Meanwhile… The Loch Ness Monster was proved a hoax.

June 30th, 2008 by Brack

This is the news from the 9th issue of Manga Mania, cover date March 1994.

UK NEWS:

  • Pioneer LDC announced their intent to release Tenchi Muyo in the UK. This was a big deal. Pioneer were the only other company whose releases approached the professional sheen that Manga’s had. And they were the company that were what anime fan who bemoaned the “tits and tentacles” stereotype of anime were waiting for. Unfortunately in the long run there weren’t enough of those fans to make it worth their while to continue existing, but they would have a good run. I may come back to this later as their eventual demise has some echoes in both the end of Geneon’s US existence as a video label and the current struggles of ADV.
  • Kiseki announced a deal they had done with LA Hero in the states. I’m not sure what this deal actually amounted to in the long run.
  • Manga pushed Guyver back again to April. Golgo 13 and Fire Tripper finally showed up on the shelves of Andy’s Records, Our Price and other popular record shops of the nineties.
  • Crusader named a release date for Catgirl Nuku-Nuku, the only title they would ever release.
  • Kiseki’s first Urotsukidoji release was delayed. This will be a recurring theme.
  • And they reviewed the Jonathan Ross hosted “Manga” documentary that had aired on BBC2. I have a Jonathan Ross hosted nineties anime doc somewhere on tape, it may be this one or it might be a later one.

US NEWS:

  • Troma Inc. were handling cinema distribution for My Neighbour Totoro. I’ll let that fact settle in for a moment.
  • US Manga Corps had Hades Project Zeorymer, Demon City Shinjuku (aka Monster City) and U-Jin Brand coming out.
  • Streamline released a subtitled Akira.
  • CPM had more Eighth Man.
  • US Renditions had more Guyver.
  • Viz had more Ranma TV.
  • AnimEigo had more Urusei Yatsura TV.
  • And Fremantle Home Entertainment had Speed Racer the Movie. No, not that one, that one.

JAPAN NEWS:

  • The first Ginrei OAV was coming out to fill in the ever lengthening time between Giant Robo releases
  • OAVs etc out:
  • Wataru
  • Crying Freeman
  • Dirty Pair Flash
  • Orguss
  • Ranma 1/2 OAV 3
  • Casshan
  • Protect My Earth
  • Dominion
  • Comet Machine Gakusaver

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Hello, I’m A Simple Cake

June 27th, 2008 by Brack

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COMING TO AN AMECON NEAR YOU…

June 22nd, 2008 by Brack

Madstravaganza returns, this time spreading it’s net wider and dredging the depths of Japanese pop culture. Anime Parodies, Performance Art, Music Videos, Puroresu Indie Sleaze, Student Films, Horrors of Dubbing & more Itano Circus than you can shake a Valkyrie at. In the post Apopalyptic Wasteland, this is the radioactive fallout. Prepare to have your eyes and ears forever traumatised. The low resolution nightmare is upon you.

Hate Fun? This is the panel for you!

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1994: The Year Faye Valentine Was Born

June 22nd, 2008 by Brack

All the news you can no longer use from Issue 7 of Manga Mania, cover date January 1994.

UK NEWS:

  • Manga Video: The Guyver begins its monthly release schedule at £6.99 for a VHS containing one episode of the OAV series. I think this may be more important than either Akira or Legend of the Overfiend in the early growth of the UK anime market. Also out was Rumic World: Fire Tripper and some cinema screenings for Golgo 13:The Professional.
  • Kiseki finished off Macross II.
  • Anime Projects released Otaku no Video.
  • In the historical curiosity stakes, there’s a big one this issue. The announcement of Crusader Video, and their mission to release anime that goes against the trend of “exploding demon rapes and robotic death machines”. They were aiming “children’s titles with the same appeal as Saturday Morning cartoons like Trevor and Simon and The Magic Roundabout.” More on Crusader Video in later installments of these posts. But come on, people in the past, Trevor and Simon were not cartoons. Get it right, you were there! In the past!
  • Remember those news items about the Akira computer game and Akira on BBC, well they are reported as delayed here.
  • Demon Records release an Akira OST on CD. This was an evergreen CD in HMV, Our Price and Virgin Megastores for many, many years. Don’t know if that meant it sold well and they restocked often, or they were never able to get rid of them…
  • Andi Watson’s “Samurai Jam” is picked up by SLG.

