) TM: Speaking of TWICE AUGUST, I think Lionel Lum is a brilliant new anime/manga influenced artist. (Interesting name too!) I'm glad that you're working with him on a project. I'll be in line for a copy of that book when it's done! Back to you, though...(^_-) Your trips to the Comic Market in Japan make you a pioneer among fans. You were the very first foreigner to introduce a fan manga publication at the convention. Could you tell our readers a little about what the Comic Market is, and what influenced you to become the "strange fan in a strange land"? (^_^) CS: Comic Market is a semi-annual fan convention that resembles a huge trade show. It's two days long with an average attendance of about 200,000 for the two days. Roughly 8000 fan groups attend the convention as registrants, ie they have a book or something like that to sell. There are no Guests of Honor and no formal program like at other types of conventions. It's just a six hour per day fanzine sell-a-thon. Fans wait in line outside for hours and it takes about two hours just to get the entire line through the gate. There's no charge for attending. You pay your dues by waiting in that line. Registrants get three passes for their table and can get in ahead of the crowd. For this reason alone it's good to be a registrant. I was influenced to go to Comic Market by Yoshitaka Ishigami. Back in 1990 and early 1991 I was publishing a bi-monthly newsletter called HALFLING. HALFLING was basically edited versions of Hitoshi Doi's Ranma synopses, laid out in Pagemaker with frames from the applicable episodes. I sent copies of all of these to Yoshitaka. After a few months, he asked me if I would like to publish a doujinshi. The rest, I guess, is history. This year there are four American groups going to Comic Market: Ranma U.S.A. (me), Running Ink, Anime America and Manga-chan. TM: Just how did if feel to be among that many people at a Con like that? I mean, in that one event you were at, there must have been more anime/manga fans there than there are in all of the United States! CS: It was a really strange experience. I was packed in pretty tight at a "table" that was about three feet wide and a foot and a half deep. I was right in the middle of the Takahashi fans and everyone around me was selling UY and Ranma fanzines. I had been under the impression that Yoshitaka would stick around but he had staff responsibilities. I was just kinda stuck there by myself, surrounded by Japanese fans. I had my real attack of vertigo the first day of the two-day convention. I was registered for the second day only, so the first day I just wandered around. The culture shock was pretty bad. In fact, I was so shaken up by the crowds that I went back to the hotel to lie down. Of course part of that could have been jet lag but I'm not so sure. TM: And now you are going back for more this year. (^_^) It will be interesting to see if you have any return visits from fans who bought the book last year. Have you ever heard any reaction any of the folks who bought your book at the Comic Market? CS: I have heard second hand from Yoshitaka that we have fan mail, which he answers. No one has written me in the States. I *do* think we will have a lot of repeat customers. As far as other reactions go, DO-PE magazine ran a full-page introductory review of the doujinshi and I think that will bring in more fan interest than anything else. (^_^) TM: Hahhah...That's pretty neat. I'm sure DO-PE will be interested in all the next projects too! Did you do much doujinshi shopping when you were at the Comic Market? What did you bring back with you? And are there any other kinds of fan produced items sold there? CS: Oh, yeah... I did a lot of doujinshi shopping. Some of the doujinshi are good, some are not so good and some are absolutely professional. If you want the best books, you have to line up and wait for a long time. I brought back a lot of Takahashi stuff... er... well, mailed it back. I also bought a filk singing tape. There are rubber stamps, key chains and a lot of other things to buy. I think Robert Woodhead's Bay Scape video will be one of a very few video tapes ever sold there, possibly the first. TM: Since you are moving to Japan soon, what are some of the things you'll be interested in doing as an anime fan? Also, will you be helping out with the Comic Market? CS: One of things I'm really interested in doing is going to the animation studios. I'm going to Dynamic Productions (Go Nagai's studio) and Tezuka Productions next week (Christmas timeframe). I'd like to see some of Kitty's and Bandai's facilities and maybe Gainax when I move over there. Another of the things I'm looking forward to is access to television. I hate hanging on the mailbox every week, waiting for another tape of television episodes. As far as Comic Market goes, I have been appointed to the staff as International Publicity person. I don't think I have very strenuous duties. My job is just to encourage participation by fans in other countries. The real challenge is bringing my language skills up to par so I can talk to the other staff effectively. TM: Wow! The studio tours will be nice of course, but what really will be neat is being live on the anime scene. Like you said, no delays to see the latest shows. Also, this is an important consideration for any new homemaking otaku; Are you planning to buy some new bookshelves when you get settled in? (^_^) CS: As a matter of fact, I plan to get a three-bedroom townhouse. That will give me an extra "otaku" room where I can put all my anime stuff, computer, etc in addition to having a guest room. Bookshelves are high on the list of things to get. I need some for my 8mm tapes, too. I'm running out of space for those right now. I certainly don't want to cram into a one-bedroom apartment again. I think I need to invest in a VCR rack, too. I can't get all my stereo stuff into my entertainment center because of all the VCRs. TM: Once you're settled in, have you given any thought to other anime-type events you would like to attend? You know, things like premier screenings of OAVs and movies, or some of those goofy anime voice actor concerts? Are there any other major conventions that you'd like to check out? After all, you've seen the Comic Market, and now you will need a new challenge. (^_^) CS: Oh, yeah... I plan to go to all the conventions I can. I have an otaku friend in Kawasaki who will probably take me to all the anime conventions and initial screenings. The only problem with conventions in Japan is that the Japanese fans are *real* fanatics. I've been spoiled by American conventions where the lines are relatively short. After Comic Market, I'm not sure I want to take on a *new* challenge. I'm a long way from mastering Komike. (^_^) TM: So, tell us what anime you are enjoying now? Currently, I'm watching a lot of Macross II, Gundam 0083, and have just fallen in love with the OAV series Video Girl Ai. Not to mention catching up on some classics. I understand you are getting into the new Sailor Moon TV series? CS: Heh heh.. actually, I'm kinda surprised at how Sailor Moon grows on you.