Hello all!

Tell the old school world who you are, and let us welcome you into the forum!
danth
Posts: 308
Joined: Sun Aug 12, 2012 11:00 am
Anime Fan Since: Robotech

Hello all!

Post by danth »

Hey all!

My name is Dan and I've been a fan of anime ever since I first saw Robotech some time around 1988. My sister's boyfriend left a VHS tape of Robotech (recorded form TV) at my house, and I watched it. I watched all 13 episodes that were on it. Then I watched it again...and again. I soon became obsessed with it. Robotech was noticeably different than other cartoons -- it had calm, adult like characters, a continuous and interesting story, and a very different aesthetic. I looked for more Robotech anywhere I could find it. I bought the few VHS tapes I could get my hands on, and of course the crappy Comico comics, the Palladium RPGs, and Jetfire transformers at yard sales. It was damn hard being a ten year old Robotech fan, especially in a small town in 1988 after Robotech had been off the air a while.

Of course I started noticing all the other anime and manga at video rental stores (stuff like Wannabes, Star Warrior, Dog Soldier) on TV (Macron 1, Dragon Warrior, Super Book), or at the local comic store (Appleseed, Dominion Tank Police, Outlanders, Caravan Kidd, Venus Wars). Since I didn't have enough money to buy VHS tapes (unless they were Robotech), I bought manga, rented anime on VHS when I could find it, and also bought Animag and Animerica magazines (and the occasional AnimeUK). I bought whatever I could afford since anime and manga was so hard to find.

Of course I noticed that many video games were done in the anime style. The ultimate example of this was Lunar, which I played on my girlfriend's Sega CD when I was 15.

I continued my fandom this way for years. When I got a job in high school, I dropped a hundred bucks on the Record of Lodoss Wars VHS set at the local Suncoast. It felt like a steal at the time. I bought some more VHS tapes here and there, and was totally stoked when Macross II and Macross Plus got released. I discovered Tenchi Muyo at a tiny local con, and I really liked it. I rented as much of it as I could find at Blockbuster. Then in 1996 I bought myself my first computer and dial up internet connection. That opened up a whole new world to me, obviously. I soon joined the MacrossWorld forums, but I never really had an online anime community experience.

In junior college I bought all the Robotech DVDs when Harmony Gold released them. I was so happy to finally own all of it! This is about when Toonami started showing Robotech, and Tenchi Muyo. It was so weird to see them on TV!

After I graduated from Cal Poly in 2004, I bought the Tenchi OAV box set to celebrate. I fell in love with it all over again. Soon after I bought the Gall Force and Cat Girl Nuku Nuku DVD sets. That was the start a multi-year DVD buying spree. Now I have pretty much every old school anime on DVD other than the super-long Rumiko Takahashi type shows. And I used to wonder what crazy kind of person would buy a DVD since you would only want to watch a show once.

Nowadays, I rarely watch anime. I have a ton of it on my shelf, and someday I plan on getting to all of it. I listen to Anime World Order, wait desperately for the next Colony Drop post, and sadly miss the Buried Treasure column. I still check and post on MacrossWorld. But damn, I think after 20+ years of being a fan, I deserve to have more (one?) anime friends.

Last weekend I made the trip to Nikaku Animart. That was fun. I picked up some original Angel Cop manga, a Yasuhiko Yoshikazoo art book, as well as a bunch of old issues of Animerica (I'm a sucker for nostalgia). I miss the old days.

Anyway. I hope to make some friends here!

-Dan.
danth
Posts: 308
Joined: Sun Aug 12, 2012 11:00 am
Anime Fan Since: Robotech

Re: Hello all!

Post by danth »

BikeLover wrote:Welcome to the club.

Pull up a chair and don't be shy, we are a pretty global bunch.
Thanks! As for global, man, I wish I could find a local old-school anime friend. Anyone around here near San Luis Obispo?
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greg
Posts: 2159
Joined: Wed Oct 26, 2011 9:00 pm
Anime Fan Since: 1989 (consciously)
Location: Shizuoka-ken, Japan
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Re: Hello all!

