A View from the Wheel

by Throkda Jones

"Wheel of anime, turn turn turn....tell us the shows for which we yearn..."
-- The original chant when the Wheel of Anime was created

I wonder how long it would take to become a world-class martial artist. No, wait....I need to be a legendary-class martial artist. No...still not right....oh yeah -- I need to be a mythological class of martial artist.

Why? Well, aside from the cool ability to leap really high in the air, knock over trees and such (not to mention how useful invisibility can be for a properly dirty mind), I could really use the Splitting Cat Hairs technique. For those who don't remember, or not seen it, I'm referring to the Ranma 1/2 anime when Cologne first appears and fights Ranma by splitting herself into 9 copies. Come to think of it, I don't think she ever used the technique again...at least not in the episodes of Ranma that I've seen.

I think it might be pretty useful to have extra copies of myself around, especially at the moment when I seem to be needed in so many different tasks at the same time. I've got several projects at home I've been working on, which I don't always get anywhere with, because I need leisure time too. And at work, I've been training dentists to use new technology, but at the same time, I need to put together new ads and such.

So I need the Splitting Cat Hairs technique....then I can tell each of my copies:

"You! Go train that doctor!"

"You! Go fix that malfunctioning system!"

"You! Make an ad for this new product!"

"You! Get to work on the catalog!"

"You! Finish that section of the Anime Heretics website!"

"You! Put together the rest of the World Domination Poker deck!"

*count how many copies he's used so far* "You! Do the dishes!"

"You! Create a few characters for that role-playing game!"

And then I could do nothing but sit around watching anime and playing video games...wait...if Copy #5 is working on the website, I don't have access to the computer. Dammit!

Of course, there are inherent problems with this arrangement. Sooner or later, one of me will get bored with what I'm doing, and want to trade with another one of me who's not bored at all. An argument would break out, and being bad-ass martial artists, we'd end up wreaking all kinds of collateral damage. And of course, there'd be other jealousy issues, like which one of us is married to Qeorita -- she couldn't have us all...that'd be polygamy, you know :) So what would we do, take turns wearing the wedding ring? What would the other eight be doing? Raising havoc in a strip club?

On second thought, maybe learning the Splitting Cat Hairs technique wouldn't work too well for me after all.

Good. Becoming a mythological-level martial artist sounded like too much work anyway, and the last thing I need is another project...

(insert usual begging for submissions for next time here)

Enjoy the issue!

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WHAT JUST HAPPENED?

Story by Throkda Jones
Artwork by Hotwire

by Kyle

What Happened to the Classics?

Anyone wonder why we rarely get anything over here prior to circa 1985? Why do we never see anything from when anime was in transition between Astro Boy and the stuff that emerged when the early four (Streamline, US Renditions, Animeigo, and Viz) all started up? Granted during this period we got Star Blazers(Space Cruiser Yamamoto),Captain Harlock, Robotech, The Mysterious Cities of Gold, and Kimba the White Lion; however, we also got Gatchaman, Voltron, (mixed reaction) Gigantor, and Speed Racer *brrrrrrrrrrr*. How come no one has secured the rights to bring over some of those works from these periods, when we get such modern "gems" as Yamamoto Yohko, Ping Pong Club, and Voogie's Angels. To quote Zim, "Why must this be?"

If anyone says that nothing big happened during this time except the dawn of Gundam, I will annihilate them and then back over the remains with a steam roller. During this time when anime was getting started we saw the animation of the Dirty Pair (not to be confused with the movies, the OVAs, or Flash) -- how's that for a biggie? Need more? Cutey Honey and Devilman, well...aside from the new Cutey Honey Flash and Devilman Lady (which may be coming out sometime prior to 2005 with how the folks at ADV are weighing themselves down). The originals both aired during this time with huge ratings and PTA scorn (yes, the PTA actually has power in Japan). Not only do we have the beginning of scantly clad sci-fi, but we also get the dawn of mahou shoujo and action horror, not to mention many titles that you may have heard of or not.

