Befor I start, I want to assure you that this won’t be a self-serving, boastful thing where I only talk about myself. Just to set the stage, I want to share my background and explain why I am so passionate about this. Please accept my apologies – I am working on something really exciting!

Many consider me an old man in the world of anime. Since 1992 I have been an anime fan and a journalist. I’ve been screaming at those kids since 2010.

After a crisis, I saw a cottage industry become an unbeatable industry. Many questioned its ability to continue. As the industry has grown into a behemoth, I have seen both fans and former rivals form unlikely alliances.

It’s certainly been an interesting ride to get here.

Growing up, I was a child from the 1980s. In fact, I was a typical 80s child. My family and I loved Atari, cartoons, etc., so we did all the typical kid things. But I was particularly fond of shows such as Transformers Voltron and Robotech… or any show with a fun futuristic feel.

It’s important to note that at this time, anime series were often repurposed for kids programming. You could throw a stone and not hit an anime show that had been repurposed. Just off the top of my mind, I think:

• Noozles (Fushigina Koala Blinky, 1988)
• Adventures of the Little Koala
• Tranzor Z (Mazinger Z, 1985)
• Mysterious Cities of Gold (1996)
• Dragon Ball (Test Market 1989)

One of my uncles figured it out pretty fast. My family visited my grandmother, who lived in Bristol, RI, back in 1992. He invited me to see a cartoon during the visit. As I was about 8 years old at the time, I would have been more than happy to comply.

My uncle put a VHS in his VCR and started to watch it with me. The video looked grainy, and it was warped. It was like the tape had been copied a few times. But I was still intrigued.

The C6250 whistle began to sound through the mono speakers of the television as wheels of an enormous locomotive started to rotate and the view changed to train tracks stretching out into the blackness.

It was “Yin He Tie Dao 999”, but I called it Space Train at first.

The first time I went into the situation, I didn’t have a clue what to expect. My eight-year old mind could have interpreted the cast’s language as gibberish. Subtitles appeared within a few moments. They were hastily written, full of misspellings and flew by. Even so, I managed to grasp the essence of what was being said.

The words were not the most important thing. Through their visual and tonal language, the characters said a lot. Maetel’s knowing sadness and Tetsuro’s desperate desire to leave everything… they said more with their tone than the characters themselves.

It became something we did every month. When I visited my uncle we would watch more Galaxy Express 9999. After we watched the series, I became a lifelong anime fan.

My uncle invited me to join the anime club during that summer. The group was a collection of twenty-somethings that would meet to discuss and watch anime. Here I began to broaden my horizons. We watched Sailor Moon that summer. This winter, patlabor.

The list goes on.

It’s not important to go into details, but in 1994 I left the club. It seems to have fallen apart shortly after, so was it good timing or not?

But I digress.

The first cassette I bought in 1996 contained two complete Dubbed Episodes of Ranma 1/2 for $25. At the Taunton Flea Market, I bought my first tape. It contained two whole Dubbed episodes of em>Ranma 1/2/em> and cost $25 (this was incredibly cheap considering they retailed for $29.95! Since then, I have been collecting and assembling.

When I was 14, I began writing about video games and anime. After working for indie gaming websites like Console Nation or The nth Dimension I became jaded by the grind and dedicated my time to anime. In 2001 I launched my small anime site. The website was ugly and poorly coded but darn, it’s mine!

That didn’t really last long.

You lovely, beautiful site, rest in peace.

As a reviewer, I joined Anime Dream in 2003. After two years, I was promoted to a PR and news position, which I held until 2012, when the website closed. In that role, I met so many incredible people and saw such amazing events. I have a great anecdote to share with our Patreon lovers soon.

I chronicled, on the news desk during the first decade, the incredible rise of the industry. The industry was in a golden age of Pokémon, where every episode seemed like gold and ADV Films was an unstoppable force. The bubble burst in 2008 and I covered the devastation that the industry suffered. As the old kings were demolished and the new rulers started to stabilize the changing anime industry, I continued to type.

I also cheered on players such as Sentai Filmworks, and Funimation, who began taking those first, small steps towards stability.

When I think back, I can honestly say that it was pretty breathtaking.

In 2010, I started a tiny site called Anime Herald. It was intended to be a place of experimentation – an area for testing new articles and ideas. As I didn’t know where to start or even how to run such a site, I did what I was best at and jumped right in. Back then, I was fearless. The brave girl who stood in front of a bull and threw a flag was me. It was a bold, brash rhetoric: We would be at the top. We will dominate the anime world.

Well, time is a fool for us all. ? ??? It became my obsession, my motivation…and a place where I could escape from the pressures of life. Over the eight years, I met some amazing people. Lydia, Seth Anthony, Dorian MJ… I have shared both good and bad times with all of them.

So, yeah. This has been a wild ride. It’s been a great ride. I really want to share some of it with everyone. Back to the Past is my attempt to delve into the 26-year history of anime and reveal the many things that have made this hobby so special to so many people over the years. The early anime club, fansub trading, industry bubbles and unmistakable moments were all part of the early history.

I don’t know how long I will continue this, but there are many stories I would like to share.

Over the years, a great deal has changed and grown. But even more, has been forgotten. Even if only for a few moments, I would like to bring back those faded, forgotten memories.

gamestufanime