(^_^) I'm neither a Gundam fan nor a Macross fan... sorry. I liked Video Girl Ai a lot and have latched on to Tenchi Muyou and Banno Bunka Neko Musume (No Room for Tenchi and A Cultural All-purpose Cat Daughter). I'm looking forward to Aa Megamisama! (Ah My Goddess!) and Taiho Shichau Zo! (I'm Going to Arrest You!). Yoshitaka sent me a copy of Tokyo Babylon but I haven't had a chance to watch it yet. I have been told that it is very good. As far as television goes right now, there's Sailor Moon, Yuu Yuu Hakushou and Himechan no Ribbon. Two of those are girls' shows. Yuu Yuu Hakushou is a great series and is done by Studio Pierrot, so you know it's high quality animation. The lack of a current Rumiko Takahashi-based series is a little disturbing, but it has happened before. TM: One final question, and then I guess you're heading off to Japan. Since you've been an American anime fan in Japan, what do the Japanese fans think of you? That is, what do they think of the fact that there are fans of Japanese anime in America? CS: The fact that there are fans in America seems to be the source of some fascination for Japanese fans. Many have a hard time believing that there really are fans in the U.S. Since I have just returned from my second Comic Market, I can say that I seem to have my own fan following now. It's funny how the popular fan groups draw fans of their own. Being an American, I've been one step ahead. END Life Imitating Art or I Thought This Was Just A Movie Copyrighted October 6, 1992, by Curtis H. Hoffmann. Permission is granted to cross-post this file in whole to other computer networks (in fact, I'd be very happy if someone would crosspost this to Fido.) This file may be re-printed in a fanzine or newsletter as long as I'm notified, in exchange for a copy of the issue this article appears in. This article can not be altered, or re-printed in a for-profit magazine, without permission. Maiko Covington once wrote a series of textfiles for R.A.A. that described growing up in Japan, and life in high school. A lot of that information is embedded in many anime series and OAVs (from Ranma 1/2, and KOR, to Project A-Ko and Battle Royal High School. Since I've come here in June 30, 1992, I've noticed a number of things that are integral to Japanese life and culture that, if they haven't slipped into anime or manga already, are bound to do so eventually. Some of these traits are so firmly ingrained, that they appear simply as a matter of course, and not because the director consciously chose to do so. -------------------------- Sing-song voices: Ryan Matthews asked about this, and I responded in a different post. Suffice it to say that nearly any voice you hear in anime can be found on the train or subway. Some girls really do seem to be singing when they speak. Stretching out "ha -- i," or "De -- su" in a sentence to give it a sexy feeling is relatively common in these cases. This can be found most often with receptionists, and elevator operators. Sou Desu Girls: Women still play a subservient role in Japanese society, and this is commonly visible on TV, where the women on a game show (or when they appear as panelists,) are there strictly as eye candy. When any man says something, the girls (or attractive, scantily-clad young women) will react as if the guy had been very witty and deep, by replying with "Sou Desu Ne," in a properly impressed voice. In these cases, "Sou desu ne" has no real meaning. But, because it's so common to hear, they've become known as "Sou desu girls." During sports shows (and especially during the Olympics coverage,) you'll have two or three guys acting as sports announcers, and they'll reply with "Sou desu ne" to whatever their partners say, even more often than "Sou desu girls" do. Prompting me to call them "Sou desu boys." Examples of this pop up in Yawara. Ho ho ho: When you watch a show, or read manga, and a female character laughs out loud, you may notice that she covers her mouth and the sound is "Ho ho ho." In Japanese, certain sounds are used as verbs, and "ho ho ho" is one such example of this ("ho ho ho suru" means to laugh in a feminine way.) Further, each kind of laughter conveys a certain emotion (as it does in English.) "Fu fu fu" normally is an evil laughter coming from the villian. Women laugh with "ho ho ho," which causes the mouth to be open less than it will be with "Ha ha ha." But opening the mouth wide is still considered to be impolite, so she'll cover her mouth with her hand or a fan at the same time. Examples of this occur in nearly every series ever made. Pachinko Parlors and vending machines: These are everywhere. The parlors have lots of neon and florescent lights, and are very noisy when the doors are open. In a business or entertainment district, you'll find them every couple of blocks. The addiction to pachinko gambling is the same as for other forms in Las Vegas. But the odds against you are worse, and most parlors have some kind of links to the yakusa. The only sight more common than a parlor is a vending machine You can not gamble for money, so you cash in your balls for some kind of trinket or candy bar, which you then take to an office next door to trade in for cash. Pachinko machines can be set to change the odds of winning. Usually, the odds of losing are very high, but when a parlor brings in new machines (happens a couple of times a year, I'm told,) it will have a "grand opening day" and a number of machines will be set to improve your odds. So, the best time to play is when a parlor has one of these special days. The odd thing is that pachinko parlors don't appear often, unless it's in a manga story running in a magazine dedicated to pachinko players. However, they do show up consistently in the _Maison Ikkoku_ and _Cooking Papa_ anime, and to some extent in other manga. Vending machines can be found in the oddest places, and are usually only on the streets, 50 feet apart. They sell everything, from soda, cigarettes, and cup ramen, to disposable cameras (found at tourist sites,) kilo bags of rice, dirty magazines, and condoms. Just about the only thing you CAN'T buy from a vending machine is candy. With the recent attempts to import frozen sushi into Japan, we may expect to see sushi vending machines in the next couple of years. Most anime doesn't show vending machines much, partially because it's the same thing as product endorsement (but you can still find them in Assemble Insert, and Video Girl Ai.) Conversation houses: These are an odd feature of Japan, and I haven't seen them used in anime or manga yet (but just give it time.) Basically, many Japanese have learned some form of English in high school, but this is just a matter of memorizing words, and NOT understanding the language itself. (Which is why you'll see animators making so many spelling errors in their background signs.) So, the only option is to find gaijin to practice on, which is kind of difficult, especially because the Japanese are shy, and afraid of being embarrassed. However, in a conversation house, the gaijin are mainly there to talk to the Japanese, and vice versa. Gaijin are admitted free (to lure them inside,) and the Japanese have to pay about 1000 yen each per night. (1500 yen at Mickey House, the one I frequent.) Coffee and tea are free, beer and soft drinks cost more than if you bought them from a vending machine, but less than if you were in a bar. These are great places to meet unusual people (both foreigner and native) if you happen to have the time, but most are open only from 6:00 PM to 11:00 PM, and you'll only find them in the bigger cities. Drinking