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

Spring is upon us, and with the warm weather soon comes the summer convention season (hard to believe A-kon's only 2 months away...) This time of year, my thoughts are usually focused on saving a bunch of money for my favorite activity at the convention, the dungeon crawl.

Not the RPG tables, mind you, although I think I may check those out this year, but the standard dungeon romp that we all go through, hunting through the dealer room. I dunno....maybe I've had my mind too much in games lately, but it occured to me the other day just how much like your average D&D adventure the dealer room at an anime convention can be.

Think about it -- you're in there looking for treasure (that rare/cool item that you can't get anywhere else), armed with your trusty...um....wallet...moving cautiously through narrow spaces. Along the way, you meet beautiful maidens (I love cosplay...:), fellow adventurers, and avoid the dungeon's beastly denizens....at least, the way people sometimes describe certain otaku, you'd think they were beastly.... You find a lot of ordinary items (unfortunately often at the same prices as you'd get at a store....whatever happened to "convention specials?"), but you may just find that rare treasure, the one item you've been looking everywhere for, and it's at a good price too!

Or, maybe I'm just really stretching to make analogies to fill my space this issue (I'm gonna quit saying this month, since I think we've pretty much gone from monthly publication to "as often as I have enough material to fill an issue" publication). In Heretics news, you may have noticed that the photo galleries are finally online (yay!), and when I'm in the mood to work after work, I'll keep doing what I can to get the rest up.

Enjoy the issue!

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by Kyle

The Sky is Falling

I started seeing this one in October. A bunch of Chicken Little knockoffs are going aroung on message boards and chat rooms claiming that the end of the cultural outlet known as Anime is upon us, citing the seeming slowdown of recent works coming in from the import studios that used to be gushing with not just tv series, but movies and miniseries all the time. Quite frankly, this is making me sick, so if any one of you squackers is reading.....PAY ATTENTION!!!

Anime is not coming to an end -- the studios such as ADV and Pioneer are slowing down because they are working so hard on tv series that the actors in their studios don't have time to stop and do smaller series or one-shots until their current work is done. As for using smaller freelance recording studios, let me remind you that Mediablasters is stretching into a larger market, and former small companies like Funimation and Tokyopop are each expanding into moderate competitors as well. Also, Right Stuf is breaking away from being a big online ordering company and getting into producing.

Contributing to the lack of oneshots and OVAs is also the slow death of the OVA market in Japan. Let's face it -- VHS is soon to go the way of its brother Betamax and become a recording platform only. Even the old tape fansub distros here in the US are dying out with the rise of Filesharing and Digisubs which can be made and shipped cheaper or downloaded for free. What does this have to do with OVAs you ask? Plenty. You see, a cassette can be made cheaper by putting less tape on it, but you can't cut the size of a DVD and expect it to play on all players. So the Japanese consumer would have to pay full price for something that takes up too much space and only has one episode on it. On top of that, after that stock crash in the late 90's and the subsequent inflation, otaku have learned a little thriftiness. Now before anyone says that doesn't matter, ever wonder why Gonzo only made four episodes of Blue Submarine No. 6? Simple......people weren't buying enough to seperate the Net and Gross Profits and make the continuation feasable.

Content is another recent change. Gone is alot of the glitz, glamour, and in-your-face fanservice (e.g. Shampoo) of the past. In exchange, we have heavy, plot-laiden stories, coy teases, and atmosphere. Of course, there are exceptions to the rule -- after all, this is a new millenium, and writers are still testing the waters and mixing those ingredients, searching for sure-fire hits. Things may be confusing right now (especially with Anipike currently in stasis), but remember: overall, anime isn't going away so much as growing up. The same thing happened with much of the over-the-top goofiness found in the 70's and 80's. Things always change and from the way things are going, I only feel they are changing for the better.

by Admiral DVD (As Steve & Gregory)

On the Horizon

Here's a look at series still only available fansubbed. I'll just give a brief synopsis and my opinions on them, with a simple decision at the bottom. Do I consider it worth a chunk of my hard earned change?

