from the www.oldschoolanime.com archives (which our old NT2099 BBS files are located):
Path: hub.ucsb.edu!ucsbuxa!6600koga
From: 6600koga@ucsbuxa.ucsb.edu (Jeffrey Koga)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.anime
Subject: The _Rafu Shimpo_ First Article Part One
Message-ID: <9873@hub.ucsb.edu>
Date: 13 Mar 91 20:02:33 GMT
Sender: news@hub.ucsb.edu
Distribution: rec
Lines: 82
[Reprinted without permission from _Rafu Shimpo_]
[From the Monday, February 4, 1991 issue of _Rafu Shimpo_]
The first article:
"_TRENDS_
Language of Animation: Although most are unable to speak a
word of the Japanese language, American fans of Japanese
'anime' form clubs to view such cult classics as 'Bubblegum
Crisis' and 'Dirty Pair.'
By August Miller: Rafu Orange County Correspondent
What comes to mind when you hear about a group of 10 to 20
people spending up to seven hours watching video in a
language they absolutely cannot understand?
Passengers stuck on a layover at the airport in Katmandu? A
punishment of Italian Opera for squeaky clarinetists in the
high school band?
If you were to go to the El Toro Public Library on the third
Sunday of any month, you'd stumble upon another answer--the
meeting of a fan club devoted to the enjoyment of Japanese
animation.
Appreciation for Japanese anime--anime is the truncated word
referring to animation in Japan--is on the rise in America,
and not just within a few scattered organizations. El
Toro's Summmer Side is just one of an estimated 160 anime
fan clubs across the country.
'Though I don't have exact numbers, I'd say there are at
least 25,000 hard-core anime fans in the U.S. By this I
mean people who actively collect animation and belong to an
organization,' explains Kevin Seymour, manager in the
Animation Division of Books Nippan, a major distributor of
anime and Japanese comic books here in the States.
'Probably over 100,000 people are aware of 'anime,' and
collect in some form.'
Americans have been watching Japanese animation for decades,
many unknowingly. Popular childhood favorites like 'Speed
Racer' and 'Kimba the White Lion' were original Japanese TV
series dubbed into English. However, the first important
national 'anime' fan club didn't appear until the late
'70's.
It's at that point that C.F.O. (Cartoon Fantasy
Organization) was born. Two critical events paved the way
for its existence: the first public marketing of VCR's, and
the arrival of anime--with English subtitles--to Japanese.
Once anime was in the accessible medium of videotape, it
could be marketed within the same genre as comics and
science fiction--an area rife with obsessive collectors and
avid fan clubs.
Books Nippan, based in Carson, California, began distributing
anime in 1984.
'At that time we had a local fan club, with maybe 100
people,' recalls Seymour, 'but today the Books Nippan Club
has over 5,000 members, and a mailing list of 12,000.'
--
Jeff "Koganuts" Koga 1) "The 'Star Wars' Trilogy" by John Williams
Internet: 6600koga@ucsbuxa.ucsb.edu2) 2)"Dances with Wolves" by John Barry
Bitnet: 6600koga@ucsbuxa.bitnet 3) "Star Trek II:TWoK" by James Horner
Recommended CDs: 4) "Soundtrack from '^Twin Peaks^' by Angelo Baladamenti"