ENDLESS WALTZ will be airing on Cartoon Network on October 20. The Video release of the title is set for sometime next year.

From: Andrea

I really enjoy your magazine and as I am still a beginner anime fanatic I get a lot out of it! I bought an OAV series over eBay and the seller said that it was a first generation fansub. I don't have any idea what this means. If you could please clarify for me, I would greatly appreciate it.

A fansub (short for fan subtitled) is a tape produced by a group of fans. They translate the show and make the subtitles, but they are not authorized or licensed to do so. Subtitling is something of a grey area, legally speaking, but once subtitles go up for sale, it becomes piracy and is indeed illegal. There are a lot of unscrupulous people selling fansubs on places such as E-bay and you should be careful to be sure that you're getting a licensed product.

From: Terrell Chambers

OK, I have a question that SEEMS to have an obvious answer, but... I'd like you to tell me anyways. OK, when you review an anime DVD, imported or not, why not tell us about the image quality? With all the big debates on how DVD images can severely suffer, why not tell the readers of your site how good the quality is? Personally, I would like to be told how the quality of import DVDs are, but until I can read Japanese, you seem like the only place to turn for that info, and you can't provide me with it, so I'd like to know why.

Well, it's pretty much accepted that DVD image quality is superior to VHS. However, we don't usually write our reviews doing a side-by-side comparison of both formats. If, however, there are problems with the video quality (such as artifacting, rainbows, and just poor overall quality) our reviewers are usually pretty fast to point them out.
Also, how much you can tell depends on how sophisticated your home entertainment system is; some televisions don't show video defects as much as others, so what may look fine on one television may not look the same on the other. But for overall quality, any problems or unusual occurrences are always noted by the reviewer.

From: Maki Naro

Just wanted to say that I love the COWBOY BEBOP image on your latest issue! Did you get that specially made? I Love it and I love your page. I was in Japan recently and was finally able to find out info about all the recent anime I had seen but did not know the name of (The sequel to ORPHEN, for example). Thanks and keep up the good work!.

From: Dave Clark

Hello, I was wondering about the cover image for the current issue. Did the Bebop staff make if for you when you visited them, or did your own staff make it? Ether way, it's really cool.

Yes, as I mentioned in my last editorial, the illustration was commissioned by EX and drawn especially for us by the extraordinary artists Kawamoto Toshihiro, who is the character designer for COWBOY BEBOP. And we're very pleased with the illustration ourselves.

From: Danny Fahs

Okay, I give up. I can't find a reference to the ESCAFLOWNE Movie referred to on the cover of issue 5.4 anywhere in the contents page. Where is this article?

You have to look in the BONES article. It's there. Trust me. Screenshots and all.

From: Ricardo

You already have received plenty of mail in regards to your journalistic excellence so I decline giving you more. I am a fan and that's all I have to say on that front. I have read your e-zine since volume one and always found the opinions relevant and appropriate. All the writers obviously care about the subject of anime and focus attention on making it coherent. A failure of so many other e-zines is they become so focused on the hardcore they lose the casual watcher. Thankfully, EX is like NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC in some regards. NG remembers not everyone is an archeologist, EX likewise caters not just to otaku.
Now, for my questions. I love anime. But I really like American animation as well. I thought the first three seasons of GARGOYLES were excellent. I thought INVASION: AMERICA was a noble experiment. I think the BATMAN animated series have been improving with each installment. (Though my favorite episode is the original Mr. Freeze two-parter) I enjoy Warner Bros. classic animation and my favorite Disney feature was ALADDIN. I thought TITAN AE was a great movie with some flaws. My problem is that I sometimes feel like an outsider in anime circles. What is this stigma that anime is far superior to all other animation. Disney maybe a megalomaniac conglomerate but is that a reason to malign it's animation? Why does being an otaku mean you have to forego your love of domestic animation?
Lastly, why do anime subs cost more than dubs? An odd question to say the least but I think about it when I have to open my wallet to pay for the latest volume of TRIGUN or SLAYERS.
I was going to stand on a soapbox but EX has enough editors and writers.

Whoa. NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC? Does that mean we get a cool theme performed by trumpets too?
As for your questions: loving anime doesn't mean that you have to malign or ignore other types of animation. However, like all fans, anime fans take the attitude that theirs is the best. It's much like the STAR WARS vs. STAR TREK stuff or even ST:TOS vs. ST:TNG (and if you get those acronyms you know exactly what I'm talking about.) Not all anime fans snub American animation. I loved GARGOYLES and had a lot of friends who liked it too. But for many, Japanese animation offers a sophistication and maturity that other animation cannot match.
But here's a little bit of trivia for you. When your friends malign BATMAN, you can tell them that some of it was actually done overseas at one of Japan's most famous animation studios—Sunrise, the home of GUNDAM, ESCAFLOWNE, and COWBOY BEBOP.
As for why subs cost more than dubs, I've said this before.It's a question of costs. Sure, it costs less to make subtitles, but companies sell much fewer subtitled tapes than they do dubbed tapes. Especially now with DVD eating away at the VHS market. Since retailers don't want to devote a lot of shelf space to subtitled tapes, they don't order as many, which means that the cost per tape for the subtitled version goes up, sometimes to the point where it's not even profitable to make subtitled tapes.
In fact, some anime companies have already started phasing out subtitled VHS tapes; and you can expect more to follow suit over the coming years.