and Smoking: I don't need to say much about this. Most older people don't smoke as much as those between ages 15 and 40. You can find salespeople giving out free cigarette samples in front of department stores in Tokyo -- to school kids as well as to adults. Nearly everyone in the above age range smokes in Tokyo (from what I've seen,) including most women. Many are chain smokers. Drinking is considered a form of bonding, both between groups of men and of women. One person will be designated the official drunk for the evening, and the rest of the group will pour alcohol (normally beer) down the guy's throat until he or she passes out. Then the rest of the drunken group will try to drag their friend home -- stopping occasionally to either piss against a wall on the street, or to throw up on the sidewalk. Smoking appears much more often in anime than drinking, but both are shown often in Maison Ikkoku. Rigged News Interviews: Simply put, someone will be stopped on the street, given a script to memorize, and when the camera rolls, will be asked to "voice their opinion" on some subject. Afterwards, the person will be thanked, and given a present and sent on their way so that the crew can find the next "man on the street" to question. Several scandals involving rigged "investigative reports" have surfaced recently, and I've received second-hand stories about people that have gone through this themselves. When you watch a show where a news reporter is on the street and her (usually a her) interview is blown, keep this in mind. She acts just like a carefully rehearsed operation has to be re-shot. School uniforms: Maiko Covington described the life of a schoolkid in Japan, in great detail, and is an excellent source of additional information. Some of that info deals with the wearing of school uniforms, which is something nearly every kid has to do here. School life is very regimented, and often can become insane (Ranma 1/2 contains more real-life examples than you may expect.) Every school uniform suit and dress you see in manga and anime can be found on the trains, on the city streets, and in stores. The most popular outfits in manga and anime right now are: For boys -- the dark blue (or black) quasi-military jackets and pants, with a lighter-colored shirt underneath; the high, stiff collar, and gold-colored buttons. For girls -- the sailor dress (either in white with blue trim, or blue with white trim. Refer to Rokodenashi Blues for examples of the boys' outfits, and Sailor Moon for that of the girls. Odd-colored hair: This isn't as common in real life as it is in anime, but just go to Yoyogi Park on a Sunday, and you'll see some hair styles that are wilder than many of those in your favorite TV series or OAV. Usually, it's high school and college kids, but some women have dyed brown, or bleached white hair. The sculpted style of the punk high school mangas are common in real life even for young businessmen. Faces: Normally, you'd expect a wide variety of faces in real life, and that's what you'll find in Tokyo (even if you don't include gaijin.) Of course, that variety is lacking in anime. But, the important thing to notice is what happens when an anime character is drawn in 3/4 profile. Sometimes (and I've noticed this in Omoide Poroporo,) the face will appear distorted, with more of the far-side eye and cheekbone showing than one would expect. Thing is, the anime representation is actually correct in this situation. Certain Asian races have flatter, broader faces than Caucasians do. Therefore, their 3/4 profile will show more of the far-side of the face than you may be used to. Trains and Subways: The most common ways of going from point A to point B (not counting walking and riding a bike.) Everyone in Japan is familiar with the insides of a train station. So when you see a train station, or people waiting on a platform, in a manga, keep in mind that a lot of one's time is spent in Tokyo doing just this. The movie _Omoide Poroporo_ has some FANTASTIC scenes involving the insides of trains and stations that are exactly what you'd find in real life. Train tickets can get expensive, and it is a lot more cool to have a rail card (like a phone card, but used for buying tickets.) You don't see this cropping up as often in manga or anime, but just wait. Phone cards: Most R.A.A. readers will be familiar with the credit card-sized magnetic card with a picture on one side. It's used for making phone calls, rather than using 10 yen coins. Animate Shops in Japan also have collectors cards featuring some great artwork from Ranma 1/2, 3x3 Eyes, Patlabor, and nearly everything else. One result of this type of technology is the fact that these kinds of cards are also being used for buying train tickets, and a couple of other things. Japan does not yet use credit cards much, but machine cards are showing up in odd places. You'll see them in manga and anime pretty soon, too. Manga and Anime: These two forms of entertainment are so all-pervasive as to become self-referential: you'll often see characters reading manga in the manga, and (with Project A-Ko) characters in anime going into a theater to watch an animated movie. It's even gotten to the point where references appear in other forms, like when a character in Twinkle^2 Idol Star is shown wearing a Sailor Moon t-shirt. Kiosks: In and around most train stations, you'll see little kiosk shops selling bento box lunches, manga, snacks, and beverages (like Calpis Soda, Aquarius Neo, and Pocarri Sweat.) If a manga or anime contains a sequence on a train platform, chances are you'll see at least one of these kiosks. Walkmans; Nearly EVERYONE in Tokyo will walk around wearing little earplug speakers and listening to a walkman. It becomes a habit to put in the earplugs before you put on your shoes to go outside, and it's so common that when the closing credits for Dragon Ball start running, you may not motice that Buluma is wearing a set while gazing out the window into the rain. Rain: During the spring and fall, is the rainy season. This can stretch on for weeks, without a stop, and has entered the deepest part of the Japanese psyche. So much so that rain itself is often used as a plot element. When a major character dies in anime, the skies will open up in a downpour as a symbol for peoples' sadness and sense of loss. _Borgman: Lover's Rain_ carries this concept a step further. Trash: Tokyo is a filthy place. Garbage is tossed into the street, trash bins are filled to overflowing, and uncollected garbage bags can sit in front of houses for several days on end. Garbage also includes: discarded bicycles, working electronics (tossed simply because the owner bought a newer model,) and used manga phonebooks. This is one element of Tokyo society that doesn't appear much in anime or manga (although it's hinted at in _Akira_. However, one side-effect of this is that any commuter that doesn't want to buy a copy of a manga phonebook can simply wait to find it either on the overhead carrier racks on the train, or in the trash bins on the platform or in the station itself. And anyone too cheap to buy something, stands a good chance of stumbling across it in the trash behind an apartment building (this way, a character could furnish his entire apartment without spending a cent.) Examples: none. People and housing: Tokyo is a crowded