Gundam fans dancing in the streets in Tokyo circa 1980. Who were the Tominoko Tribe?
Author: Sean O'Mara
Creator of Zimmerit. ARTMIC OVAs, Kazuhisa Kondo, and Kow Yokoyama are his aesthetic ideals. Can occasionally be found at Otaku USA Magazine and once upon a time at Colony Drop.
Bandai, The Post-Gundam Wave, and the Year 1985
With the gunpla boom in decline and TV robot anime losing its luster, in 1985 Bandai began to look for new ways to embrace older fans and early otaku.
Catch the Dougram Diorama Caravan
In the midst of the gunpla boom, Takara slapped some Dougram decals on a van and toured Japanese hobby shops to promote their model kits and encourage kids to create their own mecha model dioramas.
AnimeCon ’91: A Japanese Convention Report
One of the earliest U.S. anime conventions, AnimeCon ’91 was held thirty years ago in San Jose, California. This a Japanese convention report of the event from Gainax’s in-house magazine, G-Press.
Daicon III’s 40th Anniversary
The convention that changed anime kicked off on August 22, 1981.
Gainax’s Never-Completed Uru in Blue and an Interview with Hiroyuki Yamaga
During a particularly rough period for Gainax in the early ’90s, Hiroyuki Yamaga sat down to discuss his plans for a sequel to Royal Space Force: The Wings of Honneamise. Nearly 30 years later it remains unfinished.
Resin Royalty: Kotobukiya’s Original Kit Catalog of 1991
A quick look through a 30-year-old catalog from garage kit manufacturer Kotobukiya.
Direct-to-Video Model Kit Movies: The S.F.3.D Nutrocker Video
At the end of the gunpla boom, Hobby Japan and Nitto teamed up to release a direct-to-video short film based on Kow Yokoyama’s model kit and photonovel series, S.F.3.d.
Progress and Nostalgia for Mankind: The Persistence of Expo ’70
With a progressive, science-based theme, Expo ’70 presented a future of unlimited opportunity to the schoolchildren of Japan. It never quite panned out, but Expo ’70s influence and presence have endured in the decades since.
Hideaki Anno’s Macross Movie Production Comic
As an up-and-coming young animator, Hideaki Anno worked on big animated films like Nausicaä and Macross: Do You Remember Love? For a brief time in 1984, he had a short comic feature that ran in Comic Box Jr. detailing his production experiences.