Issue 9 - Yipe!

And then, in 1998, I met(my future husband) Andy.He was definitely an animefan. While trapped by a NewYear’s blizzard at his housein Milwaukee, we watched amarathon of Ranma ½. AndHere is Greenwood. Then heintroduced me to the whackinessthat is the multiple retellingsof Tenchi Muyo! andI learned what OAV means.In 1999, Andy moved here tothe SF Bay Area and our animeinsanity truly began. Thatyear Karen Tully, Andy and Iactually organized a Japanesepop-culture Halloween party:Godilla vs Pokemon (withthe gracious co-conspiracy offriends who owned an atriumEichler home with a pool).It featured Speed Racerand the Mach 5 in the carport,one giant Gojira loomingover the entrance atrium(arriving guests beingably defended by Pikachu;the fog colum was agood 40 feet tall), a secondGojira surfacing inthe pool behind a miniaturetug towing a glowingMosura egg, and athird relentlessly encroachingon the miniaturedowntown (throughwhich guests were invitedto rampage and becaught on film), whileGamera and Mosuraflew overhead and miniature(plastic) jetfighterspursued them futilely.A few snapshots from saidparty are included here, therest are still available for viewat http://www.twistedimage.com/productions/halloween .Andy came as a faceless alienambassador. Karen and Icame as the Cosmos Twins(from the Mosura remake),with costumes that, regrettably,define the color “screamingpink,” and matching pageboywigs that, if we had anysense, we would have burnedas soon as we looked in a mirror.Team Rocket from Pokemonarrived, as did a pairof Agents from the Matrix.Darth Maul and Boba Fettdestroyed downtown withrelish, as did a truly frighteningKiller Klown. In the end,when the votes were tallied,Pikachu won the day, whichis only fitting, as the younglady in the Pikachu costume,the 3 year old daughter of ourhosts, was the *only* creaturewho remembered to movethe civilians out of harms waybefore stomping on downtown.Andy had brought his animecollection and we added to it,including numerous aspectsof the Tenchi Muyo! universe(I still want to make some ofthe Jurai court costumes withthe levitating arm-bands), anunexpurgated set of SailorMoon!, and a complete boxset of Super Dimension FortressMacross. (I know alsounderstood why Robotechmade no sense – it had beenhacked together from severalMacross stories to tell a completelydifferent adventure.)We now have the better partof a wall covered with variousand sundry anime titles, farmore than I care to detail, buthere are a couple suggestions:if you like quirky and offbeat,check out Haunted Junction,if you like surreal and funny,try Excel Saga (and be sure torun it with the pop-ups enabled).In August 2002, Andy andI were workmanship judgesat ConJose, the 60 th Worldconmasquerade. Among theawards we presented was oneto Karisu for “Excellence inAttention to Detail” for thepropwork on her family’scostumes (recreations from avideo game). That introductionled to a strong friend-