place, and most people stay in apartments (often sharing them with friends or family) rather than living in houses. Yet most anime and manga characters living in Japan have their own houses (or like in Video Girl Ai,) live alone in a HUGE apartment with lots of expensive electronics. Usually, this is just a case of wishfulfillment on the parts of the directors and audience. Most stories with an urban setting have examples of this. - Curtis H. Hoffmann Oct. 10, 1992 ALBERT'S TRIP TRIP TO ANIME AMERICA '93: JOURNAL NOTES (The following notes by Anime Stuff staff member Albert Wong are presented here just as he posted them on CompuServe after returning from his journey. Sounds like you had a good time, Albert! - ED.) Anime America: Saturday Welp, in anticipation of the Megumi concert at AnAm I decided to go on Saturday. Showed to the registration "line" promptly at 9am in the morning and with three people in front me, was told "we'll be ready in 5 minutes". Look over the balcony for awhile. Rummaged through the reg packet. Hmm? No Anime Reference Guide this year? Oh well. Paging through the program book, I stumble on a full page graphic is some elderly persons. No captions whatsoever. Thought someone had mistakenly used the wrong image during the layout. (It was until later I flagged down a staff member and ask.) Oh, these were the original voice actors for the US Astro Boy show. Coulda used a caption here. Heard stories that there was only one autograph line pitting the Japanese guest with an american guest. Kenichi Sonoda and Adam Warren. I heard Adam got a lot of sketching time, being because everyone was busy clamoring for Sonoda's autograph. I'd hate to get into a popularity contest with Sonoda. @_@ Found lines at the Top Gun ride at the Great America Amusement park. Tried my best to hurl my "international Slam" breakfast from Denny's. I wasn't successful, much to Great America's relief. Top Gun was very exciting, though short. Hit a few more of the regular rides. Took a wet ride on the Rip Roaring Rapids floating tire ride. Funky smelling water. @_@ Back to AnAm, decided to peruse the dealers room. I'm happy to say that my Newtype collection has not decreased in value. Back issues of Newtype are still going for $25. At least you get a nice bag,,, Picked up the new Mamono Hunter Yohko artbook and bought the Gunnm LD from Mikado. (If you wanna see it, come to Anime Expo. ;) Stared at the Megatech Demo's..the games were not for sale...yet (maybe at Expo), :( Stopped by Nikaku's cel display. Some interesting Sailor Moon cels. Saw a really nice cel from a Newtype illustration. Asked how much...$185. Uh...sorry, you can put that back. ^_^; Wondering where the rest of Nikaku's wares where, we decided to hop on the SJ light Rail to Nikaku. A 20 minute train ride and a brisk 10 minute walk from the train stop to the store, we were there. "Anything new from Wednesday?" "No" Oh, well, had a bite to eat at the local Japanese resturaunt. Hopped back on the light rail back to the hotel. Pucked around for awhile, waiting for the Megumi concert. Saw a room with chairs, speakers, and no video. It looked like a video room. Must have been a virtual reality experiment or something. Decided to check out the other video room. Hmm...kinda sparse with 7 people in the room. Wonder what's playing? Gundam V...ok...I check back later. Sat in line for the Megumi concert. Little did I know I was sitting right next to some email addresses. Nice to see the real people behind the nicks. ^_^ Chico-san! Met the former Jyanken too. A pretty straightforward fellow, maybe all the rumors about him weren't true. ?_? By this time, I figure that the program info in the program book were useless. Tossed that aside. Yay! Inside the concert. Megumi acts cute, Megumi looks cute, Megumi is cute, Megumi is the mother of all cuteness. ^_^ Showed a few of Megumi's music videos. Megumi sung three songs. (Only three. :() The closing theme to Super Cat Girl Nuku Nuku, a Minky Momo song, and the opening theme to Super Cat Girl Nuku Nuku...with the audience singing "Happy Birthday" at the proper time. Definetly, the high point of the day. Memoreable quotes include "No no no" when the second song track starts in the middle of the song instead of the beginning. "Rock come here" (said to a wayward audience member) after a audience game of Jyanken-po (rock, paper, scissor game). Unfortunately, in order to make room for the concert, the 35mm projector was dismantled(!). After the concert, twas a tough time piecing back ol' Humpty Dumpty. Kudo's to an unsung hero who finally managed to put Humpty back together. It was past midnight when they were just setting up the 35mm theatre again. Oh, well, I think I go check on the video rooms again. Oh, the virtual reality video room is actually coming online. Wonder what they will be playing? Oh, well, gotta head on home. - Albert Wong //////////////////////////////////VIDEO\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ USMC's PROJECT A-KO LaserDisc: a comparative evaluation US Manga Corps became the third domestic Anime translation company to release a program on LaserDisc with this summer's appearance of the 1986 film PROJECT A-KO (Image ID8583CT). This film was already something of a classic among anime fans in North America (and indeed, was popular enough in Japan to spawn five sequel OAVs, of which only the first three are directly related), and the USMC release had the effect of bringing new fans to it. An irreverent sendup of most of anime's long list of cliches and genres, it also has the effect of showing newcomers what Japanese animation is all about. This review will concern itself with the sound and picture quality of the USMC version as it compares to the PROJECT A-KO PERFECT DISC CAV set (Pony Canyon PCLP-00006), the only version available to us up to now. Aspects of the translation and subtitling style will be left to those better qualified to judge them. ------------- The first major difference to be found is that the USMC release uses a 1.66:1 aspect ratio for the picture as compared to the full screen (1.33:1) the Perfect Disc displays. The Perfect Disc, or PD for short, was the first to present the film's entire image, though the USMC disc correctly notes that the film was originally presented as a widescreen feature. It seems obvious that the film was simply produced on standard televison size cels and later 'matted' down by removing a portion of the top and bottom of the picture to match a typical theater screen size. On the disc this is accomplished by "letterboxing", though USMC tries a slightly different approach they call "Mangarama". Instead of placing the rectangular image in the center and leaving black bars on top and bottom, USMC has moved the picture up to the top, leaving a much larger black bar on the bottom where the subtitles have been placed. This method has been used more frequently lately for widescreen foreign language films on video, preventing the subtitles from obscuring the picture (recent examples include the LaserDisc of WOMEN ON THE VERGE OF A NERVOUS BREAKDOWN, YOJIMBO, and Streamline's TWILIGHT OF THE COCKROACHES), though USMC goes one step further by moving the image all the way up to the top (while the other films still leave a thinner black band at the top), since the aspect ratio for PROJECT A-KO is not as wide as the