The University of Oklahoma Animation Society
UOAS NEWS IN BRIEF
· Library acquisition: Shinesman
· Fall showing permissions received from Bandai and Animeigo with others still outstanding
· Cookout at Garry and Nathan's Apt. on July 5 at 5:00pm
· Ronin Con Flyers available at Atomik Pop in Norman
By Ian McDonald
As I saw the squealing, squirming infant get poked and prodded by a nurse before it was released into back to the mother, I reflected that Jacob and Rachel are tied to this squirming, screaming...thing, for the next twenty years. What an awesome responsibility (and I mean awesome in the correct usage for it, not as it's usually used as a noise of concurrence). I'm a bit over twenty, and I can't imagine how long that is. I saw all the things that could go wrong with the kid, and in a flash, all the things that could go right.
Life, as everyone should know, has no hard and fast answers; and in the area of child raising, an already shifting, twisting landscape is turned into an anemorphic blob by the number of 'rules' of parenting, all seeking to accomplish to raise a kid healthily, so said child won't gun down a busload of nuns when s/he turns twenty-one.
I'm not a father (sigh of relief), but someday I might be one. I know that right now, I'm not up to it. Later? Maybe. Certainly not right now though. In fact the merest idea of me having to raise a child to adulthood and not fuck up makes me feel like I'm floundering in a tide-pool of fear, slowly sucked under by the 'what ifs', flailing out blindly and seizing any slender thread of hope to pull you out of the sucking morass.
A quote:
"...you have the competence one would look for in the mother of warriors."
Cordelia wondered if Vorkosigan were pulling her leg. He did seem to have a streak of dry humor. "Save me from that! To pour your life into sons for eighteen or twenty years, and then have the government take them away and waste them cleaning up after some failure of politics--no thanks."
I never really understood what that meant. I mean intellectually, I got it. As an amateur student of military history, and the logistical effects thereof, I understood it. But after I saw the two ink blotted footprints of Jacob's child on the front of his blue sterile smock, and the fierce protectiveness in Jacob's demeanor, I got it. Down deep. A weight shifted underneath a pile of mental stuff, and a connection was made.
The connection, other than the sudden idea that all the babies I saw look like the MCP out of Tron, is that one does not see children in my circles. Men and women yes sometimes in droves, but children? Not alone, and usually not without protection that would make the US Secret Service proud. Paranoia is the rule of the day with children, not towards them, but towards the rest of the world. I'm not good with kids. For one thing, I usually scare the bejesus out of most of them (unintentionally!! others look at me like I'm some sort of mobile jungle gym), and another thing, with adults, they have been inculcated into the culture deep enough to display all the hints and trademark body language of the culture, so I have a host of visual clues to help guide the discussion. Children, obviously do not. This leads to an interesting, and somewhat frustrating feeling that I'm not fully communicating with them. Like being colorblind all of the sudden. You miss it, and feel maimed without it.
On the plus side, me, Ross, and just about everyone else that knows Jacob well is probably going to help out in some small way, so the kid will hopefully have no lack of surrogate uncles, as well as an expansive natural family. Oh yeah, and we're going to corrupt that kid. He's going to be raised on anime, sci-fi, and fantasy. He's going to be the quizach-sadarach of nerds when he gets to school. At the least he has something interesting to say to the therapist when he reaches that tender age...
Anyone interested can go to www.staticsanime.com and visit the forum to post a message to the proud family.
By DC Bueller
The first thing that came to mind when I heard that some anime was being made into feature films was "Huh?" Immediately after that came the debate about whether the essence of anime could really be captured in live action format. I believe this essence is comprised of the artwork, the storyline, and the characters. There probably are more or less that don't come as swiftly to mind, but I think those are the necessary components for an anime. First though, why would Hollywood try to make these into films in the first place? Well, perhaps American producers saw the success of anime such as Pokemon and Yu-Gi-Oh and Dragonball Z, and thought to them, "If only we could expand the audience, then we'd be rolling in the dough." And what bigger audience than moviegoers? Every year, the number of people that go to movies increases, perhaps because of bigger and bigger blockbusters each year, maybe because they have more leisure time, or perhaps just because there are more people on Earth to go to movies. In any case, American producers see some sort of golden opportunity in translating anime into feature films, and they're hoping to lure the increasing number of anime fans to them. Among the anime slated to turn into feature films are Neon Genesis Evangelion, Battle Angel Alita, and even Dragonball Z. Earlier examples of anime turning into live action features are Hong Kong produced versions of Crying Freeman and Wicked City. Now about the essence of anime, several issues come to mind that are making me leery about this translation process. First and foremost is the artwork. Artwork is one of the characteristics of anime that make it stand out from just western cartoons. With feature films, they would be dependant on a lot of Computer Graphics to be able to create some of this artwork, especially in films such as Dragon Ball Z and Evangelion, the former with the special attacks and flying, the latter with the mecha battles. The storylines for anime are usually long and drawn out, comprised of multiple episodes in order to tell an entire story. Now I wonder how Hollywood would take care of that dilemma, short of making multiple sequels like they appear to be doing with the Dragon Ball Z movies, which is slated to encompass 4 movies. I can't even imagine how they would tackle something like Evangelion in one movie! It would have to be one epically long movie, ala Lord of the Rings. I'm also curious at how they would handle the characters. Some of these characters in anime are outlandish both in appearance and some of the acting. Those in Dragon Ball Z deserve special note as in a live action they would grunt and scream way too much for my tastes. This upcoming trend of anime turning into feature films could perhaps bring a more favorable light to anime, attracting more people by showing anime in a film format. I think many people currently view anime either as simply the Japanese version of cartoons or, if introduced to some of the more 'mature' anime, as animated adult films. Showing anime as feature films could bring some of those stereotypes to rest, as anime is not the same as American cartoons, and certainly not all anime is full of monsters groping women all day. That is, if they're successful. These films could just as easily turn away potential audiences because of sheer corniness. Might I direct readers to watch some Hong Kong live action flicks? Also, the pacing of anime is quite a bit different from most feature films, and this difference might also turn away viewers because it will seem foreign and strange. Hopefully it will succeed, and more anime will be brought over to America on DVD, and anime fans wouldn't need to scour the net to try to find anime to download. Of course since most anime fans are broke, they'd probably continue downloading anyways.
