24 Hours of Anime Antics Some Schooling in the Romance Depart- Courtesy of Seinfeld.Com Ment

November 19, 2002 THE RETRIEVER WEEKLY FEATURES Page 25 Let Downs and Bad Hair Days show began, but had never been able to reveal from TV, page 21 his true feelings for her. After several sea- the air for four weeks in the middle of the sons, he interrupted her wedding plans by winter. When it returned mid-February, telling her the truth and the two began to date much of its audience had gone elsewhere. and eventually set out to elope. This season, 1.The finale of Seinfeld. Never has a tel- they did it. They tied the knot. He got the girl. evision audience felt so betrayed, so outraged, The good guy won. Which is what we all so letdown as the American people did after wanted, right? Sadly, no. It’s not what we wanted at all. What we wanted was to pine away with him, to know that he’s the good guy that deserves the girl, but to continue to enjoy watching him long for her. But he got her. He wins and we lose. No more drama. Interesting that there was drama to begin with; as both Niles and his brother Frasier (Kelsey Courtesy of www.anime.com Grammer) are both psychiatrists, The Unusual Suspects: The cast of the hit anime Cowboy Bebop were some of you’d think that they’d have every- the stars seen at the Anime Marathon. thing about love figured out, when in actuality, up until when Niles got the girl, they were both in serious need of 24 Hours of Anime Antics some schooling in the romance depart- Courtesy of Seinfeld.com ment. Both have been through unsuc- It’s a Bad Sein: The long-awaited finale of RICHARD MCNEY cessful marriages, Niles was 2002 schedule. A list of these titles was Seinfeld left many fans unsatisfied. Retriever Weekly Staff Writer obsessed with Daphne but afraid to available in print at the marathon and includ- tell her, and Frasier still wants noth- For 24 hours, robots, samurais, and high ed such titles as Cowboy Bebop and G the cast of Seinfeld bid a snide goodbye from ing to do with love but everything to do school students facing extraordinary situa- Gundam episodes one and two. a jail cell. Riots began all over America. with sex. With Niles and Daphne now mar- tions called UMBC’s Lecture Hall Five The marathon was capable of showing Walmarts in seven states reported heavy loot- ried, other than the witticisms of their home. One more thing, they were all embla- titles in DVD, VHS, and several computer file ing and roving bands of angry people yelling father Martin (John Mahoney) and zoned on a movie screen in the form of formats. Those titles were supplied by mem- “Yadda this!” After years of the sharpest anime presented during the UMBC Anime bers and attendees, some of whom even comedy on the tube, all the writers of Society’s 24 hour anime marathon. brought folders full of anime on CD’s and Seinfeld could give us was the equiva- What is anime you ask? For starters DVD’s. The marathon does draw a higher lent of a clip-show? Where was the jus- anime is Japanese animation, and is in no turnout than the weekly showings. tice? A television show can become a way similar to SpongeBob Squarepants or “We have members who will not show sacred ritual for those who set aside the Looney Toons. Unlike traditional up for the regular meetings, but we can time to watch it. And when it comes American cartoons, anime has no bound- count on them to show up for the time to say goodbye, it’s like losing a aries on subject matter. Marketed toward a marathon,” said Seymore. relative. Watching Seinfeld thumb its variety of audiences from children to adults, Attendees were as diverse as the anime nose at the place it held in television his- anime titles have a wide range of subject they watch. People of all races, sexes, and tory was the equivalent to leaving home matter including romance, action, mystery, ages were in attendance. Rainer McCown, for college, waving goodbye to your and even pornographic subjects. who works as an engineer, was one of those grandmother through the back window At UMBC, there is no lack of anime afi- in attendance. McCown attended the first of your station wagon, and seeing her cionados. The UMBC Anime Society (UAS) night, went home for some sleep, and came take her kind, wrinkled hands and flip is devoted to the Japanese art. According to back the next day. “I enjoyed the marathon,” you the bird. Courtesy of frasier.com the society’s President, David Seymore, the McCown said. “But I am getting too old to There’s one show currently on the Cheers to Jeers: They’re going to need a club has about 30 to 40 members who show stay up all night.” McCown became addicted air that sits perilously close to falling of beer after Daphne and Niles’ love-affair. up to their weekly showings on Fridays at 6 to anime when he went to a friend’s party and the edge of TV satisfaction, landing in p.m. in Lecture Hall Three, and around 120 saw some there. There are a lot of similar sto- the heap of television’s most devastat- Frasier’s co-worker Roz (Peri Gilpin), this who subscribe to the mailing list. The 24-hour ries from UAS members. ing disappointments. show is in grave danger of losing is allure. anime marathon is the society’s tradition UAS President Seymore was also intro- Frasier, Tuesdays 9 p.m., NBC No more hope of hopeless nights for where they forgo sleep once a semester and duced to anime by a friend. “I was friends Sometimes we just don’t want them to give Niles leaves viewers of Frasier disappoint- do what they love to do: watch anime. with the President of UAS before me, and I us what we think we want. After nine long sea- ed and wanting more…but then again per- “The marathon went well,” said started going to the showings and I got sons of watching a crush progress into an erotic haps we should be satiated that at least Edwin Peregrina, the society’s Vice hooked,” Seymore said. infatuation that borderlined obsession and came someone, even if he’s a TV character, won President. “We saw about the same num- UAS Secretary Amanda Massie, who from the sweetest guy who had an ex-wife that and got the girl…but then we’re still losers bers we usually do, but more people stayed attended the marathon for 20 hours, was and without the company throughout the whole show.” introduced to anime in high school, but our heroes and heroines According to Peregrina, 56 people became immersed when she came to on television… officially signed in for the marathon. UMBC. “When I arrived at UMBC and It may sound like Those people ranged from first time atten- found out that they had an Anime Society, I we’re complaining dees to hardcore anime fans. “Some of had to check it out,” Massie said. “Now I because we hate televi- these people take it like sport, they have it find myself the Secretary of the Anime sion, but the only reason down to a science,” Peregrina said. Society, who returned to her room last night we feel such a loss is Some came prepared for the long night after the marathon to watch approximately because we’ve realized with pillows, blankets, and bags full of three hours of additional anime.” that nothing in life is snacks. Some even brought large coolers full Vice President Peregrina was introduced infallible. Like friend- of drinks and food. Others just brought a to anime a little differently. “I had been ships, romances, grades, healthy curiosity for anime. exposed to anime in middle school,” Peregrina and basically life, televi- The format of the marathon is predeter- said. “Then I saw the Sci-Fi Channel’s anime sion doesn’t always mined. For 12 hours four UAS members specials and it went downhill from there.” work out the way we hosted three-hour blocks at different times Despite how they were introduced to think it should. The dif- during the marathon. These members per- anime, the members of UAS have a passion ference is that television sonally chose the programming shown dur- for Japanese animation. Near the end of the Courtesy of www.loisandclark.com offers you more choices ing their blocks. During the other 12 hours marathon, the tired community of anime I’m Not Really Super: After the super secret is and the chance to change the titles shown are decided by an audience lovers became boisterous and mocked the revealed to Lois , Lois and Clark loses its spark. your mind at the click of nomination and voting system. Three titles onscreen action. By the end of the 24 hours the a button…and there’s are nominated and whatever title gets the attendees left looked like they had done battle, made Drew Carey’s Mimi seem like an angel, always something on that’s still most votes is shown. and the lecture hall was strewn with the bot- we think that we want the guy to win the girl. But unscathed…as if you needed another rea- For the most part two episodes of each tles, cans, and wrappers of the food that sus- we’re wrong. son to procrastinate… title chosen are shown depending on the tained them during the conflict.

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