2022 Old School (Pre-2001) Cosplay Gathering

[InsaneDavid]

Good evening old schoolers,

How about a relatively unknown one with a cool style, awesome opening theme, and a very small animation budget?  Violinist of Hameln had a very long running manga series which spawned this loose anime adaptation.  Unfortunately the budget was so tight that the animators were forced to use still images for massive parts of it all.  Perhaps a further condensed rewrite could have gone better?  Who knows.  There is also a very charming Super Famicom (Super Nintendo) game that has a wonderful English fan translation.  It's an action platform puzzler unlike anything else, definitely worth checking out.  The entire anime series has also been fansubbed but this can be a hard one to find these days.

Celebrating An Era - 1990's!  Violinist of Hameln (1996)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4d7wM6A1KtY

[InsaneDavid]

Good evening old schoolers,

Going with a Go Nagai classic today, perhaps not his most influential work but that's only because so much of his work was incredibly influential.  The original Cutey Honey (and yes, I'll always spell Cutey that way) anime series is a lot of fun and far more approachable for the masses as it's toned down quite a bit from the original manga - which is also available in English!  There are a bunch of sequels and re-imaginings of the lovely warrior but I still totally recommend the original anime - even if New Cutey Honey is my personal favorite.

Celebrating An Era - 1970's!  Cutey Honey (1973)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jCX77Je16fk

[Amanojaku]

Good evening old schoolers,

Going with a Go Nagai classic today, perhaps not his most influential work but that's only because so much of his work was incredibly influential.  The original Cutey Honey (and yes, I'll always spell Cutey that way) anime series is a lot of fun and far more approachable for the masses as it's toned down quite a bit from the original manga - which is also available in English!  There are a bunch of sequels and re-imaginings of the lovely warrior but I still totally recommend the original anime - even if New Cutey Honey is my personal favorite.

Celebrating An Era - 1970's!  Cutey Honey (1973)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jCX77Je16fk

I picked up the manga not long ago and was quite surprised by some of the content lol.

[InsaneDavid]

I picked up the manga not long ago and was quite surprised by some of the content lol.

Yeah, it is kind of a trip compared to the anime series.  In retrospect while it seems like they got away with a lot in the anime, compared to the manga it's super tame.  The action and comedy used to make up the difference basically reset the template for action shojo anime from then on, so I suppose it all worked out in the end.

[InsaneDavid]

Good evening old schoolers!

This week I have an OP that I am very excited to share.  Grimm Masterpiece Theater is a collection of classic fairy tales adapted from the collected works of the Brothers Grimm.  The stories generally follow the folk tales as they are known, with a few alterations and twists as the Grimm stories have been subject to from the beginning.

While this may seem like an obscure series to be excited about, it's also one that a lot of us have probably had exposure to.  Grimm Masterpiece Theater and its companion series (New Grimm Masterpiece Theater) were adapted for American audiences under the title "Grimm's Fairy Tale Classics" and rather famously aired on Nickelodeon for many, many, many years throughout the 1990's.  The English adaptation has so many classic anime English voice actors throughout, it really is kind of a wonderful snapshot of quality syndication dubbing of the time.  This includes a few appearances of my personal favorite voice actor, Mike Reynolds.

I'm presenting this one today as Discotek Media is going to release the first series on SD Blu-ray at the end of May!  In addition to finally having the original Japanese version with English subtitles, it will also have the entire dub version of each episode that had an English release.  While I'll have to wait until the second volume is released for Bearskin, my favorite Grimm story, this is one of those "it'll never be released" series that we're going to be getting in just a few months.  I am overly excited about this one.

Celebrating An Era - 1980's!  Grimm Masterpiece Theater (1987)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KVaXJMcMyP0

[InsaneDavid]

Good evening old schoolers!

Closing out March with a classic space opera and a cornerstone of the Leiji Matsumoto universe - Space Pirate Captain Harlock.  While I always recommend Galaxy Express 999 as an outstanding 1970's anime, admittedly it does run really long and it's easy to lose interest.  Harlock on the other hand gives you that same type of downtrodden adventure with a third less of the episodes.  I actually watched the whole series again a couple years ago, two episodes a night, on a free streaming channel and truly enjoyed it beginning to end.  I think spreading it out like that - how it was intended and broadcast - did a lot to really enhance that.  Give this one a shot, it's really enjoyable and filled with iconic characters.