Please send all comments to sarauble@yahoo.com

Juuni Kokki

This is a very impressive series. Powerful artwork, good scenery, and a fast-paced storyline, I honestly thought I was watching a series of movies. Episodes are slightly long, clocking in at twenty-five minutes per, instead of the twenty-three minute norm, opening and ending sequences included. It's amazing how much difference 120 seconds can make. The story is enrapturing, the characters dynamic, and the pace both fast and slow. I honestly think that this is the next Fushigi Yuugi, having a similar story, but both more powerful and, or so it seemed to me, more adult.

Will I be buying it? Absolutely.

Dragon Drive

A powerful beginning. A game and a mysterious otherworld, apparently related to one another. A boy with a mysterious ability to bring out power from an otherwise powerless dragon. For the first few episodes, I was impressed...despite the show's waffling between being a card game platform or a DBZ clone. I thought that maybe the plot and characters would be able to draw out something more. However, my hopes were not to be. In my opinion it decayed into DBZ. I stopped watching at that point.

Will I be buying it? Maybe when I finish buying DBZ. Oh, wait, I don't buy DBZ...guess that's a NO!

Haibane Renmei

From "He Who Brought Us Lain", comes this absolutely beautiful piece of animated storytelling. Can you tell I liked it? I more then liked it. Imagine a town enclosed by a great wall, which no one may cross. Inside this town there is an abandoned school dormitory, and it is here where the Haibane make their nest. The Haibane are people with wings and halos, each one named after the dream they saw as they entered this world. Other then the dream, they have no memories. Likewise, no one in the town knows precisely what the Haibane are. Haibane Renmei is a wonder, with all emotions given play in the way Rakka, the main character, grows through the show. I recommend this with full honors. It even knocked aside Bubblegum Crisis 2040 from my desktop!

Will I be buying it? Absolutely, with all bells and whistles that I can find attached!

Tokyo Underground

Again, a strong beginning. There are people living under the earth. Placed there by a company in order for eugenics experiments, they were abandoned and sealed below Tokyo. Apparently, they have strange psychic powers. This game..err..anime is perhaps the closest akin to a videogame that I have ever seen, right down to portraits talking against a blurred background. With subtitles on, this looks even more like a video game, and not an anime. It falls apart as well, and lost me fairly quickly.

Will I be buying it? Only if I win the lottery, and even then probably not.

Fan Art!

Chibi-usa, by Anna

Sakura, by Anna

Superman versus Dragonball, by Nick

Koji's Tale

by Jamie L. Word

"Heart Of A Warrior"

Shuji lifted a hand up, and a small energy sphere began forming in his hand! He coughed up a little more blood as he struggled to lift his torso up to look Tarboz in the eyes! His fierce determination was evident on his face!

"You're not the only one who can transform, Tarboz!" Shuji gasped as he glared in fierce defiance at the Changeling. "We Saiyans can transform as well! All we need is to see the full moon ... or a reasonable facsimile!"

"Don't you get it, monkey?" Tarboz taunted the gravely wounded warrior in front of him. "You can't win. You can't beat me. All you have to stand against me with is a child - your young son. He's as powerless against me as you are. I'll tell you what. Why don't I put an end to this farce right here and now? I mean, there's really no point in dragging this out any longer! Don't you agree?"

Tarboz slammed one fist into an open palm and proceeded to crack his knuckles in intimidating fashion. Meanwhile, Koji observed his father's energy technique very closely. Shuji caused the energy ball to grow larger and then launched it skyward with weakening effort!

As he did so, Tarboz wrapped his tail around Shuji's neck again and, this time, tossed him skyward! While Shuji was hurtling into the sky, Tarboz lifted his open hands high over his head and powered up a superpowerful energy ball in between the palms of his hands! With a toss, Tarboz then launched the still-growing energy ball after Shuji! The energy sphere quickly caught up with Shuji and exploded on impact with a massive display in the air!

Koji's eyes widened with rage and horror as he watched the smoke clear to reveal that his father was completely vaporized! Tarboz laughed, but he didn't see that Shuji's moon image technique was still rising in the sky! Within seconds, it found its place and took the form of a full moon in the sky while Tarboz laughed! Koji gazed upon the moon image above him, then he felt something deep within him!

