0607jj04@sjuvax.UUCP (johnston) (02/11/85)
Salutations ( and other forms of greeting ) ! You'll have to forgive me (that is, I hope you will) for posting this on so many boards, but I thought a wider dispersion might bring some useful replies. I'd like to know if anyone out there has an interest in Japanese animation especially the histories, books, memorabilia, videos, etc. of 1 ) the YAMATO series films and TV serials (both the Japanese originals and the American cloned 'Star Blazers') 2 ) the GALAXY EXPRESS 999 TV serials 3 ) the 'MY YOUTH IN ARCADIA' serials and/or films 4 ) older Japanses animation, such as SPEED RACER. The quality of the artwork of these productions is outstanding, and this opinion can be supported by (almost) anyone who has viewed these productions. CREATION (c) conventions often invite dealers in Japanese science fiction animation to their events, but their selecton of memorabilia has only recently improved, and the amount of video they have available is nearly nil ! Any info you can spare will be GREATLY appreciated ! Let me know I'm not completely alone out here..........................* "Can you read Japanese ?" "With artwork like this, does it really matter ???" JOhn JOhnston, YAMATO Flight Crew @ Saint Joseph's University, Philadelphia, Pa. P.S. IF you want to post replies to the net for the benefit of everyone interested, post them in 'net.comics' or 'net.sf-lovers'; we'll stop posting replies to whichever of these two nets thinks this kind of info isn't proper for that group ! Thanx again ! -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
mae@aplvax.UUCP (Mary Anne Espenshade) (02/21/85)
John Johnston writes: > I'd like to know if anyone out there has an interest in Japanese > animation especially the histories, books, memorabilia, videos, etc. of > 1 ) the YAMATO series films and TV serials > (both the Japanese originals and the American > cloned 'Star Blazers') > 2 ) the GALAXY EXPRESS 999 TV serials > 3 ) the 'MY YOUTH IN ARCADIA' serials and/or films > 4 ) older Japanses animation, such as SPEED RACER. > . . . > Any info you can spare will be GREATLY appreciated ! Let me know I'm > not completely alone out here..........................* You are not alone John and hopefully other people will join this discussion, too. I'm cutting back the newsgroups posted to, to just net.tv and net.comics (net.sf-lovers tends to get upset about tv/movie related discussions). Almost all Japanese animated series are either based on manga (Japanese comic books) or are printed in comic form after the fact either as anime comics (using frame reproductions like a photo-novel) or as adaptations, so the net.comics folks may be interested. The best way to find out about these shows is to join the Cartoon/Fantasy Organization or C/FO. The national club newsletter is terrific and there are lots of local chapters that have monthly meetings and put out their own newsletters. Some members trade tapes with fans in Japan. There are more and more dealers turning up at conventions with books, posters, and models but not much gets shown on video programs unless a local C/FO or Star Blazers Fan Club chapter organizes it. C/FO MidAtlantic organized a Japanese animation video room at ConStellation, the 1983 World Con, and there was a lot shown at last year's World Con since there are a lot of C/FO chapters in California. The Star Blazers Fan Club usually runs the video room at Lunacon in New York. Some of my favorites are Yamato (of course), Urashiman, Macross (a nice English version of this is coming out on tape, just ignore the horrid theme song they added), Captain Harlock, Dunbine, Orguss, Catseye, Gatchaman, Lupin III, Mospeada, Mobile Suit Gundam and ... I had better stop there before I fill up the page. I remember enjoying Speed Racer and Marine Boy when I was little, but they don't look so good compared to the excellent productions coming out now. The increase in quality is particularly visible over the course of the Yamato series - the first series, from 1974, looks good compared to American tv animation even today, but each production gets better up to the movie Final Yamato, from 1983, which has an unbearably stupid plot but beautiful art work. > "Can you read Japanese ?" I'm learning, using manga and books about animated series. > "With artwork like this, does it > really matter ???" Quite true! Further comments and questions welcome! Mary Anne Espenshade ...!seismo!umcp-cs!aplvax!mae
kevin@voder.UUCP (The Last Bugfighter) (02/23/85)
In article <831@sjuvax.UUCP> 0607jj04@sjuvax.UUCP (johnston) writes: >The quality of the artwork of these productions is outstanding, and this >opinion can be supported by (almost) anyone who has viewed these productions. >CREATION (c) conventions often invite dealers in Japanese science fiction >animation to their events, but their selecton of memorabilia has only >recently improved, and the amount of video they have available is >nearly nil ! If you're really interested in excellent Japanese animation try watching *Mighty Orbots* on ABC Saturday mornings at 8:00am. Although distributed by MGM and appearing to have been animated for America (the lipsync definitely seems to be for english words) it was animated by Japanese artists. It beats *Star Blazers* and *Galaxy 999* hollow. The stories themselves are better than your usual saturday morning stuff. One word of caution, the episodes at the beginning of the season are of slightly higher quality than those towards the end.
