What's New
- WHAT'S NEW? -
Anime Vortex Moves / AV at Centennial College / U of T Club Anime!! Disbands / Kanda Kawa Closes / U.T.A.R.P.A. Raises its Prices / Anime North a Success! / J.A.B. Co. Goes Canadian
- Anime Vortex Moves -
An incident with the Student Association Van has caused the premature departure from George Brown College for Anime Vortex. Unfortunately this means that Anime Vortex no longer has a permenant place to stay in Toronto. For the time being, the Japan Foundation has generously donated its Multipurpose room for Anime Vortex showings. This however is only temporary, since the Japan Foundation has it's own agenda, Anime Vortex cannot always be guaranteed a time slot. This coupled with the fact that "No fansubs may be shown at the Japan foundation" adds to our grief. We are currently looking for a suitable place to rent, if there is anyone who has any information on good places to rent downtown (with projector equipment) could you please contact James at [email protected] , (416) 282 - 2010 after 7:00pm. We hope to have good news about our downtown showings soon.
- AV at Centennial College -
This however doesn't mean that Anime Vortex will just sit back and wait for a new place. Oh no, if you think we're going to take this sitting down, think again. Thanks to Paul Auguste, and Tenneson Fletcher (Executive / Assistant Executive) Anime Vortex will be EXPANDING to Centennial College: Progress Campus, in Scarborough Ontario. Just a bus ride from the Scarborough Town Center, Centennial College is a prime Location for new Anime Fans in Scarborough to start a fandom, and we think it's about time. Paul and his executives are currently planning the 1st showing, and hope to have it sometime in September. If any of you Anime Vortex members Live in Scarborough (about 40% of you do), then this is a great chance for you NOT to commute to Toronto for showings ^_^. Look for flyers / posters to be put up in the Scarborough area soon! For More information Contact James at [email protected] .
- U of T Club Anime!! Disbands -
On Saturday August 23rd, the University of Toronto's Club Anime!! celebrated its one year anniversary. However this momentous occasion also marked their FINAL showing in Toronto. Robert Wong, the 'President' of Club Anime!! after returning from a trip abroad, made the announcement shortly after entering the showroom of Club Anime!! on Saturday. Robert stated that he would be 'relocating' to New York, and that he would be taking his collection with him. Robert was quoted as saying that MONEY wasn't the problem, and that if they wished to continue, that the club could have run for at least 5 more years. The reaction from the crowd that night was filled with mixed emotions, some were shocked at the announcement, others felt that this decision had been in the works for sometime. In the end those members who had just renewed their memberships or had just signed on as new members are the ones who suffer from this loss. As a former executive of Club Anime!! I can say without a doubt that this club more than any other was filled with great loyalty in the way of members, as well as great dedication to putting on a show. I cannot say (like many of my associates do) that I'm happy to see Club Anime Gone, but I would like to say that Robert Wong tried very hard to make a lot of people happy, and if it means anything, I believe that those who did attend Club Anime!!'s showings got what they paid for.
As a buffer, Anime Vortex will honor our previous contract with Robert Wong. Anime Vortex WILL accept new members with a VAILD Club Anime!! membership card at the $3 renewal fee instead of the $5 new membership fee. We hope that this will accommodate anyone who had registered with Club Anime!! and are now left without a club to go to, at least get some sort of Anime for the rest of the semester. Remember that after paying your $3 membership fee, all of the showings afterwards for the rest of the semester are FREE, BUT YOU MUST PRESENT YOUR Anime Vortex membership card at the showings or you CANNOT enter the theater. If you have any questions please contact James at [email protected]
- Kanda Kawa Closes -
Along with Club Anime!!, Kanda Kawa has closed its doors. Located at the corner of Finch and Midland, Kanda Kawa was one of the few stores in Ontario which imported "ORIGINAL" Japanese Anime Merchandise. From CD singles to 12" models of Sailor Moon, Kanda Kawa had nearly everything an anime fan (with enough money) could want. With a wide range of merchandise to choose from, you'd think that paying the rent would be easy. However, with the prices a little high for most Anime Fans budget , Kanda Kawa found itself on the short end of the stick. Usually making appearances at Club Anime!! and Anime Vortex, Kanda Kawa would sell very little in the way of merchandise. A keychain here, a poster there, a CD here, in the end moving locations from Scarborough and perhaps back to Toronto may be the better choice for Kanda Kawa. However it remains to be seen wether Kanda Kawa will decide to remain in the greater Toronto area at all.
