___ __ __ __ __ __ __________ ___ __ __ _____ | \ | \ | | | \ / | \ |_ \| | | | __ \ | ., \ | \ | |\ | \ / |., \--, ,----\\___\ | | | | \ |\ | |_\ \| \| | \ | \/ ||_\ \ | | \ \ | | | | |__/ | \ | __ \ |\ | \| | __ \| |___ \ \| | | | __ /\ \ | | \ \| \ |\ \ |\ /| || \ \ |\ \_> /| |__| || \ \ \ \ |__| \__\ \__| \__\| ' |__|| \___\ \_____/ \______/_| \__\ \__\ ____________ .-. .-. (_________ ) ________ ___| |__ ___.------. | | .-. .-. / / (________> (___ __> (___.-----. \ | | \ \ | |<_/' (___ __> \ : | | | | | | _.-------. ,-' | ; ; | |// ) ) | | (__.-----._> / ., \ / / \_/ | | ;/' ( ' /\ \ ;/' / / ---' \_\ ;/ AniMatsuri issue #2_______________________________Relase Date: 3/20/92 This is the second issue of GEnie Anime RT's newsletter, AniMatsuri (Animation Festival). Its been awhile since our last issue and since then, there have been have been a few changes here the 1st of which is: I'm now editor. Past editor Philip Wong[P.WONG4] is now too busy concentrating on his medical studies to do this newsletter. This newsletter is for dai-fans(big fans) & those just getting interested. Featured in this issue: - Anime Video games - Anime BBSs and what's in it for you. - The now famous "Lea Doll story" by Kevin Lillard. - Beginners Column ____STAFF___________________________________________________________ Editor: Wendell Hong[ANIMATSURI] Writers: Raymond McKeithen[R.MCKEITHEN2] Wendell Hong[ANIMATSURI] Kevin Lillard[LILLARD] Special thanks to Chet Jasinski for designing our new logo. Domo Arigato gozimasu Chet! ___Beginners Corner_________________________________________________ Here's some more terms here that probably baffle most newcomers to anime*. ANIMANIAC: The ultimate anime fan. This person has seen and collected much anime. The list of favorite shows/characters of this person is usually so long it is far easier to ask if there are any that he/she doesn't like. SUPER-DEFORMED: Or Chan-style as some others will call it. This is a style of drawing full size anime characters as pint sized kids with a big head. I think of this style as a sort of anime character short hand. A good example of this style is the "Super-Deformed Gundam" OAV. A popular parody of the Gundam series that proved so popular in itself that it now has a sequel called "SD Gundam MK II". Other popular anime characters can also be seen drawn in this style... IDOL CARD: A card(usually wallet sized) with the image of a popular anime character or characters on it. PERFECT MEMORY: A compilation book of a popular anime show. Pictures from the show, character & mecha design sheets, and numerous comments from the creator and sometimes the voice actors are put together in a "album" format. CPS: Cosmos Pink Shock. This term just sort of caught on around here at GEnie JAPANimation Online. CPS is also the name of a anime show with parody characters rambling on and looking rather foolish(to the viewer). FEN: Plural of fan. This term isn't exclusive to anime fans but it does get used a lot. Well, that's all the anime lingo I can think of this issue! Next issue will be something I call the different "generations" of anime fandom. If any of you out there still think I left out some pretty obvious terms orplease drop me a note in E-Mail or CAT 15 TOP 9. Wendell Hong *=See New comers corner in AniMatsuri 1. Anime Related Video Games ------------------------- Many of the video games available today are based on anime, or in some cases the anime is based on a video game. In addition, many other games are done in the style of anime. In this article I have attempted to list most of these games. First, a few words about the American systems and their Japanese counterparts. The Japanese version of the Sega Genesis is called the MegaDrive. In all cases that I know of, the game cartridges for the two are electrically compatible. There are some minor differences internally which make some of the games (U.S. and Japanese) show Japanese text on the MegaDrive and English text on the Genesis. There is a physical difference in the shape of the cartridges, however. This can be overcome in four ways: 1. Modify the cartridge housing. 2. Modify the cartridge slot on the game console. 3. Buy one of the adapters sold by the companies that sell import games. All this is is an extender which has the shape of a Genesis cartridge on the bottom, and another connection on top for the MegaDrive cartridge. 4. Buy a MegaDrive . There is currently a lot of confusion/misinformation about whether or not the Japanese Mega-CD for the MegaDrive will work on either, both, or neither version of the Genesis (there are two versions of the Genesis, the circuit board was changed at some point). The CD is scheduled to come out here some time in 1992 for the Genesis. The Japanese version of the NEC TurboGrafx 16 is called the PC Engine. (Actually, in Japan there are several different versions, such as the CoreGrafx, CoreGrafx2, etc., but that's not really important for the purposes of our discussion.) PC Engine card games (NEC calls it a HuCard) are playable on the TurboGrafx 16 (from here on I will refer to it as the TG-16) only with an adapter sold by the import companies, so far as I can determine. The CD-ROM games fall into two categories. All of the older games are playable on the TG-16 CD player with no problem. Many of the newer games are referred to as Super CD-ROM games; they require a new system card (a HuCard that stores data from the CD-ROM where the TG-16 accesses it) which should also be available from the game companies. At least that is my understanding of the situation. Apparently, there is also an adapter to play Super Famicom cartridges on the Super NES. Here is a list of anime tie-in games for the Sega Genesis/Megadrive, NEC PC Engine/TG-16, and Nintendo Super Famicom/Super NES. Although I have mentioned a couple, I have made no attempt to list Game Boy or Nintendo Famicom/NES titles. I also did not go into the Japanese computer games since they are not playable on American machines (and oh, I wish they were...). Be aware that the Japanese versions of the RPG and adventure type games typically have a lot of text and/or voice, and may thus be difficult to play without understanding Japanese (although watching anime should prepare you for this)... 