ANIME SACRAMENTO NEWSLETTER, APRIL-MAY '04

Welcome to the April-May 2004 Anime Sacramento Newsletter. Meetings of Anime Sacramento are bi-monthly, usually on the 2nd Saturday of the odd-
numbered months, at the private residence of Laurine White, Sacramento, California. Email the editor, LVBwhite@concourse.net for info and directions. I enjoy trading non-commercial Japanese-language anime (such as tv episodes), and do limited freebie-dupes of same. E-mail me about trading tapes and some stuff I have for sale. (Please put Subject line something like "Attention Laurine", or it might get accidentally deleted with all the !@#$%&* spam.) Anime Sacramento showings are non-smoking, non-alcoholic and non-hentai (if kids are here). The house has plenty on-
street parking in front. It's 5 minutes walk from a supermarket and from the Bus 1 route, 10-minute drive from A-1 Comics and diverse cuisine restaurants. There's no set program schedule; it's a social event. If you have allergies, this house has a cat.

Next meeting, 20th Anniversary, will be Saturday, May 8, from 1pm to 10pm. Thank you kind folks who brought munchies in March. We encourage you to bring a higher quality of munchie for this special show. Plenty of sodas are on hand. Matt will be bringing some classic giant robot shows, appropriate for a 20th anniversary, as well as a Bob Wilkins tribute. We'll also show the recent Japanese violent-game-themed South Park episode. Dinner break is 7-8pm (or whenever). Any classic anime requests? Matt requests that I include the following, In Memory:

We would be remiss if at this celebratory time we did not look back at our fellow fans that are no longer here with us in body. Anime Sac like
any other club changes with time as does the face of Fandom in general. While celebrating Anime Sac's 20th anniversary let us not forget those
who have passed on. Those faithful fans of Japanese fantasy that persevered and nurtured the interest in Japanese anime and Fantasy before it became a accepted mainstream medium. Crammed in small back rooms at Sci-Fi conventions, long road trips to San Francisco and Los Angeles to find Japanese Fantasy toys and media in a few obscure stores, and those few who worked feverishly to develop video contacts in Hawaii, Japan and
other locals to obtain shows on VHS tape-We thank and salute you. We owe them much. Let us carry and remember their spirit with us for the next
20 years.

Subscriptions to this newsletter are available, 3 issues for $1.80, 6 issues for $3.60. Make checks payable to Laurine White or send unused
postage stamps. If your subscription is expiring, ask to be added to the personal distribution list for the newsletter (it's not an attachment),
just send me an email. Remember, if you change your email address, please let me know, to stay on the distribution list. Also let me know if
your email is set up to reject distribution list emails. To Unsubscribe to the newsletter, just let me know.

Pacific Rim Festival will be Sunday, May 16, 10 am to 5 pm, in Old Sacramento. Free admission, food, street vendors, a job fair, Asian
music and dancing.

http://www.sacramentoanime.com is the official website for Sac anime fandom. Check it out. Nicky's anime get-togethers are usually at a
Chinese restaurant. Nicky also announced that a friend of hers has started a new local fan club for Joss Whedon's shows at http://
groups.yahoo.com/group/hellmouthsacramento

http://anime.meetup.com - we've been meeting the 2nd Thursday night of each month at some coffee shop. Check the website if you're interested in meeting new local anime fans.

http://www.nikaku.com - Nikaku Animart - 615 North 6th Street, San Jose, CA 95112, (408) 971-2822. Recommended for their gift items from Japan, for their anime CDs, books, posters, etc., and the friendly staff. Visit them when you're in the San Jose area.

Latest news from Joe Eibe (efecss@inreach.com): He's completed the 2nd issue of his American Costumer/Cosplayer Magazine. The next issue will
be full size, 8"x10". Please email him for more info.

A-Kon, the first American anime convention, holds its 15th convention on June 4-6, at Adam's Mark Hotel in Dallas Texas. http://www.a-kon.com
Lots of guests, games and activities. $40 for membership, payable to Phoenix Entertainment, 3352 Broadway Blvd #470, Garland, TX 75043.

Yaoicon 2004 (http://yaoicon.com) will take place October 29-31, 2004 at the Westin San Francisco Airport Hotel. Membership is $40 until the end of May, then $50, and $60 at the door. It's an Adults Only convention. Guest of Honor is Ayano Yamane.