- U.T.A.R.P.A. Raises it's Prices - (some comments made are opinion based)
As of the August showing of UTARPA, the University of Toronto Anime and Roleplaying Association has had to raise their prices for memberships.
>From the previous $5 for 4 months to the new $5 for 3 months. Why the sudden JUMP in price? Well according to UTARPA spokesman David, the University of Toronto charges ALL chartered organizations for the use of U of T building, rooms, and equipment. Previously UTARPA would pay anywhere from $150 - $175 for one showing, now recently the prices for rental of the rooms and equipment has jumped slightly. Rumor has it that due to the success of Anime North, the University of Toronto has decided that clubs are now becoming CASH COWS. There was no definite figure as to the price of renting in the future, however the figure must be substantial seeing that UTARPA has had to raise prices.
- Anime North a Success! -
Anime North "Toronto's Anime Convention", was a HUGE success. With an attendance record of over 800 people, Anime North has been the BIGGEST Anime Gathering of fans Toronto has ever seen. With the Co-operation of 4 clubs in the greater Toronto area "UTARPA, URanime, YAMA, and Anime Vortex", Anime North was launched on August 9th 1997. The evening went from 9:00am - 12:00am, the day was mostly spend attending panels, checking out the screening rooms, visiting the dealers room, and just plain having fun. The secondary video room was especially popular, so much in fact that the security for the room had to REFUSE entrance to the room 3 times during the course of the day, usually with 30 people waiting outside just to get in. Overall the day was a HUGE success, and everyone went home with some great memories. The end of the night showcased the awards for the costumers who attended, and a special screening of Ghost in the Shell. The Convention Committee had a Dinner celebration on August 27th 1997 at Fox's Den near Bay and Bloor to Celebrate a job well done. Plans for next years Two day con will begin almost immediately after the new school semester begins. I wish all of those who attended left satisfied, and that they will return for next years convention.
- J.A.B. Co. goes Canadian -
Anime Vortex's in house fansub distributor J.A.B. Co. has gone Canadian.
"What the hell is J.A.B. Co. Inc. anyway and what does it stand for?"
J.A.B. Co. Inc. as it has been termed, started out as a joke by me back in high school. I had been collecting anime for some time, and with all of my friends asking for tapes, it became apparent that I was in fact running a small business supplying people with Anime. Dubbing the company J.A.B. Co. which actually stood for my initials (James Aquino Bade), I labeled and gave out peoples tapes this way. When I joined Club Anime!! and became their Anime Distributor, I kept the label, and distributed tapes to the members for a $3 maintenance fee. After starting Anime Vortex, I found that I no longer had the time to duplicate video's for anyone save close friends. Chris Li, an old friend (not to mention he has 6 VCRs) offered to assist Anime Vortex in distributing Fansubs to the members. Chris adopted the J.A.B. Co. logo redubbing it "Japanese Animation BAKA!" which loosely translated means "Japanese Animation IDIOT!". Chris has been doing the distribution ever since, and Anime Vortex members have yet to complain. Recently, Chris along with James, have decided that J.A.B. Co. has matured into full distributor status, and have started plans to go Canadian. building a webpage on Tripod http://members.tripod. com/~Chris_Li/index.html , and contacting a new fansub group called Studio Chikakitsu who will be releasing Sailor Moon R Eps. 1 - 4. J.A.B . Co. became a distributor. Anime Vortex members still have special privileges, after all "membership has its rewards".