3x3 Eyes - MegaDrive CD-ROM: RPG. Alyssia Dragoon - Megadrive cartridge (from a manga supposedly, although I haven't been able to verify this) Action type game, appears similar in play to the Valis series (she looks cute too!). (Ketdari) Cyber City Odeo 808 - PC Engine CD-ROM: Action/RPG, so a lot of text. Mamono (Devil) Hunter Yoko - PC Engine (Super?) CD, MegaDrive cartridge: Action game, plays similarly to Strider I'm told. This appears to be based on the "battle with demons" portion of the OAV, and not on the "sex with demons" portion. (NCS/Mesaiya) Detonator Orgun - Megadrive CD-ROM: Menu-driven game (looks sort of like a Sierra interface, i.e. menu-driven adventure) based on the new mecha OAV series. (Hot B) Doraemon - PC Engine cartridge: Based on children's anime about the robot cat... Efera & Jiliora - PC Engine CD-ROM: Action/RPG, hence Japanese text. However, someone on Internet explained that they had this game and were able to play and enjoy it anyway. According to him, it is a simultaneous two-player RPG. (I guess one person is Efera, and the other Jiliora.) This is related to the anime "Efera & Jiliora: The Emblem of Gude" which is a fantasy type OAV, from SEGA (so why is it an NEC game...who knows?) Fist of the North Star (Hokuto No Ken) - Super Famicom cartridge, Game Boy cartridge: Action game. I haven't seen this, so I don't know if has any "exploding heads", but the Game Boy version probably doesn't have enough resolution to show this properly . Gdleen - Super Famicom cartridge: RPG type game. This is one of the cases where the game came before the video. Gdleen Act 2 - MegaDrive cartridge: RPG. Gunhed - PC Engine card (called Blazing Lazers on the TG-16): Shooter type game (Hudson Soft) Last Battle - Genesis cartridge: Action game, based on Hokuto No Ken. Metal Jack - Super Famicom cartridge: I don't have any info on this game, other than it is based on the current anime mecha series. Nadia - MegaDrive Cartridge: Role playing game, hence quite a bit of text. Appears to have nice intermissions. (Namco) Ranma 1/2 - PC Engine CD-ROM: Action type game. (NCS/Mesaiya) Ranma 1/2 - PC Engine Super CD-ROM: Described as a "digital comic book". Presumably an adventure type game. (NCS/Mesaiya) SD Gundam - Super Famicom cartridge: That's all I know about it. Space Cobra - PC Engine CD-ROM: Appears to be an adventure type game (Hudson Soft) Space Cobra II - PC Engine CD-ROM: Another "digital comic book". More of the same I suspect. (Hudson Soft) Ultraman - MegaDrive cartridge, Super NES/Super Famicom cartridge (ok, so its not anime...) Action game UN Squadron (Area 88) - Super NES/Super Famicom: Shooter type game, a conversion of the arcade version. (Capcom) Urusei Yatsura "Stay With You" - PC Engine CD-ROM: Adventure type game. (Hudson Soft) Wataru - PC Engine Card: (called Keith Courage for TG-16) Action adventure game. (Hudson Soft) Wizardry - NES cartridge, computer games: RPG, the anime came long after the games. Ys Book 1 & 2 - TG-16/PC Engine CD-ROM: Role playing game with anime type opening, intermission, and ending. There is a Ys LD boxed set of anime based on the games (Nihon Falcom) Ys Book 3 (Wanderers from Ys) - PC Engine CD, Megadrive cartridge, Super Famicom/Super NES cartridge: RPG, third in the Ys series. Supposed to come out for Genesis. The CD versions have more animation, of course. (Nihon Falcom) I also read somewhere about a Silent Mobius CD game, but I can't find the info again, so I'm not sure which system it was for, but I think it was the MegaDrive... and some things not directly related... Arrow Flash - Genesis cartridge: the opening has our heroine, who looks exactly like Millia from the Macross movie. Other shots also appear to be taken directly from the movie. The translated plot, of course, is dumb... Zara Keene, daughter of a scientist, is the only one able to save her people from the Viking Terrorists, or some such. Anyway, your ship trans- forms from a plane to a little "Super-Deformed" type mecha. Each form has different strengths/weaknesses. A nice game, in my opinion, although it is probably too easy for the "game whiz" types. Shooter. (Renovation) Arcus Odyssey - Genesis/MegaDrive cartridge: Anime style opening. RPG/Action game. The Japanese version has a nice Mutsumi Inomata cover painting. (WolfTeam Japan, Renovation in the US) Burning Force - Genesis cartridge: our heroine is an anime-style gal. Space Harrier type game, although better, in my opinion. (Namco) Dahna - MegaDrive cartridge: Action adventure, female anime-type heroine. Appears to be another Valis type game. Earnest Evans - MegaDrive CD-ROM: Indiana Jones type adventure, this is the prequel to El Viento. (Wolf Team) El Viento - MegaDrive/Genesis cartridge: Action type game, similar to Valis in play, but in a different setting (1930's gangster era). Of course, our heroine is a cute anime-type gal. This also has the anime style intermissions. (Wolf Team, Renovation for Genesis) Gaiares - Genesis cartridge: Shooter game with long anime style opening. In my opinion, this game is exceedingly difficult... (Renovation) Hyper Attax - MegaDrive