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Presentation PA #70DVD Releases And 3D CG Anime In 2002! Well, Spring 2002 is here and our world is still very uncertain, especially with all the strange cases stirred up by the war against terrorism (cases such as American Taliban fighter John Walker Lindh, Wall Street Journal’s reporter Daniel Pearl’s murder, etc.), and yet, the Japanese anime industry is producing many great titles to cheer up the fans! One great thing I noticed is that so many DVDs are made to sell old and new titles! Old and new, you may ask? Yes, right now in Japan, the DVD market is filled with “Box Set” packages of old anime shows from the 1970-80’s (such as Dunbine, Dragonar, etc.). Newcomer anime fans and young viewers (particularly teens) do not really know those titles (some of them were not even born when those shows were made...), therefore these new fans can more easily buy old anime shows and enjoy those classics. And I am sure that American releasers will follow this trend! Also, anime shows that were very popular in the 1960-70’s, such as Cyborg 009 (whose new version just came out in 2001), are coming back as new, updated shows. Instead of hoping to see these old shows as re-runs on TV, fans can just go to the store, buy the DVD and enjoy the shows as they were meant to be seen. Anime shows, just like movie classics, can teach younger viewers about history and even, maybe, watch them with their parents. How about Aim At The Ace!, Tomorrow’s Joe, The Rose Of Versailles, all of them Directed by Osamu Dezaki? Yes, time surely flies and I cannot believe that Urusei Yatsura was first broadcast in 1981 (21 years ago already!)!. Also, I highly recommend Sherlock Hound from Pioneer (in English) to younger viewers so that they can discover the past works of Hayao Miyazaki. Another trend is definitely the 3D Computer Graphics shows! When this technique was first used (remember Blue Submarine #6?), we felt it was still very experimental. But the feature film Metropolis, directed by Rintaro, has reached perfection, I think. In this issue, we are introducing you to a new show, titled Gene Shaft, and we are sure that viewers will be quite surprised to see such high quality 3D CG in a TV anime! Shows like Soul Taker, Arjuna, Vandread: The Second Stage, Guystars, etc. have developed the technique to the point that 3D CG no longer looks “fake” or inorganic... And anime creators will be improving the techniques as years go by! Let us hope this trend will continue and we will be able to see more excellent shows! Miyako Matsuda * * *Spring is now here and there is more snow outside than there ever was during winter. Go figure! Anyway, the new season will bring lots of improvements for the magazine, one of them being a new official web address: www.protoculture-mag.com (the web site can also be accessed by www.protoculture.ca, but the old www.protoculture.qc.ca is still working). We are working on a new web page design that should be gradually introduced during the next months or so. We have also produced a new, slightly different cover design (this cover is different, but that’s not it) that will appear on the cover of next issue! This issue is offering a spotlight on Heavy Gear. This 40-episode, CG animated TV series, produced by Sony Pictures Family Entertainment and animated by Mainframe Entertainment, is not a Japanimation, but is certainly quite anime-inspired. The first 26 episodes recently aired in the USA (on 171 TV stations, mostly on Saturday mornings) and around the world. Based on Dream Pod 9 popular game universe, the series follows the adventures of Marcus, a young Gear pilot just recruited into the Shadow Dragons, a special dueling squad of the Southern Milicia. The article offers an overview of the series, character & mecha files, as well as synopses for the first 26 episodes. To celebrate the release of this series, Protoculture Addicts has adopted the cover’s layout of Mecha Press, an anime modeling & gaming magazine that was published by DP9’s staff -- who created the Heavy Gear universe. This issue also features an article on the movie Spriggan (an ADV Films release currently being shown in theatres), an Interview with ADV’s Matt Greenfield, a short presentation of the OVA series FLCL (Fooly Cooly), the usual “Anime World” articles (The Modern Japanese Music Database Part 14, more convention & festival reports), the reviews of lots of recent anime & manga-related products (videos, DVDs, CDs, books, model kits, etc.) and the latest news. Of course, Protoculture Addicts continues to offer lots of overviews on new anime titles to introduce you to Japanese animation of all styles: Ah! My Goddess The Movie, Angelic Layer (by CLAMP), Gene Shaft, Inital D (OVA, Movie and Character Files), Kazemakase Tsuki Kage Ran, Sadamitsu The Destroyer, and Tales Of Eternia. Enjoy! Next Issue: A spotlight on Ronin Warriors / Yoroiden Samurai Troopers and tons of (ok, twelve) “Anime Stories” (short overview, with sometimes character profiles and synopses) to introduce you to even more brand new anime series: Anime Complex Night, Comet-san, Earth Defense Family, Final Fantasy Unlimited, Fruits Basket, Mazinkaizer, Offside, One Piece TV Special & Movie, Shaman King, Sister Princess, Tottoko Hamutaro, Z.O.E.: Dolores, I, and more! Coming in May -- Also, PA#72 will be dedicated to Hayao Miyazaki (Spirited Away, Future Boy Conan, etc.) and the cover article of PA#73 will be on Char’s CounterAttack! Don't miss them! Claude J. Pelletier |