aforementioned films. As a result the subtitles occasionally overlap the bottom of the image during some verbose stretches, but the intrusion is never more than slight. As to what we see, it is interesting to note that the placement of the matte in relation to the picture changes constantly throughout the film. At times, the proportion of image 'trimmed' from the top and bottom is not the same; that is, sometimes, more from the top is, and sometimes more from the bottom, making small changes to properly accommodate the important action on the picture, and meaning that the matting was purposeful and likely supervised by the director. The effect of watching the two discs is to see that the composition on screen seems more proper on the USMC release, since many times there is simply nothing going on in the upper and lower parts of the PD image. The discs also have very different pictures in terms of resolution and color. The PD disc used a remastered image, and so is as sharp and as bright as one may wish for. The USMC disc master may in fact have been used for the film's initial release on video, and so is not as bright and is certainly not as sharp. However, it is interesting to note that the USMC version looks more like a movie tranfserred to video, with the slight haziness that, for better or worse, created a certain impression of films on video in the first days of comsumer video. As to the color values, it is interesting to note that the USMC image tends towards browns and greens, while the PD image has more vivid reds and intense blues. At the same time, the frame images printed on the PD jacket suggest that the picture has not enough green in it, and the USMC image perhaps just enough. As a result the PD image is 'cooler', the USMC image 'warmer'. This may in fact be a matter of choice or personal taste, but it would seem that neither presentation is perfect. On a larger screen the nod would go towards the PD disc for its sharpness, though the USMC image does preserve the composition of the picture. ------- Another sign that the two discs used different masters is in the soundtrack. Again, the PD disc sound was remastered, and there is hardly a hint of hiss or noise to be heard in even the quietest passages. In fact, it approaches the clarity of the CD sounstrack release. The USMC sound has an ever-present hiss which can be heard over headphones but is not too intrusive or bothersome. The most notable contrast is in the opening sequence, where the first lines of dialogue can hardly be heard in the PD disc but is much louder (as well as the hiss) on the USMC disc. The PD disc sound is generally clearer and sharper; the USMC disc sound seems to lack any high frequency information, and so sounds slightly duller and a bit muffled. At the same time, however, the PD disc sound is rather weak on the lower frequencies, something the USMC disc provides very well. I suspect that this means that the Dolby Surround sound is more impressive on the USMC version. For a movie with so many explosions and deep rumblings, it seems a definite selling point. A clue to the fact that different masters were used comes in finding points where the sound becomes slightly garbled or drops out. The best example is on the PD disc, near the start of side three in the control chamber, and in one of the cockpit sequences shortly afterwards. There are problems with the sound there that are not apparent on the USMC disc, which has its own problems where they are not to be found on the other. One final difference is noticeable in the first few seconds. The USMC A-Ko still opens with a blue card featuring the old Fuji symbol, but the PD LD begins with the few frames after the logo fades out. It's still noriceable as a blue card that fades to white, though, and just why it was omitted is anyone's guess. Once again, though, it seems to indicate that the video master used in the USMC version is older than the PD version. ------ So what does this mean? For my own part I cannot say that there's a clear winner between the two. The USMC disc is properly letterboxed, is subtitled has a warmer color balance, a fuller bass on the soundtrack, and provides two theatrical trailers (also letterboxed). The PD disc is in CAV, has a side full of supplementary materials, has an incredibly sharp and bright picture, and crystal clear sound. Both discs were pressed in Japan, meaning a near total absence of flaws. Since neither disc provided everything I wanted, getting both seemed the logical decision to me, though the price of the PD set is over double the USMC set for obvious reasons. Since not everyone will want to do the same thing, hopefully these comments will help in one's own decision making. -Howard Tom AREA 88 LD BOX (LASERDISC FROM KING VIDEO, KILA 9015-6, 13,398 YEN, MONO/STEREO, CLV, 209 MINUTES) The animated OAV series of Kaoru Shintani's classic story of mercenary pilots and the betrayal of friends for power has finally arrived in a brand new deluxe Laserdisc pressing. Offering several extra features over the original LD releases and solving the quality problems that plagued the original discs. This is not only a review of the contents of the new Area 88 Laserdisc special edition boxed set, but also the story of my adventure over the years in trying to obtain a good LD copy of this classic OAV series. If you love the OAV series and own the original laserdisc release of the first two acts, I would suggest you consider getting the new LD box. Chances are your current copy of Acts 1 & 2 on LD are turning to unwatchable snow, so believe me, you'll need a new copy anyway. The Area 88 OAV series is one of my all time favorites and of course it follows that having the best copy of it that I can find on Laserdisc is an important goal. The 3 Acts of the original release of Area 88 were released on two laserdiscs. Acts 1 & 2 were combined into a feature- length film and released on an LD in 1986, and the longer 3rd and final act was released on an LD a year later. The problems I encountered were with the first LD released in '86. This was a final year before Pioneer and others got a handle on a terrible problem with the manufacturing process for LDs that became known as "laser rot". "Laser-rot" is the result of several defects in the LD manufacturing process that can cause the aluminum coated layer of the discs to literally rust. When playing a rotting disc, this shows up on your screen as multicolored snow that keeps getting worse over time until months or years later the disc it totally unplayable. Pioneer began solving the problem for the most part in 1987. Of course over time my pristine Area 88 Act 1-2 LD started looking worse. For years I kept trying to get new copies. But they would all turn up being ruined by rot. I decided to do some research on what happened with this release, and to find out if there were any new pressings done since the initial 1986 release. From 1987 to 1992 I had purchased 13 copies of the OAV on LD to sample them for the rot problem. They all turned up the same, ROT! With side two looking particularly bad. I have to thank the folks at Sight & Sound for letting me do this, and replace bad copies with new ones. I also did some inquiry into the history of this release. The Act 1 & 2 Area 88 LD only saw one large pressing; the original 1986 release. The discs were pressed by