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**X*T**A*N*I*M*E**N*E*W*S*L*E*T*T*E*R**

July Issue
No. 9


 

In this issue:

~ Editorial
~ Anime Video Review of the Month
~ Anime CD Review
~ Manga Review
~ Anime News
~ Game Review
~ What/Where/Who on Anime Online
~ FanFic Stories


 

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   E D I T O R I A L
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     Due to Hospital visits by one of the Editors well manly me, and with a minor computer crash we will not be having this section on the Anime Expo, like we wanted. But that happens in the Cyber world does it not? Of course it didn't help that where I got the information from no longer has it posted any more, but then, that too also happens in the cyber world. So while we don't have a big article for the editorial, the rest of this issue is jammed with a lot of new things for you to check out. As my leg starts to mend on an old injury, I'll be sure to get to work on a new article for the editorial for the August issue.

Co-Editor: Bink

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     Ran Chan and I have been kicking an idea around for a while and we would like to know what you think about starting a Xanth Anime Side thread web ring. If you have anything relating to Anime then your site is up for being added to the ring. Let us know what you think and if you want to participate in it or not. If we get enough people to generate interest in it then we will get to work on the needed graphics and HTML. So let us know what you think. Now onto the rest of the News Letter.

Co-Editors: Bink and RanChan


 

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A N I M E * R E V I E W
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Title: Saber Marionette J
25 episodes
Distributed by: Animevillage.com
Theme Song: Successful Mission sung by Megumi Hayashibara (voice of Ran Chan)
Rate: suggested 13 and up

     On a small planet called Terra II an escape pod of 6 survivors escape from the colonizing ship Mesapotamia. All 6 survivors are male. 300 years later after that crash, Terra II is populated by the clones from the original six. The only females that are on Terra II are robots called Marionettes. Marionettes used for labor, guards and comfort by old jiji's (old men who like the infamous head on lap ear cleaning technique). Otaru Mamuya accidentally awakens one while visiting Japoness Pioneer Museum and becomes the reluctant hero of our series.
     Lime, the first of the "screwy" marionettes that Otaru awakens, behaves like a little kid. She is innocent, energetic, and very protective over Otaru. We find out how protective in the first episode when she becomes angry at Hanagata (who she later nicknames "girly man") for ruining her outfit that Otaru just bought her. Throwing the top of a building onto Hanagata's car shows how strong she is as well! The second marionette that Otaru awakens is also by accident. In the shogun's mansion he finds Cherry's capsule in the out of service bathroom. Unlike Lime, Cherry is a romantic, the perfect Japoness wife who can cook, she is proper and daydreams of kissing Otaru. She is also very protective over Otaru. The third marionette that Otaru awakens is Bloodberry. The best way to describe Bloodberry is that she is the equivalent of Ryoko from Tenchi TV. Bloodberry looks older, is stronger, and will try anything to get the attention of Otaru. Bloodberry dresses like a warrior that matches her fiery red hair. What makes these three marionettes differ from the other marionettes on Terra II?
     ...Maiden Chips.
     Unlike the other marionettes used, these three have a long lost technology called maiden chips that gives them emotions. They act human and to Otaru, can be mistaken as human girls. So now, Otaru have three maiden chip equipped marionettes who love him and war is about to break out between Japoness and Gartlant.
     This anime has everything from adventure, science fiction, comedy relief, romance and an evil overlord complex. There are some scenes of what I consider partial nudity (i.e. cleavage, undergarment shots or even funky camera angles that don't exactly look clean) as well as some animated violence. I do like the comic relief in the form of Hanagata who is claiming to be the best friend of Otaru but is daydreaming of a more intimate relationship with him. I also like the relationship of the three marionettes. They fight each other saying that they love Otaru more than the other but when it comes down to protecting Otaru and fighting they work as a team.
     I did like Megumi Hayashibara (Japanese voice actress who is well known for doing Ranma girl form in Ranma 1/2; Nuku Nuku from Cat Girl Nuku; Tira from Sorcerer Hunter; and Amano Ai from Video Girl Ai) as the voice for Lime. If you ever saw Girl Cat Nuku Nuku, you will hear and see the resemblance of the two characters. She also sings the opening theme song "Successful Mission" which makes me want to go out and buy the soundtrack for this anime.


