"A scanner. A scanner. My kingdom for a scanner."Sometime in late 1984 or early '85, the Daicon III&IV anime shorts started making the American fannish rounds and the result was, in the words of a fellow C/FO-San Antonio member who will remain nameless, a "giant fanboy orgasm" that went up one side of the US and down the other. Seriously, there was so much sweaty goodness concentrated in that seven plus minutes of freeze-frame bait that I made a whole seperate tape (at two-hour speed no less!) of it in order to make copies from so I wouldn't screw up my own. Yeah, I think I might have made 10 or so copies just for local SA types, some of whom were barely interested in anime. That's just the kind of magic it held - something for just about everyone, provided they looked hard enough.Better people than me have done articles on the anime itself, as well as the history both behind it and of the resulting formation of Studio Gainax, so I won't go into it here except to say that it just fucking rocked. Cute girl with deadly backpack destroying every sf/fantasy vehicle ever put on film or video. You'd think there'd be screenshots all over the net, eh?Being the kind of curious critter I was back then, I started asking around about the origin of the thing (all we knew is that it was from some convention in Japan named after a radish) and was informed that the Japanese science fiction community had - and, actually, still has - a national sf convention that moves around the country each year. The con isn't actually called "Daicon" except in the years it's held in Osaka. Strangely enough, I also found that the 1986 version of the convention was also going to be held in Osaka. Which, coincidently, is where my new Japanese friend Mitsuyoshi lived... Robotech hit the airwaves, the Shonen Jump manga spin-offs and Nippon Sunrise mecha shows were dominating the anime TV schedules in Japan, VCRs were getting cheaper, and new anime fan clubs were popping up all over the country. Basically, it was a pretty good time to be getting into the fandom - something which was not lost on certain creative business types on this side of the pond hoping to take advantage of the expanding market. One of these was a California-based travel agency called Ladera Travel. They organized several fan tours of Japan, mostly using the C/FO and other networks to get the word out. One of the events on the tour was the upcoming 1986 Daicon 5 in Osaka.Now, word of the tour spread down to us in San Antonio, but there wasn't a whole lot of interest because, well, because even organized through a travel agency, a trip to Japan was pretty expensive. Of our group of 20 or so regular attendees, only Ray Elliot and Jack Thielepape showed both the interest and had enough moola to make the trip. Ray was a friend of Randy Stukey and Shon Howell and one of the founding members of C/FO-San Antonio, a military type who joined a lot of his servicemen in deciding to retire in the great town of San Antone. Jack actually lived in Austin, but made the trip down to SA just about every month for our meetings, a camera around his neck like it was part of his character design or somethin'. He's since been a fixture at the convention scene in Texas and I think he's still the official photo go-to guy at Project A-Kon.When I found they were planning to attend, I dropped Mitsuyoshi a letter explaining the tour and he ended up meeting them in Osaka in August of '86 - seems he'd really gotten into the whole fandom thing. Luckily, he remembered to bring his camera...An auditorium of Japanese fans all studiously studying...something.I dunno exactly what's going on here, but I'm guessing a re-enactment of that classic Lost in Space episode?Jack, on the other side of the camera for a change, showing off a poster to a movie no one saw.Ray, checking out animation cels.That's either supposed to be Black Jack in the back or Japanese conventions don't smell a whole lot better than ours.
Jan 16, 2010 • Subscribe
More like this
Fans Worship Water Cape Kid From Comic God!! Please Find Missing Artist by Old Date!!!
Odd 'N EndsAbove is one of the doujinshis Mitsuyoshi sent me back in the day, this one devoted to Osamu Tezuka's Triton of the Sea. It's a really…
Tropical-Rouge! Precure: Fans Have Discovered The Fifth Precure Already? *SPOILERS*
Only one episode of Tropical Rouge! Precure has aired, and we already know the name of the mid-season Sixth Ranger. How? Just like I said in my post…
MOR Invades WMR
With Jump off, Chris takes to deciding the fate of the Veto in the Bank briefcase. WMR, as we know it, will never be the same.Y'know cause the…
Early Christmas Present for Old School Anime fans!
This is indeed an early Christmas present, and what a Christmas gift! Not one, or two but three separate releases with really awesome o...