People are starting to wise up a little with Lupin III being liscensed for TV and home release, as well as last year's Cartoon Network hit, Mobile Suit Gundam. The industry is beginning to realise hot retro doesn't just apply to the buffoons in the fashion industry. We have ADV to thank for the return of Robotech in all its butchered glory until all of Macross is released courtesy of Japan's answer to the Mouse Klux Klan, Bandai. Yes, I know they helped bring us Gundam, Outlaw Star, Sailor Moon, and Cowboy Bebop; however, let's not forget the fact that they are the most aggressive entertainment conglomerate on their side of the Pacific, and they also have a habit of grabbing hold of properties away from creators, then squeezing them dry with overexposure and over-merchandising. Let's face it, these were the people responsible for 12 Dragon Ball Z movies and to date 1200+ assorted bits of crappy merchandise from Dragon Ball Z and Sailor Moon alone. Thank kami Rumi signed with Shogakukan and Kitty instead of this bunch. Sorry, back to topic.

I for one would wish Nickelodeon would finally get around to releasing Mysterious Cities of Gold, (Yes, Throkda, this is a Japanese anime -- the original title was Esteben), but I won't hold my breath lest I be forced to take a job in marketing later on in life. Of course everyone is glad on the further releases of Osamu's works to the US whether unflipped or not -- personally, I don't give a flip.

*pauses for laughter*

However, while they're at it, how about Princess Knight? This show had cross-dressing heroines before Utena's creator was doodling with crayons. Oh well, I am definitely a little too scatter-brained tonight...this is what I get from burning the midnight oil too oftennnnnnnnn,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Interview with a Vamp.....er, Fanfic Author

by Hotwire
http://www.chainlightningstudios.com/

VITAL INFORMATION
Name: Alain Gravel
Fics written: The One I love is..., Tokyo Three Babysitters, Lost Love, I Used to Love her, Fate of Two Worlds, Chosen
Webpage: Rakna's Homepage
Email: rakna@globetrotter.qc.ca

Q: tell us about your callsign.

I'm guessing you mean the Rakna name. Well, it's pretty simple. When I first subscribed with my current ISP, I needed to choose an original email address. Since the lady on the other side of the phone was waiting, I tried to think of something fast. The first thing that popped up to my mind was the name Rakna, the name of one of my evil characters in Allansia, a fantasy story that I was writing at the time and that I'm hoping to one day rewrite and improve some. I kinda like the idea of evil black knight attached with the name, even if I was the only one aware of the reference, and the name was rather unique, so I started to use it pretty much with everything, from E-mail, to ICQ, to various accounts, etc..

Q: how did you get into fanfiction?

Writing has been an hobby of mine for a long time. A few years ago, anime also became a hobby of mine. When I discovered anime fanfiction on the net, I guess the two simply merged together. Of course, getting the idea for TOILI did help a lot in getting me started.

Q: what made you decide to write 'the one I love is' in the first person?

Blame Andrew Huang. His series "The Heart, the Soul" has been an inspiration for me when I wrote TOILI and no doubt I picked up the first person perspective idea from there.

Q: what was the motivation to form Seele?

A bit of a whim, really. The EFRS wasn't doing any reviews anymore, I was at the prime of my newfound NGE fanfic writer glory, my interest in EVAfiction was still going strong, so I thought "let's make a review group!"

Q: what are your feelings on the recent emergance of the review groups; Project R and fanfiction yakuza?

Mixed feelings, really. I have nothing wrong to say about Project R, heck it's a bit of a relief for my guilt about not writing a SEELE review in ages. The Fanfic Yakuza, however... Their core ideal is noble, but I can't quite approve of the methods used. Bad blood can only draw more bad blood. Although, I guess that I don't really care much anymore. I haven't visited the site since they posted the "I used to love her" reviews.

Q: Any advice for the other review groups out there?

You can't change the world, even less people hearts and minds. Be honest on the opinions you're expressing, but only doing bashing won't produce much. You should focus more on recommending fics to the readers, then pointing out the really bad ones. Lame fics are easy to find, you might manage that on nine clicks out of ten on fanfiction.net. So you might as well help the readers and guide them to the right ones.