psc@lzmi.UUCP (Paul S. R. Chisholm) (03/04/85)
<seen on a vegetable crate: SQUASH, do not crush> > If you're really interested in excellent Japanese animation try watching >*Mighty Orbots* on ABC Saturday mornings at 8:00am. . . . The stories >themselves are better than your usual saturday morning stuff. One word >of caution, the episodes at the beginning of the season are of slightly >higher quality than those towards the end. Gee, I must have seen late season stuff. Let's be fair. MIGHTY ORBOTS mostly seems like a take off on VOTRON, with a good taste of . . . oh, felgercarb, that DC comic from the 60s, with a buch of robots, each made of a different metal (e.g., tin, gold, iron, etc.) The robots are not to be taken 100% seriously, and I assume, neither is the series. Even if you did take it seriously (a bad move for Saturday at eight in the morning), it wouldn't be too bad, compared to its competition. You want to talk *GOOD* Japanese animation? In a word, LUPIN. In two words, "Lupin III", a Frence third generation thief. He has a couple of sidekicks, a Chicago hit man and a Japanese samuri, who were sent to kill him and decided to join him instead. More action than STAR WARS, more adventure then James Bond, not quite as many laughs as Bugs Bunny. Outside of SF cons, the only time I've seen Lupin is in the laser video game "Cliffhanger". This is made of scenes from two Lupin movies: CASTLE CAGLIOSTRO (which is subtitled), and some other one (the one with the helicopter in the sewer, which is dubbed). Check out the "L" on "Cliff's" belt buckle. -- -Paul S. R. Chisholm ...!{pegasus,cbosgd}!lzmi!psc The above opinions are my own, ...!{hocsj,ihnp4}!lznv!psc not necessarily anyone else's.
manheimer@nbs-amrf.UUCP (Ken Manheimer) (03/10/85)
I'd like to second the recommendation of The Mighty Orebots TV show - there's a clear dedication to detail and imagination in purely depictive and 3d effects (solid perspective and dynamic, convincing motion) and, what's more, the characerizations aren't kinda fun. In fact, I wish they had longer than a half hour format, so that they could develop a plot that would actually sustain the potential personality of the characters. Realistically, though, this is saturday morning programming, an abyss of personality for almost as long as I can remember (I just barely caught bullwinkle and rocky before they were gone... even new bugs bunny episodes are too empty looking (and feeling) to watch...), and this show is not only generally bearable, but is actually satisfying, at least in terms of its graphics. By the way, it strikes me as somehow ironic to be submitting an article, which I do not do frequently, on the topic of a saturday morning tv program. It's not what I would usually think of among issues of great moment. On second thought, though, I remember how important it was (and still is) to find the substance of the genuine human content always hinted at by (so rarely honest) traces in the media. The potential seems so high, if only for solid, gratifying escapism, and maybe, just maybe, for a substantial contribution to our perspectives on the world. Um, well, you know what I mean. ? Oh well... Ken Manheimer ...!seismo!nbs-amrf!manheimer (Existence is influence. Probably.)
jsdy@hadron.UUCP (Joseph S. D. Yao) (03/12/85)
> ... On second thought, though, I remember how important it was (and > still is to find the substance of the genuine human content always > hinted at by (so rarely honest) traces in the media. The potential seems > so high, if only for solid, gratifying escapism, and maybe, just maybe, > for a substantial contribution to our perspectives on the world. I haven't watched Sat AM cartoons for quite a while. But while I was (bored) in a hotel room some time recently, I caught a J.A. show called Voltron (not Votron). It seemed to be quite a bit more than bash-em-up super-heroics: the characters thought! and were introspective! and had ideas and feelings! and the enemies of the heroes weren't villains, but occasionally themselves had thoughts like, can't we have peace? If this is what you admire in the Japanese animations, then more power to you. My favourite when I was a kid was a somewhat more juvenile thing like this called "Astro Boy." Joe Yao hadron!jsdy@seismo.{ARPA,UUCP}