Dub vs Sub: The Age Old Debate for all Anime Fans
Dub vs. Sub. An age old debate between anime fans all over the globe. Why does this debate exist? Why are we like this? Before delving into this…
The Stories Clothes Tell
Horikiri Tatsuichi The Stories Clothes Tell: Voices of Working-Class Japan Lanham: Lexinton Books, 2016 One of the frustrations of research...
Episode 59 – The Phantom Fifth Man
We are back on the manga and we have plenty to cover. We go through chapters 452-456. We lost track of the references after a while. Download here…
The Manga Review: Deep in the Heart of Texas
A television station in Houston reports that the Klein Independent School District (ISD) has been bypassing the usual administrative procedure for removing controversial books from its shelves, instead…
One Piece Episode 1094: Spoilers & Review – New Clothes, Old Foes, and a Shocking Reveal?
One Piece has a massive cast of characters and many of them have been mysterious for most of the series. Dragon is probably at the top of this…
Japanese Culture Events in Texas 2024
Calendar of upcoming Japanese concerts, anime conventions, food festivals, performances, and other events in Texas.
Food Wars: The Fifth Plate Season Start
Will the anime end differently than the manga?
Anime North Texas 2023: Anime Icons Behind the Scenes
Behind the scenes with Trina Nishimura and Colleen O’Shaughnessy from their Anime panel at Anime North Texas 2023.
Anime North Texas 2023: Anime Icons Behind the Scenes
Behind the scenes with Trina Nishimura and Colleen O’Shaughnessy from their Anime panel at Anime North Texas 2023.
"The Only Truth You'll Find"
The Flame is its own reflection Thanks to KYDB for lending his 👌 voice for this atrocity Subscribe to KYDB: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFaIXgd8idAF99ke2hqjiVg And to me if you aren't ;) https://www.youtube.com/c/funebure?sub_confirmation=1 This was supposed to…
Log Horizon isn't funny
Someone needs to invent a typewriter.
Anime That’s Almost like Going to Texas!
Just a heads up, my blog will be going on a short break until the end of the month. Don’t worry it isn’t anything bad, and I’m certainly…
Trans Children in Texas and Ukrainian Resources
Resources to Support Trans Children and their Families in Texas On February 23rd, Governor George Abbott of Texas signed an order that all families seeking gender-affirming care for…
A Founder’s Thoughts with D.J. Lewis: Old School vs. New School Anime Fans!
Anime has been that one particular medium that has gone above and beyond in terms of garnering mainstream acceptance, and that’s due in part to the anime fandom…
Street Fighter 6 Review – A Must-Play for Fans, Both Old and New
Street Fighter is back, and it's a remarkable return after the disappointing launch of SF5. Capcom has done an impressive job with Street Fighter 6, offering a substantial…
Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood (Episode 8) – The Fifth Laboratory
Edward and Alphonse investigate the mysterious fifth laboratory and are attacked by a couple of guards in suits of armour. Just what is this place and what are…
The Clothes Make the Waifu – Tsugumomo Spoiler Review
So, I think Tsukumogami are a sort of interesting subject. Surprising probably no one, in addition to anime itself I kind of have an interest in the culture…
Meet the Fans – Liz
It would seem there is quite the large yaoi and BL fanbase over on TikTok even though the app is notorious for not liking adult content, that being…
Meet the Fans – Genchiko
It’s been a long minute since I last got the chance to sit down and interview another lover of BL and Yaoi and this was an interview done…
Japan Cartoons Attack Memory Two! Texas Suffers the Blogging Lag!
The first thing to go is your memory. Or so they tell me. Doing the "googling for cool crap I missed out on during the past 15 or so years" thing and…
The Texas Chain Saw Massacre and Clean Freak! Aoyama-kun
A Halloween episode of the Taiiku Podcast for everyone! I haven’t written one of these for Taiiku in a while. My fledgling mango podcast is doing alright I…
The Texas Chain Saw Massacre and Clean Freak! Aoyama-kun
A Halloween episode of the Taiiku Podcast for everyone! I haven’t written one of these for Taiiku...