Q: do you have any plans to reformat your fic archive for eaiser browsing?

I haven't even updated it yet, so reformatting it... not on my plans for the moment. Besides, I find nothing wrong to it :P

Q: will your art gallary ever make a re-apearance?

Who knows? Probably, just need to check out new web locations to host my stuff.

Q: how do you feel about being considered a 'old school' evafiction author?

Hey, it's nice to know that you're among the classics ^_^

Q: any favorite in-jokes in your stories?

I'm not sure I even have some...

Q: any advice for someone worried about everquest addiction?

Be afraid... be very afraid...

Oh, and I play mainly on The Rathe server, if anyone has donations to make :P

Q: of all your works, what was your favorite single scene to write?

Duh! The Shinji / Hikari love scene of course!

Kidding ^_^

The last scene of Episode 12. For almost an entire year, I waited to write that scene. I can't really express how good it felt when I finally got to write it...

Q: how long do you plan to remain the de-facto chairperson of the Takoball awards?

Considering how my interest in NGE fanfiction decreased and how my EQ addiction made me less and less reliable, I'm seriously taking of letting someone else take over this year. Just need to find a suitable candidate, I guess.

Q: Do you think the EFML has given evafiction a home post-IOW, or isolated the comunity?

I think it managed to regroup authors from different grounds. Some old timers. People who got tired ot the FFML. People from the defunct IOW message board. People from FF.net. It added a much needed tool to keep the EVA spirit alive. At least, that's what I think.

Q: what have you noticed-- if anything-- diffrent about recent fics than ones posted back in the RAAC days?

Two things really... two opposites. On one side, there are the stories that will use themes already used in previous stories. There might be a twist, but generally, it's not THAT original. Sometimes even, characterizations will be derived from other fanfics characterizations. On the opposite, we have some stories where there is a real effort for originality. We've seen new types of continuations, elsewhere universes, unique pairings or twists.

Q: what are your top ten favorite fanfics?

Let's see...

I Used to Love Her
Lost Love
The One I Love Is...
Chosen
Tokyo-3 Baby-sitters
....

kidding ^_^

This isn't very easy, you know...

Alright, here's ten... in alphabetical order :

As I Stare Into Myself / Strong Arms to Hold Me (To Push Me)
Genma's Daugnter (Ranma 1/2)
HERZ
Higher Learning
Holding Hands
MTCFF Ultra (mega Xover)
Slayers Faces Trilogy
Stefan Gagne's Slayers Trilogy
Taming the Horse (Ranma 1/2)
The Heart, the Soul

Q: what can we look forward to beyond Tokyo 3 babysitters and chosen?

Without a doubt. I can't say how long it'll take, but I'll do my best. Already have some scenes I'm writing on, and others that are working themselves out in the back of my mind.

Regards,

Alain

Koji's Tale

by Jamie L. Word

"First Mission Of A Warrior"

Planet Tarlovia.

The Saiyan space pods crashed to the planet, leaving craters in their wake as the dust from the ground where they hit scattered and loomed over the landing sites for a few moments. Minutes passed, and there was no sign of a welcoming committee coming to investigate the situation. Soon, all six Saiyans were out of their pods and assembled at the top of a cliff overlooking the unsuspecting civilization of the Tarlovians.

"What do you think, son?" Shuji inquired, testing his son's powers of observation and tactical strategy.

"They appear to be incapable of sensing our approach," Koji replied with a stoic calmness that reminded everyone in the group of Shuji. "Otherwise, they would have come out to investigate us by now. The scouter is picking up many strong power readings from within the city. It hardly would seem logical that such powerful signals would belong to cowards. If they're that powerful, they would fear very little, yet I see no sign of their approach. We have the element of surprise to counter their home field advantage. We should flank out and surround them, then test the waters just a bit. Once we see what they're capable of, we'll be better prepared to know whether or not we'll need the Oozaru form of the hereditary were-ape transformation in order to deal with them."

