#localization history

[dragonofeternal]

So one of the coolest bits of animanga ephemera that I own is probably these two volumes of the Epic Comics printing of AKIRA.

In 1988, American comics publishers were starting to take notice of the growing popularity of Japanese animation, and Marvel wanted a slice of the pie. A few years earlier, they had made the Epic Comics imprint to run more adult stories free of Comics Code censorship, including both standalone titles and non-canonical spinoffs of their more popular characters. The fledgling imprint seemed like the perfect place for a slice of that cool, weird Japanamation pie. They set their sights on Katsuhiro Otomo's AKIRA, which had done well in Japan and was set to get film adaptation that year. The editor of Epic at the time felt that the disaffected youth, psychic powers, and post-apocalyptic sci-fi setting would be familiar enough touch points to make the series resonate with American readers.

However, Epic didn't think that American comics readers would be as drawn to something that read "backwards" and was black and white. So, they did what would become the standard for many years- they flipped the pages to read left-to-right. They then enlisted colorist Steve Oliff to create a full-color version of AKIRA. While it's easy to jump to thinking of this as a butchering of the original work, Otomo was actually fully on board, as he wanted his work to reach as many people as possible. Otomo collaborated with Oliff directly at first, flying out to meet with him and share some of his personal desires for the coloring. He had some initial color guides, stills from the as-of-yet unreleased movie, and a deep passion and desire for his work to do well in the west. For the first five or six issues, Oliff sent all of his colorings off to Otomo for approval, but after that, Otomo was pleased enough that he gave Oliff free reign to go with his instincts for the rest of the comic's run. The colored version was even re-licensed, flipped back to the Japanese order, and released in Japan! I've never seen any copies of that, but I bet it's cool as hell!

I got these as a Christmas present sometime in the mid '00s from my Aunt Ing and Uncle David, who knew I liked anime and manga, but knew absolutely nothing about the stuff. They picked them up at a garage sale in DC for pocket change, and gave them to me along with a second hand copy of the DEVILMAN live action movie from 2004. I clearly remember them saying something along the lines of "Here, I hope you like this! We know you like that manga stuff. Hopefully 'Akira' isn't Japanese for like hardcore donkey porn or something, hahaha!" ...As if you couldn't flip the book open and see what was in it for yourself, Uncle David?

(Also worth noting that I had already seen the Akira movie at this point, so it's not like I didn't know what I was getting into!)

The manga (and the not-long-after release of the anime) made AKIRA a hit in the states. The Epic Comics run split the series into 38 issues that ran from 1988 to 1994. However, the legacy of Epic's colored run has an influence outside of just helping to introduce this iconic series to American readers.

It was also one of the first digitally colored comics.

Oliff and his company, Olyopitcs, were pioneers in using digital coloring methods. While he made initial color guides on paper versions of the pages using traditional methods like pantone films and paint, the finalized versions were all colored digitally, allowing for a wide, rich range of colors. This style of coloring incentivized Marvel to print it on slightly higher quality paper, and the series' success made Marvel more interested in looking to computers as a way to enhance their art and workflow. Perhaps he overstates it a bit, but Oliff credits his Eisner award-winning run as the colorist for AKIRA as the turning point for digital art's acceptance in comics.

It's unlikely that the colored version of AKIRA will ever be re-released, as the rights that Marvel held have LONG since traded hands, first to Dark Horse and then back to Kodansha. Copies of the colored version of AKIRA are hard to come by and pricy now, ranging from $10-100 for a single issue on eBay depending on condition and what particular issue it is (climactic issues are obviously more expensive than more laid back ones). It's not completely out of the question that it'll see the light of day again, however; Oliff still has all the digital files of the colored version of AKIRA, and he has expressed that he would be more than happy to have them reprinted if Kodansha wished to.

If not, though, I still have my two issues, and a very cool piece of anime localization history.

Historical info for this post was fact checked/sourced from this Japan Times article from their 30th anniversary retrospective and this 2016 ANN interview with Oliff. Feel free to check them out if you want to know more!

