"Opinion and Information on Japanese Animation & Manga Media"

//////////////////////////////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: [email protected],
[email protected],
Prodigy Address: WJTM10B

- Marijan Adam : INTERNET Distributor
INTERNET Address : >INTERNET:[email protected]
or [email protected]
GEnie Address : M.ADAM1

Contributing Authors for this Issue:

- Curtis H. Hoffmann
Appearing in this issue courtesy of Hitoshi Doi.
Internet Address: [email protected]

- 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

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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

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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 :[email protected]

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.

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are COPYRIGHTED (C) 1987-1993 CompuServe Information Service
an H&R BLOCK company.
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