CD-ROM: Shooter/adventure with anime style intermissions (currently in pre-production). Lunar the Silver Star - MegaDrive CD-Rom: RPG with anime intermissions. (Game Arts) Sorcerian - MegaDrive cartridge, PC Engine CD-ROM: RPG, similar in play to Ys, but I don't think it has the intermissions (maybe the CD does). I have the Sierra IBM conversion of this, and it appears to be pretty nice (I have not played it that much, I try to stay away from the RPG's because they take soooo much time). (Nihon Falcom) Trouble Shooter - Genesis cartridge: Shooter with 2 girls (sounds sort of like the Dirty Pair to me...) (Vic Tokai) Valis II - TG-16 CD-ROM, PC Engine CD-ROM: Action type game, with anime style opening/ending and intermissions, and cute girls . (Telenet Japan) Valis III - TG-16/PC Engine CD-ROM, Genesis and Megadrive cartridges: Action type game, as above. The CD-ROM versions have more levels and voice for the intermissions, and perhaps more of them. I've played the Genesis version and I really like it (and such cute girls ). (Telenet Japan, Renovation for Genesis) Valis IV - PC Engine CD-ROM, MegaDrive cartridge: Action type game, as above. May come out for the Genesis. (Telenet Japan) SD Valis - MegaDrive cartridge (supposed to come out for Genesis as "Syd of Valis"; sounds like they messed up "su-da" to me ). Super Deformed version of Valis. Action. (Telenet Japan, Renovation for Genesis) I would also like to point out that in many cases the Japanese versions of games are slightly different than the U.S. counterparts, in ways other than the translation. For example, the Genesis game D.J. Boy has some things changed from the MegaDrive version that would be considered sexist/racist over here. Another point, at least in the case of Sega, is that the Japanese games have much nicer cover art, while the U.S. Sega art is uniformly poor, in my opinion. An example of this is Arcus Odyssey, which in Japan has a beautiful Mutsumi Inomata painting, while here it has, well... (I always thought the guy on the U.S. Sega Genesis Strider looked like Bruce Willis .) Here are some sources for these games: GameExpress 11390 Ventura Boulevard, Suite 1 North Hollywood, CA 91604 818-760-4263 voice, 818-360-4881 fax, catalog for $2.00 Hours: Mon - Sat 10-7, Sun 1-5 PST Game Dude P.O. Box 8325 Van Nuys, CA 91406 818-764-2442 Hours: Mon - Sat 9-5 PST, Sun 10-5 PST HO/RC Hobbies 982 Monroe Avenue Rochester, New York 14620 (716) 244-8321 Home Entertainment Direct 166 Riviera Court San Bruno, CA 94066 (415) 375-8000 voice, (415) 952-0243 fax Hours: Mon - Sat 8-8, Sun 12-5 PST $1.00 for 16 page catalog Kitts Company 2301 Brimley Road, Unit 117 Scar. Ont. CANADA M1S 5B8 416-754-9563 voice, 416-754-9564 fax Hours: Mon - Sat 12-9 Japan Video Games (no address given) (818) 287-3121 or (818) 451-6958 voice, 818-451-5839 fax Die Hard 19640 Ventura Blvd. Tarzana, CA 91356 (818) 774-2000 orders (818) 774-2005 information offer free translations with games Gametronix 1606 Quarter Path Richmond, Texas 77469 713-341-6868 voice, 713-342-4630 fax open 7 days a week (offer English translations on request) These folks have a store in Houston now. I've been there and it looks like a reasonable place. Sorry, I don't have the address/phone for that one. Video Games Galore! (no address given) 516-795-4583 Hours: Mon-Fri 10-6, Sat 11-5, Sun playing video games Marketing International 19 Milliken Boulevard Scarborough, Ontario Canada M1V 4A2 416-321-3123 voice, 416-293-1225 fax Electronic Games Etc. 12205 Santa Monica Blvd. 6316 Laurel Canyon Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90025 North Hollywood, CA 91606 213-820-2800 voice 818-766-2368 voice 213-820-8738 fax 818-766-1883 fax Hours: Mon-Sun 10-7 PST Video Games from Japan P.O. Box 493, Adelaide Postal Station 36 Adelaide Ste. E. Toronto, Ontario Canada M5C 2J6 Video Game Excitement (no address given) (212) 222-5584 Geo Gemes & Electronics 23166 Los Alisos Boulevard, No. 107 Mission Viejo, California 92691 (714) 380-2425 voice (714) 380-8556 fax Hours: 10-7 PST Kartridge King 463 Wheeler Road Monroe, CT 06468 1-800-477-KART(5278) orders only (10 am - 9 pm EST) (203) 261-2659 information (10 am - 9 pm EST) (203) 261-2659 bulletin board (9 pm - 10 am EST) Video Game Headquarters P.O. Box 15371 Evansville, IN 47716 1-800-441-2984 orders only (812) 479-0001 for information The Game Experience Inc. 112-04 Queens Blvd. Forest Hills, N.Y. 11375 (718) 575-0838 Video Replay Inc. 97 Sherwood Ave. Farmingdale, N.Y. 11735 (516) 249-1717 voice (516) 249-0356 fax (Video Replay and Game Experience are related) JapanGameClub 2236-C1 Hiu Street Honolulu, Hawaii 96819 free catalog, translations available Video Game Mansion 520 Larkfield Road East Northport, N.Y. 11731 1-800-359-2638 orders only (516) 266-1912 SFX 7046 Sophia Street Van Nuys, California 91406 (818) 904-3407 voice (818) 716-7479 fax Video Game Warehouse 4802 East Ray Road, Suite 23-4 Phoenix, Arizona 85044 (602) 940-1400 free price list Game Storm 3878 Jones Road Cohocton, N.Y. 14826 (716) 384-9031 I have had no dealings with any of these, so I can make no recommendations, other than two points. Mr. Prasad had good things to say about GameDude, and there is a place called The Ultimate Game Club that I would avoid (I didn't give their address info here). In a recent Electronic Gaming Monthly (EGM) they printed several complaint letters against this company, and they have stopped accepting their ads. This information has been collected from a variety of sources, including NewType and other anime magazines, the Japanese Basic magazine (a computer and game mag), and the U.S. game magazines, such as EGM. I have been as accurate as possible, but I may have made some errors. When considering buying any of the Japanese games for use on U.S. systems, be sure to ask about the compatability issues. (I especially had some difficulty sorting out the CD vs. Super CD issue on the NEC, so double check anything there.) Also, the way the release dates for some of these change, some of the Japanese games may or may not be currently out; I believe most of the Mega-CD titles are not out yet. In addition, much of the Genesis info is from personal experience (I owned one, and a TG-16 too, until carpal tunnel syndrome made me give them up--don't worry, I had it before playing the games, they just made it worse). Raymond McKeithen __Why call a anime BBS?