Category: Editorials

Galaxy Express 999: Have Gun–Will Travel

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hisuiconI have always heard of  Galaxy Express 999 as one of those shows that people talk about but not many people have seen unless they are devoted to the classics.  And among those fans people who have actually seen the TV series as opposed to the movies is fewer still. But I am surprised that no one who has ever watched the TV series has ever mentioned one thing that shocked me greatly. Almost everyone in Galaxy Express is amazingly amoral. Even Tetsuro and Maetel seem to often seem to plunge right into full on amorality.

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The Speakeasy: A Reverse Thieves Podcast – Drink #009

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Anime 3000 presents The Speakeasy Podcast:
Drink #009: The Bloody Caesar, Anime Licensing and the Future

The U.S. anime market of 2000 was clearly not the same market of 2010 no matter how much some people would like that to be the case. A lot about how anime is brought over to the U.S. has changed in the last few years. We talk about how we got to this point and then at the myriad of ways the remaining companies are innovating to respond to these trends. Which of these new methods of distribution will be able to coexist and which will die out? Whose licensing methods will pick profitable shows and who is still picking Rozen Maiden and Heat Guy J style bombs? And most importantly who thought that picking up Blessing of the Campanella was a good idea?

(Listen) (Show Notes)

And now your helpful bartenders at The Speakeasy present your drink:

The Bloody Caesar
6 oz. Clamato Juice
1½ oz. Vodka
2 Dashes Hot Sauce
2 Dashes Worcestershire Sauce
Celery salt
Freshly Ground Pepper
Lime/Lemon wedge
1 Crisp Celery Stalk

Served on the rocks in a highball class. Rim the glass first with a lime wedge and then with celery salt.

Giveaway + Otaku no Video: Messages from the Past

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hisuiconEvery year Otaku no Video is used to kick off Otakon. It has had that spot on the programming schedule ever year since 1994 because it was one of the first and most well know anime that looks into the heart of otaku culture. It encapsulates the spirit of any anime convention and the otaku lifestyle. It simultaneously sings the praises of the otaku while hanging its head in shame at the same time. Otaku no Video does this dichotomy in storytelling with two different narratives taking place. One story is told with animation and one story is told through a live action mockumentary. Each path takes its own look at anime fandom and pushes past is logical extreme for comedic effect. In between these two extremes is where Gainax and maybe even anime fandom’s true opinion of itself lies.

Otaku no Video is a show that I remember from my early fandom. I don’t know how it is exactly, probably just the internet, but it seems as soon as you start watching anime, as soon as you enter fandom, you find out about the word “otaku.” It is like magically you just know this word and whether you use it right or wrong, and who says what the right and wrong is, becomes a part of your fandom. Nowadays you can find any number of shows featuring otaku, but when Otaku no Video hit the streets it wasn’t often otaku were main characters. But despite the prevalence of such things now, Otaku no Video is still a unique work without equal.

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