I remember I was eating pizza in my room, the window was open, and the sun was going down on a very nice day. I rented the vhs of Ghost in the Shell (1995) one Friday afternoon. The American music tracks bring me to tears when I hear them, I'm transported back to childhood! I'll put a link towards the end of this post :) And Brenton is actually a psychopath, even though he's leader of the Tank Police. Batou seemed like a bozo at first (even to his boss), but you find out he's really a tragic hero. What I loved most was that there wasn't clearly "good" or "bad" characters. The experience I remember the most was watching Dominion: Tank Police. What a far cry from Saturday morning cartoons! Like in an RPG: when you'd see an item you can't reach yet in the game, but you promise yourself you'll find a way. A lot of the themes went over my child brain and confused me, but I always wanted to understand more. These films blew my mind, they were so deep and complex - they made me think. Most anime I love I first saw on "Saturday Anime". In my illustrated memoir Secrets of Silent James, I talk about my vision of the early days of anime. They had a poetry to them, unique to a time and place that cannot be outdone or replicated. I prefer all the original American voice dubs of anime. I Love the early American Voice Dubs of Anime It was scary too, but I thought it was the coolest thing I'd ever seen. From the minute I put the tape on, I was fascinated. Mum was initially concerned about the "not for kids" sticker, but thankfully trusted me and rented it. I also remember the ominous phrase "NEO-TOKYO is about to E What I remember most was this really weird "NOT FOR KIDS" sticker on it. Then one day, I saw a vhs copy of Akira in Blockbuster. I became obsessed with Dragon Ball and hounded Joun for more info about the series, as it hadn't been released in America yet. The cover featured Son Gokou as a Super Saiyan, I really responded to the art style. Luckily when I was 8 years old, my Japanese friend Joun showed me a manga called Dragon Ball. The only access was Speed Racer and Gatchaman, which I loved but I wanted more. Everything else seemed so boring in comparison.Īccess to Anime in early 90's Long IslandĪnime was not popular where I grew up in the early 90's.
I responded to the quality, excitement, and weirdness. Thundercats, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, C.O.P.S., Silverhawks etc. All of the "American" cartoons I loved had Japanese animators for their intros and usually the first few episodes. I was a fan of Japanese anime even before I saw my first official anime film or series. I'm a live illustrator, one of my major influences is anime.