Sidra's Anime Site

Way back before the dawn of time, when I was an undergrad, I was involved in a very few clubs (Society of Physics Students, Hwa Rang Do, the SCA), including, for a while, the Anime club. We watched Ranma 1/2, Patlabor, and lots of other stuff I don't remember.

Then life got really busy towards the end of my degree. This is a trend that never fully stopped.

While my life is still really busy, I do have the time and inclination to watch cool videos. Sometimes even..."cartoons".

When I was living in the LA area and working for Alpine Electronics R&D (GPS navigation systems -- yeah, that was some sexy stuff), I found a very decent comic/RPG/bookstore that rents anime video and Hong Kong action movies, among other things. The Third Planet at 3822 Sepulveda Blvd, Torrance, CA 90505 U.S.A. (310 791 6227). Very nice store, if you're in the L.A. area, check it out. They have a very nice selection of subtitled Japanese videos. I hate dubbing. I just do, okay? There's also a great mail order company called the Right Stuf International - they appear to have one heck of a catalog selection.

Naturally, I'm nowhere near LA anymore. But I still hate dubbing.

What El Sid is Known to Watch
• Neon Genesis Evangelion
• Aeon Flux. From MTV's Liquid Television. I have the video release of the collected Liquid TV spots, and the subsequent "Mission Infinite" video.
• Macross. Watched the Harmony Gold - released 'Robotech' shows when I was a kid. Sorry if that sentence made you feel old. And, I picked up a tape of the British movie release "Super SpaceFortress Macross" (letterboxed!!) back at a fan con.
• Akira. Of. Course. However, I have to get my own copy, as the one I used to watch belongs to my ex.
• Urusei Yatsura 1: Only You. I giggled alot.
• Heavy Metal. I had the good fortune to go to a series of showings of cool anime movies, some years back, including Heavy Metal, Rock and Rule, and Robot Carnival. Heavy Metal and Robot Carnival, are essentially, thematically linked shorts, while Rock and Rule was a rock opera (Debbie Harry does one of the voices).
• Ai City. That bunny suit was just too much.
• Now, I spent a lot of time in the video room when I went to LosCon (a Los Angeles convention) in 1996, and more time in a different video room at Agamemcon in Orange County in 1997, and got to see some episodes of Blue Seed and Maison Ikokku.
• The Secret of Blue Water. Coming soon, I hope!

Then there's the British claymation extravaganzas - not to mention award winning work - of Nick Park.

Wallace and Gromit. Keep your eyes on Gromit's literary selections.

• A Grand Day Out. Wallace and Gromit build a ship and go to the moon for a cheese holiday. They meet up with a very...interesting resident.
• The Wrong Trousers. Wallace and Gromit take in a boarder who is not all he seems, and Wallace's greatest invention to date, a pair of techno-trousers, goes horribly wrong. The train chase is one of the funniest things I've ever seen in my life.
• A Close Shave. Wallace and Gromit are caught up in a sheep rustler's evil scheme, Wallaces latest invention: The Knit-O-Matic, is stolen as well. You've simply got to see this to believe it: I thought the train chase scene in the previous video took the cake, but the motorcycle-and-sheep-combo in this one is the absolute end.

Sidra's Blog