 

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A N I M E * C D * R E V I E W
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The Best Of Anime
Produced By: Banzai Anime
Distributed By: Rhino Records

     This was a surprise gift for me one Christmas, that when I first saw it I was like: "Coool.." In other words I didn't think it was going to be that great. It did have on the cover of the CD Speed Racer, an Anime that I have never really liked. It got pushed to the side and I sort of forgot about it till late that night. I started to look at the songs on it, which was a collection of Popular songs from many different animes, such as Astro Boy, to Visions from Macross Plus. I was totally amazed and happy with the CD and utterly grateful for the present at that point.
     The CD is put out by Rhino records which was a pleasant surprise to see an American company put out something like this, and a good job they did with it as well. The inside CD cover has a brief history of Anime that takes it from it origins to what it is now, an industry that was created, encouraged to grow, and made into a huge business all by the fans itself. The history shows that many of the American Companies that Distributed anime now are created totally by guys who in the 70's ran clubs with amateur stuff and now bring in great things. The whole CD is great with music from many different animes, and a brief but in-depth history of the Anime genre in general. It also gets better, the CD doesn't have the lyrics to the song, each song has some information on the anime in question. Like with My Heart I can't Say, Your Heart I want To Know, from Oh My Goddess, it tells you what makes this Anime so good.
     Each song has a little description of it along with the original Japanese title how many episodes there are and how long the Anime ran for. Sometimes it had when the Anime started to be aired in the U.S. but the only time that was included was in the case of Astro Boy, Gigantor, Speed Racer, and of course Sailor Moon. Out of the 16 tracks on this CD only four of them are the English version which, are the four that have aired in U.S. syndication, so for the most part the songs are the original.
     All of this information was put together by Fred Patten who has been working in the Anime world since 1977 when he help start one of the first anime fan clubs. Over the years he has done a lot of work in the genre such as being the editor of the Complete Anime Guide, along with other magazines that he has been contributing articles to for over 20 years. He has also been the director of marketing and publication with Streamline Pictures which have been brining anime to the U.S. since 1989. All of the people involved with this CD along with Fred Patten have done a wonderful job putting this CD together.

The titles included on the CD are:
1. Astro Boy; english version
2. Gigantor; english version
3. Speed Racer; english version
4. Lum's Love Song; from Urusei Yatsura
5. Sentimental Over The Shoulder; from Megazone 23
6. Beautiful Planet; from Windaria
7. Active Heart; from Gunbuster
8. Adesso E Fortuna; from Record of Lodoss War
9. Full Moon Light; from Devil Hunter Yohko
10. Sailing; from Silent Mobius
11. Happy Birthday to Me; from Cat Girl Nuku Nuku
12. Just Beyond The Time; from New Dominion Tank police
13. My Heart I can't Say, Your Heart I want To Know; from Oh My Goddess
14. Cutey Honey; from New Cutey Honey
15. Voices; from Macross Plus
16. Sailor Moon Theme; english version

      I'm not familiar with some of the anime on here, but I am with most and the CD is an excellent one, a great addition to an anime library that you are trying to build.


 

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M A N G A * R E V I E W
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Manga: Sailor Moon Graphic Novels
Artist: Naoki Takeuchi
Distributed by: Mixx