Shuji turned to look at the others, and they were all obviously amazed at the child's insights and ideas. Shuji smiled proudly at his son's theories.

"Alright, you guys," Shuji addressed the team, "you heard him. Hamada and Akemi, you two lovebirds flank left and to the other side of the city. Haruki, you flank right and take up position on that side. Echiko, you and Koji flank left and take up position parallel to Haruki. I'll take up position parallel to Hamada and Akemi. We'll strike on my signal together. Got it?"

He waited for a question to the strategy, but no inquiry was raised by any member of the battle team. Shuji was satisfied with this.

"Then let's move out and keep hidden until my signal," Shuji decreed to his teammates before they six Saiyans began taking up their positions around the great city.

The entire process took only a few minutes to set up. With all of them in position around the city, Shuji activated the communication part of his scouter and gave the signal.

"Now," the great Saiyan warrior and leader of his battle team said quietly so as not to give away his position to the enemy just yet.

All six Saiyans began powering up powerful energy blasts in their hands for a few seconds. The city seemed oblivious to the imminent attack as the strange humanoid aliens in the city continued on with their normal daily lives as if nothing was wrong. Moments later, that illusion was shattered as six strong energy blasts hammered the city from different sides, leveling buildings in their wake and throwing enormous clouds of dust and smoke into the air at the point of impact!

Before the citizens of the city could react beyond the initial shock of the first attack, six more energy blasts streaked into the city, causing even more devastation as they struck six new target sites with a repeat of the results of the first wave of energy blasts! By this time, however, the citizens were able to deduce that they were under attack, and the young males began powering up for the conflict! The elderly, females, and children began seeking shelter wherever they could find it! Moments later, several young male citizens of the city were heading in the direction of each position of the attackers in the four distinct locations!

Hamada and Akemi noted the approach of several young males from the city to meet them in battle! They look excited to see the approach of their enemies towards their position!

"Here they come!" Akemi exclaimed as she observed the closing force of enemies with enthusiasm.

"This is where we see what they're made of!" Hamada jeered with a great smile on his face as both he and Akemi stood poised for a fight.

Koji and his mother Echiko noted the approacing force of enemy fighters closing on their position.

"They're coming, Koji!" Echiko cried out with a great deal of concern over her son's readiness for this moment.

"I know!" Koji sighed with exhileration, barely able to contain his excitement. "Now those less-than-supportive teammates of mine will see what you and Father already know: just how powerful I truly am!"

The young male warriors closed towards the Saiyans' positions! Hamada and Akemi divided their adversaries between them and engaged them in hand-to-hand combat while flying into the air to meet them, their scouters registering the active power levels of their opponents! Meanwhile, Haruki flew up to meet his opponents and found that he was being swarmed, but his adversaries' hand-to-hand attacks weren't strong enough to do any real damage to the big brute! Shuji flew up and engaged his opponents in hand-to-hand combat, struggling to effectively fight against so many foes but somehow finding a way to be equal to the task! Echiko and Koji flew up to divide and combat their adversaries hand-to-hand! While Echiko fought with reservations and concern over Koji's well-being, Koji battled with confidence, enthusiasm, and skill! Like Hamada and Akemi, the rest of the team noted the power level readings of their scouters as they registered the energy levels of the citizens!

Hamada and Akemi soon found their opponents to be very skillful, and the citizens began increasing the difficulty for the Saiyans steadily and gradually until they were able to hit the pair of fighters! Haruki was preoccupied trying to hit a few of the citizens he was fighting as they zipped by him at various angles, and some of the other citizens fighting him began powering up energy attacks to use against him while he is distracted! Shuji responded to the increasing difficulty in fighting the multiple fighters by pushing himself harder in the battle, but his adversaries still managed to land a few hand-to-hand attacks against him! Likewise, Echiko and Koji were finding the battle to be increasing in difficulty, but Echiko was the one absorbing more punishment due to her preoccupation with worrying about her son! Koji actually revelled in the battle, even when he was being hammered by the adult opponents, and he continued to throw himself into the fight with a passion!