My stuff for sale: Japanese CDs: STEAM BOY DETECTIVE RED - music soundtrack album BLUE, drama album, $5 for the set; ULTRAMAN ACE double CD set ($7); SFX GRAFFITI-ULTRAMAN - 4 CDs for $12; SHADOW SKILL original music soundtrack double CD set, very nice music for $7. Also for sale are Roman Album-type publications, manga, robot models and laser disks. Please email ("Attn Laurine") me for titles, lvbwhite@concourse.net

Neat stuff (OK, previously mentioned) that I bought through PREVIEWS orders from my local comicbook store, A-1 (really great store! - http://
www.a-1comics.com):

SILVER SCREEN SAMURAI: The Best of Japan's Samurai Movie Posters, published by Cocoro Books, 100 pages of posters in full color. Minor quibbles
- there's no mention of the Lady Snowblood film series, and the plot given for the Benkei movie is all backwards. $20. HERO, graphic novel adaptation of Zhang Yimou's Oscar-nominated film. The beautiful artwork by Wing Shing Ma is in full color. Published by Comicsone in February 2004, price $17.
Wing Shing Ma's beautiful color portfolios from STORM RIDERS (with sturdy cardboard frame) and HERO (lots more prints, but they're smaller and
have no frame). Check http://www.comicsone.com for current prices and availability.

Ramayana, India's great mythic hero, is now being published in a series of seven novels by Ashok K. Banker: (1) Prince of Ayodhya, (2) Siege of
Mythila, (3) Demons of Chitrakut, (4) - Armies of Hanuman. Books 3 and 4 aren't out yet. It has been suggested that, if you want the real
novels, order them from http://www.amazon.co.uk. Order the British editions, not the American versions, which are being watered down by the
American publisher, Warner. Warner believes that we Americans really are incapable on appreciating undiluted world culture. (Thanks for the
info, Jeff) For more info: http://www.epicindia.com/news.html

RightStuf News (http://www.rightstuf.com): Disney will be releasing Nausicaa, Porco Rosso and Totoro on DVD at the end of August 2004.// Right Stuf will release Gravitation Vol.1 DVD at the end of June.// ADV has DVD and broadcast rights to the anime series Chrono (Chrno) Crusade. Look
for the series to play on Anime Network as well. ADV plans to release Sonic Soldier Borgman series on DVD.// Media Blasters has the license for
Knight Hunters Eternity (Weiss Kreuz Gluhen).// Funimation has the rights to Kodomo no Omocha. Funimation starts the DVD release of the
Detective Conan series (to be titled Cased Closed) on August 24. It starts on Cartoon Network May 24, running Mon-Thurs at midnight.// Bandai
starts releasing Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex on DVD July 27.

> From the San Francisco Chronicle for March 6: Tai Seng Entertainment, a San Francisco-based company, is distributing the film, Red Trousers,
to 15 cities before releasing it on (video? DVD?). Red Trousers is a 93-minute documentary on the life of Hong Kong stuntmen. Martial arts
star Robin Shou directed Red Trousers.

> From the Sacramento Bee Business section for March 26, 2004: "Dollar falls, yen soars, exports plunge. Death! Japan comic book targets all!"
It's the latest plot in the long-running Japanese manga, Golgo 13. News - Sacramento Bee March 10, 2004 - Ballantine Books will publish 3
graphic novels by Harry Pekar, comicbook writer and inspiration for the "American Splendor" film released last year. The first of them will be
published this fall.

Chinamation from PlayHut (http://www.playhutentertainment.com) News: Playhut will be releasing Chinese-animated episodes on DVD from popular
Chinese series Way of the Warriors (feuding families, women warriors and magic in ancient China, 52 episodes, Vol.1 in May), Bird Island (half-
alien teen and his friends oppose evil alien invaders, 52 episodes, Vol.1 in June), DeCheng (orphan returns to ancient war-torn China as warrior
and saviour, 52 episodes, Vol.1 in July), available at chains like Sam Goody and Sun Coast. Playhut's other Chinamation series properties
include The Mighty Bunch (young crusaders protect the poor against villains, 26 episodes) and Little Monk (learns life lessons in 52 short
episodes).