________________________________ It would be interesting to take a survey and find out just how many anime fen have a computer with a modem. I would roughly put it at about ten percent. However if you asked how many of those that did have a modem knew there were BBSes that had anime areas or anime conferences I would bet that many would say they didn't know. You'd be surprised at how many don't even realize that there are anime clubs out there. For instance, I didn't know about anime clubs until about 1983/4 when I went to LunaCon a science- fiction convention the was held in New Jersey. It was there that I picked up my first issue of Anime Hasshin's newsletter The Rose. Needless to say I subscribed immediately. When I bought my computer in 199O I had a modem installed only because I had read in issue number five of ANIMAG that they ran a BBS called the Valley of the Wind devoted to the magazine. I thought to myself, ah, finally a chance to communicate with other anime fans. What a novel idea. The only way I had had a chance to talk with other anime fans before was at conventions, and back then, I only went to LunaCon. So between the long months I only had my newsletter to keep informed of what was happening and what was new. But now that I'm on-line with the BBS community there's no need to have to wait for a monthly club meeting or a annual convention. I can call and leave a message asking about anything concerning anime. never a dull moment. It was through anime BBSing that I discovered there were other BBSes that were devoted to anime. On the Valley of the Wind I file captured their anime BBS list. It was my good fortune that there was one listed in New Jersey. That BBS happened to be run by the Donna Rule, the moderator of fidonets anime echo. She is also part of the anime distribution system (ADS) which is a group of anime BBSes that distribute anime files amongst one another (more on this below). This brings me to the reason I call an anime BBS. When you do log on to one you can either find a local anime message base which is referred to as a special interest group (SIG) or you will find a national conference that is seen on other BBSes throughout the country. Fidonet, Relaynet, WWIVnet, WWIVLink, and USEnet (Internet) all carry anime conferences. They all don't necessarily call it a anime conference. Through these conferences you have incredible resources at your finger tips. You will have the oppurtunity to communicate with people who like the same shows as you do or you might ask a question concerning if there are any anime clubs near you. There will usually be people who can help you with any question you care to ask. For instance, last year I wanted to know about peoples experiences running an anime room. I received many replies on the ins-and-outs of it, what I should bring, as well as how to handle the people who get a little over zealous. I found it very informative and used many of the ideas I was offered. Too bad no one told me to be prepared for those mundanes who come in and ask why their eyes are so big (sigh). Anime files are usaully the second most important reason that I call. Up to the mid-eighties there was not much fan subtitled anime going around and if you wanted to understand what was happening in your favorite anime you had to get your hands on a script or synopsis. Some fanzines were helping in this area but again, many people didn't know that anime clubs existed. So anime BBSes helped fill in this need, particularly the anime fans on USENET who use 'ftp'ing (file transfer protocol) to get access to anime files at many ftp sites. They deserve much of the credit for anime scripts/synopses that are available today. On fidonet, a group of dedicated anime BBSes have started the ADS to help in the exchange of anime files. Primarily, 2O32, NUL, and Tomcat are involved in this system. There was, and still is no better place to call then a anime BBS to get a script/synopsis you might want. A simple call and a quick download meant that you would have an understanding of your favorite show in no time. Sometimes you have to look around other anime BBSes but it could usually be found. If not, you could always ask on any one of the anime conferences above if anyone knew if a script or synopsis was available for a particular show. It wasn't much later that a logged onto GEnie and found the JAPAN RT. At that time we only had one category, and a good library (file) area. Now the Japanimation has grown to three categories and a even better library. The broad range of topics really adds to the enhancement of the Japanimation On-line area. More so than most dedicated anime BBSes that can sometimes be very limited to the number of available topics. Figure in the national reach that GEnie has and you have a anime BBS that is warm cozy place to sit back and spend a couple of hours with other friendly anime fans. Following is a list of the some of the best anime BBSes in the country. You'll be sure