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As most of you probably knows, PROTOCULTURE ADDICTS was The Official Robotech Fanzine before being the Anime & Manga magazine it is now. The name is still reminiscent of our first love, though that it could now be interpreted as refering to the anime as a culture in the making. ROBOTECH was something big. It was not only the rediscovery of the Japanese animation for me (after the Leo the Lion, Marine Boy, Speed Racer, and Grandizer of my youth), but it also made the anime industry what it is now in North America. With this issue, we want to remember what it was, show it to those who were not there, and pay tribute to this composite animation.
It is a current trend to travel back in the past to rediscover what was loved. This determination to make new thing from the old is probably the sign that people are not satisfied with what they have now. No wonder with a weak economy, so many wars, and even several freak display of nature: things of the past always look better. It is the Golden Age syndrome. It is also true in animation. There was not many great shows in the last few years. That is probably why even the Japanese give new life to old show (Giant Robo, Magma), or produce a lot of sequels (more Gundam, Macross , Orguss , and even another Yamato -- just to name a few). The ROBOTECH revival is probably part of this phenomenon. Or maybe it is just because there is still a large amount of Robotechies. Some of them tried hard to bring back the show (like it was done for STAR TREK) and they finaly succeed. It played again on the Sci-Fi channel; the Robotech comics never stopped at Eternity, the Robotech RPG by Palladium was a great success, and there is more ROBOTECH novels to come.
In this special issue, we will first give you an exclusive preview of the new novel by Jack McKinney: Zentreadi Rebellion. Then, we will try to inventory the extend of this phenomenon in all its incarnation and give you some comments from the fans themselves, in the letter column. Of course, we are conscious that all our readers may not be ROBOTECH fans, and we tried to keep some of of our usual variety. After a tribute to the show that started it all, what could be better than talking about the next generation of anime in North America: the new Pioneer release, TENCHI MUYO. With all the anti-violence lobby that pressure them, the TV channels and networks need to be careful in what they show; and knowing the nature of most Japanese animations, it is dubtful that we will see lots of Japanimation on our TV screen in the near future. The theatrical releases were never a really big success. The video market seems to be the best medium to present our beloved anime but it is not perfect yet. The debate between sub and dub will never have a solution. Unless... With its first release in North America, TENCHI MUYO, Pioneer is offering a way that might open new horizon: a laser disc that has at the same time the original, the dub and the sub versions. Quality, accessibility, choice. It could revolutionize the anime industry.
After talking of the past with ROBOTECH, and of the future, with TENCHI MUYO, we are bringing you another piece on the Japanese pop culture, this time about the phenomenon of the idol singer in Japan. It is not totaly unrelated to ROBOTECH since it is explaining what Minmei was. Our two most popular sections are the news and the reviews. People always ask for more pages of those, because they want to know what's coming and if it is any good to them. They will surely be satisfied with this issue.
Enjoy!
Claude J. Pelletier