May 1990 Pt.1 Anime V magazine.

Anime V - New Video Magazine, Published by Gakken Co., Ltd. (学習研究社) Consisting of 140 pages (including the front & back covers), #5 May 1990 (Vol. 53).

Sadly this is the only Anime magazine I still own from May 1990, so lets see what LaserDiscs

and VHS video tapes were in focus at this time, what OVA's were sharp and pleasing to the eye!

This short pictorial introduction is used as an example to briefly show you the contents and style of this Japanese Anime Magazine “Anime V ”, it is not intended as full digital copy, but a historical glimpse.

 The front Cover!

Animation College......

A retrospective on the OVA's of the year before! '89 OAV Best 10. (a A5 matt colour booklet).

 

 Yoroiden Samurai Trooper: Kikôtei densetsu (the first OVA after the TV series had finished in March of 1989), Known to American viewers as Ronin Warriors, is on the right hand-side. Left and to the Top is "Bernard" a  Zeon a mobile suit pilot from the OVA " Mobile Suit Gundam 0080: War in the Pocket" - the first Gundam OVA , arguably the best spin-off after the forth Gundam film.

 On the right hand-side the OVA "Aim for the Top!" better know in the West as "Gunbuster" its last volume of episodes 5 & 6 released in July of 1989.

 On the right hand-side the OVA "Hades Project Zeorymer".

 1. AV98-ingram from Patlabor, 2.....? 3. Gunbuster, 4. the "Alex" Gundam RX-78NT-1, 5.....?

Well it's the Contents page!  Figure it out for yourself.

 ?

 ?

 A-ko The VS Battle 1 Gray Side.

The Hakkenden  (THE 八犬伝 Za Hakkenden)

?

The New Items.

The New Items.

The New Items.

 ??

 ?

?

Takegami

OVA No. 7 of Bubblegum Crisis - "Double Vision"

OVA 'Sol Bianca'

Home entertainment systems. (VCRs)

 LENSMAN – Galactic Patrol (episode 1 on sale 21^st. of April, the next 5 episodes to be released on the 21^st, 1 per month) [On Air Series, not OVAs ]

The two logos that appear are for the distributor “Pony Canyon” - the “PC” & the “paw”.

The 25-episode series aired from October 6, 1984 to August 8, 1985 in Japan – according to online sources?!

OVA 'Sol Bianca' , OVA 'Hi-speed Jecy', Majin Eiyûden Wataru.?

 Fan Art.

?

OAV's - Gall Force, Hades Project Zeorymer, Iczer 3, Dangaio, AD Police.

 

Space battleship YAMATO.

As I can not myself translate the Japanese details of the contents of this magazine, are solely from the few English words and the recognizable animation stills, and illustrations (that suited me just fine back in the 1990's). 

 Anime V April 1990

 

April 1990 Pt.7 Birth of a Fan Club.

With my enthusiasm from meeting people at Easter Con '90 only growing, with it brought forth the idea of an Anime Club, but upon my return from the Easter Convention I was faced with the news that I had a rare Cancer of the tongue (in the days when the radiotherapy suite of my local hospital was in the hospital's converted basement, with what looked like machinery left over from the 'Cold war').

So as to keep my mind totally occupied I decided to form a local Anime and Manga club.

It certainly gave plenty to think about and do.

I was reminded that I was part of the “set-up crew” for the “Anime Fandom in the UK” from the follow-up letter from Steve Ktye & Helen McCarthy after EASTCON '90

A lot of my fleshing-out of ideas on paper have survived (even to this day), as I applied myself to the idea of what the club should all about, and how to spread the word.

I was away from work for more than five months, the gruelling radiotherapy treatment that in the end failed to eradicate the cancer, so I had to under go surgery to cut out one side of my tongue, but all the while Anime club was gaining momentum and support.

 

What to do? 

Well a club needs a name and a logo that reflects its core interest!

 As I was not an artist I used a sticker that came free with one of my Japanese Anime magazines (it is a Super Deformed Ingram from Patlabor), and after much soul searching I came up with 'Anime Kyo UK' ( Animation Today UK ) because Japanimation\Anime was so new and exsiting.
 

Fan clubs were the social media of their day, many of whom had fanzines and club newsletters, and acted as a hubs for fans to meet up, and correspond with one another from further afield and even internationally.

This was my Easter and April in 1990!

[NOTE: I have very few recollections of this time at the age of 24 due to some memory loss, but can refer to old letters and my own clubs Editorials from the Club's magazines.]

[Note: By April 1990 I was only in contact with a few (about Six) UK fans by post. ]

[Note: I had only known of others' existence by writing into Canadian & American Magazines, Ads in Comic-books, and JapAnimation fan Clubs, and by joining these Fan Clubs you got to find other fans with new and exciting interest in your country.]

For more click: Birth of a Fan Club. 

Letter from a blogger

Dear readers, 

You may be forgiven in thinking that I had disregarded my work on this personal journey in to the World of the UK's Anime & Manga Fandom, but with support from Jonathan Clements, and Helen McCarthy, the word got out about Andrew Osmond's article featured on the Anime News Network (ANN), of those nostalgic days of knowing what Anime (then called “Japanimation”) was back in the 80's, to finding like-minded Anime fans in the early 90's.

That was back in December 2014, and January 2015 when I had hoped many more people had found this on-going trip down memory-lane worth a read (it only takes five or six hours to read the entire blog – so far as one reader has comments have suggested).

Taking advantage of this new public relation role did take time away from blogging, that has spurred me on to organise my collection of Anime and Manga memorabilia, in an attempt to put as much of it in chronological order and try my best to immerse you the reader in the days before the World Wide Web was so wildly accessible with so much information, and social media bringing Fans together!

Some Anime Magazine & Fanzines I've yet to write about!!

I have even time off from my job and taken the opportunity to meet with some of those “movers 'n' shakers” that still remember those times and that contributed so much – I drove up North to speak with the folks at the UK's oldest retail shop that supported the Anime & Manga Fandom “The Sheffield Space Centre”, and that to this day they still attend conventions, and they have a wide selection of ephemera. [ I did some old fashioned note taking for a future timeline of this blog. - “Anime Day'91”]

Just a few metal & enamal Pins from the old days! THANKS Sheffield Space Centre.

It has also been a time to organise those early fan made videos, that so many have been lost.

From hours of VHS video tapes to get just a few minutes, will also take time away from the historical part of my blog. With the idea of returning those NTSC VHS tapes back to America for their custodians of Anime Fandom!

I've even taken so time to source some old Anime from the 90's on DVD, as wel as a few old translated manga from the old days too!

I have also spent time supporting Anime Societies in the East Midlands (here in the UK), getting to know the younger Anime fans, and I've supported (in my own way) those in the UK promoting Anime through retail releases of DVDs & Blue-rays, and those who have put pen to paper in producing informative books.

It is now my hope that from reviews and links to this blog that someone can now create factual entries in wikipedia to help preserve this history of Manga and Anime in UK's shops, and Fan run Conventions.

Over the coming years I hope you will peace together the many influences that pushed forward the growth of the UK's Anime and Manga Fandom, and a retail industry that took seed in the early 90's!

Sometime this all seems like an overwhelming task for a one-man-band such as myself!

It's all keeping me on-track......

[can you really blog about your own blog? Another link.]