Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast
Results 1 to 10 of 12

Thread: Anime Stuff eZine

  1. #1

    Anime Stuff eZine

    I found this by accident and started going through it and lo and behold it's cool as hell:

    It's an ezine called Anime Stuff running from 1987 to 1995 with English reviews of mail order anime on laserdisc as well as other features. I can't believe the internet existed in this form that far back for public consumption and geeks like us were doing this:

    Stuff 1 1/1/87

    Vol. 2 through 9 missing.

    Stuff 10 4/9/89
    Stuff 11 9/25/89
    Stuff 12 3/7/90
    Stuff 13 7/6/90
    Stuff 14 11/18/90
    Stuff 15 4/27/91
    Stuff 16 12/7/91
    Stuff 17 8/17/92
    Stuff 18 3/12/93

    Aha! Just found the issue I was looking for, regarding the original Dirty Pair tv show. Excerpt:

    Well, I did it...I finally managed to complete my collection of Dirty
    Pair episodes on laserdisc from VAP video. So, I thought I would comment
    on some of the highlights and quality of this series of laserdisc
    releases for those of you considering collecting them all.

    At the current Dollar to Yen ratio, each Laserdisc sells for about $77
    dollars. My favorite laserdisc store, Sight & Sound, currently has most of
    the DP LDs in stock at $76.83. So let's see...at 9 discs for the TV
    series, that's $691.47. Not bad really, when you consider that if you
    wanted to collect the show on video cassette (non-pirated...let's pay the
    artists whose work we enjoy...[wink]) It would probably run closer to
    $900 or more. Cassettes being more expensive than LDs.

    And what does the rabid Dirty Pair fan get for his/her $691.47? Well, of
    course you get the complete TV series. 24 episodes, plus 2 that were not
    broadcast before the show was cancelled. If you noticed from the list
    above, all but one of the discs has a "+1" behind them. Well, when Vap
    Video issued the series on tape, they only put 2 episodes on each
    videocassette. For the laserdisc release, they put 3 episodes on each
    disc. So that's where the "+1" next to the title comes from. The
    videocassettes carried the same "edition" titles as the laserdiscs, but
    only the discs had the extra episode per title.

    Those "edition" titles also point to a problem in the way this collection
    is organized. Each disc in the collection is supposed to have episodes
    organized around a theme...the MYSTERY EDITION is supposed to have
    mystery episodes on it, GREAT SEARCH EDITION has wild adventures, and so
    on. Because of this, the episodes are presented out of order on each disc.
    For example, one disc might have episodes 7, 19, and 3. The next disc
    will have 12, 1, 5...and so on. A real headache if you are looking for a
    particular episode to watch, or you would like to watch them in numbered
    order! And by the way, this titling of each disc breaks down after a
    while. After all, what DP episode wasn't a mystery and/or adventure? By
    the time the series of laserdiscs end, they just call the last disc
    COMPLETE EDITION to let you know this was the last disc issued! Heh!

    The quality and video transfer of each disc is excellent. The sound from
    the series is in mono. And the discs are presented in CLV mode...aww! No
    super clean still frames...not even on side two were the extra episode is.
    Vap could have at least given us CAV mode for the last episode on side two
    of each disc! At least all the discs feature chapter stops that will
    quickly take you to the beginning, middle, and end of each episode. It's
    also interesting to note that the 3rd episode on each disc is presented
    without credit titles over the opening and closing title animation. This
    was done so you can enjoy the graphics without any text getting in
    the way.

    Although the transfer of the episodes to disc are superb, the source
    film for each episode tends to show some dirt and wear. A lot on some
    episodes. It's a shame that they did not use the original film negatives
    or a clean prints for the transfer of the episodes to disc and tape.

    This is not a problem for the two final unbroadcast episodes released on
    the special FROM LOVELY ANGEL WITH LOVE disc. Episodes 25 and 26 look
    great! They were probably transferred from the original negatives or virgin
    prints. And we get CAV mode for these two episodes! Great still frames of
    the wonderful art and action. It is also interesting that these episodes
    have a bit better art and animation than the rest of the TV series. I
    suppose that once the show was cancelled at episode 24, they had plenty
    of time to work on the last two for a special home video release.

    Although all the "+1" edition discs feature 3 episodes per disc, the disc
    titled SPECIAL EDITION has a very important feature for the collector.
    This disc contains all the coming attraction teasers for all 24 of the
    broadcast episodes! This is a great way to access quick plot summaries
    and scenes to an episode you might be looking for.

    Well, those are my thoughts on the technical aspects of Vap Video's
    laserdisc collection of this wild and funny TV series. Next, I will be
    collecting the 5 LDs for the Dirty Pair's Original Anime Video series.
    I'll comment on those at a future date. I would also like to collect
    Vap's excellent 12 LD collection of the KIMAGURE ORANGE ROAD TV series.
    Stuff Staff member Masaki Takai is well on his way already. Perhaps I'll
    get him to comment on the KOR discs...(Hey, Masaki...!)

    - Tom Mitchell
    It's a shame there are missing volumes, but there's a wealth of information in what still exists. Very well written!
    Last edited by Scourge; 21 Nov 2006 at 03:56 PM.

  2. #2
    Check out Stuff 10 for a huge Poll from the time that's really interesting insight on a) the number of people on the distribution list of Anime Stuff, which provides a little insight on the popularity of anime (or lack thereof) of the time, and b) what the prevailing tastes were in titles for those American fans.