#long post #Akira #akira (1988) #katsuhiro otomo #fandom #anime history #fandom history #localization #localization history #comics history #doetalks #anime #manga

[inkskinned]

for a while i lived in an old house; the kind u.s americans don't often get to live in - living in a really old house here is super expensive. i found out right before i moved out that the house was actually so old that it features in a poem by emily dickinson.

i liked that there were footprints in front of the sink, worn into the hardwood. there were handprints on some of the handrails. we'd find secret marks from other tenants, little hints someone else had lived and died there. and yeah, there was a lot wrong with the house. there are a lot of DIY skills you learn when you are a grad student that cannot afford to pay someone else to do-it-for-ya. i shared the house with 8 others. the house always had this noise to it. sometimes that noise was really fucking awful.

in the mornings though, the sun would slant in thick amber skiens through the windows, and i'd be the first one up. i'd shuffle around, get showered in this tub that was trying to exit through the floor, get my clothes on. i would usually creep around in the kitchen until it was time to start waking everyone else up - some of them required multiple rounds of polite hey man we gotta go knocks. and it felt... outside of time. a loud kind of quiet.

the ghosts of the house always felt like they were humming in a melody just out of reach. i know people say that the witching hour happens in the dark, but i always felt like it occurred somewhere around 6:45 in the morning. like - for literal centuries, somebody stood here and did the dishes. for literal centuries, somebody else has been looking out the window to this tree in our garden. for literal centuries, people have been stubbing their toes and cracking their backs and complaining about the weather. something about that was so... strangely lovely.

i have to be honest. i'm not a history aficionado. i know, i know; it's tragic of me. i usually respond to "this thing is super old" by being like, wow! cool! and moving on. but this house was the first time i felt like the past was standing there. like it was breathing. like someone else was drying their hands with me. playing chess on the sofa. adding honey to their tea.

i grew up in an old town. like, literally, a few miles off of walden pond (as in of the walden). (also, relatedly, don't swim in walden, it's so unbelievably dirty). but my family didn't have "old house" kind of money. we had a barely-standing house from the 70's. history existed kind of... parallel to me. you had to go somewhere to be in history. your school would pack you up on a bus and take you to some "ye olden times" place and you'd see how they used to make glass or whatever, and then you'd go home to your LEDs. most museums were small and closed before 5. you knew history was, like, somewhere, but the only thing that was open was the mcdonalds and the mall.

i remember one of my seventh grade history teachers telling us - some day you'll see how long we've been human for and that thing has been puzzling me. i know the scientific number, technically.

the house had these little scars of use. my floors didn't actually touch the walls; i had to fill them with a stopgap to stop the wind. other people had shoved rags and pieces of newspaper. i know i've lost rings and earring backs down some of the floorboards. i think the raccoons that lived in our basement probably have collected a small fortune over the years. i complain out loud to myself about how awful the stairs are (uneven, steep, evil, turning, hard to get down while holding anything) and know - someone else has said this exact same thing.

when i was packing up to leave and doing a final deep cleaning, i found a note carved in the furthest corner in the narrow cave of my closet. a child's scrawled name, a faded paint handprint, the scrangly numbers: 1857.

we've been human for a long time. way back before we can remember.

#idk if it's still tradition but the kids at the local school next to walden when I went there #used to have a tradition where u had to pee in walden pond before u graduated or otherwise you'd fail one of your classes #as someone who did not do this im happy to report i did fail a class so maybe they had a point #they've torn the school down tho so who knows #i hope this makes sense #i think we've been human longer than we've been writing #ps this land was taken over by hostile combatants and colonialized . let us not forget that part of the reason #our 'history' is so short. is that we have systematically slaughtered the people who had history here before

[biggest-gaudiest-patronuses]

putting my prediction on record now that the coming decade is going to see the rise of viral-marketed fancy at-home water filtration systems, driving and driven by a drastic reduction in the quality of U.S. tap water (given that we are in a 'replacement era' where our current infrastructure is reaching the end of its lifespan--but isn't being replaced). also guessing that by the 2030s access to drinkable tap water will be a mainstream class issue, with low-income & unstably housed people increasingly forced to rely on expensive bottled water when they can't afford the up-front cost of at-home filtration--and with this being portrayed in media as a "moral failing" and short-sighted "choice," rather than a basic failure of our political & economic systems. really hope i'm just being alarmist, but plenty of this already happens in other countries, and the U.S. is in a state of decline, so. here's praying this post ages into irrelevance. timestamped April 2023