From: Darren Sniezak

Although I'll admit that I have not been an anime fan for a long time, it being only a few years now since I've been exposed, I have been entranced by it. However, in my research, I have of course ran across a few questions:
What is the policy concerning the release of DVD Anime? Under most circumstances, taking a DVD over a VHS is a matter of quality, but with the ability to end the war over sub/dub, wouldn't it make sense to begin shifting anime releases to this format? I am the first to admit I have no clue about pricing, but the technology for DVD seems to be comparable in price.
Talking to other Anime fans, I've been worried about this trend of over-exposure. It is a good thing that Cartoon Network has been showing titles such as SAILOR MOON, DRAGONBALL Z, GUNDAM WING and now TENCHI MUYO. However, it seems that the amount of merchandise and publicity given to them by the powers that be will spawn sub-standard ripoffs and slowly flood (and bleed) the system. When is it too much exposure, too quickly? I'd hate to see Anime become just a 'fad' when it has so much to offer. Is this worry unfounded?

Each company makes their own decisions about releasing anime on DVD. For most companies, however, the priority is on getting their newer releases out on DVD first, and then dealing with the back catalog as time allows (Pioneer and ADV both work this way currently).
And yes, it certainly does make sense to shift to this format, and many companies are. But DVD production is more complicated than VHS production and requires more time and effort. However, since retailers are increasingly interested in anime on DVD, you can be sure that companies will continue moving in this direction.
To answer your second question, we're already seeing the effects. WB picked up CARDCAPTORS hoping to have the next POKÉMON and get in on it early this time. And Cartoon Network saw how well DRAGONBALL Z and SAILOR MOON were doing and decided to expand their anime offerings. However, as long as they keep bringing over anime from Japan, it doesn't seem likely that it will be watered down. But since their audience is the general public, not all the shows they bring over will be what anime fans want to see.

From: Luke Merritt

I read the unintellectual and just plain idiotc [sic] review of Shoujo Kakumei Utena by the warui mushi that calls itself Peter Cahill and I must say the following:
This individual has become a candidate for extermination. He is superflous [sic] and very clearly does not understand even the most rudimentary concepts presented in Utena. The weak, ignorant, and stupid have no place on this Earth.
Ikuhara-sensei's work is only for those who are intellectual and who aren't content with the current society and the way people think. It is not to be polluted by pathetic trend-mongers such as Mr. Cahill and perhaps the rest of your staff.

First of all, that review is like two years old. You're just reading it now?
Second of all, just because he didn't like UTENA he's "become a candidate for extermination"? Huh? What is this, Nazi Germany?
And if you "understand.the most rudimentary concepts presented in Utena," perhaps you can tell me what it means when she turns into a car in the movie?
You say the "weak, ignorant and stupid have no place on this Earth." Well, maybe if all the pompous, self-righteous pretentious wanna-bes would mellow out, there would be room for everyone.
Just because someone doesn't like a show that you do doesn't give you the right to challenge their validity as a human being. I would think that a self-proclaimed fan of Ikuhara's work would realize that.
(And yes, folks, I printed this just so you can see some of the fun mail that we get from time to time.) Trend-mongers rule!

From: Bobby Generic

Hi folks. I just wanted to congratulate you guys on slugging it out for four years, and I hope you continue to do so for as long as the perceivable future allows.
I'd also like to take this opportunity to voice an opinion on the anime DVD scene. For re-releases of older titles, it's fair enough. But I don't see how local distributors can fairly rationalize raping my wallet of the extra money involved in purchasing the superior DVD version of, say, COWBOY BEBOP, after all my dollars were dedicated to the VHS release. It's frustrating, completely lacking in forethought on their part, and in my opinion disparaging towards their core audience.

Well, it depends on what you consider "older" titles. However, many times companies will have to amend their contracts to allow for them to do DVDs, and that takes time. Plus, many people who had been burned by the anime LD market have just been waiting to see how things pan out.

From: Daniel Douglas

I was wondering if you had any suggestions on how I might be able buy some of the old Streamline Pictures animes? Thank you very much.

Well, if it's AKIRA you have to wait until Pioneer re-releases it in 2001. If you're looking for some of their other stuff, it's being re-released by Urban Vision. But other than that, there's not a lot of places they can be found.

From: Andrew Lai

Has EX done a review of Gainax's NADIA? I would really like to see one on your site. EX is one of few websites I go to to find reviews for anime. So far, you guys haven't steered me wrong to the good titles. Thank you and keep up the good work.

No, we haven't reviewed NADIA since when EX started it wasn't really available anymore. But now that ADV is re-releasing it, I'm sure it's only just a matter of time.

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•	Use inane words and phrases such as 'Ranma sucks' or 'Robotech rocks'.
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•	Profanity and personal attacks will also wind up in the trashcan.

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