Showing posts with label James Swallow. Show all posts
Showing posts with label James Swallow. Show all posts
Sunday, 7 September 2014
April 1990 Pt.1e UK Anime Fandom.
Post Con thoughts...
To get a feel of emotions that poured out from people with this newly discovered sleeping giant called Anime that many of us had grown-up with and had no idea of it's true origins! What follows are snippets from letters from my fellow UK Anime fans that I met at the Convention and corresponded with prier to the Convention.
To get a feel of emotions that poured out from people with this newly discovered sleeping giant called Anime that many of us had grown-up with and had no idea of it's true origins! What follows are snippets from letters from my fellow UK Anime fans that I met at the Convention and corresponded with prier to the Convention.
To
this day they can still invoke memories of how it felt, like a
time wonderment to so many of us.
Paul
Davison wrote on
the 19th.
of April -
“had
a great time without getting drunk, but days later still had a
headache from lack of sleep”
“It
was worth it!”, “And I'd do it again next week!”
“I'm
going to take your advice and write to everyone and everything and
hope I get replies.”
“more
than ever I'm going to try and promote Anime and Anime based games in
our area. I'm going to make a poster asking for Anime and Manga fans
to contact me (if only for a chat, it's a start.).”
“seeing
'Macross: Do you remember Love' just blew my mind, and brought home
to me what is my favourite Anime”
“Its
been good to find someone else who likes the same thing and I hope
some kind of Organisation can be set-up in Britain soon for the likes
of you and me”
R.
Poffley wrote in April
1990.
“looking
back at EastCon there were quite a few people at EastCon who were
interested in Anime there but, as you say most had been fans for a
while and not many “new” fans at all.”
“Helen
had been approached to do an Anime Programme for the WorldCon in the
Netherlands in August.”
“I
think that the Anime programme was one of the better attended events
over the convention and that bodes well for Anime in this Country.”
[Note:
The get together on the Sunday was all about making friends and
exchanging bits of information, I was even able to introduced Paul to Ashley, even though
Paul had read Mektek.]
[Note:
Jim Swallow wrote to Jay Felton telling her that EastCon'90 had about
700 attendees. - This was the big national Science Fiction for the
UK]
[Amendment\update "there were about 700 attendees, although the official convention membership count is on record, though without supporting sources, as 1,100 (Anon. n.d. “Eastercon”). The largest audience for the video screening room was considerably in excess of the fire limit of 450; it was usually about a third to half full, but some audiences were in single figures. As I recall, three screenings packed the room: Akira (Katsuhiro Ōtomo, 1988), Urotsukidōji (Wandering Kid, Hideki Takayama, 1989) and Robot Carnival (Katsuhiro Ōtomo et al., 1987).
The majority of attendees were probably novelty-seekers, who made no further attempt to engage with Japanese animation after the event." ( McCarthy - Re-creating Anime History: The Development of British Anime Fandom and the Developing Comprehension of Anime History as a Transnational Phenomenon. posted on July 2019) wrote about the "Distortion of the historical record". Facebook re-post 5th March 2020 ]
[Amendment\update "there were about 700 attendees, although the official convention membership count is on record, though without supporting sources, as 1,100 (Anon. n.d. “Eastercon”). The largest audience for the video screening room was considerably in excess of the fire limit of 450; it was usually about a third to half full, but some audiences were in single figures. As I recall, three screenings packed the room: Akira (Katsuhiro Ōtomo, 1988), Urotsukidōji (Wandering Kid, Hideki Takayama, 1989) and Robot Carnival (Katsuhiro Ōtomo et al., 1987).
The majority of attendees were probably novelty-seekers, who made no further attempt to engage with Japanese animation after the event." ( McCarthy - Re-creating Anime History: The Development of British Anime Fandom and the Developing Comprehension of Anime History as a Transnational Phenomenon. posted on July 2019) wrote about the "Distortion of the historical record". Facebook re-post 5th March 2020 ]
[NOTE:
“that
many of us had grown-up with and had no idea of it's true origins!”