"Is that all you've got?" Koji yelled at his adversaries as he fought back with incredible passion and power, hammering one of his enemies with a mighty side kick that knocked the fighter across the sky like a rocket! "Let me show you what true power is! Let me show you the power of a Saiyan!"

Koji tensed every muscle in his body, prompting his adversaries to pause their attacks! Almost immediately, the little boy began glowing with raw power, and he began a long, drawn-out battle cry! Seconds later, the wind started to howl, the sky darkened slightly, and the ground began to tremble slightly, getting everyone's attention! Within seconds small stones began to rise from the ground as the ground began shaking even more strongly! Seconds later, small rocks began to split, whirlwinds of flying debris formed, and the ground began shaking more violently!

All the other battles had likewise ceased momentarily as the other team members recognized the boy's power-up! Their scouters registered the boy's building power, and only his parents were not totally stunned by the scouter readings on the little four-year-old! Haruki, Hamada, and Akemi were almost terrified by what they saw in their scouters and before them! Echiko was stunned but not totally surprised! Shuji was stunned by the reading in his scouter but not totally so either!

"Wh-wh-what?!?" Akemi babbled in abject disbelief as she watched the boy's power-up from her position.

"There's no way!" Hamada cried out as he watched the incredible scene before him. "His power, ... it's unreal!"

"I can't believe it!" Haruki howled with shock and disbelief. "Where'd the kid get so much power! It's impossible! He's even more powerful than I am! What gives here! I think this scouter's busted or somethin'!"

"My son!" Shuji muttered with a hint of incredulous surprise as he regarded his child. "I knew you'd be strong one day, but you're almost as strong as I am now! You'll be unbelievable when you're grown! How did you get so strong so fast?!?"

"Koji!" Echiko gasped almost without voice as she watched on in horror. "Where did you get so much power?!? How is it possible?!? The scouter is reading three thousand and climbing still!"

About that time, huge rocks erupted out of the ground as lightning flashed across the sky radically, howling whirlwinds of debris formed, and the sky went dark! Koji's battle cry was renewed by this point in the power-up, and the citizens of the city under siege were almost petrified! The mountains bordering the city and providing it a natural barricade began to crumble as Koji's battle cry began to build to a crescendo! The sky went black, rocks began exploding, the ground began opening up with pits of boiling lava! As Koji's battle cry concluded, the special effects of his power-up began to subside until only the glowing energy aura around his body remained!

"What's the matter, clowns?" Koji shouted at his opponents as the citizens of the attacked city trembled in fear before him. "You see my power, and now you're scared? It's too bad that it's the last sight you'll ever see!"

"Three thousand four hundred!" Shuji thought to himself in extreme shock as he marvelled at his own son's power. "My maximum power level is four thousand five hundred, and I'm a full grown royal elite warrior! How is my son capable of this!"

Koji began his offense by firing multiple rapid-fire energy blasts into his adversaries, putting many of them down and some of them for the count! After several seconds of this, the defenders of the city responded by blocking and deflecting most of the damage! The furious power of Koji's attacks still caused harm to their targets, but the defensive tactics of the defenders enable them to survive with less serious injuries than those who were struck without any defensive tactics! Some of the defenders who were fighting against the other Saiyans began heading to help their comrades against Koji!

Shuji realized the tide of battle could turn if enough of the city defenders managed to mobilize against his son, so he also began powering up! His power-up began just like his son's, and it produced the same special effects only just slightly quicker! This prompts the city defenders to note the danger of the father as well! Quickly, some of the city defenders reroute to fight against Shuji, closing the distance very quickly! Only when the powerful winds began blowing out from Shuji's body and against everything that would try to get near to him at the moment! The powerful winds gusting out of the mighty Saiyan warrior managed to keep the city defenders at bay!