#apollo don't fucking touch this one #serious post #not a shitpost #hope i forget about this post and have no reason to ever look back on it one day #fyi i'm aware that access to potable water is already a major issue in parts of the U.S. yes i know flint michigan exists #i'm saying that this issue is going to GROW unless local & federal governments work together to fix it. #so it's a matter of if we trust them to fix it. And well--do you? #what are the chances the government just denies there's a problem until the water actually turns brown #at which point it's already been common knowledge for years and people have just become resigned and that's our new normal #i'm mean come on. how many of us already believe that we're being exposed to dangerous pollutants we don't know about and can't avoid #like that's pretty much just part of being a modern consumer. accepting that companies will happily endanger your life for a few pennies #and the most you'll get is like a $50 gift card as part of a class action rebate 20 years down the line #probably the history books will look back on Flint as a warning and a harbinger that went ignored #luxury condos will advertise their built-in top-of-the-line filtration systems--live here and you can drink water straight from your tap! #watch the elite professional class putting $700 dyson water filtration systems on their wedding registry #while the rest of us figure out how to fit water delivery into our grocery budget while putting 90% of our paycheck towards rent #also eggs are $15

[metamatar]

something something american necropolitics the tillamook county creamery association found online on tillamook dot com that sells many dairy products in the united states under the brand name tillamook has no relationship and makes no acknowledgement of the tillamook people from whom it get its name. the name comes from the chinook translation of the people of nehalem. early contact with european sailing ships is dated to the 1770s. in 1805 lewis and clark's "discovery" expedition noted at the time that many large villages had been depopulated by pandemics and many adults had smallpox scars. this followed a period of fur trading with the involvement of hudson bay corporation. in 1850, the us govt passed the oregon donation land act, announcing over 2,500,000 acres of land as available for settlers to seize, which happened in patterns whose violence mirrors that of the continent. there was no treaty. in 1907, the tribe sued and was paid 23,500 dollars for the land the us govt has seized from them when it forced them onto the siletz reservation. the tillamook language is a salishan language that lost its last fluent speaker in 1970. many descendants are considered part of the confederated tribes of siletz. other nehalem are part of the unrecognized clatsop nehalem confederated tribes. the nehalem-tillamook were also socially and economically integrated with the clatsop peoples. today the town of tillamook has a population that is only 1.5% native american. the modern day corporation started as a settler coop created in 1909. it is the 48th largest dairy processor in north america and posted $1 billion in sales in 2021.

#sometimes i see an interesting word or name in the us and inevitably its history is something like this #but i hadn't seen an actually brand named after a tribe yet that made no acknowledgement of it #pnw #<- idk local history tag

[communistkenobi]

It’s so funny when liberals lecture communists about not knowing how anything works, that we need to grow up and face the real world etc, while publicly demonstrating that their political imagination is so deeply impoverished that they genuinely believe the only thing the leader of the most powerful country on the planet in all of human history can do is block a slightly more fascist guy from taking his place every four years

#one of the reasons I am a communist is because I believe in the wondrous power of a state in the hands of the working class! like it is #legitimately moving to learn about the transformative ways socialists use a proletarian state to direct a socialist society #what boer calls god-building and newton calls demiurgical. the state has a universe-building potential to it #and even setting aside socialist history the idea that the president of the US is unable to affect any local or state policy within his own #borders or foreign policy without is so baldly laughable it shouldn’t even be worth considering #except for the fact that so many people profess to genuinely believe that #whether they actually do is another story but christ alive man.

[writingatdusk]

Can’t believe these two ghouls were on my local news this morning! If the YouTube thing doesn’t work out, it’s clear they can be weathermen. I think these screenshots prove that. @wearewatcher

#we are watcher #shane and ryan #ryan bergara #shane madej #minnesota #ghost files #puppet history #local news #was not expecting that #clearly experts #best weather forecast ever #idk what else to tag #made my day #they are in Minnesota tonight for a show #tickets available? #watcher

[annabelle--cane]

this comment was made in response to a bunch of terf bs and I don't tend to like sharing their stuff directly but I desperately wanted to preserve this line on my blog. sorry for stealing your post ms doubleca5t.