You can find more essays by DC Bueller at:
Source: http://members.tripod.com/animefannews/
HOUSTON, May 1, 2003-Anime Network(tm) today announced that the hit anime thriller "Boogiepop Phantom," produced for U.S. distribution by The Right Stuf International, has been licensed for broadcast on Anime Network(tm) (currently available as a video-on-demand feature on digital cable in select markets).
"Anime Network(tm)'s position as the only 24/7 television outlet dedicated to anime makes us a leading broadcast venue for fine anime content," said John Ledford, President and CEO of A.D. Vision, Inc., parent company of the Anime Network(tm) and ADV Films. "The Right Stuf is only the first domestic production company to enter into a broadcast distribution deal with Anime Network(tm); we're currently in negotiations with the other major anime providers about adding their content to the Anime Network(tm) lineup."
Source: Tokyopop
Sharpen those pencils because TOKYOPOP has announced its second Rising Stars of Manga(tm) contest (June 1 - September 1, 2003), and seeks another group of winners to shower with attention. Like its predecessor, this new round of competition calls for original manga submissions from aspiring U.S. creators, and will award 10 winners cash prizes and the potential to be published nationally in a Rising Stars anthology. The new contest has awards of $7,500 in Cash Prizes and potential publishing deals. All winning entries are eligible for publication in TOKYOPOP's Rising Stars of Manga™ anthology scheduled for worldwide distribution in the winter of 2003/2004. First place will take home $2500, second place $1000, and the eight runner-ups get $500. "With the publication of the first Rising Stars of Manga anthology, the dream has come true for ten aspiring manga-ka," said Jeremy Ross, TOKYOPOP's Editorial Director. "We were impressed by the dedication and creativity that our winners demonstrated, and we're looking forward to an even greater flood of amazing entries for round two. So, to all you artists and writers: put your manga where your mouth is!" "The contest took a lot of effort and willpower, but doing it was the best decision we made as artists," said Priscilla Hamby, whose entry with teammate Clint Bickham took Grand Prize. "If you hang in there and have faith in your skills, then it's a perfect chance to stop dreaming and make something really happen." Submissions will be accepted from June 1st through Sept. 1st, 2003. TOKYOPOP has made a few important changes to the rules, however, and the complete details can be found on TOKYOPOP's website at: www.tokyopop.com/news/mangatalent/index.php.
Source: http://www.theotaku.com/trigun/review.shtml
Trigun is a 26-episode anime series that features the exploits of a very goofy gunfighter named Vash the Stampede. Vash is an amazing marksman with an enigmatic past who has just one rule in life: to uphold love and peace while preventing the loss of life. Easier said than done...
Trigun begins very slowly, focusing greatly on humor and silliness. For the first few episodes, I thought the show to be funny but not much else. As the series progressed however, I became very fascinated and impressed with the level of depth that seemed to come from nowhere.
Great stuff.
The main characters in the Trigun series are all pretty memorable by the time the series ends. Like the story's plot, it takes a long time for them to round out. For example, it took me a while to finally see some depth in Milly, who I thought initially to be nothing more than a walking anime stereotype. The minor characters of Trigun are also pretty interesting, despite the fact that there are so many of them. It's not unique to see a minor character or two go through some great change during an episode (something that's usually characteristic of more important characters).
Moving along, one of my favorite parts of Trigun was its music. The same people who handled the score for Cowboy Bebop also worked on Trigun so it definitely added to the series' feel and environment.
The voice acting was also pretty good. The Japanese voice track was very well-done while the English track, done by the fine people of Pioneer Animation, left a little to be desired (though it gets the job done).
My biggest complaint really about Trigun is just in regard to how there seemed to be too many filler moments and episodes throughout the series. For example, Vash will stray from his quest to fighting Knives to help a group of villagers against bandits. These moments just seemed like a waste; they didn't do much in developing Vash or setting a more grandiose tone for the series.
But that complaint aside, Trigun is a remarkable series that ranks pretty high up there in terms of watchability. My final verdict is a very respectable A-.