UChi-Con

Old School Room: 109

Set the Wayback Machine for the dawn of Anime history! We're going back to a time before computer animation, before harem shows and dungeons-and-dragons ripoffs, before video-game tie-ins and anime DVDs on sale at the mall. We're going back to the shows that started it all. The anime of today is made by people who grew up watching the Old School, and if you want to understand where that influence is coming from, you need to see the classic shows of the 60s through the 80s.

Those were the days: giant robots didn't need religious metaphors and Freudian symbolism; you had your good robots and your evil robots, and they beat each other up, no justification needed! It was a rough-and-tumble time of grainy, 6-frame per second animation and straightforward, ultra-dramatic stories, when you could count on the first episode to actually explain the plot and the last episode to actually resolve it! And the theme songs... Oh. Man. The Theme Songs!

The greatest of these shows went on to become classics and inspire whole genres. The greatest of these shows left a permanent mark on Japan's entire culture! The greatest of these shows... are coming back to life on Saturday in Uchicon's Old-School Room. YAMATO... HASSHIN!!

ASTROBOY -- 1963

Japan's first animated TV show, based on the 1951 comic by the prolific "God of Manga" Osamu Tezuka, was like a beacon of hope in the the postwar years. Its very name -- "Tetsuwan Atom" -- was a promise that atomic power, and the power of technology in general, which almost destroyed us, will be used to serve humanity and build a glorious future. Personifying this ideal was Japan's new hero, a friendly little atomic-powered robot boy who flies around in the year 2000 smashing monsters and evil robots and generally fighting for justice while yearning to be a real boy. It's black-and-white, cheaply animated, and deeply strange, but you can't call yourself a real anime fan until you've seen it.

KIMBA THE WHITE LION -- 1966   (5PM-6PM)

The first color anime is another product of Osamu Tezuka's warped imagination. It's the story of Kimba, rightful king of the jungle, born in exile after his mother is captured by humans. Kimba swims all the way back to Africa (!!) and tries to bring peace to the animal kingdom by replacing the law of the jungle with a communistic animal utopia. Of course there are dangers from renegade animals, natural disasters, plagues, and humans, so Kimba has to show them all who's boss by kicking ass on a regular basis. Incidentally, you will notice many similarities to a certain big-budget Disney movie about a lion; some fans have accused Disney of plagarism, but watch and decide for yourself.

GEGEGE NO KITAROU -- 1968   (2PM-3PM, raw, translated on the spot by Jono)

A classic show based on the ghosts and monsters of ancient Japanese folklore, but set in modern times. ("gegege" is japanese onomonopea for the sound of a ghoulish cackle) Loved by many generations in Japan, been on TV in various forms since the 60s, but for some reason it has never had a single English translation. Kitarou is a friendly ghost who lives in a swamp; along with his disembodied eyeball father, a humanoid rat, a flying paper scroll, and a bunch of other halloweeny sidekicks, they go around capturing malevolent ghosts and rescuing kids from evil spirits. It's often grotesque, yet cartoony and fun, and endlessly inventive.

LUPIN THE THIRD -- 1971 (12PM-1PM)

Every episode of this series is like a tiny self-contained James Bond movie, with all the intrigue, gunplay, bawdiness, vehicle chases and cool gadgets that that implies. The key difference: we're rooting for the bad guys. Lupin the Third and his sidekick Jigen are international criminals on the run from Inspector Zenigata of Interpol; other recurring characters are the seductive and deadly Fujiko and the stoic samurai Goemon. Lupin III was voted the second most popular anime of all time in an all-Japan survey a few years ago. (And what was the first? Come find out...)

SCIENCE NINJA TEAM GATCHAMAN -- 1972   (1PM-2PM)

Produced by Tatsunoko studios (creators of "Speed Racer"), Gatchaman was the first "superhero team" anime. It started the stereotypical color-coded five-person team which became a cliche in shows like Voltron and Power Rangers. The Science Ninjas wear bird costumes and kill people with yo-yos and they fly around in a high-tech aircraft called the "God Phoneix" fighting the evil secret organization Galactor. You may actually have seen this show when you were a kid in its butchered and horribly dubbed American TV version "Battle of the Planets".

