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L.I. Underhill is a media critic and historian specializing in pop culture, with a focus on science fiction (especially Star Trek) and video games. Their projects include a critical history of Star Trek told through the narrative of a war in time, a “heretical” history of The Legend of Zelda series and a literary postmodern reading of Jim Davis' Garfield.

14 Comments

  1. Jack Graham
    May 30, 2014 @ 12:18 am

    Speechless. I have nothing to contribute, all this being entirely new to me. I can only say that I find it very interesting and am excited about where the blog is going from here. Plus I intend to look up Dirty Pair for myself… which sounds odd, but there you go.

    Reply

  2. Theonlyspiral
    May 30, 2014 @ 4:13 am

    I'm just going to say it: I love Vaka Rangi to pieces, and have literally no idea where it's going. I'm in. Wherever we end up.

    Also I've only seen one episode of the Anime when I was younger, and faintly recall enjoying it immensely. Like Jack, I think I'll go look it up.

    Reply

  3. Josh Marsfelder
    May 30, 2014 @ 11:42 am

    Thanks a lot for the nice thoughts: I'm flattered and really glad you both enjoyed the post today and that I seem to have piqued your interest!

    Dirty Pair is obviously going to get covered one way or the other, but if you want to see a more in-depth coverage of the anime series in particular, please let me know-I'm aware its sort of early, but I'll need to start planning for that soon if that's what I end up doing.

    Reply

  4. Robert Hutchinson
    June 1, 2014 @ 4:12 am

    Love it, love it, love it. Just thought I'd mention that Sailor Moon probably gets a good deal of the blame for the Western anime "invasion" of the 1990s.

    Reply

  5. Josh Marsfelder
    June 1, 2014 @ 8:55 am

    Thank you! There's plenty more to come!

    Sailor Moon occupies a strange space in anime circles I feel. On the one hand, yes, it was one of the first and biggest anime breakthroughs in the West. On the other hand, its legacy as such seems to have been erased somewhat because its target demographic was girls. To the point Sailor Moon Fandom as it exists today is a fiercely niche and cult thing, whereas both Dragon Ball Z and Neon Genesis Evangelion seem to be universally accepted as landmark classics.

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  6. Alex
    June 1, 2014 @ 11:54 am

    I'd perhaps point to Ranma 1/2 as the bridge between early 80s anime/manga arriving in the US and the breakout success of NGE in 1996.

    Reply

  7. Josh Marsfelder
    June 1, 2014 @ 1:21 pm

    Oh yeah, I agree: I think Ranma was definitely a notable stepping stone in that regard.

    Reply

  8. Daru
    June 19, 2014 @ 7:28 pm

    "I'm just going to say it: I love Vaka Rangi to pieces, and have literally no idea where it's going. I'm in. Wherever we end up."

    This.

    I have to admit I looked at the post topic originally and thought that this this may not be my thing, but you sold me. Gonna seek it out. Awesome post.

    Reply

  9. Josh Marsfelder
    June 20, 2014 @ 5:49 pm

    I see I made a few converts here-This pleases me 😉

    Hope you like the book. Really glad you enjoyed the post!

    Reply

  10. Daru
    June 20, 2014 @ 8:53 pm

    Totally loved it. Once spare cash arrives, will be buying!

    Reply

  11. Daru
    July 10, 2014 @ 7:03 pm

    Actually for this book at random in a second-hand book shop in Edinburgh yesterday! Started reading it straight away whilst lying in glorious sunshine, and I have to say I am hooked. I love the tone, the set-up, the narration style and the whole verve of it – it feels completely fresh. I was completely surprised when I noticed that it was published in 1979 as it feels a whole lot more contemporary than that. Groundbreaking stuff indeed.

    Reply

  12. Josh Marsfelder
    July 11, 2014 @ 4:23 pm

    How uncanny! I'm glad you were able to find it, and even more so that you seem to be enjoying it so much! Should prove interesting as we move through the rest of the animes.

    I've actually just started re-reading it myself, and I'm remembering why I loved it so much in the first place.

    Reply

  13. Christopher Brown
    January 17, 2020 @ 9:03 pm

    Been meaning to explore this thread of your posts for awhile now and I’m incredibly glad I’ve started. Count me among those who are going to search the series up based on this.

    I recently rewatched Logopolis and what you say about the universe guiding the Angels where they need to go reminded me of the Doctor’s role in that story in particular, his presence on Logopolis influencing a horrifying calamity even as it wasn’t technically his responsibility and he does his best to save the day.

    Reply

  14. Edward
    March 25, 2021 @ 10:36 pm

    Excellent Analysis. Been a Dirty Pair fan for a long time and just happened upon your post. Incredibly insightful and well done.

    Reply

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