Hitachi, which as it turns out, had acquired a bad reputation for poor LD pressing quality. And my polling of other anime fans indicated that all copies of the LD are rotting. In late 1991 I began writing and FAXing King Video in Japan to explain the situation and plead for a re-pressing of this classic video. I even outlined the fact that it would be a perfect time to do a re-release because of the Gulf War, because the Area 88 story parallels many of the events of the war. I never did receive a reply from them, but I think I started something. Soon after they announced plans for a special boxed LD set of the classic video! My prayers were answered! But there was also something interesting about the way the set was advertised. The ads mentioned that the set would contain four acts. Four acts?!? What did they mean by that? The original release only had three, and there were no announced plans for a sequel. What was going on here? Were they doing a new act just for the special video release? Well, I could only wait for the set to arrive to find out. The set arrived, and it was beautiful. For us diehard Area 88 fans, King Video did a really nice job on the box. The two CLV discs in the set come packed in a large red cloth covered fold-open box. The title is embossed in gold, and the cover of the box features a neat reproduction of some airbrushed cel art of lead character Shin Kazama pointing out to the horizon as he stands in front of his plane. Inside the box, the LDs are packed in two plastic-lined paper sleaves that are the same orange color as Shin's jumpsuit in the films. The set also includes a large 12" square thin booklet of Area 88's creator Kaoru Shintani's spectacular water color artwork that was used in the Area 88 manga and some text about the making of the film, etc. The final item is an actual Area 88 telephone card that can be used in pay-phones in Japan. The artwork on the card features the same illustration that is on the cover of the box. The videos themselves are very good new pressings of the films. Video quality is excellent, and similar to the original releases. But this time we get digitally encoded sound for a boost to the over-all sound quality. The videos are a little different in that the first two acts follow the original videocassette releases of the OAVs rather than the original Act 1+2 LD release. They contain the extra opening and ending credits that the tape releases had, plus some extra footage featured only on the tape release of Micky's remembrance of his days in Vietnam. The original LDs only had shorter scenes of this. Also coming attraction trailers for Act 2 are included. But what about the mysterious Act 4 featured in the ads? This is my only complaint about the set. It's actually not a flaw in the set, but rather a devious and shameful tactic on the part of King Video. There is no Act 4! All they did was take the 2nd LD of the extra long Act 3 and label the 2nd side as Act 4. That's it! And this LD is no different from the original Act 3 release. Just a new label saying Act 4 instead of Act 3 side 2. CHEAP move King Video! You guys should be ashamed. Other than that ploy, I would highly recommend the set. It's a better pressing than the previous LDs, and it's nice to see this classic anime video getting a deluxe treatment. With the laser-rot problem gone (?), it's finally stopped snowing in the Aslan desert. - Tom Mitchell THE WEATHERING CONTINENT (ON LASERDISC FROM JVC/VICTOR VIDEO, VILF-27, 7,800 YEN, STEREO, CLV, 60 MINUTES.) In the sweltering heat of the desert, a trio of adventurers come across the site of a massacre in their search for water. A group of villagers hunting for a lost treasure city have been slaughtered for their map by an unseen army. A lone survivor is left to tell them the story of what happened, and in exchange, the trio honor the mortally wounded young girl's final request for a sip of water. Their last drop. Kadokawa's latest Summer anime spectacular is an extremely well made fantasy film in a very unique setting. The "weathering continent" in the title refers to the soon-to-be lost continent of Atlantis where the story is set. The once prosperous continent is dying due to changes in climate and geology. It's formerly civilized citizens are reduced to basic survival as they fall into savage wars for resources and suffer the effects of poverty. Based on the fantasy novel, THE CONTINENT OF THE WINDS, the film is an original adventure for the characters from the novel. An extra chapter, if you will. Just another day in the life of our trio of adventurers as they try and survive with their humanity intact in the harsh final days of Atlantis. Although the characters and setting are introduced without much background setting it up, the story works well as it just focuses on this single adventure and the characters struggle to survive the situation. I was not familiar with the original story at all and I still found the story engrossing. No knowledge of the original novel is required. The film introduces three main characters: Boice, a large mercenary soldier with a sharp mind and cautious nature, and Tieh, a young man who seems to be a trained cleric and wizard. He also happens to look like a beautiful woman with his long blond hair, jewelry, and flowing robes. He shares Boice's cool/cautious nature and warm personality. Finally there's Lakshi, a former princess who gave up her position when she saw how ridiculous it was that so many of her subjects lived in poverty. She swore to live as a boy to forget her past. So now she just looks like a cute tom-boy with a big knife. She also seems to have hidden talents that help the group survive as the three of them cross the desert. The story is about the trio stumbling into a legendary lost city of the dead. The remnants of a civilization that began to value eternal life through death more than living life itself. The city is supposed to hold vast riches but the trio only want water. They enter the city learning too late that it is the lost city of the dead...from which nobody has returned alive because of a curse. The curse is that if you take something from the dead in the city, you will not leave alive. Of course the invading army that has come to plunder the city could care less about this fact. So the story follows our adventurers as they try and make their way out of the city alive with water while dealing with the curse and the mad army being lead by a treasure-hungry war lord. Although THE WEATHERING CONTINENT only runs about 50 minutes, the time is well spent on a rich adventure story, enigmatic characters, and lush animation that wonderfully conveys the beauty of the dead city, the harsh world of Atlantis, and the characters within. The music score is equally detailed and exotic sounding, which contributes a lot to the atmosphere of the film. Certainly this is one of the most beautiful anime films of the past year, and bound to be overlooked by the majority of fans hooked on the girls-with-guns SF genres that dominates audiences in the US. If you're looking for something different and exciting, I highly recommend this excellent anime film. I've never seen the legend of Atlantis depicted in such a unique way. Some notes on the Laserdisc itself: It's an excellent video transfer. Former anti-laserdisc label JVC is getting the hang of it. Sharp detail