SPACE BATTLESHIP YAMATO -- 1976   (10AM-12PM)

We're oooooooooffff to outer space! We're leeeeeeeaving mother earth! To saaaaaaaaave the human race! "Starblazers" if you know the Americanized version. This is the epic space opera by Leiji Matsumoto which has the enduring popularity and influence in Japanese culture that Star Trek has over here. Earth is being radiation-bombed by the Gamilons; the surface is uninhabitable and man hides underground. The planet Iscandar offers salvation, but to claim it requires a journey of 100,000 light-years through enemy territory. Our last hope is the Yamato, actually the wreck of the Japanese WWII aircraft carrier, secretly retrofitted from the inside out into an interstellar spacecraft.

URUSEI YATSURA (LUM) -- 1981   (3PM-4PM)

The title "Urusei Yatsura" is just the first of an endless stream of untranslatable Japanese puns. You may know the show better by its female lead, the horned, green-haired, tiger-striped-bikini-wearing alien Lum. In the goofiest alien invasion ever, the fate of the Earth is wagered on a game of tag between Lum and high-school loser-boy Ataru. When Lum gets tagged, she decides that she's "engaged" to Ataru, and makes his life into a living hell by moving in with him and zapping him with lightning whenever she gets angry. As the original "magical space girlfriend" , Lum started a whole sub-genre (Tenchi Muyo, Oh My Goddess, etc) which continues to this day; but Urusei Yatsura packs more insane screwball comedy, mythological references, love triangles, and pop-culture parody into one episode than some of its descendants manage in a whole series. This was Rumiko Takahashi's first major work before she went on to create Ranma 1/2, Maison Ikkoku, and Inu-Yasha.

SUPERDIMENSIONAL FORTRESS MACROSS -- 1982   (4PM-5PM)

Remember a cartoon in the 80s called "ROBOTECH"? It launched a generation of anime fandom, with its complex storyline and awesome robots that transform into fighter jets. You think maybe these were designed to sell toys? The toys were pretty awesome, so I won't complain. Now see the story as it was meant to be seen: as part of the first wave of "realistic" mecha anime, made by the first generation of anime fans turned creators. In the futuristic year of 1999 (!), a huge alien space fortress crashes on an island in the Pacific ocean; it's up to humanity to reverse-engineer the alien technology and build some kick-ass mecha to fight off the invading Zentraedi, who are 50 feet tall with a weakness for... J-pop?

6PM Osamu Tezuka Talk by Natsu Onoda

Anno/Gainax Room: 115
10AM KareKano
12PM Nadia: Secret of Blue Water
2PM Otaku no Video
3PM Otaku Labor Talk
4:30PM Re: Cutie Honey
6PM Evangelion

Movie Room: 001
10AM Laputa:Castle in the Sky
11:30AM Howl's Moving Castle
3PM Metropolis
4:30PM Patlabor WXII

Romance Room: 008

The title of this room is fairly self-explanatory: here you will find a variety of anime aimed at both boys and girls, showcasing some of the many themes of anime romance. Bring on the cherry blossoms!

10AM Onii-sama E (Dear Brother...) (shojo)

Censored in Italy and banned in France for showing addiction, teen suicide, and lesbianism, this anime is really more drama than romance, especially in the early episodes shown here. However, it is one of the great classics of shoujo anime. Based on the 1970s manga by Ikeda Ryoko (author of Rose of Versailles), this show takes place at an elite girls' boarding school. Nanako, the young heroine, is chosen to apply to the school sorority, a group which guarantees all of its members a bright future and top social status during and after their high school years. However, other girls are jealous and try to stop her, while Nanako tries to juggle new and old friendships and a growing crush on "St. Juste," the androgynously handsome older girl. Throughout it all, Nanako writes long letters to her "older brother," a boy who was a TA at her middle school, and whose past is mysteriously linked to hers...