SAILOR MOON BASH! (UPDATE) / MIXX ZINE / RANMA 1/2: RANMA LOOSING HIS VOICE?!!!
- SLIGHTLY OLD NEWS - NEW TENCHI MOVIE!!! / THE VOID / PRIZES/RAFFLES / FAN ART GALLERY / ANIME NORTH / KONANKOKU 97' / MAIL
- Sailor Moon Bash! Update -
Yes! It has been Confirmed that the Sailor Moon R Bash! will continue here at Anime Vortex! This time the date HAS been confirmed and we WILL STICK with this date! Friday July 25th 1997 is when we will show the rest of the Sailor Moon R series beginning with Episode 73, and completing the series until episode 89 (which is the recap episode plus some never before seen footage of the Sailor Moon S series). All of the tapes have been provided by those Sailor Moon specialists up in Calgary Alberta VKLL! Our thanks to them and to all of the hard work they do! Sailor Moon fans can be truly happy with all of the support that VKLL gives them through these INCREDIBLE fansubs that they do!
The Sailor Moon Bash! Promises to be a night filled with fun, excitement, prizes, giveaways, and a chance to win the entire Set of Sailor Moon R from Episode 73 all the way to Episode 89, WITH CLAMSHELLS ! Whoa, what a night!
I know that a night like this wouldn't be the same without some sort of prizes right? Well, we're here to please, and here is a sample of some of the prizes we'll be giving away that night:
- Sailor Moon Buttons - Sailor Moon Pencil Boards (Original)
- Sailor Moon Collectable Dolls - Sailor Moon Silk Screens
- Sailor Moon Blind Screens - Sailor Moon Video's
- Sailor Moon Cards - And Much Much More!
(Some of these Prizes are being raffled off, and we arn't too sure which ones they are so please bear with us ^_^).
This Incredible Event is being held at the good old George Brown College:
St. James Campus, Located at 200 King Street East Toronto Ontario
(please refer to How do I get there Link for more information).
It's Going to be one hell of an event, and we hope to see you all there!
- Mixx Zine -
While we're on the subject of Sailor Moon, how would some of you Fan's
like the Chance to read the Sailor Moon Original Manga by Naoko Takeuchi
? Well, until recently this would have been impossible (unless you
could read and understand Kanji/ Hirigana/ and Katagana ^_^), but thanks
to a new independent publisher called Mixx Publications, Sailor Moon,
along with other Manga such as Magic Knight Rayearth, Parasite, and Ice
Blade, will be published in English in a new Bi-monthly anthology comic
book titled MIXX ZINE: 100% PURE MOTIONLESS PICTURE ENTERTAINMENT. In
Canada Mixx Zine should be available in local retail comic stores and
specialty stores soon. But thanks to one of our members Jean-Pierre, we
here at Vortex have had the privilege to preview the first print of Mixx
Zine. The Appearance of the Manga is virtually unchanged (aside from
being turned left to right ^_^), and the story content of the Manga
seems to have been unchanged as well. There are only a few things which
some of the Vortex staff have had trouble understanding...
1) Why is there Multi colored paper used in the division of Stories
from one story to the next?
- I couldn't figure out why the publishers used four different color
stocks of paper between stories, at first I thought is was for the
emotional effect, but then I thought that Peach for Ice Blade just
wasn't right.
2) The font's are not the usual Comic Book type font's generally
accepted in North American Society, in fact, in some cases the fonts
continue to change (drastically) throughout the same story. If can be a
little confusing at times. Also giving the feeling that the Manga was
scanned into a computer and digitally re-typed instead of hand written
(which is the effect of comic books here in North America).