and rich colors. And an awesome digital soundtrack that shows of the films wonderful sound engineering and amazing musical score. The end of the disc features movie trailers that were used to promote this film and some of Kadokawa's other anime film releases of the Summer of '92. Finally, the musical score is shown off with a short music video at the end featuring a lively track of music from the film set to the end title graphics of the movie shown without credits. Knowing Kadokawa's releases, could a sequel be expected? I sincerely hope so. - Tom Mitchell SILENT MOBIUS 2 - THE MOTION PICTURE (On Laserdisc from Pioneer LDC, PILA-1156, CLV, 1 side, 58 minutes, stereo, 6,800 Yen) This second feature film outing for Silent Mobius is a direct continuation of the first story. This film, and the first, are prequels to the manga that follow the induction of young Katsumi Liquer into her life as a member of the Attacked Mystification Police (AMP), a group of elite police women combating supernatural crime in early 21st century Tokyo. The story picks right up from the first film after Katsumi's mother dies defending the city and her daughter against an invasion by the Lucifer Hawk, a supernatural race that wants Katsumi dead because of the potential power she has. In this film, the Lucifer Hawk take a different course as they realize just how important Katsumi would be to them alive. They try to seduce Katsumi into joining their side in this 2nd film. The engrossing story introduces some new characters from the manga, and becomes a magic tug of war over Katsumi as the AMP try to save Tokyo from the invading Lucifer Hawk, and at the same time save Katsumi from her reluctant self.(The city's acid rain is rather nasty too!) I was thoroughly engrossed by this clever sequel/prequel's story. The only thing that disappointed me about this production is the fact that the animation quality is dropped a bit over that of the first film. Hmph! Well, perhaps producer Haruki Kadokawa seems to have spent more of his animation budget on last Summer's stunning new film THE WEATHERING CONTINENT, released along with Silent Mobius 2. On the laserdisc side of things, Pioneer's LD features a characteristically sharp video transfer, along with excellent sound. To sum thing up, this is an excellent movie for fans of the Silent Mobius world. You learn a lot about the characters and where they came from before the beginning of the manga. If you are not a big Silent Mobius fan, I'd recommend the first film. It has pretty much the same story with a darker tone and better animation. Silent Mobius 2 promises that the story will return. I certainly hope so! Just pump up the quality again, Mr. Kadokawa. - Tom Mitchell PORCO ROSSO (THE CRIMSON PIG) (On Laserdisc from Animage Video, CLV, Stereo, 93 minutes, 9,800 Yen) Japan's master animation director Hayao Miyazaki's latest film is about the life of a bounty hunting fighter pilot nick-named Porco in the Adriatic sea of the 1920's. Fighting air pirates, brooding over his past, putting up with a cocky kid, and winning the hand of a lovely woman who owns a hotel, is a great singer, and perhaps a spy. Porco also happens to be a pig thanks to a curse possibly connected to his World War I past as the lone survivor of his squadron. This setting is the charming action- filled world of The Crimson Pig! I have to preface my comments on this film by saying that I am a Miyazaki fan. He is possibly the planet's most brilliant living animator. His stories are charming, and feature more human and involving characters than anything by Disney. Unlike ol' Walt, he also is personally responsible for every aspect of his studio's movie. The story, the art, the direction. He is a genius. Even as a slobbering fan, his latest film left me a little disappointed. The problem? I really think Miyazaki-san has placed himself in a rut of hallmark cliches and lightweight drama. The first problem are the cliches. Several Miyazaki trademarks are becoming a bit tiresome now. If I list some of them, you may see what I mean... 1) EVERY Miyazaki film features some sort of wonderful flying scene or theme. Miyazaki does not seem to be satisfied unless his main characters can end up in the air somehow. If it weren't for the love put into it and the brilliant action scenes built around these scenes, we would have tired of them long ago. With Porco, the wonder of Miyazaki's flying is wearing off. It's becoming a cheap dramatic device. Pushing our "wonder" buttons by taking us into the sky. This is certainly some sort of deep obsession with Miyazaki. 2) The strong willed girl. Let's face it, this is the center of ALL Miyazaki films since Nausicaa. What is he trying to say with this? If his characters weren't so appealing in previous films, this aspect of his storytelling would have worn us out long ago. It happens in this film to a large degree. The TEEN AIRCRAFT DESIGNER Fio is a bit much, and is really around only to provide a thorn for the gruff Porco's hide. In the context of the film, she provides cheap shock value because she's FEMALE, STRONG WILLED, and doing a "man's job" in the '20s. Again, why does Miyazaki center on the strong female theme? What is he trying to say? There's nothing wrong with this of course, until it starts being the focus of the majority of your films. Miyazaki should take a cue from artist and film director Yoshikazu Yasuhiko. His career is suffering with fans due to the fact that all of his male lead characters look the same and follow similar themes. 3) Archaic flying machines. Miyazaki loves 'em. About as much as flying scenes. The film LAPUTA really got him on a roll, but in PORCO ROSSO this just seems to be the excuse for doing the whole film. 4) A LAPUTA-style fist fight. When I saw the grand fist fight finale to the film, I could help think of Laputa with it's funny fist fight scene. I just got the feeling that the thought behind this was something along the lines of "It worked so well before, let's drag it out to a grand hamburger-faced end." Now onto my other nag, drama. I have two things I wanted to note on how I felt about the film in terms of the story and direction. First, when I got done with the film, I came away feeling that this was the most disjointed and unsatisfying Miyazaki film yet. Most of Miyazaki's films end with a complete story that seems to come full-circle in some way. You're satisfied to leave the characters at the end of the film knowing that everything has come to a conclusion and that everyone seems to have gotten the ending they deserved. Nothing of the sort really happens in PORCO, due to the fact that two major plot elements are left open. One, we never learn the source or the outcome of PORCO's curse. Two, Porco never returns to his friends and the lady he loves and won at the end of the film. He just leaves. I suppose he probably died from brain damage from the fist fight. Fio then takes a bigger role at the end of the film by explaining what happened years later to everyone else. My second dramatic gripe is not so much a knock against the film, but where Miyazaki films are going up to this point. PORCO ROSSO is a cute, pleasant film. A marvel to watch. But this is nowhere near the drama of Nausicaa, or the comedy of Lupin. While not nearly as soft or mindless as Disney, Miyasaki has been on a run of making films aimed