Celebrating An Era - 1970's!  Space Pirate Captain Harlock (1978)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jgBOlg_xNcU

[InsaneDavid]

Good evening old schoolers!

Starting this month off with a series that premiered 24 years ago today.  Revolutionary Girl Utena borrows a little here and there from shojo of the past and builds upon it with a more modern focus and unique approach - both serious and unapologetically over the top all at once.  This was obviously a very important series during the 90's anime boom in the West - both for anime and manga.  It truly was a revolutionary series, following a lineage first first began in 1953 with Osamu Tezuka's Princess Knight but expanding upon what came before to smash through into a genre of its own.

Celebrating An Era - 1990's!  Revolutionary Girl Utena (1997)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FmCys68ELpg

[InsaneDavid]

Good late evening old schoolers!

A bit of a random pick for this week, a series that began as a strategy RPG / dating sim / visual novel and pretty much exploded into all Japanese media.  The Sakura Taisen TV series is an adaptation of the first video game and is reasonably entertaining - also an accessible place to start if the property looks interesting to you.  Should also be noted that the original 1996 Saturn game has been fan translated fairly recently.

Celebrating An Era - 2000!  Sakura Taisen TV (2000)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=71L-EEB7yJE

[InsaneDavid]

Good very late evening old schoolers!

Another random pick this week but one that is a series I very much enjoy.  Galaxy Express 999 is a long series, which can make it seem like it drags a bit here or there for some.  I've always thought that was kind of the point however, as the journey shows what a genuinely screwed up and dark place the galaxy is - and it only gets worse the further Tetsuro and Maetel travel.  Seriously, after awhile I just want to see them catch a break and spend one layover on one calm planet.  The entire series has been released in wonderful quality, subtitled in English, in three box sets and can be purchased currently.  If the runtime is too daunting, an alternate telling of the series is featured as the first Galaxy Express 999 movie - which ran on the Sci-Fi Channel at one point, exposing GE999 to the mainstream during the 90's anime boom.

Celebrating An Era - 1970's!  Galaxy Express 999 (1978)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gq-b_iNrQaQ

[InsaneDavid]

Good evening old schoolers!

As I'm sure many of you have seen, virtual FanimeCon 2021 has awoken a bit.  While we won't be gathering this year (and our vintage anime panel is being rolled forward to 2022 as it has so much audience participation / discussion), I am really happy to see Fanime attempt to provide some content and added value for those who registered back in 2019 / 2020.

For this week I've chosen an ending that totally brings back that old school anime vibe, especially if you were into anime during the 1990's western boom.  I love Dominion Tank Police and have since I first saw it.  I also amazingly still find it just as hilarious today as I did 25 or so years ago.  Of course it also ran during Sci-Fi Channel's "Festival of Anime" albeit in a slight edited form, so it's an obscure one a lot of people may have seen.  It's also one of the series that I will endlessly advocate that the English dub is the best way to watch it.  It blows my mind it is currently out of print and has been for so many years - kind of crazy considering it's such a short OVA.  There have been a lot of reworks and interpretations of this property (in fact this OVA is a rough prequel to the manga) but this is still what I like best.  Simple as the dub music is, it just fits so much better with everything - but that could be nostalgia talking.

Celebrating An Era - 1980's!  Dominion / Dominion Tank Police (1988)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gvMOk0oiR7k (ENDING - Dub)

[InsaneDavid]

Good evening old schoolers!

Closing out April today and I will admit it still feels more strange rather than normal to not be preparing for an in-person FanimeCon during this time of the year.  I suppose that's a good thing, means my interest in cosplay and conventions hasn't lessened in this time away from them.  Really glad to see things starting to turn around in regards to the ongoing pandemic, at least in my area.

This week's OP, from Super Dimension Calvary Southern Cross, is one I enjoy although I absolutely do not care for the series it leads off.  Southern Cross just never clicked with me - nor did it with Japanese viewers in 1984, as it was canceled before its originally planned ending due to low ratings.  Not exactly the best way to follow up the other two unrelated "Super Dimension" series - Macross and Orguss - which were both quite successful, especially Macross (although Orguss is way better and you all know it.....)  Still has a cool opening song though!

