FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Mecha Press, the Anime Modeling & Gaming Magazine, was produced by Dream Pod 9 and put on hiatus when they began production of Heavy Gear. Since then, they have put an end to it definitively because it was not successful enough and too time consuming. Fortunately, if you are a mecha fan, you will be glad to know that all the anime-related material usually published in Mecha Press is now included in Protoculture Addicts: model kits reviews, coverage of mecha-related anime, etc.

Because we began as a Robotech fanzine. We kept the name as an homage to our origin (to stay true to our roots). However, PA is now a general magazine about anime & manga. We still cover Robotech when there is something new, but beside that there is a limit to the amount of material we can produce on a ten+ years old show. We feel that everything has been said on Robotech and there is SO MUCH to be said about those zillion of other good shows. In short, Protoculture Addicts is to Robotech as much as Newtype is to Gundam or Starlog to Star Trek. We are trying, by covering all those interesting new shows, to give to the anime newcomer the same sense of wonder we got from Robotech more than a decade ago.

Also, there is more behind the word protoculture. First, it is quite cool. Second, Science-Fiction (and anime by extension) can be considered as a would-be culture in itself, a culture in the becoming, a "proto" culture...

However, we have not forgotten about Robotech (that's why we kept the name -- which was inspired by Khyron's addiction to protoculture leaves, by the way). It was an excellent show for its time, but it has now been surpassed by many other shows. We know that all the magical moments that it brought to our youth will never be back, so we move on. We keep Robotech in our heart, but put our mind on the new shows...

Yes, you can contribute to the magazine. Beside the articles written by the in-house staff, a large part of the magazine is written by fans just like you. You can contribute with: spotlight articles, long review/summary of anime or manga, anime stories, reviews, general article on Japanese culture and language, opinion letter, convention review, interview with anime/manga industry people, etc. We are open to any suggestions of article.

We don't need any artists because all the illustrations we use are originals from the anime or manga we are covering, and we are not publishing any comic strips or manga.

We are not planning to hire any staff writers for the moment, but we will always consider for publication the volunteered contributions we receive.

We know that those convention, festival and event reports might be boring and annoying for many of you, but they are an essential part of the anime & manga world. They are the engines that contribute to move forward the anime industry, the energy that feed the anime fandom. Because of their importance (even the smallest convention is important to us), we must cover them and help promote them. If you've never been to a convention, you don't know the fun you're missing, so we must tell you. If you could not attend a specific convention, we can tell you what were the essential events, guests, or annoucements, so you feel a little like if you were there!

Most of the anime & manga fans are also interested to learn about the Japanese culture and, to some extend, other Asian cultures. Maybe it is not your case, but we have the strong conviction that EVERYBODY (even unknowingly) benefits by learning about other cultures. But why talking specifically about cinema? First, because we LOVE movies, but mainly because we think that Japanese cinema is the best window to the Japanese culture. It allows us to observe the culture, the behaviors, and helps to understand them. If you see a real person in a movies acts like a character did in Ranma 1/2 or in Urusei Yatsura or Evangelion, seeing that behavior in a more realistic, larger context, usually helps to have a better understanding of the behavior and of the cultural background that motivate it. Also, if you are watching subtitled movies, it helps learning the language. And, if you are watching an old movie, it is like a time machine! Movies are not only a great source of entertainment, but also an interesting and painless learning tool. That's why we want you to know about Japanese cinema.

I know it must be annoying that we write all those comments about French manga. But it is unavoidable: there is much more interesting manga titles available in French and, unless you are already fluent in Japanese and can read them in the original version, French is much easier to read than Japanese. You just need a good French dictionary and you can guess the general meaning and the grammatical structure (unless you are fluent in French, of course). And if you are in mostly for the art, the French version are generally easier to find (just check our catalog) than the original Japanese edition. In a way, it is a kind of shameless plug since we are selling many manga translated in French through our online catalog, but we do so only to make them available to a larger public. Anyway, as soon as we have set up the French section of the web page (The Safe-House), we will have a section dedicated to French manga (The MangaZone!) and all French manga-related news & reviews will move there.

The best way is through the internet. You can find most of the anime releasers & manga publishers' links in the "Essential Links" section of the drop menu on the top of this (and most of our other) page.

More and more anime-related products can be found directly from your local comic books store. Of course, fans always want more, so that is why there is some anime-specialized stores and many of them sell through the internet. Most of the online anime & manga can be found in the "Essential Links" section of the drop menu on the top of this (and most of our other) page. Some other stores are also listed here:

Warning: This information has not been updated in a while, so we don't know if those clubs are still in activity.

Animation Bois-De-Boulogne
Bois-de-Boulogne college
10555 Bois-de-Boulogne Ave
Pavillon Ignace-Bourget
S-126 auditorium
Info : Thien-Tri (514) 332-3000, ext 495