3) Lastly, in the case of Sailor Moon, one has to wonder, if the
editors of the Comic Book, have complied to the wishes of the North
American companies and decided to use the North American Names, instead
of the original Nihongo Translation. (i.e. Usagi becomes Bunny in Mixx
Zine, but retains her North American Name Serena), Naru is still Molly,
Umeio is Melvin, Etc.
These are the opinions of the Vortex staff and we do not force our
beliefs or opinions on others, we suggest picking up a copy of Mixx Zine
at your local Comic retailer, and deciding for yourself ^_^. Other than
those three quirks the entire Zine is fine. And actually reminds me of
a Viz type anthology.
As of this writing, the Mixx Zine is still not available here in Canada,
but we hope it soon will be, it retails for $4.99 U.S., and $5.99
Canadian (Prices in the Book) a one year subscription is $24.95 in the U
.S., and $39.95 in Canada. If you'd like to check out the Mixx Zine Web
Page the address is: http://www.interverse.com/~keen
- Ranma 1/2: Ranma Loosing his Voice?!!! -
Don't look now (or should I say listen now?) but fans of Viz Video's
Dubbed version of Ranma 1/2, may have to listen to a different Ranma in
a few episodes, and I don't mean Female Ranma! According to the latest
edition of Animerica: Anime & Manga Monthly, the original Canadian
Voice actress for MALE Ranma 1/2 Sahara Strange (YES ACTRESS!), will be
leaving the Ranma 1/2 cast after the Hard Battle series currently on
sale from Viz Video. This may come as a shock to many viewers but, yes
Male Ranma has been Voiced by a woman who by the way is a successful
actress in her own right (in fact that is part of the reason for her
leaving the show).
Though this may be a huge blow to Ranma fans, it isn't the first time a
Ranma Cast member has had to be changed due to the leaving of a voice
actor/actress. The Original Voice Actress for FEMALE RANMA Brigetta Dau
was replaced after the first 6 episodes in the series with the current
actress Venus Terzo, Cathleen Bar was the Original Voice for Cologne in
the Ranma 1/2 Theatrical Features "Big Trouble in Neckonron, China" and
"Niho My Concubine", as well as her first appearance in the Ranma 1/2 O.
A.V. "Desperately seeking Shampoo", only to be replaced by Elan Ross
Gibson in her first T.V. Episode appearance. While both of these rolls
have been filled (quite excellently I might add). It's going to be
tough trying to find a replacement for Sahara Strange whose signature
Male Ranma Voice has gained many fans over these past 4 years (Holy $#!+
, has it been 4 years already?!)...
Toshifumi Yoshida Viz video's producer has been quoted as saying "We've
been working together for four years, so it's really hard to see her go,
but unfortunately our production schedule right now asks for a pretty
long term commitment from the actors. In a way, it had to happen. I'm
just sorry it had to happen with the main character." Yoshida-san went
on to say "As for casting a 'new Ranma', right now we're trying to
decide whether we should try to find a voice-match for Sarah or go for a
whole new take on the character."
Well, Ranma fans, lets hope that whatever the outcome, the New Ranma
will be as good or even better than Sahara was. (I just hope that the
New Ranma isn't going to be like the North American released HARD BATTLE
Video game Ranma "I WON" Voice who sounds like he just came back from
singing, and swallowed a horse! ^_^).
Parts of this article were taken from "Animerica: Anime & Manga
Monthly" Vol. 5, No. 6: Animexpress 'Changing of the Guard'.
SLIGHTLY OLD NEWS
- New Tenchi Movie!!! -
Whoa, So much anime So little time. With a second series currently
running on Japanese
television, a second Tenchi Movie is about to be released this summer in
Theaters accross
Japan. Titled TENCHI MUYO! MANATSU NO EYE ("Eve of Midsummer" or
"Midsummers
Eve"), this second movie looks to be a hit with Tenchi Fans all over the
world. In the movie, a
young girl named Mayuka (not for sure about the name ^_^) appears,
claming to be Tenchi's
daughter! Ryoko, Ayeka and all the other girls are shocked, and try to
test this claim through a
little DNA anyalisis. The tests prove that she IS Tenchi's daughter, but
for some reason (HERE
IT COMES PEOPLE) Tenchi's daughter seems to be IN LOVE WITH HER FATHER
(HOWS
THAT FOR TWISTED FATE?!!!)! To try to get to the bottom of things, Washu
uses her 'Time
Machine' ('Temporal Dimensional Shift unit' Washu made me write it...