to find lots of anime files at these, some even rival GEnies Japanimation library. Anime Archive (6O2) 861-1872 New Mexico NUL 2 (512) 615-6852 Texas 2O32 (3O5) 384-9566 Florida Anime Central (4O7) 645-2241 Florida Neo-Tokyo (3O3) 465-5228 Colorado Fox Propoganda (916) 383-456O Sacramento, California Anime Lane (818) 762-3695 Pasadena, California Anime Online (619) 272-8752 San Diego, California Tomcat (6O9) 877-O7O3 New Jersey Just say HEH! (716) 292-6449 New York If you would like to see if there is a BBS carrying a anime conference near you, just download NABW3.BBS in the library in the Japanimation text area. C.JASINSKI[Chet] ___The Lea Doll story by Kevin Lillard_______________________________ Category 15, Topic 31 Message 212 Sat Nov 30, 1991 LILLARD at 06:16 EST I just came up with the best way for Ms. Hernandez to raise the money for her hard drive! Everyone knows how comics fans of all ages love to collect "action figures"...ok, "dolls"...of their favorite characters. You can't walk into a comics store without seeing small plastic Spidermen, Wolverines, Freddies Krueger and so forth. I've also noticed more than a few Kei and Yuri dolls. The conclusion is obvious, the marketing coup of the century: **The Lea Doll!** With color options of green and gold, this specially designed figure will fly off dealers' shelves. Dressed in a simple, yet tasteful artists' frock, this $64.95 item will come with its own cel tracing table and a specially scaled, simulated direct phone link to Japanese color consultants. A simple change of hair color ($19.95) or costume ($29.95) turns the Lea Doll into any of the characters she's drawn, inked or lettered. Fans will storm the stores to purchase the accessories to transform the basic Lea into Ariel, Lum, Shinobu, Benten, Katsumi and more! Each new comics assignment will produce a new Lea Perfect Collection Conversion Kit ($39.95), complete with a new miniature cel to place on the scale model Lea Memorial Wall ($49.95). No doubt that only a few weeks of retail sales will raise the money to let Lea purchase her own one-gigabyte hard drive plus a magneto-optical backup! Factories in Puerto Rico and Singapore will employ thousands of people to make millions of dolls and accessories! ------------ TOY AND HOBBY NEWS, 11/31/91 -- Retailers around the nation have shown substantial pleasure and surprise with the performance of a newcomer to the $350 million figure doll market. The "Lea Doll" from Katsumi Products of San Jose, Cal. has vaulted to the top twenty among items in the most competitive sector of the industry. Early reports to TOY AND HOBBY NEWS indicate the line of figures and accessories have sold approximately 50,000 units, with grosses around $3 million. Vendors noted the unusual strength of the product rollout before the start of a planned advertising campaign using co-op displays in major store newspaper inserts. Chief Toy Buyer A.J. Warren of Newtype Stores, Petaluma, Cal. told TOY AND HOBBY NEWS that "we can't keep these things in stock. People actually hang out at the loading dock for new shipments." Manager Chet Macek of BGM Discount, Macross, Iowa, remarks "it's another Cabbage Patch, but the customers are a lot older." Katsumi Products officials say they have rushed orders to offshore factories in Puerto Rico and Singapore to step up production of the basic $64.95 list figure. Sources say the heavy demand for the figure has forced delays in assembly of the planned line of accessories. With the lack of secondary product, Katsumi apparently plans to instead sell certificates good for items to convert "Lea Doll" to other characters. Industry insiders recall the pattern set when demand badly outstripped supply of "Star Wars" figure sets in the late 1970's. Observers search for the reason behind the popularity of the new product. "Lea Doll" originally aimed at the niche, cult market of fans of obscure Japanese cartoons and comics. Katsumi Products sent five-thousand units to comics stores on consignment, but saw that supply disappear in two weeks. Heavy interest outside the comics trade led Katsumi to offer the figures to general mass market distributors, with astounding results. ------------ NIHON MODEL AND FIGURE WORLD, 12/2/91 (TRANSLATED) -- Impressionable Japanese Youth Bypass Anime Figures For New American Product Tokyo - The phone rings, and the embattled-looking owner of the toy store extends a weary hand to answer the call. She needs only a few seconds to give a familiar answer. "No, we have no more Lea Dolls. Can I interest you in a Madoka or Yawara figure?" You can tell the answer from the narrowing of her eyes. She signs as she hangs up the phone. "It's been like this for two weeks. I can't get a shipment for another month. The customers don't want anime dolls anymore. They demand 'Lea-chan.'" The American sales phenomenon of the Lea Doll has now hit home in what some might call its country of origin. Sources in leading trading companies say that a Japanese licensing firm developed the concept. "We were told that Nihon's favorite manga characters would be acceptable to the American market if we linked them to the Lea figure," says an unidentified spokesman for a trading house. "However, we had no idea that this Lea character would prove so popular in Japan." Marketers credit a single television commercial for generating the sales demand. The thirty-second spot shows the white- frocked Lea Hernandez drawing several female manga characters, which then jump into three- dimensional life, proclaim "Lea Kawaii," then blend into packages from the line of Lea Perfect Collection Kits. At the end, the female characters look adoringly at the Lea Doll, seen posing