http://www.chud.com News: Rob Cohen, director of Fast and the Furious and XXX, is involved in making a live action movie of the Japanese anime,
KITE, about a college girl vigilante trying to find out who killed her parents

http://filmforce.ign.com News: Tokyo Shock (a division of Media Blasters) has released the film, "Eko Eko Azarak Wizard of Darkness", on DVD.

http://www.aint-it-cool-news.com News: On Saturday, April 17, Cartoon Network will air The Animatrix as well as start showing Gundam Seed.
Animatrix repeats later in the week. On Saturday, April 24, Cartoon Network starts showing Wolf's Rain episodes.

http://www.cinescape.com News: Martin Scorsese plans to make an American re-make of the Hong Kong hit film, Infernal Affairs, about a cop and a gangster, each of whom has gone undercover in their rival's organization. Brad Pitt may star.

Comics Buyers Guide News (http://www.comicbuyersguide.com): Comic Book: The Movie stars (like Mark Hamill) assisted in making the CGI fantasy
animation, Aero-Troopers, set in a fantasy world with floating trees. It's distributed by Creative Light Entertainment (which produced Comic
Book: The Movie), available for $16 (for more info, go to http://www.crlightstore.com). // Miramax has announced the making of a new Green Hornet and Kato movie, to be wirtten and directed by Kevin Smith.// Dark Horse Comics has announced it is buying Studio Proteus, which has been translating and adapting manga for American audiences. Toren Smith (Studio Proteus) will continue to select manga titles for Dark Horse and
work with Dark Horse as consultant.

http://www.miramax.com News: Shaolin Soccer (subtitled) went into limited release on April 2. The Zatoichi movie (Takeshi Kitano version) gets a release on June 4. INFERNAL AFFAIRS (the HK version) gets a release on August 28. So does HERO, cut down to 98 minutes. SHALL WE DANCE (the American remake of the Japanese hit), starring Richard Gere, J'Lo and Susan Sarandon, will be released on August 6.

http://www.monkeypeaches.com News: Jackie Chan's latest film, The Twins Effect 2, shooting in Guangzhou, has Jackie playing an immortal
general guarding a cache of weapons needed by general-in-exile Donnie Yen. An upcoming Jackie Chan project is a movie about Southern Sung
general Yue Fei. Jackie's son would make an appearance as young Yue Fei. The script is almost completed.// Zhang Yimou would like Japanese actor Ken Takakura to appear in his upcoming contemporary film project. Ken Takakura (Black Rain), famous for his yakuza roles, is now 73 years old.// John Woo is working on a singing, dancing gangster musical set in the 1930s, with Hugh Jackman in the lead, possibly co-starring Jude Law.// Tom Cruise's production company bought remake rights to HK spooky film, The Eye.// The American remake of the Hong Kong hit film, Infernal Affairs, will be set in Boston, with Leo DiCaprio as the undercover cop and Brad Pitt as the undercover Irish gangster. Martin Scorsese directs.// After he finishes Transporter 2 for Luc Besson (5 Elements), Corey Yuen will direct the film Dead Or Alive, based on the combat series game.// Stephen Chiao (Shaolin Soccer) is finishing up Kung Fu Hustle. His next project will be God of Cookery 2.// (From Hollywood Reporter) Ang Lee's movie, Brokeback Mountain, will be about a 20-year romance between two Wyoming sheepherders, played by Heath Ledger and Jake Gullenhaal. (At least they won't be singing and dancing.)

http://anime-tourist.com News: Cartoon Network news - Toonami is moving to Saturday night. The new weekday programming block replacing it will
be called Miguzi. Future Toonami programming includes a series, Megas XLR, about a greasemonkey who discovers a giant robot; series starts May
1st. Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi anime series will start playing in December. Cartoon Network has 26 episodes of Code LYOKO; 26 episodes of Duel Master; 50 episodes of Gundam Seed; 20 episodes of Dragonball GT (starts in May); 26 episodes of Rave Masters (May); 26 more episodes of Cyborg 009 (June), 52 new episodes of Inu Yasha (April), Wolf's Rain (April).

http://animenewsnetwork.com News: That really good series, Cybersix, is now running on the Canadian Channel Teletoon. Cybersix was
unappreciated here on Saturday mornings, and got axed quickly. It was 13 episodes long.// Comcast is buying TechTV, to merge it with G4. No
idea if G4 will continue running the anime that plays on Tech TV.//

http://www.animenation.net News: Looks like the live action Dragonball Z movie is no-go.

http://www.aint-it-cool-news.com News: Looks like Edgar Rice Burroughs' novel, A PRINCESS OF MARS, will finally be made into a movie, by
Paramount, for release in 2006.

http://www.kungfucinema.com News: The 1995 Mark Dacascos movie, Crying Freeman, will finally get an American theatrical release, through
Universal Focus. Mark and Jason Scott Lee are in Kazakhstan, shooting a film called The Nomad, set in an 18th century tribal society.