     Hey Sailor Moon fans! I just checked out the new graphic novels for the Sailor Moon series. I know, I know... the manga has been out for awhile but I never had the chance to pick one up and read it. I saw one at the nearest Barnes & Nobles and decided to see what the hype was all about. The original artist, Naoki Takeuchi, does a great job of keeping the girl comic style in the series. The flowing long hair, the starry eyed looks, the pretty boys looking into the heroine's starry eyes, etc. is what you would normally see in any girl comics from Japan (i.e. Marmalade Boy and Magic Knight Rayearth has the same qualities). There are little snippets of notes from the author and cute symbols as well.
     The one thing that confused me the most was the changes in names. I guess mixx decided to keep to the original names. Serena, who we all know as Sailor Moon, is now named Bunny. The prince from earth that is the true love of Princess Serena is Prince Endymion.
     I also notice that the romance part of the story is more apparent in the manga than in the cartoon. Scenes where Darien looks into Bunny's eyes that would leave ANY girl into a puddle of melted butter! The humor that we see in the cartoon is there as well but the ditzy quality of Bunny seems toned down and isn't as bad as in the cartoon (I don't know if it could be the voice actress or not both in the original Japanese or English version she is made to sound very ditzy).
     The story follows what we already see in the cartoon series but it has more to offer. There are parts of the story that was edited out in cartoon complete in the manga. Overall, story seems complete in the manga than it does in the cartoon that DiC distributes. The Mixx graphic novels costs around $9.95 US and contains as much as 5 to 6 of the paperback comics. The comics if I remember correctly are around $2.95 US if you can't afford the graphic novels.
     Unfortunately, I didn't have the funds to buy a graphic novel and it's far along in the series that it would be hard to catch up, but I did like the story, the artistry as well as the goofy-cutesy notes by Naoki in the manga. If you're a Sailor Moon fan, it's time to start collecting these guys!

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     Once again Viz come through for American fans of Pokemon by bringing an all new comic signed up for an American publication before drawn in Japan, so here is what Viz has to say about their new Pokemon comic:

     Our featured product this week is POKEMON: ELECTRIC PIKACHU BOOGALOO. ELECTRIC PIKACHU BOOGALOO (named in honor of an 80’s breakdancing movie) brings you all-new manga stories starring your favorite characters from the hit TV show and video game. These are the only Viz Comics ever signed up for American publication before they were even drawn in Japan!
     In the first issue, the Pokémon sneak away from their masters to visit Bulbasaur’s secret garden. Hear them speak their own language again in this special episode! Then, some familiar faces return – including Professor Oak, Clefairy and Clefable – to help a little girl protect her pet Jigglypuff from Team Rocket! Will these evildoers stoop so low as to steal Pokemon from a baby?


 

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A N I M E * N E W S
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     Guess what? Pikachu has been spotted again outside the confines of all the Pokemon merchandise out there. Our little yellow electric shocking mouse has been spotted once again in the New Yorker, that the second time this year that the Yellow kicking butt mouse pokemon has been in the New Yorker. The first time was on the cover Pikachu was one of the stuffed prizes that you could win at a fair like game. While Pikachu isn't on the cover this time he is still in the New Yorker in one of the many cartoons that are in the magazine. This time in a H. Bliss cartoon features Pikachu in the background on a poster in a doctor's office, so he is still sort of in the background but hey he still there in the New Yorker. You can see this cartoon in the New Yorker summer reading issue.
     Also Entertainment Weekly, has named Pikachu it's Critter of the year? Okay that's great but what about Jiggly Puff, or Growlith or at least Psyduck? Okay I know Pikachu's the man....errr....I mean the mouse that is, but it couldn't happen to a nicer Pokemon. But the article did give the reader some stats on the little guy, such as age which is "ageless" (so we have an immortal cute critter), habits are being cute and cuddly creature. Yeah right unless he happens to let a shock go off. But it seems that the Pokemon trend is still growing. You can see this article in the summer double issue of Entertainment Weekly on page 94. It seems that every where you look these day you see a Pokemon, even in magazines where you would least expect them at. As the months go by we'll keep you up to date on the different Pikachu sightings, as well as any other Pokemon sighting.

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I have some news regarding the Sailor Moon movies.

     The Subtitled Movies should be arriving on time on August 10th. However, the Dubbed Movies, which were slated for November/December have been postponed until Early 2000.

My source for this was the SOS website.

By: Sailor Pikachu

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     Bandai Entertainment is pleased to announce the Escaflowne Movie Project. ESCAFLOWNE: A Girl In Gaea is scheduled for theatrical release in Japan, Korea, and the United States in the year 2000. Right now this is all the info that we have on the Movie of Escaflowne: A Girl In Gaea but as more information is made known we will make sure that we let you know about. So stayed tuned to future issues, we'll keep you updated.