in front of the Lea Memorial Wall. A short, one-week schedule of those commercials was followed by a series of advertisements in leading anime and manga publications. The impact of those ads created a fad unprecedented in recent Japanese history. A marketing expert said "I knew we had something when I saw crowds of young girls jumping up and down with Lea Dolls, showing them to their friends." Not even the shortage of dolls and accessories has slowed the fad. A quick-witted ad agency representative developed the campaign on "What to do while you wait for your Lea Doll." Instructions on how to make full-size Lea Artist Frocks created more than a few family problems, as teenaged girls tore bedsheets to look just like their heroines. The "Lea Color Contest" met with more success. The publishers of the manga providing the characters for the kits encouraged customers to color those strips, with the promise that Lea herself would judge the winners. ------------ TOY MONDIAL, THE EUROJOURNAL OF THE TOY, GAME AND GIFT INDUSTRY DeSoto, Spain, 12/3/91 -- (Editorial) No land stands safe from this onslaught. No culture can withstand its impact. Nearly sixty years after the Americans came to fight our civil war, for and against Franco: nearly fifty years beyond the great invasions of the Pacific: the unified Euroculture faces its greatest challenge, its darkest hour... ...and all from a piece of moulded plastic a few centimeters high. What culture can remain after the cry of our youth: "I want a Lea Doll!" What tradition will survive the call: "Buy me a Lea Doll!" The ability of our craftsmen sits idle as foreign ships and planes bring these Lea figures to our shores. The minds of our young come under the spell of the American artist, the Japanese minds, the Asian and Caribbean factories...why do the children of the new Europe reject their birthright for such, such a foreign object? Brussels, Belgium -- Reports from major Euroretailers document the strong showing of the Japanese/American "Lea Doll" product line for the 1991 holiday season. They show more than 250,000 units of the basic doll and accessories delivered to marketers in the past two weeks, with virtually all of those units off store shelves and into the hands of customers. Buyers for the major store chains find themselves in a global struggle with American and Japanese retailers for the limited supply of the figures. A spokesman for Katsumi Europe of Zurich, Switzerland says "it's the most pleasant problem this company has ever had. We're pleased and proud to have the strongest ever opening for a toy product ever intended for the true world market." ------------ SOUTHERN NEWS SERVICE, WEEK OF 12/4/91 ---FOR SUBSCRIBERS TO THE MCELWAINE COLUMN ONLY--- The Ol Curmudgeon, by S. S. McElwaine: celebrating the 50th anniversary of the South s favorite columnist Well, Buford, I was just telling you how our younguns were going to heck in a handbasket. And this granddaughter of mine - you know, on Fannie's side of the famly - she runs up to me and tugs and says, well, she yells GRANPA! GRANPA LOOKATIT! Well, Buford, I already tolt you that Fannie's side of the family never had a lick of sense anyway, but the girl's cute and too youngta cuss. So I put the bottle down and rubbed my eyes and looked, just to be polite. Those younguns never let you ask anything anymore. Katie yelled LOOKIT! I GOT A LEA DOLL! That yell woulda woke the dead - younguns was quiet when I was that size, back in ought-niney-five. That Katie proceeded to tell me who this Lea was and how she drew this and that and all these names of these things and I thought she was talking about tractors and turned out they were people. Well, almost people. Somethin about cartoons. Was goin to tell Katie about Felix and Popeye cartoons but she ran to show and tell with someone her own age, an we got pleny of them since the big blizzard ten years hence. You know how them younguns run so fast its a wonder they keep their clothes on. She dropped the box the doll came in. I picked it up - don' laugh, you try bendin at this age - and I tried to read the dam thung. Had all this chicken scratch stuff on it. My educated nephew says its Japanese or something. Them Japans done taken over everthing. I reed good enough to see the price. SIXTY FIVE DOLLAR? SIXTY FIVE DOLLAR FOR A DOLL? What, back in my day we could have bot a house and half a chimmey for sixty five dollar. Where you get sixty five dollar for a doll, and a Japans doll at that. Younguns got no sense atall, Buford. ------------ "...and on American Business Report for December Fourth, 1991, it's forty-five minutes past the hour. As promised, Wallace Ferguson is on hand for his commentary on the retail scene. Wally, we've heard you time and again compare the holiday sales contest to war. I hope you've found a newer and better way to express yourself." "No Julia, nothing's changed. If anything, the war's more intense this year than ever before. You combine the recession with a series of companies heavily leveraged from all of those buyouts of the Eighties, and things get desperate, real desperate. Nothing's more desperate than the toy industry, where the major players depend on the Christmas season. If they don't make it in the next three week, they won't make it, period." "You know how they say 'All's fair in love and war?' I don't care how much joy toys bring to girls and boys; there's no love lost this year. Take the doll market, and we're not talking sweetness and light. The old-line companies are used to getting their cut of the market this time of the year. They'll bounce back and forth a percentage point or five, but not much changes in this tight little