What follows is just a small selection of the Diamond anime-related offerings.
Diamond PREVIEWS (http://www.diamondcomics.com) March 2004 for May '04 delivery (except as noted). Comics - Dark Horse - USAGI YOJIMBO Vol.18:
Travels with Jotaro, 208 pg, $16; HELLSING Vol.3 by Kohta Hirano (June), 192 pg, b&w, $14. DC - RICHARD DRAGON #1, 32 pg, martial arts
extravaganza with a resurrected streetfighter; SAMURAI JACK Special #1 by Genndy Tartakovsky, $3.95, color. ADV - CHRONO CRUSADE Vol.1 by
Daisuke Moriyama, 190 pg, b&w, $10; PRETEAR Vol.1 by Kaori Naruse, Junichi & Satou, 188 pg, b&w, $10; and 5 other Vol.1 manga titles. Antarctic
- LEGENDS OF DARKWOOD Vol.1 by Reid & Kantz, dragons & damsels, magic & science, 142 pg, b&w, $10. Archie - Sabrina goes manga in SABRINA #58;
Sabrina was co-created by Dan DeCarlo, fired by Archie Comics in 2000 after working more than 40 years for them. Archie denied Dan DeCarlo all
rights to his character, Josie (and the Pussycats), which he created independently. Then he died. Bad cess to Archie Comics for their
treatment of him. CPM - DUCK PRINCE Bk1: Transformation by Ai Morinaga, 176 pg, b&w, $10; THE WORLD OF NARUE Bk.1 by Tomohiro Marukawa, 192 pg,
b&w, $10.

Devils Due - IMPERIAL DRAGONS #1 (of 6), 3 empires locked in combat for world domination in a new, mystical martial arts epic, color, 32 pg,
$2.95. DH - HINO HORROR #5 (Living Corpse) and #6 (Black Cat), each 192 pgs, b&w, $10. TokyoPop - IMMORTAL RAIN Vol.1(of 5) by Kaori Ozaki, 234
pg, b&w, $10, lots more titles. Top Shelf - SAME DIFFERENCE & Other Stories by Derek Kirk Kim, sensitive and often hilarious short stories, judged one of 2003's best books, b&w, 144 pg, $12.95. Zines - Super 7 Magazine #6, with articles on Gatchaman, Mirrorman, UltraMan Kaiju, 64 pg, color, $5.95. Protoculture Addicts #82, 72 pg, $4.95. Books - Neon Genesis Evangelion, the Unofficial Guide, Cocoro Books, 192 pg, $12. Manga Mania: Shoujo by Chris Hart, 144 pg, $20.

Action Figures - Godzilla Hedorah 17" Plush $25. Astro Boy Bobbing Head $12. Games - Feng Shui: Friends of the Dragon sourcebook, $18 (Atlas).
DVDs - Bandai - Arjuna Complete DVD Collection, $50; Dragon Drive Vol.1: Awakening, $30. RightStuf - Comic Party Vol.1, 115 min., $30. ADV -
Gravion Vol.1, 125 min., $30; Kaleido Star Vol.1, 125 min, $30. AnimEigo - Lady Snowblood #1-2, Lone Wolf & Cub-Baby Cart to Hades, subtitled
live action bloody samurai films, $30 each. CDs - ARJUNA: "Into Another World", EVA: End of Evangelion, $15 each.