Post by greg »

Thanks for joining. Suncoast will always be a nostalgic part of my fandom from the '90s. The last time I stepped foot into one (I think they're all gone now), I was a bit saddened to see what it had become, yet there was still a fondness for the place because of the memories I had. They were well-known for being a pivotal part of the burgeoning anime scene in America, as well as being well-known for their overpriced movies and media. I think they eventually overdid it a bit when they started selling Pocky and melon soda there, but I guess enough fans must've been happy to buy overpriced snacks there to justify keeping that in-stock.

About the MacrossWorld site, I never joined the forums, but I've loved looking at all their information on the Macross plastic models there. And I was sure excited about the news of new Macross stuff coming out. I actually liked Macross II, even if it was a bit dumb, but it was way better than Macross 7, which I thought was retarded. I was laughing my ass off so hard at Macross 7 that I never got past the first episode.

And I bought the first Palladium RPG, even though I never got around to playing it more than once. I never got the hang of pencil and paper RPGs, but I enjoyed reading that RPG book because of all the cool information in it, plus the great drawings. I had a friend who owned the Macross Perfect Memory book, which was like a holy relic like the Dead Sea Scrolls almost.

BikeLover, if you're reading this, let me know how much that Perfect Memory book goes for these days. I'm sure I can find it at Mandarake. I wonder if the price has gone up or down since the good ol' days?
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Heero
Posts: 260
Joined: Sat Feb 25, 2012 7:32 am
Anime Fan Since: 1980
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Re: Hello all!

Post by Heero »

danth wrote:Last weekend I made the trip to Nikaku Animart. That was fun. I picked up some original Angel Cop manga, a Yasuhiko Yoshikazoo art book, as well as a bunch of old issues of Animerica (I'm a sucker for nostalgia). I miss the old days.
Wow, I don't live in California and I never thought to look when I visited, but I'm somewhat impressed Nikaku Animart is still around. I remember downloading their paper catalog and ordering stuff from them when I was in college (which is further back than I'd like it to be). I'd really like to see it in person some time.
danth
Posts: 308
Joined: Sun Aug 12, 2012 11:00 am
Anime Fan Since: Robotech

Re: Hello all!

Post by danth »

greg wrote:Thanks for joining. Suncoast will always be a nostalgic part of my fandom from the '90s. The last time I stepped foot into one (I think they're all gone now), I was a bit saddened to see what it had become, yet there was still a fondness for the place because of the memories I had. They were well-known for being a pivotal part of the burgeoning anime scene in America, as well as being well-known for their overpriced movies and media. I think they eventually overdid it a bit when they started selling Pocky and melon soda there, but I guess enough fans must've been happy to buy overpriced snacks there to justify keeping that in-stock.
God I loved that store. They had so much old stock before they closed down. I remember how sad I was when the one in Modesto disappeared. After that I went to the one in Fresno for one last time before it went away, and I remember just looking at the walls of old anime and taking it all in, knowing I would never see anything like it again. The internet is awesome, but it pretty much killed stores like Suncoast.
About the MacrossWorld site, I never joined the forums, but I've loved looking at all their information on the Macross plastic models there. And I was sure excited about the news of new Macross stuff coming out. I actually liked Macross II, even if it was a bit dumb, but it was way better than Macross 7, which I thought was retarded. I was laughing my ass off so hard at Macross 7 that I never got past the first episode.
I also like Macross 2. I think it started strong, but sort of went nowhere. The opposite happened in Macross 7, IMO. It started very poorly, and they kept playing the same crappy song in the first few episodes. All the first episodes were repetitive, as well. I never would have gotten through it if I wasn't a die hard Macross fan, but I'm glad I got past the first ten episodes or so. After that, the show got super ridiculous in a good way, to me anyway, and I love the music (except a couple annoying songs).
And I bought the first Palladium RPG, even though I never got around to playing it more than once. I never got the hang of pencil and paper RPGs, but I enjoyed reading that RPG book because of all the cool information in it, plus the great drawings. I had a friend who owned the Macross Perfect Memory book, which was like a holy relic like the Dead Sea Scrolls almost.