His eyes became bloodshot as his heart rate increased dramatically, and his breathing became more labored! Within seconds, his canines began growing longer and sharper like a dog's, and his body began getting hairier by the moment! By the time Tarboz noticed, the transformation had already begun! Koji's little body had begun to swell massively, yet his Saiyan attire was specifically designed to adapt to any size without difficulty! As the Saiyan child transformed, his attire grew with him! He began growing taller and more massive, and he also took on the appearance of a furry ape with a tail! As Tarboz watched in total astonishment, Koji transformed into a giant ape with a tail, wearing a suit of Saiyan armor!

"Wh-wh-what's this?!?" Tarboz muttered and sputtered, completely astounded by the transformation he saw before him.

Suddenly, Koji the giant ape fired a huge blast of energy out of his mouth right at Tarboz! Tarboz lept high over the blast as it crashed to the ground and blew a giant crater into the landscape! While Tarboz was in the air evading the blast, Koji hammered him with a backfist backhand swing that echoed like a cannon discharge in the distance and knocked the Changeling across the battlefield!

Tarboz regained control of his flight and flew right back at Koji! Tarboz slammed a two-fisted smash into Koji's chin, rocking the head of the giant ape but not dropping him!

"There! Take that!" Tarboz screamed in his rage as he hit Koji, and then he laughed. "How'd you like that, you big monkey?"

Koji hammered Tarboz with a clubbing fist swing, knocking him across the battlefield and into the ground, carving a swath of destruction across the landscape as he slid along the ground!

"This is my glory!" the giant ape roared, revelling in the intense battle. "My father has shown me his honor, and now I'm going to make him proud!"

Koji lept into the air, covering a great distance with that one leap, and landed with one foot on either side of Tarboz while the Changeling stood up! Tarboz quickly dodged out of the way as Koji's fist slammed into the ground where he lay moments before! Koji then continued to swing his great fists at Tarboz, but the Changeling evaded in mid-air as he flew along, prompting the Saiyan Oozaru to pursue him!

"I have to put some distance between myself and this overgrown ape so I can get a clear shot at his tail!" Tarboz muttered to himself as he continued to evade the ape's clubbing swings and flee the Oozaru Saiyan. "That tail is the only common factor between this giant ape and the little boy he was! I now remember that Lord Frieza said that a Saiyan with a tail who looks upon the full moon transforms into a giant ape creature! The only way to reverse the transformation is to cut off his tail!"

Tarboz continued to evade the attacks while fleeing the pursuing Saiyan child transformed! Koji's Oozaru form roared in frustration as he continued to attack the fleeing Changeling, finally hammering him with a tremendous clubbing fist! Tarboz is slammed through a mountain, and the mountain crumbled, collapsing on the Changeling! Koji roared with glee over his success in hitting Tarboz!

After a few seconds, a great surge of energy erupted from the rubble where Tarboz was buried under the mountain! At the heart of this eruption was Tarboz, screaming in his rage, his face contorted in great anger! The power surge emanating from Tarboz was like a great fireball surrounding him and flaring like an expanding glowing aura! Tarboz growled as the debris from his power surge fell back to the ground like rain! Koji snarled at the sight before him!

"This monkey is incredible!" Tarboz thought to himself as he grimaced in rage at Koji. "He's so fast as well as strong! I thought he'd be slower with his increase in size, but that hasn't been the case! I need to try to get this over quickly while we have this opportune moment of separation!"

Tarboz lifted an open hand over his head as if preparing to hold something in it above his head. In a moment, a small, spiralling, saw-like energy formation took shape above the palm of his extended hand! The spiralling energy blade grew quickly as Tarboz and Koji locked eyes in a staredown like Wild West gunfighters!

"Kienzan disk!" Tarboz yelled as he hurled the spinning energy blade attack at Koji's tail, focusing carefully on his attack.

Koji chuckled as he jumped over the attack, and Tarboz's jaw dropped with the shock of this sight! Koji grinned in mid-leap as Tarboz's Kienzan disk attack streaked out of sight! Tarboz couldn't get over the shock!

"Wh-what?!?" Tarboz muttered in abject disbelief as he struggled to recompose himself. "How did he - ?"