Celebrating An Era - 1980's!  Super Dimension Calvary Southern Cross (1984)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f7UUQd7lLbA

[InsaneDavid]

Good evening old schoolers!

May is upon us!  To kick off the month that means in-person Fanime is a year away, I decided to go with a pretty great ending.  It's no secret I love City Hunter - after all, my wife and I cosplay under the name Mokkori Cosplay with "mokkori" more or less being the series catchphrase.  Discotek Media announced that the first half of City Hunter 2 on Blu-ray will be released this July.  I consider City Hunter 2 the best series of the franchise as many of the stories span two episodes, allowing deeper storytelling with just as much action and comedy.  Episodes 49 and 50, "Goodbye Hard-Boiled City," is often considered to be the flat out best story in the entire franchise.  I agree, although the City Hunter '91 episode "My Love For Tonight Only, Cinderella Story in the City" is my favorite episode, and a perfect adaptation of my favorite City Hunter manga story (chapters 143 and 144, Cinderella in the City).  I really do miss cosplaying as Ryo Saeba, doubly so considering that City Hunter was just beginning to ride a new wave of international popularity at the beginning of 2020.

Celebrating An Era - 1980's!  City Hunter 2 (1988)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jqTao0YEvRs (ENDING 1)

[InsaneDavid]

Good evening old schoolers!

Mixing it up a bit with a Saturday post for this week.  I hope everyone is doing alright.  I want to again commend FanimeCon for attempting to ADD value to 2020 registrants with the virtual event for 2021, rather than saying "well we're just going to roll it over for another year."  Sure, virtual cons are inherently imperfect and limited but if the last year has taught me anything it is that you have to approach most things with an element of flexibility.  That all said, I am so looking forward to 2022 and hoping that momentum builds up to it, rather than fades away.

For this evening, I'm going with a really chill, urban opening.  Boogiepop Phantom is a bit of an odd series to go into cold - but it also sort of works out as the best way to get into it.  Technically it is a standalone series meant to follow the first and sixth (which serves as a prequel to the series) Boogiepop light novels.  The idea was the live action film adaptation of the original light novel would be released with the anime following shortly after, making it easier to get into.  However the film wasn't released in Japan until after the series concluded.  What I still can't wrap my head around is how this aired on limited basic cable in the USA, on TechTV of all places.  Either way, it's a short series - only 12 episodes - and if it piques your interest, there's a whole lot more to check out with English translations of the first six light novels, the manga, the live action film, and the follow up anime series that is an adaptation of the original light novel.

Celebrating An Era - 2000! Boogiepop Phantom (2000)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PRNW70gWKjE

[Angelx624]

I do plan on at least checking out Virtual Fanime. If it can fill at least some of the void of not having an in-person con, then that's good enough for me.

Then we can all finally return in Fanime 2022! ^^

[InsaneDavid]

I do plan on at least checking out Virtual Fanime. If it can fill at least some of the void of not having an in-person con, then that's good enough for me.

Then we can all finally return in Fanime 2022! ^^

Same here!

[InsaneDavid]

Good evening old schoolers!

Any other year and this would be the big run-up weekend of posts and promotion, styling wigs, giving cosplay its final fittings and pressings, getting panels rehearsed one last time, sorting out business cards and badge ribbons, and everything else that the week before FanimeCon entails for many of us.  However we know this year's Fanime is different than any that has come before, even 2020's full postponement.  With that said, it's awesome to see so many people excited about the virtual 2021 events and coming together to begin to plan fan events and gatherings for 2022 already.  This week's OP is a true classic, beautifully animated with a rousing yet relaxing opening theme.

Celebrating An Era - 1960's!  Jungle Taitei (1965)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FgeBFRjWxiU

[InsaneDavid]

Good morning old schoolers!