BikeLover, if you're reading this, let me know how much that Perfect Memory book goes for these days. I'm sure I can find it at Mandarake. I wonder if the price has gone up or down since the good ol' days?
I only played the RPGs a handful of times. I basically got them for the awesome pictures. I think I first learned that Robotech was 3 different series from reading that first Robotech RPG. I have a high quality bootleg of that Perfect Memory book. I didn't know they made bootlegs of books until I realized there was no mention of Big West or anything on that thing.
danth
Posts: 308
Joined: Sun Aug 12, 2012 11:00 am
Anime Fan Since: Robotech

Re: Hello all!

Post by danth »

Heero wrote:
danth wrote:Last weekend I made the trip to Nikaku Animart. That was fun. I picked up some original Angel Cop manga, a Yasuhiko Yoshikazoo art book, as well as a bunch of old issues of Animerica (I'm a sucker for nostalgia). I miss the old days.
Wow, I don't live in California and I never thought to look when I visited, but I'm somewhat impressed Nikaku Animart is still around. I remember downloading their paper catalog and ordering stuff from them when I was in college (which is further back than I'd like it to be). I'd really like to see it in person some time.
Yeah, I called before visiting because I wasn't expecting them to be there still. Maybe they're a front for the Yakuza and don't need to be profitable.

I made it to Kimono My House a few times before the supposedly closed down a few years back. I just recently read that they are still open, but changed locations and are by appointment only. They still have an eBay store so I guess they are still going.

Those two stores are such treasures. I remember getting catalogues from NewType as a kid, and seeing the ads for Pony Toy-Go-Round in Animerica. I would have loved to see those stores when they still existed. I don't know if they were in California or what.
danth
Posts: 308
Joined: Sun Aug 12, 2012 11:00 am
Anime Fan Since: Robotech

Re: Hello all!

Post by danth »

Just found pictures of Pony Toy Go Round at an old convention.

http://www.collectiondx.com/article/pon ... _comic_con
raiderfan99
Posts: 46
Joined: Sat Apr 21, 2012 5:51 am
Anime Fan Since: 1993

Re: Hello all!

Post by raiderfan99 »

Welcome to the forum. I remember suncoast as well, was anyone else here part of the anime club they had back then? I think after a few purchases you would get a % off. I remember that was one of the first stores in the late 90s focusing on their anime customers.

I also remember you could use that same club card at Sam Goody and Media play stores. Back in the mid to early 90s, Media Play had a HUGE manga section and anime section, and more than just hentai.

I used to love those old Sega CD anime games as well, such as lunar. Its a shame we've been waiting for Lunar 3 since 1995 though!
danth
Posts: 308
Joined: Sun Aug 12, 2012 11:00 am
Anime Fan Since: Robotech

Re: Hello all!

Post by danth »

Whoa, another Lunar Fan? Did we just become best friends?

Yeah, Lunar blew me away with its anime cut scenes. I didn't get to play Eternal Blue until it came out on Playstation. I also went back and emulated the original, and even hacked it to get the Dark Scimitar. I have 2 or 3 Artbooks and the original strategy guides. For some stupid reason I don't even have the original games...

I actually had sort of a crush on Luna.
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greg
Posts: 2159
Joined: Wed Oct 26, 2011 9:00 pm
Anime Fan Since: 1989 (consciously)
Location: Shizuoka-ken, Japan
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Re: Hello all!

Post by greg »

I have both Lunar and Lunar 2 for the Sega CD. I haven't played them much, but they're the reason why I got a Sega CD in the first place. I also have Lunar for the Sega Saturn. It was super cheap, so I wanted to see how it was different from the original version.

Say, did you ever read the Robotech books by Jack McKinney? Those were great, at least the ones from when "Jack McKinney" was both Brian Daley and James Luceno. Daley passed away, and he was a great writer. Luceno brought the Robotech books back for a few more on his own in the mid '90s, but they were terrible, lacked any real plot, and were full of contradictions.
My presence on the Net, with plenty of random geekiness:
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