Megumi-toons Homepage
By Philip Tan Boon Yew
No-Name Anime is a club for west-coast fans of Japanese Animation.
One of its
side projects, the translation of the illustrated comic book Ashita
Ga Aru Sa
has developed its own base of fans. Although it is undeniably a small,
grassroots operation, the people involved have shown tremendous dedication
and
are clearly in the project for the long haul.
The origins of the comic provide a glimpse of this unique confluence
of fan
motivations. On its own, the comic is humorous, well illustrated and
entertaining, though unremarkable. It is not simply a work of fiction,
however,
as it relates the autobiographical story of a very popular voice actress
and
radio personality, Hayashibara Megumi. The popularity of Hayashibara
in both
American and Japanese fan circles comes from both her talent and her
forthright
relationship with the public. Her identifiable style of hyper-energetic
performance and her involvement with several high-profile shows have
also
boosted her visibility among her fans worldwide.
The American Megumi-Toon site continues to feed that cycle, where
fans can read
a humorous story about one of their favorite neurotic personalities
and the
harrowing process of lending her voice to animated characters. Segments
of the
comic tell of her experiences in America, visiting anime conventions
and giving
speeches. In effect, American fans read an illustrated voice actress
of
Japanese animation talking about her experiences with American fans
of Japanese
animation.
Encountering this site is thus an interesting nexus of experience
for
first-time visitors. It is not a well-known page linked off a portal
run by one
of the big Internet service providers. Even anime review sites never
feature
this site on their lists of big picks. Only dedicated fans, visiting
the sites
of other Hayashibara fans, stand a chance of locating this growing
compendium.
The inextricable involvement of fans, friends and artiste comes across
from the
very first page of the comic, where comments scribbled by the artist
in the
margins are meticulously replicated into English. It is a strangely
soothing
experience to uncover this level of detailed, amateur participation
while
surfing the net, further galvanized by the recent addition of French
translations to the site.
Most of the people involved in this project stay relatively anonymous,
yet make
their presence felt through the cut-and-paste quality of the translated
text.
The result is a translation that both preserves and enhances the sentiment
of
the source material: personal stories written by the actress especially
for her
treasured fans.