Boston Japanimation Society
| Anime Club | |
|---|---|
| Name: | Boston Japanimation Society |
| Affiliation: | |
| Dates: | 1980s-? |
| Founder(s): | Jim Whittaker |
| Country based in: | USA |
| Activities: | Meetings, newsletter |
| External Links: | Website |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
The Boston Japanimation Society was a Boston-based anime fanclub. It was run by Jim Whittaker, Mike Horne and others.
Origins
This article or section needs expansion. |
A 2017 thread on Old School Otaku estimates that BJS was founded in 1983, as a local chapter of the Star Blazers Fan Club.[1] However, the August-September 1987 issue of Final Stop Andromeda mentions that a 5th anniversary party had already taken place, suggesting a founding date sometime in 1982.[2] Michael Pinto, founder of the Star Blazers Fan Club, credits Michael Kanterovich, Dan Parmenter and Frank Strom as the original founders.[3]
Two 1984 issues of The Star Blazers Fandom Report refer to the club as the Boston Star Blazers/Japanimation Club and the Boston Japanimation Club respectively, and cite Caren Perlmutter as a contact.[4]
1980s
In late 1987 Issue 19 of Final Stop Andromeda mentioned "apathy" among members, but described the club as being "international" now. The same issue announced official BJS jackets for sale.
In 1988 it was suggested that the BJS should incorporate as a nonprofit. A letter in Issue 29 (Mar/Apr 1989) opposed the idea, saying that the BJS currently had some of the lowest dues of any anime club in the US, and the costs associated with a nonprofit could potentially make dues skyrocket to $100 a year. The staff member accused of trying to "take control" of the BJS by incorporating as a nonprofit rebutted this letter in Issue 30, arguing that none of the costs cited in the original letter were accurate. The same staff member warned that members of Space Station Studios, dealers who had been attending BJS meetings at her invitation and giving discounts to BJS members, were upset by the original letter's implication that they were also trying to take over the BJS, and would stop attending if the accusations continued.
The club's other officers stated that they had discussed becoming a nonprofit and decided against it, but that they stood behind their fellow officer and the members of Space Station Studios, and wouldn't be publishing any further discussion of the nonprofit debate.
Issue 29 also reported an influx of 20+ new members, bringing the total to about 96, and reminded the club that X-rated anime like Cream Lemon and Urutsukidouji could not be shown as their meeting space was donated by the University of Massachusetts.
In Issue 33, Marianne D. Popa reported on Worldcon 1989:
It was standing room only in the video room when the BJS presented a "Redubbed" episode of "Dirty Pair", DaiCon III & IV, and Megazone 23 pt. 2 (English Version ). Friday night many anime fans gathered for a Japanese feast at the Best Japanese restaurant in Boston, Gyuhama of Boston. A great time was had by all, and things ended quite late.[...]
Sunday started early with more videos from the BJS. The producer of "Gunbusters" , Minoru Takanashi, stopped by to show his latest work: "Gunbusters #3" It got rave reviews by all in attendance. ... We all promised to keep in touch in the coming months and to meet again someday in the future at a national all anime convention! I for one, will be working very hard to make that dream come truue!Marianne D. Popa, Final Stop Andromeda Issue 33 (Nov/Dec 1989)
The current chief editor added
And as for that all Anime Con., Right now it is just an idea, but the several other Anime clubs we made contact with are all pulling in the same direction. We have nothing solid yet, but we will keep you posted.Paul Burgholzer, Final Stop Andromeda Issue 33
1990s
Issue 34 of Final Stop Andromeda (Jan/Feb 1990) gave the club's current membership as 157, and announced that dues would have to be raised soon, due in part to the cost of producing and mailing the newsletter. Issue 36 reported that the BJS had shown anime at Arisia '90 and Universicon, the latter of which was the society's first con with their own movie room.
By Issue 39 later in the year, the BJS again seemed on the brink of disaster; the assistant editor stated that the club was "awfully close to falling apart for good this time" thanks to membership apathy in contributing to the newsletter. The issue concluded with a call for club members to make a good showing at Arisia '91 after having contributing a large amount of volunteer work for the con last year: "Last year we were a large percentage of the gopher help, and this year we want to make the BJS a big part of the con's mechanism." Mike Horne's retirement from the club was announced in the same issue.
Issue 40 began with retiring editor Paul Burgholzer assuring club members that the club was not, in fact, in danger of disbanding. He estimated membership at 165 and said all the BJS needed was some volunteer time and energy.
A 1991 issue of The Rose mentioned that BJS had a new editor, Chris Bonni, who was looking to revive Final Stop Andromeda.[5]
Mid-2000s
According to a 2010 article by Mike Toole for Anime News Network, BJS was still active at the time.[6]
The oral history, as I recall it, is that Jim started the club, and then it later became the Boston Japanimation Society when it had some momentum and the attendees decided they wanted to discuss and watch more than just Star Blazers. In those days, three people ran the club. The late, great Mike Horne was one of those triumvirs. Jim was another one. The third man was someone whose name I forget, but who was once described as being fixated on lolicon stuff, and who memorably burst into tears at the finale of Minky Momo. Back in the day, man. I attended a couple of BJS meetings in the mid-2000s, just casting about and looking for people to talk to. At that point, the club was a bit comically elderly - they met in the cluttered upstairs meeting room of a grocery co-op (this ended sometime in the past few years), and decided to watch whatever people brought on VHS (and later DVD) on a 27" TV set. At this point, the club didn't really have officers or a leadership, it was just an informal group of 5-10 anime nerds in their 40s-60s. At 29, I was the youngest attendee at the thing by an obvious margin. (and yeah, this was eleven years ago. Sheesh.)Mike Toole posting on oldschoolotaku.com, Mar 06 2017
Newsletter
In April 2023, docsane posted a Twitter thread documenting the discovery and scanning of a long run of Final Stop Andromeda. The files were uploaded to Mega, with later uploads to be hosted on the Internet Archive.
Final Stop Andromeda's creation is referenced in a 1984 issue of the Star Blazers Fandom Report, the newsletter of the Star Blazers Fan Club.[7] Respondents were directed to Frank Strom for more information about Final Stop.
Con Appearances
- Creation Con, July 12-13 1986[8]
- Creation Con, Boston, November 14-15, 1987[9]
References
- ^ mbanu on Old School Otaku: Feb 25, 2017
- ^ Final Stop Andromeda, Issue 19 (Aug Sep 1987)
- ^ Mike Pinto interviewed June 27, 2013 by Tim Eldred for Cosmo DNA
- ^ The Star Blazers Fandom Report, Issues 12 & 15 (1984, archived at Cosmo DNA
- ^ The Rose #27, 1991
- ^ The Mike Toole Show: Join The Club (November 21, 2010): "...one of the oldest anime clubs on the east coast, the Boston Japanimation Society, still holds meetings every month in a small office above the grocery store in Cambridge's Central Square."
- ^ Issue 13 of the Star Blazer Fandom Report (1984), archived at Cosmo DNA
- ^ Final Stop Andromeda, Issue 13 (Jun July 1986)
- ^ Final Stop Andromeda, Issue 19 (Aug Sep 1987)