  3. #3
    I just accidentally ran across a pdf index of issues 1 - 21, basically a list of everything that was contained within. The design is pretty cool though.

    http://www.cjas.org/~leng/lainspotti...s/asindex6.pdf

    I was wrong about the dates of publication; they ran to 1995 I guess.

  4. #4
    Ooh! Found some history on Anime Stuff!

    http://www.cjas.org/~leng/lainspotti...rchives-4.html

    One way that old school anime fans shared information with each other was through text files that were distributed across various bulletin boards. Anime Stuff, first published by Tom Mitchell in January of 1987, was one of the most well-known newsletters. Tom was a sysop of "The CompuServe Anime & Manga Forum". Starting with issue #5 (11/12/1987), none other than CJAS (Cornell Japanese Animation Society, http://www.cjas.org/) co-founder and first president Masaki Takai joined Tom in producing the newsletter. Masaki, then a freshman at Cornell, hadn't even started CJAS yet (the club was "born" on September 9th, 1988).

    Issues (with associated images) of Anime Stuff are still available for download at the SUNET FTP archive's mirror of the much-loved but now-defunct Venice anime and manga FTP archive: Index of /pub/comics/anime-manga/anime.stuff

    An even more accessible collection of Anime Stuff can be found here: Index of /OSA/PUBLICATIONS/anime-stuff courtesy of J!-ENT's Old School Anime website, which is a pretty fun read if you were a fan from that time, or if you're interested in that particular era of fandom.
    Last edited by Scourge; 21 Nov 2006 at 02:28 PM.

  5. #5
    Here's a link to an index containing issues 2 - 9, 19 and 20:

    http://www.nt2099.com/OSA/PUBLICATIONS/anime-stuff/

  6. #6
    And here's the last issue, Stuff 21 from 1995 in pdf format with pretty pictures and all:

    http://www.nt2099.com/OSA/PUBLICATIO...e_Stuff_21.PDF

  7. #7
    Here's an interesting little article from 3/1/1988 about HDTV from Stuff 6:

    >HDTV: Over the next 10 years, we begin to see our aging NTSC
    television system replaced by one of several new high-definition broadcast
    systems to bring TV into the 21st century. (For an excellent summary of the
    technology and the types of High Definition TV systems being developed,
    see the February 1988 issue of VIDEO MAGAZINE...By the way,our current TV
    system was designed around a standard proposed in the late 1930's
    ...yuck!).

    The benefits of some of the new proposed television systems will be
    awesome: wide screen aspect ratio just like in movie theatres, and ultra-
    sharp pictures rivaling the resolution of 35mm film! Not to mention
    digital sound.

    Despite which system is chosen, there is a danger for us anime fans that
    nobody has yet thought of: Compatibility with Japanese television.

    US anime fans have been very lucky in that both the US and Japan use
    the same broadcast TV standard called NTSC. This has enabled us to view
    TV shows, movies, and Original Anime Videos on video tape and LaserDisc
    directly from Japan. Had the US and Japan had different broadcast systems
    like European countries do, our hobby could not exist here.

    The Japanese have now developed the best HDTV system called MUSE, and it
    is a standard that will begin testing in Japan and Canada over the next
    year. It is a truly state of the art High Definition TV system featuring
    a wide screen with over 1125 lines of resolution! (over double the
    resolution of Super-VHS and Super-LaserDisc!!!).

    But many in the US are opposed to Japan setting the standard saying that
    the Japanese would then gain an edge over US consumer electronic
    companies in producing and selling HDTV goods to US consumers! (Look at
    what whimpering losers we have become...we try to impede their progress
    rather than work to improve out own technology and markets.) Anyway, so
    now it is quite possible that the US would adopt some second-best system
    that would not be compatible with the new Japanese broadcast standard.

    You can see what I'm getting at: Both countries video software would be
    rendered incompatible. US anime fans would not be able to view films from
    Japan. Think about it.

    Now of course, all this may not come about...The US could adopt the
    Japanese system (not too likely, because of the costs...), or Japan might
    follow whatever system we choose in order to make it easier to continue
    to produce compatible consumer goods.

    It will be pretty interesting to see what happens...and as an anime fan I
    will be watching nervously.
    (TM)

  8. This is a really cool find. Good shit.
    Quote Originally Posted by Master Shake
    Look, Yes. I have banged hundreds of broads...internationally. But know this, I wrap my rascal 2 times. 'Cause I like it to be joyless and without sensation, as a way of punishing super-models.

  9. #9
    Quote Originally Posted by Genki View Post
    This is a really cool find. Good shit.
    Isn't it!? Check this out from issue 7:

    This issue of ANIME STUFF brings with it another addition to our staff. We would like to welcome Rick Sternbach to our publication. Rick works in the art department for the excellent STAR TREK - THE NEXT GENERATION, and will be reviewing some of the anime model kits he builds. I found his article for this issue interesting in that it shows me just how a good model builder approaches his project. Makes me want to try my hand
    at this HONEAMISE kit! Welcome Rick!

  10. Man, this is a trip, a real history lesson. I didn't get into anime until 93/94, so it's interesting to see what the U.S. scene was like before then.
    http://www.production-ig.co.jp/anime...es/canti04.gif
    The over imaginative Ninja's fought the rum filled pirates untill battle drew to a close.

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •  
Games.com logo