11:30AM Aa Megami-sama! (shonen)

Most of you already know the plot behind this popular "magical girlfriend" anime: short but sweet college student Keiichi calls in for pizza and accidentally summons Belldandy (also known as Verdandi, Norse goddess of the present). She promises to grant him one wish, so he naturally wishes to have a goddess like her with him forever. When her sisters (Urd, goddess of the past and Skuld, goddess of the future) show up to interfere, you know that there will be wacky hijinks aplenty. Fortunately for love and cherry blossom fans, there is also a slowly developing romance. Fans of the movie should be especially happy with these new TV episodes; the TV series was directed by the movie director, not the OAV one.

1PM Mizuiro Jidai (Aqua Age, Blue-green years) (shojo)

Middle school freshman Yuuko’s happy and carefree life. Her bossy friend Taka-chan has been acting a little odd lately. It turns out that she has a crush on Yuuko’s childhood friend, Hiroshi-kun, and wants Yuuko to find out if Hiroshi likes someone else. It looks like he might" Meanwhile, the upperclassmen don’t take well to Taka-chan’s assertiveness and try to punish both girls. What will Yuu-chan do? Fans of angst and drama will not be attracted to this series, where the love triangle is resolved by the end of episode two and everyone has good intentions. If you want something happy and cute, however, look no further.

2PM Boys Be (shonen)

Boys Be is a visually lush, straightforward and captivating romance, chronicling the intertwining lives and loves of a brace of attractive young students over the course of the year. The unpretentious storytelling, striking use of color and absorbing mood add crossover appeal to what would otherwise be an average amalgamation of mete cutes and panty shots.

3PM Peach Girl (shojo)

With skin darkened and hair bleached by years on the swimming team, high schooler Momo looks like the sort of party girl any guy can pick up. Despite this, she turns down all offers, trying to become pale enough that her crush will like her. But does his dislike of tanned girls really extend to Momo? Will the handsome and popular (but goofy) sempai who also likes her manage to win her over? And will Momo’s jealous "friend" manage to sabotage either of these growing romances? Peach Girl is a sweet and funny example of current shoujo romance.
4:30AM Golden Boy (shonen)

6AM Creamy Mami (shojo)

Contrary to popular belief, this anime is in no way a hentai. You can’t have an anime con without some mahou shoujo, so here it is: Mahou Tenshi Creamy Mami. When 9 year-old girl Yuu finds an alien spaceship, the little man inside gives her a magic stick and two cats to watch over her. This stick, of course, transforms her into a 15 year-old idol singer, Creamy Mami, who soon becomes the new singing sensation. Yuu must manage her new double life without anyone finding out, and handle her developing crush on childhood friend Toshio, who himself is crushing on Mami. For some reason, this show is very popular in Italy.

7PM Midori no Hibi (shonen)

Seiji is a fearsome high school delinquent with a devastating right-hand punch, but no luck with girls. Or so he thinks. The sweet but shy Midori has had an unrequited crush on him for such a long time that one day her wish to be near him is granted. Seiji wakes up and finds that Midori is now with him… as a small puppet-size replacement for his right hand. Naturally, this creates a variety of problems, but it takes more than limb-transformation to stop a budding anime romance! Oddly enough, this was released by the same studio as Creamy Mami, Studio Pierrot.

Action Room: 205

As a counter-part to the romance room, we will try to have as much action and bangs coming from this room as possible. Futuristic action, traditional martial arts action, bouncy-girl with gun action, pretty boy with angst action... Plus the odd ones: Hikaru no Go, which has all the trappings of action, but none of the bangs. Slam Dunk, part of a sports genre not often exported to America.

10AM One Piece -- Spunky and crazy
12PM Battle Angel Alita -- angsty futuristic robot chick
1PM Condor Hero -- ancient Chinese martial arts
2PM Get Backers
3AM Bubblegum Crisis
4PM Iria