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Oregonian Articles Click on the image for a larger version. Paper: Oregonian, The (Portland, OR) Title: OBSERVED JAPANESE ANIME FAN? HEY, JOIN THE CLUB Date: March 11, 2005 Japanese anime fan? Hey, join the club So you're itching for some great anime and you aren't online, the Cartoon Network is on the fritz and you either can't wait for Saturday morning, or you can't stand the tripe local networks are trying to peddle? Here's your supernova blasting ray of light: the Northern Oregon and Vancouver Anime association (NOVA). Founded in 1991, this group of Japanimation junkies runs hours of anime -- which has not yet been released commercially in the U.S. -- on the first and third Saturday, each month. Once a feature or series becomes commercially available, they pull the item out of their show lineup and add it to a mammoth collection for members to check out from the archivist, or "Keeper of the Neat Stuff." The 115-ish members of NOVA range in age from 13 to 50, and the cost of joining is $15 or one English release of a commercial anime DVD. Peter Krug and Paru Borte arrive to a viewing last month early to shoot the breeze and talk shop. "There's only three of us here right now, but in a little while there's going to be a lot more," Krug says as he eagerly waits for the doors of Tigard City Hall (one of two NOVA show venues) to be unlocked. "Yeah, usually between 40 and 50 of us show up," said Borte. "And then there are always new people who are here for the first time. "Our library is kind of different. What you have in the library is either something that can be bought at a store here or something that is pretty old. The stuff that we show here, at our meetings, is stuff that's really new and that has not been licensed or released here," Borte said, contrasting the library collection with the bimonthly shows "And it's not like the stuff we're showing won't ever be released commercially here, but a lot of times what we see here is released a long time later," added Krug. Bob Cannard, an import from Wales, joined the group in the mid-1990s and has been vigorously active ever since. He is the member who oversees NOVA's online presence. "In principle, I like any animation, but I'm not over-fond of the trend toward 3-D animation, for one because I like the style of 2-D and for another I like the fact that someone actually sat there drawing it," said Cannard. "So, I'm very much a 2-D man. Anime I like because the characters are so interesting . . . there are exceptions, but I try not to dismiss (shows like) "Pokemon" because I actually think it's quite a good show for children, it's just not the sort of thing I would be watching." Lisa Eide, NOVA's president, confirmed that anime is alive and well in Portland and that the group is actively accepting new members. For information on show times, viewing schedule and locations, visit www.novaanime.org. -- Joshua Sommer Special to the Oregonian CHRIS HINKLE/ MEMBERS OF NOVA Watching anime Copyright (c) 2005 Oregonian Publishing Co. Author: Joshua Sommer - Special to the Oregonian Section: ARTS AND LIVING Page: 12 Copyright (c) 2005 Oregonian Publishing Co. |