Presentation PA #57

This summer, we have lost one of our dear friends and collaborators. We will remember Alex (aka "Roots") not only because he was a great guy (particularly in parties), but mainly because he was an excellent artist who really deserved our admiration. He did some covers for us (Anime Shower Special #2, Protoculture Addicts #20-23), many artwork for Dream Pod 9 (some Mecha Press covers and illustrations, Star Riders RPG, illustrations for the original edition of Jovian Chronicles, etc.), published a Star Riders comic in Dark Horse Presents (#85-87) and worked on many other comics. We will miss you... -- Protoculture's staff

The secret of Pikachu & Pocket Monsters?! We went to Anime North '99 in Toronto recently. I was overwhelmed by the popularity of Pikachu & Pokemon characters! There was Ms. Danika Dallaire (from Ottawa) who dressed as Pikachu, and everyone called her "Pikachu Lady" during the convention! A fan even showed me the big chart of those cute monster characters! Players can make monsters grow & also trade with friends. Pikachu dolls are everywhere these days! In Japan, its country of origin, there are more than 8 million elementary school children, and there is absolutely NO ONE who doesn't know Pikachu and his friends (there are over 150 kinds of pocket monsters in the show)! Even knowing that this show can be watched by practically everyone (in Canada on YTV in English and on TeleToon in French), I still wonder why this Nintendo game & TV show have become so popular all over North America. Pokemon game is interactive, so children can play "together", instead of playing alone. Is that the reason? And, of course Bandai's products are really cute, but there are other cute characters like Doraemon... Why Pikachu? Then, I started thinking about Entomological Souvenirs by Jean Henri Fabre and about insect collecting. When I was in the elementary school, in Japan, during summer vacation lots of boys (some girls as well) went hunting for insects with a net. My favorite insect was the firefly. I heard that Nintendo wanted to create a game just like this insect hunting & collecting. Those city children in Tokyo (or any big city in the world) can no longer hunt for insects to study & learn. Due to human development, the insect collecting might become a "thing of the ancient times." Today, lots of children (or even adults) don't even know how food grows in the field. Maybe, those children (or adult fans) want to touch nature even in the virtual world?! Is this the secret of this enormous popularity, I wonder? I don't know how you readers feel about this Pokemon phenomenon, but I feel, deep down, children want to feel & touch nature more especially when they live in big cities.

Speaking of the virtual world & computer, Corrector Yui is the No. 1 TV show in Japan on Japanese public TV NHK. Watch out American Barney the purple dinosaur, or British Teletubbies!! Corrector Yui might arrive like Pikachu in the near future to sweep over North America?!

Miyako Matsuda

ERRATUM. There were a couple of mistakes in the last issues. In PA#55, page 60, we said that Blue Submarine No 6 was released by A.D. Vision, when we meant, of course, AnimeVillage.com (Bandai). Gomen! Also, in PA#56, page 5, we said that the Fant-Asia festival would show Princess Mononoke. This was an unconfirmed information and Miyazaki's masterpiece was instead shown at the Toronto Film Festival. Hayao Miyazaki presented the movie in person! Don't miss our report on that screening in next issue!

This issue's spotlight is on the new SILENT MOBIUS TV series that is just starting to be released in English by Bandai. Also, the Anime Stories introduce you to three new titles: Harlock Saga, the Rurouni Kenshin OVAs and the new City Hunter TV Special. A large part of this issue is dedicated to festival (Fantasia '99, Dimension SF) and convention (FanimeCon, Anime Central, Anime North, Project A-kon, Otakon) reports, but we also continue the "Anime Under Fire" series and start a new series of articles on Japanese Pop music: "The Modern Japanese Music Database." Finally, as usual, this issue offers plenty of news & reviews. Enjoy!

Claude J. Pelletier