Mail Desk
Ahhh... A New Year and a new Mail Desk! I had a very Otaku Christmas, full of electronic gadgets and manga novels, and sadly, homemade knitted wear from my Mom. (Such is life.) Drop us a line on what you received: the good, the bad, and the very, very ugly, and your wishes for 2005. Okay! Time to answer some letters! We sure have a bunch this month!
Dear Animefringe,
How old is Seiji from Midori No Hibi?
John Wilson
Dear John:
Our resident expert, Joe replies: Hmmm..., I don't know if the show ever gives an exact age, but he is in high school, and in the last episode, I'm pretty sure he's in his third year of high school. I don't know exactly how old that would make him, but I guess however old a 2nd or 3rd year high school student in Japan would be.
-Janet
Dear Animefringe,
I was wondering if you guys could tell me something about the publishing of the anime Spiral in America/Europe. I know that Bittorent offers it, or has offered it, but since that doesn't work for me, I
wanted to know if there's any news about it, because as far as I'm informed it hasn't been released in America nor in Europe. Any help please?
Greetz,
Lonnie.
Greetz Lonnie,
Spiral is licenced by FUNimation (Sakuracon 2004), with the first DVD released in early November and the second DVD scheduled to be out just after Christmas. How these dates translate into dates for official European releases, I don't know, but please support anime by purchasing it! Fansubs are great until there is an official release.
-Janet
Dear Animefringe,
Can you put in more tips!
Thanks
Tama
Dear Tama,
No.
Well, it would help if you specified what sort of tips you want. I am psychic, just not *that* good.
-Janet
Dear Animefringe,
how do I subscribe to the ANime magazine for my
daughter. thank you
No subscription required! Animefringe is free! Free, I tell you!
-Janet
Dear Animefringe,
Why are there no comparisons with other animes in your Submarine 707 review? The moment I read the words \"submarine\" and \"ecoterrorist\", Blue Submarine No.6 instantly came to my mind. I guess I would juat like to
know if this is better or worse, original or a remake. Does it surpass Silent Service? Is the captain as memorable as Nemo of Nadia: Secret of Blue Water? Is the soundtrack as impressive as Blue Submarine No.6?
Sorry if I sound rude. I just think that leaning on references is more effective for readers (at least the ones like me).
Thanks for your attention,
R.T.Inoue
Hey R.T.,
Well, I did say that it reminded me of The Hunt for Red October and 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (*gasp* non-anime films!), so if you do like the underwater genre, pick it up as a rental at least. I wouldn't call Submarine Revolution 707 a earth-shattering masterpiece of cel and CG art, but I'm willing to bet that you'd enjoy it, as you seem to be a real submarine anime fan, and the artists seemed to go the extra mile, trying to make their animated underwatercrafts as realistic as possible.
-Janet
Dear Animefringe,
From David Taylor
My Name is David Taylor, I work in a bank, I seek your assistance in moving the sum of $4.5million US dollars into your country.
These funds are ready in account manage by me, On our agreement, I will make you beneficiary of funds in my bank and transfer funds to you.
Kindly reply via below email address for further instruction on how to proceed.
Regards,
David Taylor.
Because even we get the Nigerian Scam in the mail.
-Janet
Dear Animefringe,
KOHNBAWN-WA CROCKER-SAN!
FIRST OFF... YOU GUYS ROCK! <(\'.\'<) YOU ALL HAVE GIVIN ME SO MUCH HELP WITH MY MANGA! ITS COMING ALONG SO WELL! DESPITE THIS, I HAVE HIT ANOTHER BUMP IN THE ROAD. UMM, LET'S SEE... HOW CAN I COPYRIGHT MY IDEAS AND IF I DO, WHA TEXACTLY DO I COPYRIGHT? I'M
ONLY A 14-YEAR OLD FRESHMEN AND I DONT HAVE WHAT YOU WOULD CALL A STEADY INCOME. MORE SPARATIC THAT ANYTHING...AND I SPEND A LOT OF IT ON MY GUITAR...AND MY UMM...ADDICTION TO CANDY...(JOKING).
PATRICK-SAN AND HOLLY-SENSEI HAVE HELPED ME SI I HOPE YOU CAN TOO!
P.S. WHERE\'S HOLLY? DID SHE GET KIDNAPPED AGAIN? HOOOLLLLYY!! WHERE ARE YOU?! WE MISS YOU HOLLY! COME BAAACKK!! WAAAAAHHHH! *AHEM* I JUST REALLY MISS THE NINJA OF COOL THATS ALL...sniff...
