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First of all, PA's web page has a new home. We were not satisfied with the service of our provider and we wanted our own domain name (unfortunately, some guy in New York has already registered "protoculture.com"). So, our new address is:
In case you are wondering, "qc" is for Quebec and "ca" for Canada. It's a satisfying (and cheaper) alternative to the "dot-com" domain names for us up-here in Quebec/Canada. Don't worry: the old address will still be active for a couple of months. There will be a forward note on the web page and I will still check my e-mail there for a while. However, from now on, it would be better to send all mail to our new addresses:
Finally, we can officially announce one of the special projects that I mentioned earlier in PA #44's presentation: Protoculture is now distributing a line of manga in French, along with a couple of other products (mostly models and some videos for now). Yes, I said "Manga in French", as in "manga translated and published in France". "What's the use" you could say. Well, there are a lot of us here in Quebec who speak French. Some don't even speak English. With this, not only are we bringing manga to a new crowd, but we are making available titles that were not even published in English. The art is the same as in Japanese, but you have more chances to be able to read it, even if you don't really speak French (after all, French is much easier to learn and to read than Japanese or Chinese!).
Why are we importing these French manga? Well, there are already a lot of them available here in Quebec (those titles from Casterman (Blade of the Immortal, Chronowar, Trou Bleu), Dargaud (Detective Conan, Saint Seiya, Yu Yu Hakusho), Glenat (Akira, Appleseed, Astro Boy, Bastard!!, Black Jack, Crying Freeman, Dr. Slump, Dragonball, Ghost in the Shell, Gunnm, Gunsmith Cats, Ikkyu, Kimba The White Lion, Noritaka, Orion, Raika, Ranma 1/2, Riot, Roujin Z, Sailor Moon, Sanctuary, Street Fighter, Striker, Version), J'ai Lu (City Hunter, Dragon Quest), and Echo des Savannes (Countdown, Exodus Creators, Genocyber, Ogenki Clinic)), but many titles from smaller publishers (often the best) don't cross the Atlantic. We have decided to fill that gap.
What do you think about titles like ANGEL by U-Jin, DNA2 and VIDEO GIRL AI by Masakazu Katsura, many of Clamp's manga, TAKERU by Buichi Terasawa? We also offer some "manga" from Hong Kong (CYBER WEAPON Z) and Korea (RED HAWK, SHOMA). Ok, it might be a little more expensive than the original Japanese version (hey, they're imports after all!), but it's much more accessible. Interested? Check our ad in this issue or our catalog.
You have in your hands another fine issue of PROTOCULTURE ADDICTS. This issue is late, again, but we promise that we will get back on schedule soon (the better the magazine is, the longer it is to produce -- that's why we are still looking for contributors). To help this, we have delayed the PA Special #2 (PAX #2), on Mecha, to later this fall.
This issue offers a special feature on anime based on fighting video games: BATTLE ARENA TOSHINDEN and STREET FIGHTER II V. The main dish is a feature on an anime classic: THE ROSE OF VERSAILLES, based on Riyoko Ikeda's manga. There is also an anime story on X: THE MOVIE, a report on Fanime Con '97 and plenty of news & reviews. Enjoy!
Don't miss our next issue on Space Battleship Nadesico (or Martian Successor Nadesico)!
Claude J. Pelletier