The citizens fighting Haruki renewed their strategy against him, several of their number peppering him with passing strikes to keep his attention as a few of their number held back to power up energy attacks! Haruki's scouter didn't seem to be able to register the building energies of the defenders preparing to attack him with energy blasts, presumably still locked on Koji's incredible power signal! With planned precision, the defenders who powered up the energy attacks launched them at the distracted brute as the defenders peppering him with passing hand-to-hand strikes cleared the path! The energy blasts streaked from the hands of the defenders as they yelled in the great exertion of controlling and wielding that much power! Haruki's scouter finally registered the approaching blasts, and he turned to see what was happening, but he was too late as the energy blasts slammed into him with tremendous impact and exploded! The sky was obscured by smoke clouds in the vicinity of where Haruki was hit!

"Huh?" Hamada uttered in confusion as he looked that way, seconds before his eyes widened in horrible realization. "Haruki!"

Hamada and Akemi were hammered at that moment by energy blasts which their scouters were only able to warn them of just moments before impact, and the smoke cloud which resulted obscured all sight! Echiko looked at the smoke clouds with great concern!

"Hamada! Akemi!" she cried out in shock and apprehension, concerned for her friends' well-being. "This is going bad!"

Koji hammered his foes with blast after blast and a plethura of hand-to-hand techniques, reveling in the battle! His face was adorned with a true grin which revealed just how much the boy was enjoying himself! Echiko joined her son in fighting these foes, her attacks much more focused and passionate now as her offense is fueled by her anger and fear!

Meanwhile, Shuji's power-up concluded with his battle cry reaching a crescendo! All of the side effects from his power-up subsided gradually except for his glowing aura, and he growled menacingly as he prepared to fight! The city defenders he prepared to fight with looked concerned!

"Gang up on my son, will you?!?" Shuji snarled in his rage as he clenched his fists and was poised for battle. "Let's see how well you handle a royal elite Saiyan warrior who's fully powered-up and ready to rumble!"

With that said, the passionate paternal protector began unleashing his fury upon his hapless adversaries with both energy attacks and hand-to-hand techniques! The city defenders seemed almost helpless before Shuji's onslought as they struggled to defend themselves! Shuji fought with incredible intensity, superb skill, and terrifying tenacity as he put on a breath-taking performance on the battlefield! The only thing which was more remarkable was his son's battlefield performance, and that was only because of the child's age in comparison to his father!

As the smoke clouds dissipated from where the three other members of the Saiyan battle team were hit by energy blasts, there was a horrible sight which befell the terrified and disheartened city defenders! Although their was obviously some fair bit of damage done to the three Saiyans, the assault mostly angered the Saiyans, prompting them to engage glowing auras as they gathered a bit more energy for the battle! Immediately after they gathered more energy, the Saiyan trio attacked their opponents with a fiery passion and mercilessly pummeled them with a combination of energy attacks and hand-to-hand strikes! Hamada and Akemi coordinated their attacks as a team, but Haruki was strictly solo, and the gargantuan brute howled his rage like a terrible beast as he brutalized his foes!

A short time later, the battle was ended, and the Saiyans were victorious over their enemies. While Hamada, Akemi, and Echiko were tending to their battle wounds, Haruki stood before Koji under Shuji's watchful eye. The hulking brute knelt down before the small boy and extended his hand.

"Welcome to the team, Koji," Haruki said with feeling as his countenance displayed his full acceptance.

Koji looked at his father a moment, seeing him nod approvingly, and then he accepted Haruki's offer of a handshake, looking straight into the massive Saiyan warrior's eyes with pride and defiance.

"There was never any doubt in my mind, Haruki," Koji replied with supreme self-confidence. "I knew when you and the others saw just how powerful I really am, you'd be begging to have me on this team."

Shuji smiled proudly at his young son, but Echiko looked upon the proceedings with some reservation. Her eyes held her concern over her son's arrogant pride and lack of emotional balance which she perceived in him. In her mind, she once more pondered their method of child-raising.

Koji's seemingly sinister eyes met hers once more, and she shied away from their gaze, quickly resuming the bandaging procedure on her arm. The boy considered this but a moment in stoic silence, but he did not address this, to him, a peculiarity in his mother's behavior. He recognized that his father had not noticed this little incident as he had, and he looked at his father while the great Saiyan warrior and the giant Haruki enjoyed a post-battle talk.