Editor's Note

Have you ever noticed how anime fans can be the biggest bunch of babies at times? I can't recall how many times I've seen flame wars erupt into a newsgroup over whether SAILOR MOON is better than WEDDING PEACH, or if Tonde Buurin could take P-chan in a no-hooves-barred fight. And then of course, there is the eternal ENTERPRISE vs YAMATO (vs SDF I) dispute, which has taken on near mythic proportions.

I still have the scars from when I quietly said on the #anime! channel on IRC that I didn't think EVANGELION was the best anime ever made. My therapist says that one day I'll recover, and thanks to the modern miracle of plastic surgery, you can't see the scars.

Subtitled versus dubbed. GUNDAM versus EVANGELION. The 'newbie' versus the 'old guard.' It seems to me that we get so caught up in trying to individualize ourselves within the group of "anime fandom" that we forget that we are all really for the same thing--the enjoyment of anime as a hobby.

I am certainly a proponent of intelligent discussion, but what I see all too often is people saying "What? You don't like MAGICAL SOLDIER PIZZA DELIVERY BOY ARASHIYAMA ZZ? What the hell kind of anime fan are you?" And when the bashing begins, all intelligent discussion comes to an end.

I realize that not everyone likes the same types of shows. I, for example, do not care for the "magical girls" genre. Sure, I love AKAZUKIN CHACHA, and I occassionally watch SAILOR MOON but I don't wait for the latest Magical Girl Manga to hit the stores. But, I also respect the opinions of those who like them. After all, everyone is entitled to one's own opinion, and keeping an open mind is what leads one to find a new favorite show or manga. And I have seen too many friendships come to an end because of petty anime-related bickering.

What I'm trying to say is the next time you find yourself in a disagreement with someone over some anime issue, try and see the other person's perspective. True, the other person may be wearing those not-so-rare glasses that let them see things as they wish them to be rather than they really are, but at least give it a shot.

Go back and re-read the examples given in the first paragraph. While some of them are hyperbolic exaggeration, some of them are not. Yet, as cause for argument, they are all equally inane. Is that the reputation we as anime fans want for ourselves?

Ex animo,

Charles McCarter
Publisher/Editor in Chief

Charles McCarter

Keith Rhee

Chad Kime

Peter Cahill
Roderick Lee
Charles McCarter

Peter Cahill
Eugene Cheng
Ken Cho
Eri Izawa
Mark Johnson
Roderick Lee
Egan Loo
Charles McCarter
Maria Muñoz
Taku Otsuka
Keith Rhee
Orin Starchaser

Keith Rhee
Chris Kohler
Tom Larson
Eugene Moon

Dave Van Cleef
David Ho
Udi Ho
Dickinson Lo
Eric "Scanner" Luce
Christopher S. Rider

Eric "Scanner" Luce

The SPJA (Society for the Promotion of Japanese Animation) and OBJECTIVE CONSULTING INC. for donating server space and making this magazine possible.

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