Tokyo 24th Ward – 02 – Fifth Wheel
Shuuta, Ran, Kouki, Mari, and Asumi have been friends since they were little, but in a flashback to those halcyon days, we see that even then Mari was…
Fifth Impact: What Is Studio GAINAX?
“In the Yonago dialect of Tottori, the word ‘Gaina’ means ‘big’. …Both Akai [Takami] and Yamaga [Hiroyuki] knew about this gaina word, and… they each inde…
Emblemcon 2024: A Radiant Fifth Year
Once again the famous online convention dedicated to all things Fire Emblem has come and gone and naturally I was in attendance even during a trip to an…
My Fifth Novel is Almost Here!
My Fifth Novel is Almost Here: Here's a cover reveal for my fifth novel, Evolution's Hand Book 5: Split Infinities!
36. In Clothes Called Fat
I knew exactly what the book was going to talk about and I wanted to see how Moyoco Anno would pull off this fragile title about women and…
Gohan is a clothes thief!!
I cannot believe how long I went without noticing this in the slightest. Edited by @TeeHallumsYT SUPPORT US ON PATREON: https://www.patreon.com/totallynotmark FOLLOW ME ON TWITTER: https://www.twitter.com/totallynotmark FOLLOW ME ON…
Malevolent Spirits #11 — Clothes Horse
These yakuza is a little weird. In case you missed it, Nier is back on hiatus due to even more covid. I've started on next season's preview,…
Jujutsu Kaisen Chapter 190 Review: Maki Zenin invades the Culling Game
The fight between Hajime Kashimo and Kinji Hakari ends with both fighters exhausted and alive. At the end of the last chapter Kashimo used his cursed energy to…
This Manga Is So Funny
This manga is about an idiot who knows how to fight very well Suzuran is a school where the misfits of society congregate. Known as "Crows," the students lack…
Cardcaptor Sakura – 02 – Clothes Maketh the Magical Girl
When Sakura wakes up to the sound of an Osaka accent, she assumes the TV is on. Alas, the developments of the last day and night are of…
The Good Old Days
detective fiction, 推理小説、games,
How Old is “Too Old”?
Scott says he’s an older anime fan, but although anime is generally geared towards a younger audience, there’s something out […]
Muteking The Dancing Hero #01 — Funny Pizza Guy
That seems like a poor name for a pizza chain. Impressions: This is one of those episodes where summarizing it will make it sound way goofier and crazy…
Cromartie High School: The Good, the Bad and the Funny
It's like a Western but in Japan and Clint Eastwood is a teenage boy and there's no Italians but there are several robots so it's kind of like…
Meet The Fans – Dynamic Dylan!
And we are back with the second installment of Meet the Fans! For today’s post I got a chance to talk to one of my favourite fudanshi content…
Meet the Fans – Mary Dumas
Welcome to another installment of Meet the Fans here on Yaoi Playground today I want to share a very special yaoi fan today who is also a yaoi…
Romance Manhua: Find Me in the Dark
Hi All~ Today I’m going to recommend a manhua for the first time. It’s hard to find a good recommendation for romance manhua since I feel the FL…
The Marleyian nation invades in Attack on Titan Season 4 Episode 16
Attack on Titan Season 4 Episode 16, Zeke lies on the ground near death, he contemplates the possibility of dying.
Tune of the Week(ish): Fate GO’s Fifth Year Anniversary!
Right, this isn’t an actual song, and its a song I’ve done before, but fuck it, it looks so pretty! The Tune Video of the Week is the…
Dog Signal Episode 15 Review – The Old Man And The Old Dog
A very bittersweet and emotional story about two old beings.
Shopping for Children’s Clothes in Japan
Shopping in Japan for all ages is great fun once you know your way around the different sizing and cultural expectations. Read on for a guide based on…
Episode 742, "The Empresses' New Clothes" (with Mike Patten)
On this week’s episode of The One Piece Podcast we have Zach, Ed, Steve & Alex hosting for our recap of One Piece Chapter 1064, “Egghead Labophase”! This week we are joined by special guests Stephen…
Episode 742, "The Empresses' New Clothes" (with Mike Patten)
On this week’s episode of The One Piece Podcast we have Zach, Ed, Steve & Alex hosting for our recap of One Piece Chapter 1064, “Egghead Labophase”! This week we are joined by special guests Stephen…