-=> Quoting Deckerd to Albert Tanone <=-

 De> According to the latest catalog I've seen, #1 is $32.95
 De> and #2 is $34.95 (the yen/dollar exchange rate is really
 De> _lousy_ at the moment).

>>And aren't we anime fans buying Japanese goods making it even worse? I'm not
>>trying to start a 'buy American' flame war here so don't take the question the
>>wrong way. (I'm asking because I don't know the answer, not trying to provoke
>>anything.. And to answer your question, I'm not for 'Buy American' thingy..)

>>...Pascal

In some magazine article I read about the balance of trade problem, 
somebody offered the observation that maybe the Japanese could sell
us VCRs and stuff, but they needed American movies to play on them --
that we were still the world leader in software. Then anime comes
along -- a relatively small niche market, of course, but it shows
Hollywood may not be entirely where the action is at. My own feeling
is that if the Japanese discover and develop an entertainment genre
that America has pretty much ignored -- animation for a post-juvenile
audience -- well, whose fault is it if money starts flowing their way?

My own situation is a little odd. Most of my hobby money comes from my
part-time job as a translator for a Danish publisher: in effect, I'm
just a rest stop for money on its way from Denmark to Japan. I'm 
paid in dollars, but my page rate is based on Danish Kronor. So as the
dollar weakens, I get more dollars for my Danish Kroner -- but at the
same time, I have to pay more dollars for anime goods, which are pegged
to the yen. I may be barely staying even.

I have a long-time correspondent who I sometimes think of as "the World's
Oldest Otaku" since he's in his 50s. In fact, he's the guy that probably
did more than anybody else to get me into this anime obsession. He's a
somewhat eccentric bachelor with a few hobbies but no close friends, and
I get the idea from his letters that his life is a perpetual state of
siege, him alone against the hostile world outside his apartment, where
humanity is lying in wait to steal his possessions, cheat him, or 
otherwise cause him inconvenience. A while back, he expressed some concern
in a letter that his neighbors would discover his interest in Japanese
animation and harass him for being unAmerican. I thought he was being
a little paranoid; if some neighbor kids tore open a package left on his
doorstep but found Japanese animation magazines they couldn't read, it
might work to his advantage by discouraging further thefts, not lead the
neighbors to lynching him. But...I mentioned this to a friend of mine who
hails from the southern regions of the Republic, and he said, "Where does
this guy live?" "Louisville, Kentucky," I said. My friend looked thoughtful.
"He may have a problem...."

Well, anyway...I did my part for the trade balance. I bought a Ford Mustang
the last time I bought a car (though I think it was assembled in Canada...).
But until Hollywood comes up with something as interesting as Ranma 1/2,
tough luck, media moguls -- my entertainment dollars are going to Japan!

--Dwight Decker