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     New Anime making the scene (we haven't seen them yet so we can't tell you the content of them). If you get a chance to see these before we do let us know by writing up a review that we can put in the news letter, happy watching!

Blue Submarine No. 6 (OVA)
     In the near future, the oceans have risen, causing all land at sea level to be flooded. A war has erupted between the surface and the sea dwellers, and mankind is placing all of its hopes in the new vessel Blue Submarine No. 6. Based on the classic manga by Satoru Ozawa, Blue Submarine No. 6 features the latest in fully rendered 3D animation composites with traditional cell character animation for a truly remarkable look.
Copyright Bandai Visual / Toshiba Emi / GONZO

Cowboy Bebop (TV)
     Spike Spiegel and Jet Black are partners and compatriots eking out a living in the bounty hunting business. They travel aboard their ship, the Bebop, between planets via warp gates, tracking down wrongdoers in the solar system. In due time, because of their profession, they encounter a myriad of desperados, free spirits, soothsayers, and others dealing in various criminal activities.
     Copyright Sunrise, Directed by Shinichiro Watanabe (Macross Plus), Character Design by Toshihiro Kawamoto (Gundam 0083, Golden Boy), Music by Yoko Kanno, Kouichi Yamadera as Spike, Unshou Ishizuka as Jet, Megumi Hayashibara as Faye

Outlaw Star (TV)
     Gene Starwind is a man with a past, but he doesn't talk about it. Working as a mercenary and bounty hunter, sometimes he works within the law and sometimes he doesn't. He and his female companions travel the galaxy in his ship, the Outlaw Star. And no matter how fast they go, danger always manages to catch up to them.
     Copyright Morning Star / Sunrise/Shueisha / Sotsu Agency, by Takehito Ito and Hajime Yadate, Shigeru Shibuya as Gene, Rika Matsumoto as Jim, Yuuko Miyamura (Asuka/Neon Genesis Evangelion) as Aisha, Ayako Kawasuma as Melfina.

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A CHINESE GHOST STORY WEB SITE

     If your interested in seeing the new movie A CHINESE GHOST STORY then make sure that you check out the Tsui Hark Animation page so you can check if a theater near is you is showing the movie. The Xanth Anime Side Thread will try and keep all the showings updated for you, but with this web page you will be able to get all the dates faster. If your interested in seeing this movie make sure you check there for the dates and the theater nearest to you.

http://www.viz.com

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     Great news for Ranma 1/2 fans out their read on and find out what it is, Viz is once again making sure that Ranma 1/2 fans get new stuff. Our featured product this week is the new RANMA ˝ poster: Make your wall a brighter place with this gorgeous poster featuring girl-type Ranma in a famous swimsuit pose. Produced just in time for the summer convention season, this poster will give any room a taste of sun and surf. In stores soon...
     So go to your locale store that you buy anime at and kick and scream and pout to get the new poster, or trough buckets of cold water on the workers and the owners till the change into another critter. No seriously though if you ask them to order it for you at your store they should be more than happy to order it for you.

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This is some great news from the people at Tokyo Pop, it's some great news for those that aren't able to play a lot for Anime:

     The big news here, of course, is the imminent launch of Club Tokyo Pop. There are details online at www.tokyopop.com. Club members are gonna get loads of goodies and access to special offers...we think, though, that this may grab your attention: 40% OFF DOMESTIC VIDEOTAPE AND 30% OFF DOMESTIC DVD EVERY DAY OF THE YEAR!
Launch date is currently scheduled for August 1st--stay tuned!

     Here are some things they have for sale at Tokyo Pop, remember this is just a snippet of what they have to offer, their full list is on the web site http://www.tokyopop.com enjoy.

