Gainax's English language newsletter GPress USA at Let's Anime

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davemerrill
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Gainax's English language newsletter GPress USA at Let's Anime

Post by davemerrill »

I've had this thing for a long time and I finally dusted it off, scanned it in, and looked at what it tells us about anime in the early 90s and how one company tried to break into the American market and what they thought Americans might be interested in and how it all came crashing down and they went and made Evangelion instead.

http://letsanime.blogspot.com/2019/02/w ... press.html
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Re: Gainax's English language newsletter GPress USA at Let's Anime

Post by Drew_Sutton »

Cool article - I appreciate the deep dive into yet another piece of Gainax's operating history in the US. You and Sean/zimmerit are doing the Lord's work!

I have to wonder though, how much of this in history has been lost to time? GenePro USA gets a (seemingly) passing mention from people who were there (Lea Hernandez-Seidman, for example) and there isn't a concerted group of "GAINAX fans" that are archiving and presenting this information. The zimmerit piece of the Early History of GAINAX is about the closest thing to it. What was your research schedule like for this piece (or if Sean wants to chime in on his pieces, I'd love to hear that, too)?
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Re: Gainax's English language newsletter GPress USA at Let's Anime

Post by zimmerit »

Drew_Sutton wrote: Sun Mar 17, 2019 4:08 am I have to wonder though, how much of this in history has been lost to time? GenePro USA gets a (seemingly) passing mention from people who were there (Lea Hernandez-Seidman, for example) and there isn't a concerted group of "GAINAX fans" that are archiving and presenting this information. The zimmerit piece of the Early History of GAINAX is about the closest thing to it. What was your research schedule like for this piece (or if Sean wants to chime in on his pieces, I'd love to hear that, too)?
While I wouldn't say this stuff has been lost to time yet (both Lea and Shon are around and have mentioned GenePro USA over the years), there's also a balance between how much of it is worth diving into and the emotions involved. Lea has talked a lot about her time with the company in an old interview in PULP magazine and her Banigaru (https://boingboing.net/tag/banigaru) comic. By all accounts, it sounds like it was a traumatic time for those on the US side, so I haven't exactly been eager to ask those involved for interviews, etc. The things GenePro USA published (the GPress USA newsletter and their failed comic anthology MegaComics) have been documented. The history of AnimeCon '91 is relatively well-known. Banigaru covers a lot.

Though that reminds me, I've been meaning to update that GAINAX history piece for years. It needs an overhaul.
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Re: Gainax's English language newsletter GPress USA at Let's Anime

Post by DKop »

Lea was also on that episode of ANNCast where she got really emotional regarding her history with Gainax, which is found here: https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/anncast/2014-03-07
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Re: Gainax's English language newsletter GPress USA at Let's Anime

Post by davemerrill »

my "research schedule" for this piece mostly consisted of a careful reading of the text, and Sean's excellent article as background. I know Lea was involved with Gainax at some point, but if she's mentioned in that issue of "GPress" I failed to catch it.
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Re: Gainax's English language newsletter GPress USA at Let's Anime

Post by SteveH »

Was I at that A-Kon Dave? I've lost track. Was there only the one copy of that mag? I'm sure I would have grabbed one if I had seen it. darn.

I wish I could find that documentation of that oddball attempt to sell subscriptions to Animage that would include an English language translation 'zine with every issue. I instantly saw what a logistical nightmare that would have been and the price that was asked was insane.

The people floating that idea became the key players of Viz.
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Re: Gainax's English language newsletter GPress USA at Let's Anime

Post by davemerrill »

Steve I will be completely honest and say that I cannot say for sure whether or not I picked that issue of GPress up at A-Kon, or if I acquired it some other way. I know I was at an A-Kon where Lea and Shon Howell were repping General Products, which places it in an extremely precise time period, and you were probably at that A-Kon as well. I can't think of any other convention I would have attended that would intersect with the General Products experiment- I didn't get out to any West Coast shows until GP was well over and done with.

The English-language Animage proposal was advertised via flyers handed out at the 1986 Worldcon in Atlanta GA. It might have been promoted in other places, but that's where I picked up the flyers I did.
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Re: Gainax's English language newsletter GPress USA at Let's Anime

Post by Drew_Sutton »

Dave and Sean, thanks for answering my questions about the research - I have probably missed any references to Shon but I've read Lea's BaniGaru before. I'll have to see if that PULP interview is posted somewhere online. I swear I've listened to that ANNCast episode with Lea, too, DKop but I am drawing a complete blank on the content.

All in all, I think this is super interesting stuff. Keep up the good work!
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Re: Gainax's English language newsletter GPress USA at Let's Anime

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Re: Gainax's English language newsletter GPress USA at Let's Anime

Post by usamimi »

Drew_Sutton wrote: Tue Apr 02, 2019 8:08 am I swear I've listened to that ANNCast episode with Lea, too, DKop but I am drawing a complete blank on the content.
That was the one where I asked about what it was like working with Gainax as a woman in the industry and uh....yeah, she made sure not to pull any punches with how difficult it was for her.
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