HONTO!), and transports
all of the cast (save herself and Tenchi's Daughter) 4 years into the
future to see what happend,
but when they get there Tenchi's Daughter is nowhere to be found! Who is
she, and where does
she really come from? TENCHI MUYO! MANATSU NO EVE: In Japanese Theaters
this
summer. (The bulk of this article has been taken from Animerica Vol. 5
No. 5)
- The VOID -
For some unusual reason, it has been the tradition for many clubs (Anime
or Otherwise) to
publish a monthly or bi-monthly newsletter sumerizing, the past events
of the month, or to update
its members on upcomming events. Well, as much as I'd like to say that
Anime Vortex is not
about to follow some cheap, no good, useless, form of fan supported hog-
wash, I can't... ...Anime
Vortex (thanks to the support of it's members, and the contributions of
the executive staff) have
begun plans to publish it's first offical publication of 'THE VOID'.
This news letter will be
important in the upcomming months, with contributions from all of the
executive staff,
information on upcomming anime titles, backgrouns on new titles which
require additional
information (Ruruoni Kenshin NEEDS to be explained!), The VOID will
prove to be invalualble in
the near future. Thanks to all of the support from the embers, the
VOID's first printing will begin
on Thursday June 19th 1997 with No.1, the featurearticle will be on
Evangellion, and a surprize
article on B5 will appear thanks to Paul. THE VOID distributed at Anime
Vortex begining July
11th ...
- Prizes / Raffle -
It has come to the attention of the executive staff, that Prize givaways
seems to be too one sided
and only a certain number of people (or INDIVIDUALS) seem to keep wining
. This is mainly due
to the lack of tickets being purchased at the raffle during the night,
the few people who do buy
tickets are usually disapointed at the fact that James Crosby's
incredible LUCK! Currently the low
ticket sales seems to stem from a lack of interest due to the choice of
prizes which are being
distributed each evening. This being the case, it is important that the
members begin to tell the
executive staff, what it is that interests them in the way of prizes, as
with everthing else in this
club, the final decision comes from the members, and if we don't know
what the members want,
then we can't very well provide them with prizes can we? The executive
staff of Anime Vortex is
always willing to help out anyone , and we are always open to
suggestions about the club. If you
have any suggestions about prizes or how the club can be improved,
please E-mail us or leave
suggestions on our Voice Mail, or just talk with one of the executives
at the show. We won't bite,
unless you want us to ^_^ . Please give us some suggestions, it gets
lonely writing to a computer
alone :( .
- Fan Art Gallery -
I for one have always loved FAN ART, it's one of the truest forms of
Fandom there is in Anime.
As someone once said, imitation is the highest form of flattery, and as
far as Fan Art is
concerned, there is some really talented artists out there! I've always
wanted to start a Fan Art
Gallery, and thanks to the Internet, this dream has finally become a
reality! I currently have only
one piece of Fan Art generously donated by my Niece and Nephew over the
weekend, but I hope
to have more donations from any of our members this summer. I will be
bringing in a huge pad
of paper to the shows from now on, I hope that anyone who has any disire
to draw or doodle on
the pad will contribute to the gallery. Please note that this is for the
enjoyment of others, and any
profanities, comments, or ECHI artwork will not be tolerated. Asside
from that anyone is
welcome to draw on this pad, and your work will be scanned into the
computer, and put up on our
new Art Gallery in the following months ^_^. Remeber, the true beauty of
Anime is the fact that it
can bring people of all kinds together, to enjoy a unique medium . It is
my hope that with this new
Art Gallery, that many more people can share in a new experience drawing
and sharing ideas
together...