at younger kids. This is getting a little dull. We are getting to know what to expect and he has not grown with his audience. I would like to see him really direct a dramatic and emotionally tense film for a change. Whew...I'm glad I got that off my chest as a Miyazaki fan. You know, I seem to be the only one who felt this way about Porco and Miyazaki in general. I'll probably get flamed for some of the things I said above, but I think they are valid. Miyazaki is brilliant and talented. His movies are a joy to experience...but it's becoming the same grand experience over and over again. I hate to see such great talent unchallenged. (POSTCRIPT: Since I saw Porco Rosso, it has been announced that Miyazaki will be doing a sequel to it and it will probably be set in the Spanish- American war. This is very interesting because this will be the first time that Miyazaki has ever done a sequel to any of his films. Also, in an excellent interview with Animerica magazine this Summer he hints at not being challenged enough and the glut of childrens films he has created that he would like to get away from for a while. It will be intersting to see what the next couple of films bring.) - Tom Mitchell //////////////////////////////////AUDIO\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ GUNSMITH CATS IMAGE ALBUM (FUTURE LAND/TOSHIBA-EMI, TYCY-5297 Image albums are a mixed bag. These recordings are musicians' perception of the mood of a manga story, or alternate takes on themes done for an original anime soundtrack. Sure, some of them are attempts by a music publisher to get at a fans wallet, and yet some can be quite brilliant, becoming true attempts by the artists involved to have fun and create a quality score for the silent medium of manga. The new Gunsmith Cats Image album, based on Kenichi Sonoda's girls-with-guns action manga of the same name, can be placed in the brilliant category. It's certainly the most fun I've had listening to an pop/rock oriented image album in quite some time! I just can't get it out of my CD player! Truly as spunky and action oriented as the manga that inspired it, the album features song and instrumentals that stay in pop and rock vein. The standout tracks are the songs featuring the groups SILK and SeSara. In fact, Bubblegum Crisis fans will be happy to hear this album marks the return of Kinuko Oomori, the voice of Priss, to the anime related scene. If you enjoyed her songs in Crisis, you'll just love this album. I know that there are a lot of fans that were disappointed in her work with her group SILK, but they are really in top form here. (Could it be that she is the most successful when working in Kenichi Sonoda related projects? Just a silly thought...) For the perfect Summertime rock and roll album for the Sonoda otaku, this disc can't be beat. Oh, and does it manage to capture the spirit of the manga? For the most part, I would say yes! Although I think it is too upbeat over all. It could have used a couple of moody instrumental tracks to reflect some of the dangerous aspects of Rally's job rather than playing up it's glamorous and fun aspects. But the album does bill it's self as a tribute to Mr. Sonoda and GUNSMITH CAT'S, and as one vocalist puts it, "I'm just crazy for you Rally angel!" - Tom Mitchell /////////////////////////BOOKS, MANGA, & MAGAZINES\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ GUNSMITH CATS VOLUME 3 (PUBLISHED BY AFTERNOON KC, 248 PAGES, ISBN4-06- 314060-1, 500 YEN) The top-notch girls-with-guns action continues in the latest compiled volume of Kenichi Sonoda's Gunsmith Cats manga. The action is non-stop and brilliantly staged in this action series that is just screaming to be animated. I believe it will be soon. Not much is different from previous volumes that I've read and reviewed, but that doesn't mean it gets dull! Not in the least. As a matter of fact, several significant things happen. The sadistic drug dealer Gray is eliminated, but the girls pick up a new enemy in a massive and beautiful woman named Goldie. Rally picks up an unwanted admirer in her friend and free-lance reporter Misty Brown, and Rally's partner Minie May seems to have taken a shine to the enigmatic "Riding Bean" brute Bean Bandit. One of the most significant things to note in the volume is this latest appearance of Bean. He's featured in at least half of the manga this time, and he's working for the badest of bad dudes Gray! Truly a mercenary courier! Fans of the comic will have a ball! And new comers can still marvel at Sonoda's brilliant action staging, obsessive attention to side-arms detail, the cool cars, and razor crisp art. I really can't wait to see volume four...or at least an OAV! - Tom Mitchell /////////////////////////////ANIME NEWS FLASH\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ The Dirty Pair will return as an OAV series in 1994. 'nuff said. //////////////////////////////MAIL ORDER INFO\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ The following is a list of businesses where the ANIME STUFF staff members shop for our anime stuff. They are highly recommended sources for anime and provide excellent service. All of them provide mail order so you can write to them for catalogs. SIGHT & SOUND 1275 MAIN STREET WALTHAM, MA 02154 PHONE: 1-617-894-8633 NIKAKU ANIMART 615 NORTH 6th. St. SAN JOSE, CA 95112 PHONE: 1-408-971-2822 MIKADO LASER (J.C. TRADING, INC.) JAPANESE CULTURAL & TRADE CENTER 1737 POST STREET SAN FRANSISCO, CA 94115 PHONE: 1-415-922-9450 SIGHT & SOUND, LASER PERCEPTIONS, and MIKADO LASER specialize in domestic and imported laser video discs. Nikaku sells magazines, books, compact discs, laserdiscs and other anime goods. Tell 'em ANIME STUFF sent ya! IOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOI BBS SYSTEM INFO IOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIO > VALLEY OF THE WIND BBS, the official ANIMAG BBS Phone 1-415-341-5986 (CALIFORNIA, 300/1200/2400 BAUD) /////////////////////////////////END NOTE\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ "Thank you, Mr. Bandit!" - Mini May, Gunsmith Cats \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ Date of original publication: 9/12/1993 ANIME STUFF Copyright (C) 1993 Tom Mitchell, Midori Communications, & Studio Midori. All rights reserved. This publication originally appears on CompuServe Information Service's Comic Book & Animation Forum. INTERNET distribution is limited to Marijan Adam. INTERNET Address :adam@venice.mps.ohio-state.edu Original Copyrights to the material reviewed, articles written and graphics presented are reserved by their respective owners. The contents of Anime Stuff may be reproduced in any form of media so long as the names of the authors are preserved, articles remain intact, and ANIME STUFF is mentioned as the source. The contents of this publication may not be reproduced in publications for sale without the permission of the copyright holders listed above. Articles & computer artwork in Anime Stuff may be re-published in newsletters so long as a copy of the publication in which the articles appear are sent to: MIDORI COMMUNICATIONS c/o Tom Mitchell 474 Chowning Circle Dayton, Ohio 45429 U.S.A. "GIF" and "GRAPHICS INTERCHANGE FORMAT" are COPYRIGHTED (C) 1987-1993 CompuServe Information Service an H&R BLOCK company. //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////