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| Divi-chan, the mascot for animeondvd.com |
I've mentioned before that I became a bit of a hard core fan of Japanese animation in the mid and late 1990s. I was writing for one of the first websites to cover reviews of anime on DVD... hence the name Animeondvd.com. It was a lot of fun, and I learned quite a bit about review writing, fandom and even a bit of Japanese culture. This side job even landed me a ghost writing gig for an actual book about Animation on DVD.
This era has a lot of great anime related memories for me. Especially the excitement of seeing a trailer for new anime coming to a DVD (or VHS, which was still a viable alternative at the time). Companies approached trailers in a myriad of ways. But the one that always stuck out in my mind was the "Do it Now" trailers from ADV (or A.D. Vision).
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| The logo on more than half of my anime DVDs from back in the day. |
They also had some great trailers cut together by a gent who posted on the anime forums under the name Dan the Man. Most of these used oh so 90s techno tracks, quick music video editing and showed you just enough to get you excited about an upcoming release. It worked so well that most of us picked up a movie or series based on the trailer alone, only to realize that Dan the Man made the show look much better than it really was.
On VHS nearly all the trailers on an ADV tape ended with the "Do It Now" trailer montage. Dan would use a particular techno piece, the eponymous Do It Now, and cut a whole bunch of different series and movies together, flashing the name on screen before a series of images exploded into view. These trailers got all us anime fans pumped up for more anime and the feature presentation. Most of the "Do It Now" trailers ended with Neon Genesis Evangelion, because ADV was proud of their flagship title. Talk to most anime fans who were around in the era and all you have to do is mention "Do It Now" and you'll get a "Hoo-uh" followed right after it. Check out the trailer below at around the 40 second mark to see what I mean.
And yes I had to pick the one that featured Gunsmith Cats. Any time you get to see Rally blowing away bad guys, it is a good thing. Do you have any favorite movie trailers? Do you find yourself nostalgic about commercials?
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There are very few commercials that I would be nostalgia about except for a few when they tie-in with something else. There's one from 1966 that is probably forgotten by today's audience that was a public service announcement held around Christmas time: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MUWMjUjit_U
ReplyDeleteThere are some I remember like the Native American that used to do the litter bug campaign with a tear in his eye.
The Travel Channel's show, Toy Hunter with Jordan, which I enjoyed watching would sometimes include a vintage toy commercial--some I'd remember others not. But it would be fun to see them: http://www.travelchannel.com/shows/toy-hunter/video
I've seen the Nostalgia Critic, and he's okay, but man sometimes that guy goes on and on way too long. I think most movies should be reviewed in about ten minutes similar to Siskel & Ebert. Beyond that threshold you are just going overkill.
When it comes to the Nostalgia Critic, I treat his stuff less like a review and more like a comedy routine with some movie review elements. He's a lot like the Angry Video Game Nerd in that aspect. I think both are going for laughs first and information about the movie/game secondarily. I enjoy their works, but yeah I do agree they both can go on a little too long. I think AVGN has a better grasp of timing with his "reviews" actually.
DeleteStuckmann is more like a traditional reviewer, but one that uses humor in his reviews to give you a chuckle. Especially when he's reacting to horrible films like "Samurai Cop" or "Gods of Egypt".
Where do I start? Commercials, trailers, movies, music, products…some of which I still encounter and some of which I don’t: Dinah Shore singing for Chevrolet; Captain Kangaroo; Good & Plenty candy (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ExSlyoVTX3I); "Mrs. Robinson, you're trying to seduce me…aren't you?"; Glenn Miller on the stereo (my mom played him a lot… I sometimes do myself); Peter Max; “Look what they’ve done to my song, ma”; “Good night Chet…Good night David; "I Can't Believe I Ate The Whole Thing"; lava lamps; Lynda Carter; “They’re ba-a-a-ack”; etc. I could go on for pages. According to psychologists nostalgia makes us feel younger (see https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/more-mortal/201602/is-nostalgia-fountain-youth). I should feel like a toddler.
ReplyDeleteOh man Richard, I'm with you. Grasping at those older memories and the happy feelings they give. It's addicting and can be a serious time waster. I don't want to mention how long I spent looking at old anime trailers.
DeleteAnd for the record I recognized about half of your quotes... I must be slacking. :)