SPECIAL OFFERS

Lunar Silver Star Story PSX / LUNAR SILVER / Sony / $29.00 / Import Videogame / Playstation / New Release in the Playstation The Best Series of Classic Games

Nintendo 64 Gameboy Adapter / N64 GB ADAPTER / Nintendo / $20.00 / Import Videogame / N64 / Adapter for the N64 Controller that allows players to swap their Pokemon from the Gameboy to the N64 for battle in the Pokemon Stadium 2.

TOYS, MODELS, AND DOLLS, OH MY!

Pokemon House Forest Woods / 4904810407256 / Tomy / $13.00 / Import Anime / Toy/Model / This is a Little Pokemon Tableau That Snaps Up Shut as a Carrying Case; About 7 1/2" X 3 1/2" When Open; Contains Characters and Flowers and Trees and Baskets, etc.

Pokemon Pikachu Shitajiki / 4904810409083 / Tomy / $2.50 / Import Anime / Toy/Model

Pokemon Team Rocket Shitajiki / 4904810409595 / Tomy / $2.50 / Import Anime/ Toy/Model / Featuring Musashi, Kojiro, and Nyarth

Pikachu Keychain / 4904810411604 / Tomy / $7.00 / Import Anime / Toy/Model/ Why Entrust Your Keys to Anyone Else?

Tifa Lockhart FF VII Resin Kit / 4934054077014 / Kotobukiya / $73.00 / Import Videogame / Toy/Model/ This is a 1/8 Scale Resin Cast Kit

Rina Inverse Slayers 1/8 Kit / SLAYERS DOLL / Kaiyodo Art Pla / $77.00 / Import Anime / Toy/Model /1/8 Scale Resin Cast Kit

ANIME MUSIC ON CD

Gundam Single History 2 / KICA 2024 / King / $29.00 / Import Anime / CD /13 Selections from Gundam 0080, Gundam F91, Gundam, and G Gundam

Gundam Single History 3 / KICA 2025 / King / $29.00 / Import Anime / CD /14 Selections from Gundam W, Gundam X, Gundam 08th MS Team

Slayers Next Sound Bible I / KICA 307 / King / $32.00 / Import Anime / CD /23 Tracks, Including Give a Reason

Grave of the Fireflies Reissue / TKCA 71116 / Tokuma / $23.00 / Import Anime / CD / 13 Tracks from the Miyazaki Classic

Umi ga Kikoeru Ost Reissue / TKCA 71142 / Tokuma / $23.00 / Import Anime /CD / 10 Tracks from the Studio Ghibli Motion Picture

Porco Rosso Reissue OST / TKCA 71156 / Tokuma / $23.00 / Import Anime / CD / 23 Tracks

My Neighbors The Yamadas OST / TKCA 71635 / Tokuma / $32.00 / Import Anime/ CD / This is the New Feature From Studio Ghibli!

ANIME ON LASERDISC

BubbLegum Crisis Tokyo 2040 V3 / JVLA 58063 / Victor / $63.00 / Import Anime / LD / TV Series; 50 mins; CAV

Neon Genesis Evangelion Vol 1 / KILA 149 / King / $62.00 / Import Anime /LD / 52 Mins; CAV; See the Episodes that started it all
(along with Vol 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 11, 12, 13, 14)

Bubblegum Crisis Tokyo 2040 V3 / JVLA 58063 / Victor / $63.00 / Import Anime / LD / TV Series; 50 mins; CAV

J-MUISC ON COMPACT DISC

Hayashibara Megumi Shamrock / KICS 345 / King / $32.00 / Import Jpop / CD /15 Tracks

Hayashibara Megumi Iravati / KICS 640 / King / $32.00 / Import Jpop / CD /13 Tracks, Including Successful Mission and Just be Conscious

VIDEOGAME CD SOUNDTRACKS

Sonic Adventure Remixes / TOCP 65024 / EMI / $27.00 / Import Videogame / CD / 10 Tracks from the Sega Dreamcast Game; Remixers Include Members of Meat Beat Manifesto, Skinny Puppy, and Spahn Ranch

Zuntata History L'ab-normal 3 / ZTTL 43 / Taito / $28.00 / Import Videogame / CD

Final Fantasy IV Celtic Moon / PSCN 5017 / NTT / $24.00 / Import Videogame/ CD / 15 Tracks