I was lucky enough to live in Australia from the late 60's to the
late 70's and as a kid I loved cartoons, and I remembered seeing
'Kimba the White Lion', 'Speed Racer', 'Marine Boy' , and 'The
Amazing 3', so from this early age Japanese animation styles were
imprinted on me. Later I lived in Spain for a whole year and was
introduced to such cartoons like 'Mazinger Z', 'Battle of the
Planets' more imprints.]
[NOTE:
I will endeavour to contact as many attendees for their
recollections of that day as I can.]
Helen McCarthy – Re-creating Anime History: The Development of British Anime Fandom and the Developing Comprehension of Anime History as a Transnational Phenomenon.
To
be continued.......... When more comes to light!
Monday, 1 September 2014
April 1990 Pt.1d UK Anime Fandom.
I
can not after all this time (24 years have passed by) remember all
those who where there at the meeting, only a few stick in my mind,
luckily some of my letters from fellow UK Anime fans that have
survived to this day to fill the gaps in my memory.
EASTCON
'90 meeting attendees:-
Ashley
(editor of Mektek), Carlo Bernhardi (Myself), Paul Davison, Ian
(friend of Paul Davison), Keith (friend of Paul Davison), Helen
McCarthy, Richard
Poffley, and Jim
Swallow (James Swallow).
Helen
McCarthy would like to add;
Peter
J. Evans, Peter Evans, Harry Payne, Wil Overton, David Rowe, and
Jonathan Weeks, to the list of attendees.
[NOTE:
I will endeavour to contact as many attendees for their
recollections of that day as I can.]
Jonathan Weeks Wrote "I never attended any Eastercons. My first contact with fandom was Animeday (1991)" (Posted on FB messenger march 2020).
Jonathan Weeks Wrote "I never attended any Eastercons. My first contact with fandom was Animeday (1991)" (Posted on FB messenger march 2020).
DATE to be confirmed June\July 1990 (as Helen's first house meeting is Saturday 21st. July)
What
follows is passages from the Post EasterCon'90 Contact news-sheet
(from
Helen McCarthy & Steve Kyte), I hope these last few Blog pages
have given you all an insight into what it was like and how it all
started.
“KONNICHIWA!
Japanese
for "hello, how are you," it seems a good way to start.
You're
getting this because you were at the EASTCON 90 bar meeting or else
have written to me to express an interest in Anime Fandom in the UK,
and since it didn't really exist before EASTCON you're part of the
setup crew!
It
was nice to meet so many Anime enthusiasts at the con and I'm sorry I
didn't have a chance to talk more to everyone running most of a
programme stream plus the Art Show is a silly thing to do and doesn't
leave you time for much else but hope to remedy this in the next few
months. As I said at the con.
I
think the 'best way we can ensure the wider circulation of Anime
tapes and easier contact between fans is to do a newsletter and
fanzine which will at least provide a point of contact to start with,
and to try and set up viewing sessions in as many areas as possible.
Please
get in touch with. others on the attached list and please set up
local showings if you can.
Let
us have any Information for future issues of the news-sheet -
addresses~. contacts, anything you think would be of interest to
other fans.
And
now for the news from ANIME UK.....
[NOTE:
Helen & Steve included an open house for viewings, as many of us
did in those days. People all huddled around a small TV in a
front-room or Bed-room.]
SATURDAY
21ST JULY - 2 p.m. NIGHT ON THE GALACTIC RAILROAD; PATLABOR; other
items. Mostly in Japanese.
SUNDAY
5TH AUGUST - 2 p.m. BUBBLEGUM CRISIS: THE FIVE STAR STORIES, other
items. Mostly in Japanese.
SATURDAY
29TH SEPTEMBER - 2 p.m. Programme TBA depending what we get in the
interim.
We
have only a certain amount of oxygen in the living-room so we CAN'T
take more than ten people per showing. If you want to come please
phone or write right away and book your airspace!
ANYONE
ELSE WHO CAN HOLD SHOWINGS PLEASE LET ME KNOW SO I CAN PUBLISH
DETAILS.
PLEASE WRITE on anything anime related - this newsletter needs your input!!!!!!!
[There was a contact List including 27 UK individuals...]
[NOTE: I will endeavour to contact as many attendees for their recollections of that day as I can.]
To
be continued..........Post Con thoughts...
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