#one of their lines of argument was like #'sex isn't a social construct humans aren't a social construct animals and land aren't social constructs' #and like. comrade. I have some really bad news about the history of the construction of 'humanity' as a category. #'people are not a social construct' says person who sees no problem in calling everyone 'males' and 'females' as nouns #marina marvels at life #id in alt text #anyway I think this line is going to live in my head in a similar place as my classic #'me when I haven't been banned from my local lgbt center' litany for when I see weird exclusionism

[heydragonfly]

Hey since it’s Indigenous Peoples’ Day, if you want to know the indigenous people native to the land you currently live on, you can go to Native Land Digital (link embedded) and they have information on all of the Americas and Australia, as well as smaller pockets of information (where applicable) elsewhere. It’s pretty accessible and can show you territories, languages, and related treaties. I’d recommend anyone to check it out, particularly Americans and Canadians, cause this level of local history isn’t often taught. (If you get lost on the map/confused of its orientation, click “settler labels” in the bottom right hand corner, which should give you the current map Settler-made lines)

#indigenous peoples day #Not indigenous myself but I think this is a very good resource and more people should be aware of it #like for reference I study local history pretty extensively but this map first introduced me to multiple tribes I was unaware of that #originally come from the land I live on and research #anyway fuck columbus! have a good day lol

[revoevokukil]

There is an old copy-paste moving around the internet regarding discussions asserting the inherent Slavicness of The Witcher, and I will record it here for posterity.

(translated from polish)

-write eight books

-have their main character suffer from otherness, prejudice and erroneous stereotypes

-insert anti-racist references at every turn

-make dwarves into Jews

-and use to criticise anti-Semitism

-criticise nationalist attitudes

-criticise xeno- and homophobia at every turn

-show support for a multicultural society and acceptance of otherness

-describe how victims become executioners

-show how violence begets violence

-make it the central theme of the last three volumes

-have the hero and his lover die during a racist pogrom

-defend the persecuted to the lastHear from every corner of the internet that "a black witcher would be a disaster."

-write thirteen stories

-based three on Andersen's fairy tales

-three more on the fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm

-seventh on an Arabian fairy tale

-mock folklore and folk beliefs in the first one

-but also make fun of them in the story "The Edge of the World"

-mock the Polish legend in "The Limits of Possibility"

-name the main character "Żerard" (Jerald)

-generally use mainly names with Celtic roots like Yenefer or Crach

-and those derived from Romance languages such as Cirilla, Falka or Fringilla or Triss

-a few English names such as Merigold

-and those derived from other Germanic languages such as Geralt

-and Italian

-German

-and even French

-borrow monsters from American games, especially from Advanced Dungeons and Dragons

-from Irish, make an elf language

-and from German, make it the language of dwarves

-make the characters celebrate Irish folk holidays

-write an article about where you got your inspiration from

-pour bile on Slavic fantasy in it

-finally write an eighth book

-make one of the key characters a Japanese demoness

​

Become a champion of turbo-slavism.

/s

#the witcher #the witcher 3 #the witcher books #nobody contests The Witcher is the product of the time-place-history and culture experienced by its author #what very much ought to be contested are attempts at painting TW as symbolic of an ideology it very much criticizes #aside ethnonationalism criticism applies to imperialism likewise. not like eastern europe has extensive experience with both or anything #as goes for creative and intellectual inspiration it would be trite to reduce it to the local circle only (and inaccurate) #Sienkiewicz or no Sienkiewicz #at some point the audience must simply read more to know more. helpfully AS has provided a plethora of references + an entire other trilogy #9/10 when you see a discussion about the inherent Slavicness of The Witcher it's thanks to CDPR's excellent marketing strategy #which is a shame

[lithium-poet]

girls when they meet the right person at the wrong time.

𝓁𝑜𝓋𝑒, 𝒶𝓇𝒶𝒷𝑒𝓁𝓁𝒶

#keep making me laugh #teacher crush #teacher crush community #hell is a teenage girl #lana del rey #lana del ray aka lizzy grant #lizzy grant #coquette #manic pixie dream girl #girlblogger #girlblog #gaslight gatekeep girlblog #girlblogging #this is a girlblog #female hysteria #gaslight gatekeep girlboss #black swan #art history #fine art #pinterest #aesthetic #lana del ray aesthetic #the virgin suicides #girl interrupted syndrome #locally hated #waif #bambi doe #lily rose depp #female rage #hyper feminine

[theenbyroiderer]

Showed my stuff at a local happening today. Got to wear my new folk costume. Super traditional folk costume + queer embroidery is a kinda nice contrast.