Final Fantasy Pray Vocal Coll / PSCN 5006 / PolyStar / $29.00 / Import Videogame / CD / 11 Tracks


 

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G A M E * R E V I E W
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Brave Fencer Musashi

     Another gem from Square, Brave Fencer Musashi is basically the closest thing the Playstation has to Zelda 64. Like Zelda, BFM is an Action-RPG with a starring a young sword-wielding adventurer on a quest to stop the forces of evil. Despite this, they really are different games in many ways, but both are excellent games. The game begins with a kingdom being threatened by an evil empire. To stop the evil forces, the kingdom's princess summons a hero from another dimension to stop the enemy. The hero, Musashi, must find a magical sword and the five magical scrolls that give it extra power, and eventually rescue the princess who, as expected, gets kidnapped. Not the most original plot, granted, but the entire feel of the game is pretty light, and it's probably intended for a younger audience. Plus, the game play more than makes up for the simple plot. Musashi wields two blades in the game, Fusion and Lumina, and each has their own abilities. Fusion can absorb the powers from any enemy, and Lumina is able to use the powers of the five scrolls to cause various elemental effects. With these two, and a set of magical armor that's slowly gained throughout the game, the hero can climb walls, leap over dangerous plants, attack enemies at long range, walk on water, cause earthquakes, and perform numerous other abilities. All of this is needed to solve the numerous puzzles in the game, and it's also the game's best feature. In addition, there are numerous side quests that Musashi can go on. These include hunting for magical creatures that leave life extending berries, saving the dozens of other kidnapped people, and meeting these people to gain new items or abilities. You can even buy action figures of nearly every character in the game!
     Graphically, the game's good, but it's no Zelda. It's in three dimensions, but the action is normally 2-D, and there's usually no way to rotate the camera to see a screen in any direction. On the other hand, there are plenty of cool looking, special effects, like the Fusion's draining effect or some of Lumina's charged abilities. The music is usually pretty good and always fits the scene, but aren't as memorable as the usual Square fair. However, it's interesting how a few of the songs change as the story progresses. The castle music, for example, gets more complicated as more musicians are rescued, and the forest music starts getting gloomier as night descends.
     Brave Fencer Musashi might not be a deep, thought provoking look at religion, politics, human elations, and the very nature of humanity, but it is a fun game that keeps you coming back to rescue one more person or find one more treasure. It's not Zelda, but it's still one of the best games the Playstation has to offer.

By: Pyronis

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Play Station 2

     Well it's getting closer and those of us that play video games all know what I'm talking about. That's right it's getting close to the release of the PS2 in the United States, all right I know it's not going to happen anytime soon but the release date is getting close. So I thought I would share with you some little tidbits about the new game platform, which you may or may not know about yet. All I can say is that after researching all the information that I can barely wait for it to come out. In fact I do wish that it was going to be released along with the new Saturn Platform, but I will have to contend with waiting for the PS2 to stomp what some critics are all ready calling the Saturn a doomed platform.
     But before I offend anyone that is a fan of Saturn I'll go ahead and tell you what I've learned about he PS2 system. *The PS2 will be sold purely as a video game machine for the first four or five million units. Then Sony may decide to start promoting the game system's DVD aspect of the system. The PS2 has two of the three needed components to play DVD movies the MPEG-2 decoder and a DVD based drive. The only other thing needed for the PS2 to play movies is a software interface that would allow you to navigate through the menus that are common place on DVD movies. The interface may be released soon after the release of the PS2 but as an add on to the platform. Sony's main reason it seems for not making the machine DVD ready when it is released is that this way their current DVD player sales will not be undermined.

*Communication features on the PS2 will be extremely powerful as Sony feels that the future of gaming lies in online interactivity. One example brought up is a virtual pet that would be able to call or page you when it needs to be taken care of.

*Phil Harrison told Next Generation Online that the 66 million polygon number was real and that the count was based on a best case scenario. He continued to say that the poly count would obviously drop " in the real world of game development.

