What is Akihabara Renditions?
Akihabara Renditions is a community of fans dedicated to classic Japanese animation of the 1970s through the
mid-1990s. We are focused on providing information and opinons about Japanese animation of the Bubble
Economy and the origins of fandom in North America.
"Classic" Japanese animation spans from a time in the 1970s when mega-hits like Space Battleship Yamato and
Galaxy Express 999 moved animation out of a realm that was ust for kids and bits of nostolgia for adults. It is an
artform that was shaped by economic and political factors conetmporary to Japan as much as it was by artistic
factors of the people who created it. It was this different perspective that caught the eyes of science fiction
fans first and then moved and created an "anime fandom" unique in its own right and has only grown as time
has moved on. Those same political and economic factors pulled again in the middle 1990s and reshaped not
only the anime being produced but even the subculture of its fans - the otaku.
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Staff@AkibaRen
Drew Sutton
The self-described "Don Cherry of Anime Fandom" has been a fan of Japanese animation (or, Japanimation as we used to call
it) for nearly fifteen years. I had gotten involved through local comic book fandom (finding fansubs at cons), which lead to
research on the Internet, involvement in fan mailing lists, tape trading/fansub distribution, running an anime club, failing at
fanzines and eventually entering the blogophere (and then making a real site) with AkibaRen. In 2002, with better access to
higher Internet speeds and digital fansubbing, I hit a low point in fandom which was eventually overcome when I began
finding old shows I'd not seen before or seen in entirety. From that point I began advocating and proslytizing the virtues of
older, "classic Japanese animation." In 1997, I began learning Japanese and have worked on several small translation projects,
most notably a project for Shin-Getter Fansubs.
Jason Brown
Jason got into anime fandom about a decade ago while in High School and has been involved with a number of Internet and
physical club organizations over the years. While he maintains a good handle on the newer anime coming out in Japan now,
he also has a love and respect for a lot of Japanese animation from the Bubble Economy.
Check out his viewing journal here.
Richard Hoelsher
Richard became involved in Japanese animation back when he ran home from school so he didn't miss Robotech.Ever since
that time, he's been enamored with Japanese carttons, particularly those featuring giant robots. He is also heavily interested
in plamo (plastic modeling) and the Super Robot Wars line of video games.
Marc Smazic
Marc got into anime heavily around the Millenium Boom and qucikly dove right into the fansubbing and AMV scenes.
His primary interest is in shoujo works, which sets him apart from his contemporaries, but also his love for the new
fangled cartoons provides a logical balance in separating quality works from fanboy nostolgia.
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Special Thanks
Site design by Tiajuana Benson-Bond. Not only a great friend but without her coding, I would have never gotten this proect
along this far.
Logo/Banner design by VidelCoolGirl from AnimeNation Forums. My GIMP skills are still weak, but she commands some
excellent PhotoShop mastery.
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