-Anime North: August 9th 1997-
As some of you may know, Anime Vortex is supporting UTARPA, YAMA,
URanime, and Control-
A, in Canada's Anime Convention: Anime North. This One day Convention
promises to have
enough Anime Action to satisfy any Anime FANatic. With tones of panels,
Guests from the
industry, Gaming rooms, and of course Anime Showrooms, Anime North IS
the place to be this
summer. Anime North will be held in the Michener Institute, 222 St.
Patrick Street, Toronto.
Registrations are $10.00 until July 15, and $12 at the Door, and will be
held on August 9th 1997.
Yours Truly will be participating at one of the many Panels at Anime
North. So if you ever
wanted a chance to embarrass me :( the best chance would be on August
9th at Anime North.
(No I'm not gonna Tell you which panel it's gonna Be! *sex in anime ^_^)
- Fushigi Yuugi KonanKoku 97' Mini Convention -
As we all know, Fushigi Yuugi will not be available past episode 36 due
to complications with
Tomodatchi Anime and another Fansubber. But for those of you who can't
get enough of Fushigi
Yuugi, there is a way to SEE the rest of Fushigi Yuugi this summer
(provided that you don't mind
travelling ^_^). A club in Ottawa called the Anime Appreciation Society
has contacted Karen
Duffy of Tomodatchi Anime, and Convinced her into lending them the
master Tapes of Fushigi
Yuugi Television Episodes 37 - 52. These Episodes will be presented in a
Marathon like fashion
(with small breaks in between), and will be called KonanKoku 97'. The
Anime Appreciation
Society is treating KonanKoku 97' as a Mini Convention. Here is the
Information for anyone who
is thinking of heading over to Ottawa for this little con: Anime
Appreciation Society Presents!
KonanKoku '97 Sunday August 3rd
Tudor Hall
3750 Bowesville Rd
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
The Anime Appreciation Society has just got permission from Karen Duffy
(Tomodachi Anime) to
show the last episodes of Fushigi Yuugi (36-52). So we present to you
KonanKoku '97, a mini-
convention to show these last episodes! If you need any information
please contact the Anime
Appreciation Society's President Katy-Lynn Watts at dd635@freenet.
carleton.ca or check out the
Anime Appreciation Society's webpage at http://www.ncf.carleton.
ca/~dd635/
Ticket Costs
To PRE-ORDER tickets the cost is:
Members - $08.00*
Guests - $09.00
Pre-Ordered ticket holders will be eligible for a free prize draw!
To purchase tickets at the DOOR :
Members - $09.00
Guests - $10.00
* - Members of the Anime Appreciation Society, for info on how to become
a member please see
our webpage. Remember, this is in CANADIAN funds.
This promises to be one hell of a DAY of Anime for all Fushigi Yuugi
Fans, and this may be your
only chance to see the entire Fushigi Yuugi series (at least until Karen
decides to release the rest
of it ^_^).
- Mail -
I'd love to say that we are getting tons of Mail, but in truth we only
get a few e-mails a week. This
is your club, everything that is generated in this club is brought back
to you in the way of
discounts, new fan subs, and perhaps in the future a better facility
(yeah right). However, in order
to do this you the members must tell us how we can improve our Club.
Anime Vortex needs your
support, we need good ideas to help the anime become more available to
the fans. Ideas like
Mikes Comic book are good ones (but I'd rather have more than an X-files
storyline to go on.).
Remember guys we (the executives) are here for you, not the other way
around. We would love
to hear what you have to say either through the e-mail, or at the shows.
Please contribute ideas
to the club, if your idea gets enough attention we will reward you as
much as possible (well we'll
try. ^_^)