*The sound chip will be a 48 channel synthesizer with a sampling rate of 48 KHz which is better than CD quality sound. In addition, the chip will be able to do a variety of digital affects such as echoes and reverbs.

*Since the PS Yaroze program was such a success, there is a strong possibility that Sony will continue the program with the new system. (Yaroze was the name of the low cost development system that enabled people to create games for the PS. It looked like a standard PS, but was black and hooked up to your MAC or PC.)

*The PS2 will feature several external storage media including standard memory cards, enhanced memory cards, and possibly a disk drive. Players will also be able to input video and audio through the console's IEFE 1394 (i-link) and USB ports and manipulate in real time. With just these few listing of what is going to be included in the PS2, you can already get the feel that gaming is going to be taken to a whole new level. IT's going to be a system that I am going to be saving up for, the news right now is that sony is going to release it around the 200 hundred dollar range. Other estimates have it being released closer to the 300 to 350 hundred dollar range. But the thing to remember is that Sony surprised everyone including the critics with a very low release price for the first PS system. So either way the PS2 will be affordable at least after the first few months that it's out.

     Now this section here is mainly speculation but it's a list of games that is in the work for the PS2, weather or not they come through or not, we'll have to wait and see.

Game ideas that are being tossed around :

Square Soft is the biggest ace for the PS2; Possible title are Final Fantasy 9 (which was to appear on the PS2, Chrono Trigger 2 and Ehrgeiz 2.

Namco, plans to develop new arcade hardware and bring out the long awaited Tekken4, along with a new version of Ridge Racer. Both games should appear in the arcade this fall and are good possibilities to be launched with the PS2 Konami will bring out Metal Gear 2 (possible called Metal Gear Solidus).

Of course it wouldn't be a PS system if it didn't have a resident Evil game planned, which thankfully (well depending on our view of Resident Evil) Capcom does have planned. Capcom also has planned Breath of Fire 4 (which according to one Capcom producer will be one of the company's greatest undertaking).

Of course last but not least Sony is rumored to be working on Crash Bandicoot 4, Jumping flash 3, Gran Turismo (it's new version of the driving simulator), and we might also see a sequel to Omega Boast.

We'll continue to provide you with all the information on the PS2 as we get it and keep you up to date in future issues.

 

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W H A T / W H E R E / W H O on A N I M E * O N L I N E
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Website: Anime Expo 99 Archives
http://www.pixelshow.com/axlive/archive.html
A side note from the editors: This link no longer works but we have kept it here since it was in the orginal issue....

     During the Anime Expo 99 at Anaheim, CA they did a live internet broadcast of the Masquerade party, group panels with artists and the Voice Acting (I think it's the karaoke section of the Masquerade party) parts 1 and 2. The archives are up and running for those of you are interested in seeing fellow otakus pay homage to their favorite animes (my favorite was New Evangelion mixed with Austin Powers the spy who shagged me combo).
     You will need Real Player to play the videos (http://www.real.com/welcome/index.html). It will take some time to watch so I would recommend if your online late at night or have insomnia you may want to download it then and watch. If there are is any net congestion, it will take a LONG time to be able to fully watch the masquerade. The video is a bit choppy but you can catch on to what's going on.

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Check out this website. Good information for any Tenchi fan who owns a DVD. I've ordered mine and if the Encyclopedia is better than the version on Daughter of Darkness, it will have paid for itself! Enjoy! http://www.dvd.com/stories/learn/why_dvd/story_814.asp

By: Z(A/U)gg

Editors note: This web site is AC okay but as with any page we cannot check all the links. So use caution when traveling the links from that page.

 

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     Sorry folks, no new fan fics this month. Not to worry though, hopefully I'll have one written up on the web site in a few days when things are a little less hectic. It's over five pages so it may need some major rewriting, not to mention a bit too long to put on here. Another thing to remind you guys that if you do write something for the newsletter and it's a little long not to worry, it'll find it's home on the web site. Let us know that you have a fanfic you're interested in putting on our website: fechan@main.com

editor: Ran Chan