Anime fandom in Britain

ANIME FANDOM IN BRITAIN

Anime fandom came into being as a distinct entity in the United KIngdom at the 1990 British National Science Fiction Convention (known as Eastercon because it is held over the Easter holiday weekend.) As there is no formal or generally agreed history of the fandom, a group of fans at Fuyucon 2007 agreed to create this page as a nexus for shared memory and information. Those making corrections, comments and additions are particularly asked to quote sources and dates to enable cross-checking and confirmation. Accurate dates need to be attached to events and publications in the article, and further events and publications that may have been omitted need to be added.

For purposes of clarity this short account of the early days of fandom has been split into several eras. However this is one person's view of the timeline and a more coherent way of organising the information may emerge as the page evolves.

PROTO-FANDOM

In the 1980s, anime was almost unknown as a separate entertainment medium in the UK. A number of shows had been screened on British TV, and as the UK home video market developed several titles appeared on videotape as part of various childrens' cartoon collections. However material about anime in English was limited to a few entries in books about the wider cartoon medium, and small-circulation fanzines created in America. European anime fandom began to grow in France and Spain in the 1980s, and commercial magazines and merchandise became available to Britons holidaying in Europe. Hong Kong magazines and newspapers were imported into Britain and available in Chinese stores in a few major cities.

Despite this lack of information and material, a few fans got together to share tapes and create zines. The earliest British anime-related zines were Robotech UK, a one-shot zine dedicated to the series, edited by Tony Luke with cover art by Steve Kyte, and MEK-TEK, a gaming zine edited by Ashley Watkins and featuring anime content, again with art by Steve Kyte.

FIRST-GEN FANDOM

Anime fandom in Britain began at the 1990 Eastercon, EASTCON 90, where the first dedicated anime programme to be shown at a British convention presented 36 hours of anime. This was organised and curated by Helen McCarthy and Steve Kyte, with generous assistance from a number of American, Japanese and European fans who provided tapes and information. Anime shown included Akira, My Neighbour Totoro and Urotsukidoji.

Many of those who attended the screenings decided to keep in touch and soon after the event McCarthy and Kyte set up a fanzine, Anime UK Newsletter, to share and collate information and help fans get in touch with each other. Informal get-togethers also enabled fans to meet.

Anime UK Newsletter was an innovative, visually exciting fanzine that inspired one reader, Wil Overton, to show it to his boss, designer Peter Goll. Goll decided to invest in turning the newsletter into a magazine, using the existing tiny fanbase as a springboard.

SECOND-GEN FANDOM

Akira was released on video and in cinemas by Island World Communications, and was a huge success. The company set up a label, Manga Video, to exploit the new medium, and began to release anime starting with Fist of the North Star. Dark Horse Publications started a new magazine, Manga Mania, printing translated manga as well as features on anime. It was edited by Cefn Ridout and featuring work by members of the Anime UK team, including McCarthy, who acted as a consultant for its initial setup.

This commercial impetus brought in many new fans, predominantly teenage boys and students with no previous knowledge of anime or Japanese pop culture. More video labels were created to import and distribute Japanese titles in Britain.

CONVENTIONS AND FANZINES

Meanwhile dedicated anime conventions began to be held in Britain, starting with Anime Day, an event sponsored by the Sheffield Space Centre in 1992 (?). Anime UK held a one-day convention in London known as AUKcon.

Anime UK encouraged the publication of fanzines and reviewed those submitted. Fanzines tended to focus on three main areas: reviews and features; fan manga; and fan fiction. Among the most notable of the fiction zines was Tales from the Cajun Sushi Bar which ran for five (?) issues and included two contributors, James Swallow and Peter J. Evans, who would later publish fiction professionally.

THIRD-GEN FANDOM

As the Internet became more widespread and possibilities for downloading and file-sharing increased, a new generation of fans began to emerge.

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