Well here we are, what would have been Fanime Friday for 2021 (and still is for Virtual FanimeCon).  I cannot emphasize enough how much I wish we were all going to be meeting up together on this evening for what is my favorite Fanime tradition.  This gathering truly is what got me into cosplay, first in 2014, and is a large part of what brought me back into anime fandom completely after returning to conventions in 2012.  All of you who attend, who have such varied interests in anime and cosplay characters, who inspire me to look into the series and movies and manga you cosplay from (which although all from before 2001, seems vast and ever expanding), to see your construction and design techniques for costumes where you may be the only person at the entire convention cosplaying as that character - are a part of what brought me back into the convention fandom as well.

Please take care of yourselves, enjoy the virtual Fanime weekend if you are participating, and I hope to see you all in one year's time.

For this week's OP I'm going with a film special that took a bunch of "usual suspect" Tezuka Productions characters and mixed them up together in different roles and circumstances - a bit like the convention scene as of late.  Marine Express was a television movie commissioned for an annual 24-hour charity special.  In addition to having been shown at Fanime in years previous, it also makes an appearance in the outstanding Game Boy Advance game Astro Boy: Omega Factor, which itself is an amazing love letter to Osamu Tezuka fans.

Celebrating An Era - 1970's!  Undersea Super Train: Marine Express (1979)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tBOr140mjlY

[InsaneDavid]

Good late evening old schoolers!

I'm considering this the first post on the way back to normalcy as now we're within one full year of the next convention cycle.  Outside of everything else in the world, the past two years (one without Fanime and one with the virtual convention that just wrapped up) have felt very different without an in-person FanimeCon.  Things continue to look up in this corner of the world, making the return in 2022 look more and more like a certainty.  With that, I'm going to continue to post every week right up until FanimeCon 2022, and dare I say maybe even start to promote the gathering again in the next few weeks.

ONE YEAR TO GO - START!

Going with the Sailorstars opening this week.  Although it's probably my least favorite season of Sailor Moon, I really do like the opening sequences and the opening song.

Why do I dislike Sailorstars so much?  Ah... for a number of reasons - namely retconning the anime ending of Sailor Moon S, having "hero" characters who are completely worthless, and lacking any kind of character arc outside of a couple really well written episodes centering on Haruka and Michiru.  A lot of this has to do with trying to curve the manga back into the anime plots, which by this time had gone off in completely different directions, resulting in this kind of strange third chronology that doesn't really adapt the manga nor follow the anime it's supposed to cap.  In my mind Sailorstars always got a free pass for all of that due to its erroneously perceived adult and serious nature that supposedly prevented it from being adapted into English for the longest time.  A lot of its notoriety in the United States stems from it being perceived as this mythical final season of Sailor Moon that you couldn't watch - at least in my opinion.

Celebrating An Era - 1990's!  Pretty Soldier Sailor Moon Sailorstars (1996)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MWPkNVOdszE

[InsaneDavid]

Good evening old schoolers!

Continuing on with an absolute classic, not much more can be said that has already been.  However, if you are only familiar with Dragon Ball Z or the more modern flavors of Dragon Ball, the early anime series is absolutely worth checking out.

Celebrating An Era - 1980's!  Dragon Ball (1986)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t61DxVsJwqk

[InsaneDavid]

Good evening old schoolers!

I hope those in the Fanime area have been keeping cool over these past few days, as the temperatures have been roasting.  For this week's OP, an interesting one from a series that is finally getting an official English subtitled release shortly.  The story goes that when World Events Productions was planning out their Voltron project they wanted to combine three Japanese series to make one healthy syndication package.  The intention was to use Dairugger, Albegas, and Daltanious.  Due to a misunderstanding, asking for "the one with the lion," they were sent Golion in place of Daltanious.  After seeing the far more modern and slick Golion, the arrangement was made to acquire it for redevelopment and localization instead.  Golion became Lion Force Voltron / Voltron III, Dairugger became Vehicle Voltron / Voltron I, and Albegas was intended to be Voltron II but was dropped in favor of contracting additional US-centric episodes of Lion Force Voltron.  ...and well, Daltanious became little more than a footnote in the history of 1980's Americanized anime.  I still swear I saw a Daltanious VHS tape in a Suncoast in the early 2000's but have never been able to come up with any proof... oh well.

Celebrating An Era - 1970's!  Future Robo Daltanious (1979)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WT8itiVr4ng