Ä-ni-mé

Zine
Title:	Ä-ni-mé
Publisher:	Associated Students of the University of California
Editor(s):
Type:	Resource zine
Date(s):	1990-1991
Medium:	Print
Fandom:	Anime fandom
External Links:
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Ä-ni-mé (or The Berkeley Journal of Japanese Animation) was a 1990-1991 journal by the Associated Students of the University of California (ASUC) intended as a "resource guide for Japanese Animation fans" that provided English translation scripts or synopses for popular anime shows, since English-subtitled or -dubbed episodes of anime were not readily available at this time, or were prohibitively expensive.

...the fans who read this journal were watching Fushigi no Umi no Nadia on raw VHS, taped off of Japanese television, and needed the scripts and/or summaries to follow what was happening on screen. That got me thinking about how much danged work it was to be an anime fan back then; anime didn’t show up to your house, you had to go to it. You had to go to club meetings, to watch grainy copies of a show on a tiny screen in a foreign language with no subtitles, and the only way you could understand what was going on was if you followed along in your guide, which needed to be specially designed and printed by other fans.

And the fans who made these zines and attended these viewings were the lucky ones, because at least they had access to something; in most of the country (basically anywhere that wasn’t NYC or California), the only option was to buy tapes for $34.95 for anime that had come out years ago. This was one instance where geographic privilege was very powerful, because only people on the coasts were likely to even see a show like Nadia anywhere near the time it aired on Japanese TV.

Compared to now, obviously it’s like night and day. I can load up Crunchyroll or Netflix and gain access to more anime than I could possibly watch; not just the old classics that have gained popularity in the West, but most of the same shows that are airing in Japan now.

The journal also included translations and romaji transcriptions of anime theme songs, and interviews with people involved in the anime industry.

There were two issues of Ä-ni-mé published: the first in 1990, the second in 1991.

The editors of Ä-ni-mé always sought permission from copyright-holders to publish scripts (for example, Fuji Communications gave permission to publish scripts for Ranma 1/2). For the anime whose rights-holders denied permission, Ä-ni-mé either did not print a script at all, or printed a synopsis of the episode instead.

According to one of its contributors, Mike Tatsugawa, Ä-ni-mé was the first ASUC publication to turn a profit, other than the Berkeley yearbook.

Contents

(Anime titles used in the journal may vary from later official English releases)

Issue 1

• Article: "The Beginner's Survival Guide to Anime" by Albert Sze-Wei Wang, ed. David Loo
• Interview with Jerry Beck, co-founder and co-president of Streamline Pictures, which had recently brought three anime movies to USA theatres with English dubs or subs, by David Loo and Mike Tatsugawa
• Preview art for Robot Carnival, which was soon to be released by Streamline
• Bubble Gum Crisis
  • Background information, songs, and synopses for eps 1-7
• Dragon's Heaven
  • Script
• GunBuster
  • Character art, synopses for eps 1-6
• Megazone23
  • Songs, script for part one, synopsis for part two
• Nadia of the Mysterious Seas
  • Songs and scripts for eps 1-3
• Outlanders
  • Script
• Article: "Rumiko Takahashi: A Brief Biography" by James Matsuzaki
• Ranma Nibunnoichi
  • Scripts for eps 1-10, synopses for eps 11-18
• Ranma Nibunnoichi Nettouhen
  • Synopses for eps 1-20
• Advertisements for AnimeCon '91, the mecha parody OVA MADOX-01, Viz Comics subscription service, and the Comic Relief bookstore (1987-2011).

Issue 2

• Nadia of the Mysterious Seas
  • Background information, scripts for eps 4–6, synopses for eps 7-39
• Ranma Nibunnoichi
  • Scripts for eps 11-13
• Ranma Nibunnoichi Nettouhen
  • Scripts for eps 7-9