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Tuesday 28 June 2016

May 1990 Pt.6 Nippon Shuppan Hanbai USA INC

Having just found paperwork (sorry hard copies) from Nippon Shuppan Hanbai USA INC .(Books Nippan) buried among reams of correspondence in a few tightly packed surviving boxes, finding more fragments from May 1990 for you the reader to ponder over.

It was about this time I joined the B.N.A.F.C. (Books Nippan Animation Fan Club) that gave you discounts on what the company was selling [much like Manga video did in the UK later in the 90's].


My Membership of Books Nippan Animation Fan Club Paid $12 (invoice 04.18/1990) - Membership Card 05/90 to 06/91.

I had seen their advertisement in April's issue of 'Protoculture Addicts' fanzine of their subtitled Japanese Animation on VHS 'GUNBUSTER Vol. 1' and ' DANGAIOH' a first for Anime to the direct-to-home American market, to be released January 1990 by U.S. Renditions. 

 

[NOTE: According the internet (post 2000) GUNBUSTER Vol. 1 was released in March 1990. But I can not confirm this.]


U.S. Renditions was the Special Projects Division of Books Nippan, the American branch of Nippon Shuppan Hanbai, the only UK connection being the shop in London 'Books Nippon' that I knew of at the time.


 The B.N.A.F.C. Had a leap in membership from about 1000 to 4000 members in just a short space of time, that triggered a re-organisation of their mail-ordering department to harmonise to meet the new demand for goods. 


Looking at BOOKS NIPPAN's Newsletter #8 - (copyright Shinji Aramaki IDOL/ARTMIC 1985) Previous newsletters were originally to come out Yearly. Can you imagine waiting 12 months or more for News and feedback from a distributor of Anime, that's breaking into a new market!?


[NOTE: U.S. Renditions Update “Work continues on the new English subtitled videos for 1991. The original U.S. Renditions production team along with new translators Toshfumi Yoshida and Trish Ledoux (Editors of ANIMAG Magazine) are currently (late 1990\early 1991) projecting an April 1991 release for 'GUNBUSTER Vol. 2', and APPLESEED, GUNBUSTER Vol. 2 which contains episodes 3 & 4 will also have the “Science Classroom II” which was cut out of 'GUNBUSTER Vol. 1' due to length of time considerations.]


  [NOTE: Sometime during June or July will be the Release of 'GUNBUSTER Vol. 3 and Black Magic M-66. ( There are currently other projects being discussed for FALL 1991 release.).] 



Sunday 12 June 2016

May 1990 Pt.5 Round-up \ overview

We still had a few on-going Manga comic-books and Anime based comic-books that could be still found “On the racks” in May of 1990, such as:-


#20 of 'AKIRA' (1-38)

#33 of 'Lone Wolf and Cub' (1-40)
from First comics,

#17 of Outlanders. (1-33)
from Dark Horse Comics.

#6 of Dominion. (End of 1-6)
from Eclipse Comics.

#4 of COBRA (1-12)
#6 of 'Baoh', (1-8)
#3 of HOROBI: Part One (1-6)
from Viz Comics.


GRAPHIC-NOVELS STILL ON SALE IN THIS MONTH:

What's Michael?
Appleseed Book #1
Dirty Pair – Biohazards
from Eclipse Comics

LUM Vol #1
from Viz Comics.

[Note: You still had #2 of Lensman
#4 of 'Leiji Matsumoto's Captain Harlock',
#15 of 'Robotech II – The Sentinals Book One'
from Eternity Comics.

Saturday 4 June 2016

May 1990 Pt.4 Animag 10

With all my efforts on giving the reader the whole view over time, of my journey with the start of the UK's Anime & Manga Fandom getting the facts of the dates historically correct has been paramount and a driving force. With this in mind, the printing of Animag #10 in1990 looks to be May of that year going by the advertisements of 'Horizon' (Dirty Pair -May, Markalite (the magazine of Japanese Fantasy) Issue #1 JUNE 1990, SF2. (San Francisco Science Fiction) - The Garage Kit Network (model shop) with its 20% off that ends on 15th. July, and Stargate (model shop) at Project A-KON JULY 28 – 29.


[NOTE: my conclusion of when Animag #10 was printed does not tell the reader when in the UK I picked this issue up, it may have been a year later, in March of 91.]


What follows is a very brief overview and reappraisal, of this issue that is centred on Science Fiction and Japanese Mecha, all but one small article on a four part OVA soon to be relesed (at the time) entitled Mosaica (giving its full title Heroic Armor Mosaica) a fantasy, about a young warrior called Wu Talma (U-Taruma) who make a stand against the murderous conquest that has befallen the land, in the hopes of awakening the ancient giant warrior to aid him.

[NOTE: Mosaica's full title Heroic Armor Mosaica was supplied by a member of the Jarod Nandin's Vintage Anime Fans group on Facebook, very little in English is found about this 4 part OVA]
  
Contents Page
 Featuring Articles on 'Space Cruiser YAMATO; Gundam F91; Iczer 3; A-KO the Versus; Mosaica; 'Gall Force'; Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam; and Mobile Police Patlabor.

 Editorial by Trish Ledoux. 

Trish's editorial gives us an insight into the love of a language and Japanese culture in this popular medium of animation, and even her remembering – back in those days “the days when you watched everything, when all animation was new and wonderful and you embraced it with equal favour” seeing so many shows that were produced and aimed at Japanese high school boys (aged from 10 to 18) that was an out-let counter to what Japanese society expected with “tales that relied upon the sadly overused revenge-seeker-whose-loved-one-has-been-slain-by-the-bad-guys storyline”.
 
NEWS on up and coming Anime.
(remember this was the internet of its day.)

NEWS on up and coming Anime.
(remember this was the internet of its day.)

NEWS on up and coming Anime.
(remember this was the internet of its day, this was who information traveled.)
 More NEWS.

NEXT ISSUE.

 Back cover Ad. and the pricely cost of £2.95 for the issue.

Advertisement of popular items.

Advertisement of popular items.

Advertisement of popular items.

Advertisement of popular items.

Advertisement of popular items. 

Well you have scrolled down from the Contents Page and passed all the Ads, as for the articles you will need to hunt down the Magazine (I did say it is a very brief overview - you now have the internet and e-bay).