cartel." "This year, there's nothing but change. I don't have to tell you the name of the change; you know its name if you have a female in the family between the ages of eight and eighteen. Its name is the Lea Doll on the store shelves, if you can find any on the shelves. You can sure see the names of the other dolls still left for sale, the names of the traditional best sellers from the big companies. That's why the names of the Lea Doll and Katsumi Products are four-letter words in those walnut-paneled boardrooms. They won't talk, but I hear the big boys have lost twenty-five percent of their sales to this new competitor." "The feds still take this anti-trust stuff real serious, so nobody, but nobody will talk on the record. I hear rumors that the six major toy manufacturers each sent an executive vice-president to a very secret meeting over the weekend. I hear they spent five hours with one thing in mind: stop that Lea Doll! Since the weekend, it's been very quiet from the Big Six, too quiet. Those company execs literally cross the street to avoid me." "They still can't stop me from putting my ear to the ground. Sources tell me that the Big Six have a plan to take out the Lea Doll, that they'll start soon, and when it starts, it'll get rough." ------------ CONTINENTAL NEWS SERVICE 12-5-91 16:45 est writethru to include Katsumi & Hernandez reaction CAPITOL HILL (CNS) -- A select committee of the United States Senate viewed toy commercials said to have been designed for subliminal appeal to American children. Representatives of the Citizens' Commission for Advertising Restraint showed the select committee a thirty-second television commercial for the popular imported Lea Doll. Commission Director Patricia Hatburn stopped the tape several times to show individual frames which contained messages for children to buy the doll. "So many members of my organization suffered demands from our daughters demanding this doll that we had to find the reason," Hatburn told the Senate committee. "It's now clear that the company conspired to climb into the helpless minds of our children for pure profit." The commercial shows artist Lea Hernandez drawing several cartoon characters, which then grow to full size in flashes of light. Hatburn says those flashes "contain the subtle, subliminal messages which tell our children to buy this expensive doll. Our young ones have no defense against this kind of destructive advertising technique." The tape showed four periods of intense black and white flashes, each lasting one-half second. Hatburn claimed "those flashes occur at the rate of thirty beats per second. Studies show that matches a brain wave frequency found in children, which makes them ready to accept any message which follows. The Lea Doll commercial virtually burns a message of commercial desire into the minds of our children." After viewing the hearing, representatives of Katsumi Products emerged to object to the claim. "That commercial is based on the original Lea Doll ad which aired on three television networks in Japan. The American advertising agency added the flashes to cover segments which used Japanese writing which people in this country could not understand." A dismayed Lea Hernandez also spoke into opposition to the organization's claim. Dressed in the same artists' frock worn by the popular doll, she told reporters in California that "I would never authorize anything which would harm children." ------------ ATLANTA, GA (CNS) 12/10/91 -- The federal Centers for Disease Control say they are considering a nationwide recall of all Lea Dolls distributed by Katsumi Products of California. This comes after health commissioners in three states ordered an end to sales of the fast-selling toy. Those states have received several complaints that children contracted cases of the mysterious Cosmos Pink Shock after playing with the doll. A spokeswoman for the Connecticut Health Bureau reports two cases of the disease, linked to the Lea Doll, in the exclusive New York City suburb of Westchester. A family member who did not want to be identified said a thirteen-year-old had played with the doll for a week, then was found sitting in her bedroom, tightly clutching the toy, staring and not moving. The source says family doctors have not found an effective treatment. The rare Cosmos Pink Shock, first clinically observed in 1981, has never been linked to a specific cause. Its victims usually stay in a trance- like state for several hours, often with smiles on their faces. The medical community debates the validity of the ailment, with many calling it a threat, others a "yuppie excuse." Katsumi Products officials say they're mystified by the reports. A spokesman says they have distributed three million dolls in the past month, and have experienced no problems. The company notes that no medical ailments linked to the doll have developed outside of the locations in the United States. Lea Dolls vaulted from unknown status to the hottest single toy in the world market. Financial analysts estimate Katsumi Products has grossed two hundred million dollars in three weeks, with most of the holiday shopping season remaining. Heavy sales of the Lea Doll have depressed other doll and toy grosses in the all- important Christmas shopping period. ----------- HARTFORD, CT (CNS) 12/23/91 -- Officials in the legal community and the toy industry have spent the weekend speculating on the outcome of a federal grand jury probe. The U-S Attorney for Central Connecticut promises an announcement at an afternoon news conference of the panel's report. The grand jury has spent most of this month looking into the controversies around the Lea Doll. The U-S