Written: 03-01-1997
Anime Watch is a column about Anime (Japanese Animation) written by Jay Scott Raymond (A.K.A. Jay The Obscure). The silly ramblings of those who don't understand that Anime is the One True Entertainment Medium shall receive no consideration here.
I have added a new "As Necessary" section to Anime Watch. It's called "Anime Blast" and it's where I'll put my scholarly recitations and inarticulate rants on various Anime related subjects. So now the Anime Watch structure goes like this:
The Regular Sections are:
| Section | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Obligatory Blurb | Introduction to the column. |
| Anime Buzz | News in the world of Anime. |
| Recommendations | Anime titles I think are great and that you should watch. |
| In Closing | The wrap up of this issue. |
The "As Necessary" Sections are:
| Section | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Anime Watch News | Announce changes to the Anime Watch column itself. |
| Anime Blast | A forum in which I expound on various Anime related issues. |
Lots of industry news this time around.
First AIC official news:
AIC Rumors:
AD Vision news:
Right Stuf stuff:
They have posted a press release on their web site for their next release: Leda: The Fantastic Adventure of Yohko. They describe it as a shoujo classic in the tradition of Zeguy and Vision of Escaflowne. The story centers on a high school girl (of course) who gets transported into an alternate universe and must stop the evil forces there from invading the Earth. The announced street date is: 5/27/97.
Software Sculptors bad news:
Volume 4 will be the last volume of Slayers from Software Sculptors. According to the webzine Animecca, this Anime's unexpected popularity surge has caused its Japanese producers to price it out of Software Sculptors range. It will likely be picked up by someone else, but who knows who and when? (Heavy Sigh)
Disney's Dearth:
Still no official word on when Disney will begin releasing the Studio Ghibli titles they licensed. There is no info on the Disney web site and they steadfastly refuse to answer e-mail queries. The rumor on Usenet is that the first releases will be late this year and that Kiki's Delivery Service will be among them.
Well, I guess the peace and quiet couldn't last forever. You got it kids, I'm writing another opinion piece. This time around I'm focussing my ominous gaze and razor wit on ... the bad side of Anime fandom! Yes indeed, Virginia, there is a bad side of Anime fandom.
First, let me define who and what I'm referring to. I'm talking about those so-called fans that apparently don't want Anime to become popular. If you've been into Anime for any length of time then surely you've met them? The elitist snobs who disdain anything popular and define a true Anime fan as someone that is learning Japanese and wouldn't touch a dub with a ten foot pole; and if you don't agree with them, well obviously you are part of the great unwashed.
Those of you who follow the rec.arts.anime.* newsgroups have most likely noticed some rather reprehensible recent examples of this attitude.
The first case I'll point out is the "Viz boycott" thread. One of the organizers of the boycott announced that someone had sent her (I believe it was a her) a credit card number or some other piece of information that could be used to financially damage Viz. She announced that she had forwarded the info to Viz and the police and that she wanted no part of such tactics and denounced it as terrorism (kudos to her on her ethical stance). The fact that anyone would try to take such horrible action is dismaying. Viz is certainly not beyond criticism, but overall they have done a great deal of service for Anime fans. That anyone claiming to be an Anime fan would attempt to destroy them for the terrible crime of trying to make Anime popular is a prime example of the bad side of Anime fandom.
The other case I'll use is the hullabaloo over Disney licensing Studio Ghibli's films for dubbing and worldwide distribution. After the official announcement from Studio Ghibli, there were many crying and moaning that Disney would destroy, mangle or otherwise corrupt the Ghibli films. This despite the fact that it was made clear in the announcement that the contract expressly forbade Disney from cutting, adding to or altering the animation in any way and that they were to remain true to the original feel of the films. Hayao Miyazaki's criticism of Disney is well known. Did anyone really think he'd give Disney carte blanche to do whatever they wanted to his stuff? One person even went so far as to say that s/he hoped Disney's releases of the Ghibli films would flop badly. The "reasoning" being that that would cause "big business" to shy away from Anime, putting the translation of Anime back into the hands of the fan-subbers, "where it belongs". One savvy individual pointed out to this silly twi..., person that most of the companies that produce Anime in Japan ARE "big business" (Tokuma, the parent company of Studio Ghibli, isn't exactly tiny).
Basically, the problem with these people is that they are more into the "fringe interest experience" than they are into Anime. So long as Anime is a mostly unknown fringe interest, they can feel "avant-garde" and "cutting edge" for being into it. Once the "common people" start getting into it, once it becomes popular, then obviously there's something wrong with it.
These people are mighty sad examples of human beings.
Geez ... I feel much better now. It DOES help to vent!
Well, that's all for this edition of Anime Watch. May your laserdisc player never break down.
Anime and Giant Battle Robots Forever!
-Jay The Obscure