Newtronika

Tuesday, March 5, 2013

Reflections of an Aging Otaku

I first started watching anime, fully aware of what Japanese animation
actually was, sometime in early 1993, approximately twenty years ago.
As a child I was enamored with Battle of the Planets, completely
unaware of its national origin, or the tweaks which were made from the
original Science Ninja Team Gatchaman. I was aware of other shows, like
Robotech, and Speed Racer, and I have a vague recollection
Thunderbirds 2086, but Battle of the Planets was, for years, the
ultimate action cartoon in my mind. I loved Transformers and GI Joe,
but Battle of the Planets trumped them both. As a teenager I was an
avid comic reader and stumbled upon listings for anime VHS tapes in
the back of Previews, though it was well out of my ability to purchase
at the time. Similarity of styles to Battle of the Planets, however,
made everything click in to place. I finally knew why Battle of the
Planets felt so different from everything else on television. And I
wanted more.