Attorney impaneled the grand jury after a scattered series of cases of Cosmos Pink Shock linked to the once-popular toy imported by the Katsumi Products trading company of California. Sources say all of the children found in a catatonic state after receiving the doll in November have made full recoveries. Speculation about the grand jury investigation intensified with the sight of key figures in the case moving in and out of the downtown federal building. Artist Lea Hernandez, model for the doll, was ushered in and out of the grand jury room under heavy guard on December 14th. Top officials of Katsumi Products also spent long hours before the panel. Legal consultants familiar with the product tampering and Pure Food sections of federal law speculate those associated with the doll could face criminal charges which bring long prison sentences. Sources in the nation's capitol say federal marshals raided toy warehouses in six states to seize samples of the Lea Doll. They say the dolls were sent to the National Crime Lab at F-B-I headquarters for analysis of a substance, possibly placed in the doll, which may have led to the cases of Cosmos Pink Shock. The U-S Attorney's office has not yet responded to a report in the trade publication TOY AND HOBBY NEWS, which claimed top officials from competing toy companies provided information to the grand jury. Those companies lost market share to the Lea Doll during the toy's burst of popularity in the first half of December. Claims of subliminal advertising and reports of Cosmos Pink Shock linked to the doll have dropped its American sales by 75 percent. Overseas business sources say sales of the doll remain strong in Japan and Europe, where no advertising or health controversies have occurred. ------------ "...at 45 minutes after the hour, it's Christmas Eve on the Morning News roundup. We promised you more on the surprising developments on the Lea Doll story, and Ralph Waterbusy has that story. Ralph?" "Judy, the developers and marketers of the Lea Doll got their Christmas presents a day early, while some top figures in the toy industry received bags full of long-lasting coal. Most people expected the grand jury in Hartford, Connecticut to issue indictments against Katsumi Products of California, after a scattered series of Cosmos Pink Shock cases linked to the doll. Instead, the federal panel returned product tampering and conspiracy charges against a shocking collection of toy industry executives. The indictment says those executives planned a series of events to discredit the Lea Doll, which had proven too much competition in the holiday shopping season." "The grand jury report says that executive vice-presidents of the big toy manufacturers held two meetings in an airport outside Chicago, and developed the plan to move against the Lea Doll. One group took the Cosmos Pink Shock angle. Three of the complaints of the ailment came from family members of those industry executives. The other three complaints came from the sale of dolls impregnated with an organic chemical. The U-S Attorney for Central Connecticut says tests at the F-B-I labs in Washington, D-C traced the chemical to a supplier working for one of the major toy companies, on an account controlled by the executive named in the indictment." "The U-S Attorney also noted that the organization which made the subliminal advertising complaints to the U-S Senate committee this month was controlled by a close relative to another toy executive named in the indictment. The grand jury made no charges in that case because it's outside criminal law, but the report will be forwarded to the Senate, which could start an investigation leading to separate charges of Contempt of Congress." "Katsumi Products was overjoyed at the news of the grand jury action. A spokesman said '...this vindicates the name of our company and our product. It's sad that the competition felt threatened by our efforts. We're happy that the children of the world can again express their holiday joys through the Lea Doll.' Artist Lea Hernandez said she couldn't 'help but do a little dance' at the news from Connecticut. 'I knew all along that this doll was meant to make children happy. I love my art and I'm glad to express it through this doll.' Hernandez joked that she 'might want to sell a trial attorney kit' for the doll, in the wake of the exoneration of her and the company." "Katsumi Products also announced plans to put the Lea Doll back on sale after Christmas, with a new line of accessories. The company intends to suggest the list price on the toy be dropped from $64.95 to $54.95. Retailers say demand for the doll stayed strong, despite the decision in most areas to take it off sale during the Cosmos Pink Shock scare. Many stores resumed selling the doll after the grand jury story broke, and shelves were cleared as quickly as when the Lea Doll first went on sale one month ago." ...and that ends the story of the trials and tribulations of the Lea Doll. Shows you what can happen in a slow week. I haven't been able to find new issues of Newtype, Animage, 3x3 Eyes or Dirty Pair in my neck of the woods, so I had to create my own entertainment. Who knows what will come next? ______________________________________________________________________ That's it for this issue. Hope you found it informative and enjoyable. Remember, if you are interested in contributing (stories, reviews, facts, translations, synopses, & etc.), Please contact me[ANIMATSURI]. ______________________________________________________________________ These views do not represent the opinions of General Electic or GEnie. GE and General Electric are trademarked(tm) and copyrighted(C).