US NEWS:

  • Pioneer add Giant Robo and Ambassador Magma to their Laser Disc slate.
  • Trish Ledoux gives AD Vision some back handed compliments on their picking up of Akane Nagano’s Fantasia.
  • AnimEigo - AD Police, Urusei Yatsura
  • Dark Image Entertainment - Devilman
  • LA Hero/US Renditions - Ambassador Magma, Macross II, SuperDimensional Century Orguss
  • Streamline - Doomed Megalopolis, Akira Criterion release
  • Viz - Ranma 1/2 Desperately Seeking Shampoo
  • Manga - notable new titles include Silbuster, Ultraman Classic

JAPAN NEWS:

  • This stuff was coming out:
  • Super Soldier Sonic Borgman
  • SuperDimensional Century Orguss OAV
  • Ranma 1/2 OAV 2
  • JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure
  • Protect My Earth!
  • Dominion
  • Cashan
  • Heroic Legend of Arislan
  • All Purpose Cultural Cat Girl Nuku Nuku II
  • Lance
  • Devil Hunter Yoko Super Music Clip
  • Ah! My Goddess

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Barry Eating A Sandwich

June 17th, 2008 by Brack

Discuss.

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London Expo - This time I actually went inside!

May 25th, 2008 by Brack

Last October I made an aborted attempt at going to one of these MCM Expo things. I got there late, and the fast quantity of hyperactive teenage cosplayers made my blood run cold.

This time as a friend was coming down from Edinburgh I dragged myself along ~sorta~ on time, and thanks to judicious queue hopping, avoided the long wait for tickets.

The last time I described the show as having the impression of a grander version of the erstwhile Peterborough Sci-Fi and Fantasy Fair, the local comics/science-fiction/fantasy/horror/roleplaying/wargaming/hitting each other with pretend weapons/hitting each other with real weapons event in area I grew up in. The actual inside of an Expo holds up those comparisons (at least to the peak era of the Peterborough show in the early to mid-nineties).

It’s people selling things, people signing things and some panels. The layout’s somewhat disorientating, often I found myself turning round to places I’d just walked past and things I hadn’t seen would appear. Compared trade shows I’ve been too and some open exhibitions the layout was very poor. The sound for the panels and the “in-show” announcements was appalling throughout the morning, it was just a muddy overloud dirge. And we had no clue that we needed tickets to watch the cosplay event.

On the good side there were plenty of bargains to be had. Beez and Manga had very reasonably priced boxsets on sale. And Koei, unlike the other videogame exhibitors actually had product on sale as well on display.

I’m not in a hurry to come back to one of these things though. It’s not really aimed at me, as I am neither an anime/manga fan thats too young to go to a convention, nor a fan of genre film/tv (ugh I hate that term but it’s easier than typing sci-fi/fantasy/horror. What?) who wants an autograph or photo taken with their favourite basic cable tv star of choice.

Also: Whatever happened the fat Klingons that you always used to see at these sort of things? Has Star Trek fallen that out of favour nowadays? JJ Abrams, I want the Fat Klingons back where they belong! I find their absence disconcerting.

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OK scratch that not feeling grotty statement from a few posts ago.

May 6th, 2008 by Brack

Apparently my ear drum looks “odd” and I’m not to worry about it and I’m to take these ear drops intensively for a few days and then go back to the doctor in a month. Sigh and boo to all that.

Normal service next week I hope.

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20th Century Boys Teaser

April 23rd, 2008 by Brack

Via Twitch

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HIP HOP IS THE BEST

March 7th, 2008 by Brack

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Like a sixties TV villain…

February 12th, 2008 by Brack

Posts have been sparse of late, as I managed to do something unpleasant* to my left shoulder blade that left me agony most the weekend and varying degrees of discomfort since then. It’s feeling OK to type with now, I’ll have to see how it holds up to driving tomorrow. Have to wait and see if it holds up enough to do a proper post tomorrow evening.

*Namely, I fell over backwards and stopped myself by grabbing something, unfortunately wrenching my shoulder in the process.

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