Koji roared as he plummeted towards the stunned Changeling! At the last second, Tarboz snapped out of his daze and lept from the path of the plummeting ape, and Koji landed on the ground with a tremendous impact, his feet forming craters where they landed! Koji then began chasing Tarboz once more, trying to hit him with his fists again!

"Curse him!" Tarboz thought to himself as he once again found himself in an unenviable position. "There's got to be a way to beat him!"

Koji slammed his fist down onto Tarboz once more, knocking him to the ground where he made a crater upon impact! Koji then leaped high into the air and came crashing down onto Tarboz while he was still stunned, landing in a seated position onto Tarboz's back and causing the Changeling to scream in excrutiating agony! Koji then stood up and began stomping on Tarboz's prone form repeatedly, eliciting more cries of pain! After several moments of this torturous assault, Koji then punted the Changeling across the landscape! Tarboz bounced a few times before he entered into a tumbling roll head-over-heels in the dirt! When he finally stopped rolling, the horribly battered and bruised Changeling looked up in utter agony, blood trinkling from numerous cuts on his body!

"His power is pretty much my equal!" Tarboz gasped as he spat a mixture of blood and saliva onto the ground. "If I don't do something fast, he's going to pound me into a pulp! He's just so much bigger than I am! I may have more energy at my disposal, but the suped-up monkey has unbelievable physical prowess, including great speed for his size! I can't beat him like this! I can't match him in sheer strength and power!"

Tarboz grimaced for a moment as he pondered this situation in silence, then a sly smile formed on his face. Koji regarded this with a hint of confusion on his ape countenance. Tarboz chuckled as he struggled to rise once more to his feet.

"I just figured it out!" Tarboz declared with a smile as he wiped the blood from his lip with the back of his hand. "I just figured out how I'm going to beat you, monkey! I've got you now!"

Koji roared as he began running towards Tarboz, and Tarboz generated another Kienzan disk attack after lifting his open hand up over his head once again! Koji steeled his resolve as he clenched his teeth on approach, but Tarboz held his ground! Koji snarled as he charged!

"Kienzan disk!" Tarboz yelled once again as he hurled the attack at Koji's tail to try to cut it off, but Koji leaped over it once again. Tarboz smiled at this as he suddenly launched a rapid-fire multi-shot energy blast assault into Koji's torso! The end result was that, as Koji brought his arms into a defensive position to ward off the attack, the giant ape was held in position for Tarboz's next attack! Unseen to Koji, Tarboz's latest Kienzan disk attack had turned and was streaking towards him from behind! Tarboz struggled to keep up his furious assault on Koji, but, finally, the Kienzan disk found its mark, slicing off Koji's tail!

As Tarboz ceased his rapid-fire multi-shot attack, he chuckled! Koji began shrinking down from his Oozaru state, slowly but surely! Koji roared in defiance, but it was all for naught as the transformation was reversed! Within moments, Koji was once more a small Saiyan child but without a tail! As Koji crumpled to the ground in a state of exhaustion, Tarboz relaxed, breathing heavy and labored from the effort!

"Now I'll finish you off, just like I did your father!" Tarboz gleefully proclaimed as he stiffly made his way towards the prone boy, his every step a labored effort.

His words struck a cord deep within the boy, and his droopy eyes suddenly perked up immediately. Rage filled the boy's every fiber with the power of its passion, and Koji sat up and glared right at Tarboz, his face heavilly bruised and blood flowing from numerous cuts, prompting the Changeling to stop in his tracks and stare at him in disbelief. Koji's visage displayed his terrible rage and ferocity, giving pause to the giant Changeling as he pondered what was happening.

"What's this?" Tarboz muttered in amazement. "The boy has more fight in him still? How can this be? He was on the verge of unconsciousness only moments ago! How is this possible?!?"

Koji got to his feet, his glowing aura returning as he assumed a fighting stance. Tarboz began backing up as he contemplated what was happening before his very eyes. Like a shot, Koji streaked straight into Tarboz with a straight punch to the midsection, knocking the breath out of the transformed Changeling! Koji then followed that up with a flurry of punches to Tarboz's midsection, stunning the fiend even more! Koji then concluded his attack with a powerful kick to Tarboz's face, knocking him to the ground on his back!

