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> It was far from a given that any particular person knew about it Indeed. In the 70s, Star Blazers and Speed Racer were broadcast in my area (USA). No one cal

> It was far from a given that any particular person knew about it Indeed. In the 70s, Star Blazers and Speed Racer were broadcast in my area (USA). No one called it anime. But we knew it was different because of the style, and I really didn’t like it at the time. The eyes, the expressions, the language… I wish I had gotten past that for the stories, but I didn’t.

CoastalCoder 4y ago
In my location in the US in the 70's we had poor TV reception for the station that carried Star Blazers and Speed Racer. (Some combination of our antenna quality and our location.) It wasn't until cable TV reached my area in the early 1980's that I finally got a taste of anime, in the form of Robotech. Catching every single episode was a priority, because if you miss one, it could be years until you had another chance to see it. (I wasn't rich enough to buy VHS tapes for the series, even if I could find them.)
- JohnBooty 4y ago
  watching every single episode was a priority, because if you miss one, it could be years until you had another chance to see it. Oh my god, yeah. The S1 and S2 finales of Star Blazers were huge annual events for me for a few years as a small kid. Robotech was even tougher because there were so many episodes, since it was three totally different series stitched together hahaha. You miss one, you're waiting a looooong time.
JohnBooty 4y ago
It's funny. Speed Racer was absolutely bizarre to me as a kid. It still is, really. The art style, the voices. It feels like some kind of postmodern absurdist art. I like it in a way but, man, wow. Star Blazers always just felt normal to me. The designs and dialog were more grounded in reality. I realize "reality" is a relative term here, since we're talking about a space opera starring a WWII battleship (lol) but it definitely aspired to some sort of a "hard sci fi" aesthetic. Like a Robert Heinlein novel or something. If you look at isolated cels or something they're pretty close, and of course they share aesthetics like "big anime eyes". But man, they hit me completely differently. The English dub voice acting for the first two seasons of Star Blazers was actually pretty admirable in places. They hired non-union, off-Broadway actors as opposed to hiring the typical kids' cartoon actors such as the Speed Racer dub gang. Both as a money-saving move and because they wanted people that would try and take the roles seriously. The first few eps are tough but once the actors settle into their roles, there are some really credible moments. The overall result is highly uneven but I think it was revolutionary in its own way. Hilariously, for the third season of Star Blazers, the original cast had scattered to the wind so they hired the Speed Racer cast lol. The results are a farce.

CoastalCoder 4y ago

In my location in the US in the 70's we had poor TV reception for the station that carried Star Blazers and Speed Racer. (Some combination of our antenna quality and our location.) It wasn't until cable TV reached my area in the early 1980's that I finally got a taste of anime, in the form of Robotech. Catching every single episode was a priority, because if you miss one, it could be years until you had another chance to see it. (I wasn't rich enough to buy VHS tapes for the series, even if I could find them.)

JohnBooty 4y ago
watching every single episode was a priority, because if you miss one, it could be years until you had another chance to see it. Oh my god, yeah. The S1 and S2 finales of Star Blazers were huge annual events for me for a few years as a small kid. Robotech was even tougher because there were so many episodes, since it was three totally different series stitched together hahaha. You miss one, you're waiting a looooong time.

JohnBooty 4y ago

It's funny. Speed Racer was absolutely bizarre to me as a kid. It still is, really. The art style, the voices. It feels like some kind of postmodern absurdist art. I like it in a way but, man, wow. Star Blazers always just felt normal to me. The designs and dialog were more grounded in reality. I realize "reality" is a relative term here, since we're talking about a space opera starring a WWII battleship (lol) but it definitely aspired to some sort of a "hard sci fi" aesthetic. Like a Robert Heinlein novel or something. If you look at isolated cels or something they're pretty close, and of course they share aesthetics like "big anime eyes". But man, they hit me completely differently. The English dub voice acting for the first two seasons of Star Blazers was actually pretty admirable in places. They hired non-union, off-Broadway actors as opposed to hiring the typical kids' cartoon actors such as the Speed Racer dub gang. Both as a money-saving move and because they wanted people that would try and take the roles seriously. The first few eps are tough but once the actors settle into their roles, there are some really credible moments. The overall result is highly uneven but I think it was revolutionary in its own way. Hilariously, for the third season of Star Blazers, the original cast had scattered to the wind so they hired the Speed Racer cast lol. The results are a farce.