Diamond PREVIEWS April 2004 for June delivery (except as noted). Comics - Free Comic Book Day is July 3. Manga-related free publications include Del Rey Manga Sampler, Sore Thumbs Election Special (from Keenspot), and Delicious Seasons (from Silicon Times). Not-Free Comics - Dark Horse (for July) - SAMURAI EXECUTIONER #1 (of 10) by Koike & Kojima (Lone Wolf & Cub), 4"x6" format, b&w, $10; BERSERK Vol.4 by Kentaro Miura, b&w, 240 pg, $14. ADV - YOUR & MY SECRET Vol.1 by Ai Morinaga, 186 pg; SKY BLADE Sword of the Heavens Vol.1 by Kang Suk Hyung, 184 pg; FANTASY LAND Vol.1 by Si Young Li, 196 pg, each b&w, $10. Antarctic - NEOTOPIA Pocket Manga Vol.1 & 2, by Rod Espinosa, 5x7, color, $10 each; HOW NOT TO DRAW MANGA Special, 192 pg, b&w, $20. Comicsone - TOPSPEED UNDERGROUND #1 by Wan Wai Cheung, 1298 pg, color, $14. CPM - COUPLE Vol.1 by Park & Park, 192 pg; HARD BOILED ANGEL Vol.1, 264 pg, b&w, $10 each.

Del Rey - XXXHOLIC Vol.2 by CLAMP, 5x7, 208 pg, b&w, $11. DH - HINO HORROR Vol.7&8 ("The Collection Pts. 1-2) by Hideshi Hino, 192 pg, b&w, $10
each. HK - CROUCHING TIGER HIDDEN DRAGON Vol.7, color, $14. Ironcat (http://www.ironcat.com) - CENTRAL CITY Vol.1 by Saya, 100 pg, b&w, $8;
HANAUKYO MAID TEAM Vol.1 by Morishige, 200 pg, b&w, $12.95. Moonstone - MR. MOTO #3 of 3) by Nieves & Hamilton, 32 pg, b&w, $2.95. Radio -
FURRLOUGH #138, b&w, 32 pg, $2.99; MANGAPHILE #24, b&w, 48 pg, $4.99. TokyoPop - CULDCEPT Vol.1 (of 3) by Shinya Kaneko, 5x7, b&w, $10;
PRINCESS AI Vol.1 (of 3) by Courtney Love & D.J. Milky, 192 pg, b&w, $10. Zines - Wizard Anime Insider #15, article on Ghost in the Shell, $5.
Giant Robot #33, Asian pop culture, 88 pg, $4.95. Vengeance Magazine #3, kung fu movie special, color, $7.50. Books - Lupin III Files: Secret &
Confidential, Cocoro Books, 192 pg, b&w, $12. Japanese Game Graphics, Works Corporation, 176 pg, color, $30.

Calendars for 2005 - Astro Boy ($13), Hello Kitty ($11), Best of Anime ($14), InuYasha ($14), DAWN (Linsner, $15), How To Draw Manga ($14),
Usagi Yojimbo ($13), New Dimension of Manga Artists ($14), Masamune Shirow ($13). T-shirts - Haibane Renmei (2 different, black) and Heat Guy J
(2 different, black), L-XL $17 each. Action Figures - Berserk: Judeau Hawk, 7", multiple articulation, $20. Chobits mini-fitures, 6 different, each 4" each $6.50. Fushigi Yugi Miaki Plush 8" (and UGLY!), $12. Games - Counter Strike #3: Battle for China (the China theater, 1939-1941), $22 (Fiery Dragon Productions). Big Eyes Small Mouth Revised edition, $35 (Guardians of Order). DVDs - AnimeWorks-12 Kingdoms Vol.6 100 min, $30. Geneon - Ai Yori Aoshi Enishi Vol.1, 100 min. $30; GunGrave Vol.1 100 min. $30; Gad Guard Vol.1 100 min. $30; Read Or Die tv series Vol.1: The Paper Sisters, 100 min, $30. Playhut Chinamation - Bird Island Vol.1, 88 min, $25; Way of the Warriors Vol.1, 88 min. $25. Bandai - Angel Tales Vol.1, 100 min, $30; Wolf's Rain DVD, $30. AN - Miami Guns Vol.1, 100 min, $30. Draculina - Key Witness starring Cynthia Rothrock (May) 84 min. $30. CDs - GunGrave Vol.1 OST $15. Texhnolyze Vol.1 OST $15. Revolutionary Girl Utena OST $15. Anime Toonz Vol.2: Maria Kawamura CD (May) $12.98.
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End of April - May 2004 Anime Sacramento Newsletter

www.sacramentoanime.com |Posted with the express permission from the author, Laurine White