"You think this fight is over?" Koji growled viciously as Tarboz slowly pulled himself to his feet. "Well, I'm just getting started with you!"

"Blast it!" Tarboz thought to himself as he grimaced in fatigue, breathing heavilly still. "The battle against his giant ape form has taken a lot out of me! I can't believe he's actually able to effectively challenge me in my transformed state! I have to finish this now!"

Tarboz fired a huge energy blast at Koji, but Koji zipped out of the path of the powerful ki blast! The blast carved a massive swath in the landscape and exploded in the distance like a nuclear warhead! Tarboz grimaced in frustration, but Koji seemed intense and focused!

Koji powered up a powerful ki attack in his hands and launched the energy attack towards Tarboz, but Tarboz leaped over the attack as it streaked off in the distance! As Tarboz cleared the first attack, Koji peppered him with rapid-fire blasts, keeping him occupied trying to defend himself! Unnoticed to Tarboz, Koji's initial attack was returning from behind him, streaking at Tarboz very quickly! Koji ceased his rapid-fire assault and began powering up another powerful single blast, and Tarboz regained his composure from the multi-shot attack!

"So, you think you'll stop me with a single all-out attack like that?!?" Tarboz taunted with a smile as he looked on. "You're a fool!"

Suddenly, he realized something was a-miss! He turned and saw Koji's first blast closing on his position! With a panicked cry, Tarboz quickly powered up an energy blast and fired it into Koji's incoming attack, slowing it a bit! While Tarboz continued to increase the power of his blast to try to stop Koji's blast, Koji continued to power up his next attack, making it even more formidable than the first blast!

"Still think I'm a fool?" Koji sneered as he prepared to launch his attack. "You clown!"

With a great battle cry, Koji launched his enormous attack at Tarboz from behind! Tarboz looked back over his shoulder to see Koji's attack approaching from behind, and his eyes widened in fear while he still struggled with the blast he was trying to stop!

"Oh, no!" Tarboz thought to himself in abject terror. "I can't turn away from his first blast, or it will hit me! If I don't turn my attention to this new attack, it will most definitely hit me! To make matters worse, I don't have time to move and get out of the way of either blast now! I'm having to exert to much of my remaining energy to try to stop his first blast to defend myself against his other attack! I'm doomed!"

Tarboz screamed in great terror as Koji's new attack slammed into him and exploded like a nuclear bomb! With that event, Tarboz's beam that was holding Koji's first attack at bay cut out, and Koji's first energy blast slammed into the heart of the first explosion, intensifying that explosion! When the smoke cleared, there was no sign of Tarboz! Koji breathed a sigh of relief as he rested from his exertion.

"Now it's time to go home," Koji said to himself as he took one final look across the landscape, seeing his father's tattered cape hanging from a rock formation and wafting in the wind.

Space.

Some time later.

Koji was in his space pod as it streaked through space. He was deep in thought as he watched the stars go by outside the front window of the pod. He seemed terribly unhappy as he sat there with his arms crossed in front of his chest, the injuries from his great battle still present.

Suddenly, Koji appeared shocked as he looked out the window and saw the signs of planetary vaporization. Chunks of planetary debris zipped past the space pod as it slowed in its approach towards ... nothing. Koji checked the controls of the pod to verify his position. The computer verified that this was the location of the planet Vegeta. Double-checking the coordinates, Koji realized that he was home, but home was nowhere in sight.

"No!" Koji gasped in horror at the realization that planet Vegeta was no more. "No!"

He remembered his mother's first tear and all the times he saw that concerned look on her face. He remembered the day in the training chamber when he was sparring with his father. He remembered his parent's concern for him on the planet Tarlovia. He remembered his father's sacrifice for him on the planet Ferella. He finally remembered the way he left them in the training room. His eyes began to water as he gazed out in horror at the space debris as it passed by his pod. A moment later, the tears flowed down his young, battered face like a gushing flood. In an instant, a four-year-old man had become a boy, and the missing piece of the puzzle was found. In becoming a boy, he was well on his way to becoming a man, and in his tears he found what he had never known: the blessedness of weakness.

The end.