Hey Zachyre VB,
We all miss Holly too, but the ninja of cool will always remain in our hearts. Wherever hearts and heads are broken, Holly will be there to let justice prevail!
Copyright is a very murky area of law, as you can see from the number of lawsuits made every day. Basically, all ideas are assumed copyrighted by the author/artist after April 1, 1989, when the Berne Convention went into effect. However, it does help if you add: "Copyright [dates] by [author/owner]" and an "All Rights Reserved" in some countries. There is a "Fair Use" exemption to US copyright law, which allows people to parody or use previously existing works in order to make their own creation. It lets you cite sources in a paper, but not copy it. If you're deliberately erroding the financial value of the original, then that's a violation of Fair Use as well.
There are copyright websites out there that will register your product/idea at the US copyright office for a bit of money. If/When your manga reaches the "TOKYOPOP is going to publish it" stage, then you should start worrying about registering, but until then, no need to worry. You're protected. Besides, your publisher will probably do that for you anyway. Good luck!
-Janet
Dear Animefringe,
Wow! I too had such a different look at Tsukihime the second time around! Haha, I'm glad it wasn't just me, as I thought I was one of the few who didn't
appreciate it as much as it deserves to be the first time around.
I mean, just appreciating it more isn't where the similiarities end. Rather, I too liked Akiha more during the second watching, rather than the first time, where everything really felt topsy-turvy.
Sorry for taking your time. Just wanted to let you know that it was a great review and I truly enjoyed hearing the feeling formed into coherent words. ^^
Azurwolf
Hey Azurwolf!
Thanks for the nice feedback! I really hope that people who buy the first DVD will hang in until the end, then re-watch the entire series again, as it does create an entirely different experience, now that you know who is who and what their true motive are. Thanks again!
-Janet
Dear Animefringe,
Hey, I just saw your Trigun review and I think that it is kinda harsh, ya know, "In short, Trigun is so hopelessly stupid it isn't even funny. And a foil embossed cover and Todd McFarlane 3D Animation From Japan: Vash the Stampede action figure may not be enough to redeem this 8 volume series. Especially with so many other involving series coming to the stores these days."
Actually, I wuz thinking seriously to tell ya that you R quite a jerk in a more sophisticated language, but Hate mail isn't my cup of tea, and I think that's stupid anyway.
Well, I believe "Trigun" is a Masterpiece, and I seriously doubted there wuz someone involved in anime out there who actually hated it, but well.
That's it pal, sorry to waste your time bitchin' around like that.
¿Que sentido tiene tener la razón si todo el mundo está equivocado...?
Andy Arth
Dear Andy:
Ah, finally! I was wondering when someone would unearth that ancient review and start debating it. You have to understand that I watched the first volume right after watching Cowboy Bebop and Trigun just did not capture my attention. In fact, it captured my attention about as much as Wild Cardz and Ninja Cadets did at the time.
To Trigun's credit, I do like the manga. I just don't care much for the anime. Opinions my differ.
- Adam Arnold
Dear Animefringe,
Hi,
I like your description of the movie on the
http://animefringe.com/magazine/2003/07/feature/01/.
I am looking for this Samurai Deeper Kyo DVD (US version), but mostly sell it for about
$130. Is that possible for you to let me know where I can buy this complete DVD collection
(wooden box version) the cheapest one?? (the one you got is a very good deal - $27)
Please let me know.
Thank you..
Henry Muljono
Henry,
Thanks for reading our review. However, we are not a shopping service, nor a best buy listing site. Secondly, we're talking about Patrick's amazing skills of anime and manga purchasing. He has made it an artform, spending over $100 or so to get free shipping, looking for half-price deals and piling on coupons that he receives as such a heavy purchaser. I have no idea how he managed to swing that one, but it must be one of his best deals to date. Good luck in finding a deal yourself, but I'd doubt if you can match Patrick's bargain.
-Janet
Dear Animefringe,
Hi I love mermaid melody. I haven't read it yet but it sounds good.
Where exactly could I find it at?
Dear Melody Lover:
I summoned Ridwan out of the abysss, and he says: "Right now, I believe the only place is fansubbed on the net, as there's been no talk of brining the series, either the manga or anime, over here (that I know of)."
-Janet
And there we go! We love to hear feedback, both good and bad on our reviews! Email us soon, and maybe you too will see your name in next month's Mail Desk! Bye-bye for now!