#art exhibition #fiber art #embroidery #crochet #3d embroidery #mushroom art #queer embroidery #local history #arts and crafts

[beggars-opera]

Me: I am not a true historian of the Salem Witch Trials, just a local with a passion and a lot of books. I have read a lot of books though.

Them: I trust you

Me: Here is a very basic, uncontroversial statement

Them: Well, actually

Me: I am stabbing your poppet as we speak

#the real fun starts tomorrow #the people who post blatantly untrue shit with 'citation: I'm a local' congratulations you clearly also failed history class!! #I have at least 3k pages of information in front of me and that's just what I've BOUGHT do you want to DANCE

[acesolaris]

A basic point of Solarpunk is it's focus on local communities. So, get to know your communities!

Local Politics

How does your local Govenment work? Who are the people involved in it?

What is the main political climate and view in your area?

What are the most active community organisations?

What are Grasrootmovements in your areas?

Are there known leftist organisations or communities?

Local Infrastrucure

Libraries and Archives

independent buisnesses like bakerys, bookstores etc

central community centres

Thrift stores

Nature preservation centres or organisations

Food kitchens

package-free and bulk stores

Local Newspapers

Bus lines and scedules

Bike repair shops

Queer Bars and Centres

Tailors and shoe repair shops

abandoned or empty buildings/ properites

Local History

How did people live in your area 50 Years ago? 100? 200? 500? What are their trades, culture, how did they get their food?

What is the geological and ecological history of your area? The quality of the soil? The availability of water? Local Plants?

What are some major historical events your area went through? How did they shape the peoples point of view?

What are the oldest buildings in Town? Research the architecture and building materials, as they commonly are localy sourced and help with sustainable building in your area!

These are just some ideas so please feel free to add!

#solarpunk #activism #activity ideas #commune #local communities #local history #local politics

[bagheerita]

Watching "Tomorrow is Yesterday"

and I can't stop laughing because I'm thinking about "1969"

When you time travel to the 60s your name is now James T. Kirk, whether or not it was before.

#star trek tos #stargate sg1 1969 #it's one of my favorite sg1 episodes 😆❤ #kirk is such a nerd tho. he travels back in time and the first thing he does is abduct a local so that he can chat about forgotten history #100

[madamegemknight]

Gotta say, I’m really liking how Shane is approaching the Ryan/Professor rivalry this season. So much of the previous seasons and holiday specials were focused on the idea of one of them being in the wrong (the Professor was in the wrong for ‘lying’ about the Algorithm, Ryan was in wrong for ‘murdering’ the Professor, etc) but S5 is taking a much more nuanced approach to this.

They both messed up! Yes, the Victory Algorithm was real, but the Professor should have explained how it worked and what it calculated instead of just insisting that it was ‘complex’ without any further explanation. Yes, Ryan shouldn’t have made a deal with the literal devil, but he was treated poorly by someone who was his teacher and never wanted the Professor to actually die. They both got hurt and they both messed up, but they’ve both realized what they did wrong and are trying to make the situation right again -

Ryan by attempting to get the lamp and wish the Professor back,

and the Professor by finally admitting how mean he was to Ryan and hoping to someday have the chance to forgive him.

It’s just really nice to see how a story that started off as a simple back-and-forth rivalry has grown into something where things aren’t as clear cut anymore, and that there aren’t ‘good’ or ‘bad’ factions - even the Genie, the overarching villain of the entire series, has valid reasons to do what he does. I can’t wait to see how Shane continues to develop that idea throughout the rest of Season 5 and (hopefully) onward, the few times it’s been on display this season have been some of my favorite moments and I’m really looking forward to more.

#puppet history #local dingus gets overly emotional about funnie puppet webshow more at 11

[writingatdusk]

For those curious, here’s the boys full interview from my local news channel’s YouTube:

#our morning weatherman interviewed them #and he did not disappoint #watcher #we are watcher #shane and ryan #shane madej #ryan bergara #ghost files #puppet history #ghost files live #local news #minnesota #fellow weirdos #just your average morning news and weather forecast #fox 9 news Minneapolis St Paul #Youtube