Our latest “Press Archive” additions take us back to the mid- to late-1990s, starting when FUNimation’s English dub of the series had not yet hit Dragon Ball Z, and concluding as Viz’s English translation of the manga was just hitting store shelves.

Animeco served as the official anime and manga magazine of the Japanese Animation Society of Hawai’i (“JASH” for short). It was clearly a passion project for the club, with a mix of well-written articles alongside amateur contributions, with a few submissions from outside sources, as well; Curtis Hoffmann (of the Akira Toriyama Super Database) wrote a two-part article on purchasing and handling cels, for example! Like many other anime publications of the day, a look back makes it feels as if Animeco somewhat-begrudgingly began covering Dragon Ball when the series headed stateside. There were clearly some die-hard fans in the club, however, which made for some very enthusiastic coverage.

Animeco Issue #2 (Spring 1996)
The second issue of Animeco featured a massive Dragon Ball overview article, covering the very beginning of the series up through the end of the manga. Of particular note in this article is the liberal use of (accurate!) translations for terms that had no real English dub precedent yet. Additionally, author Eddie A. S. Mak’s analysis of Son Goku as a character lines up perfectly with James Teal’s analysis from Animerica later that year; as we often explain, this is fascinating to read in light of there being no real adult, English-dubbed Goku to leave an impression on anyone.

Animeco Issue #3 (Summer 1996)
The third issue of Animeco, following up on a tease from the previous issue’s feature article, contained an early review of Dragon Ball GT focusing on the first couple episodes. With the exception of one (understandable) bit of confusion regarding the new set of Dragon Balls, Animeco‘s editors once again seem to nail their contemporary coverage of the series. That being said, this article is unfortunately a giant step down in terms of readability and overall grammar compared to the previous feature.

Be sure to check out all of the other Dragon Ball GT coverage in our archive, particularly that from Animerica and Protoculture Addicts for a broader look at the series’ contemporary perspective in America.

Animeco Issue #4 (Fall 1996)
The fourth issue of Animeco continued the Dragon Ball coverage, this time with a review of “Dragon Ball Z Legends” for the PlayStation. The review unfortunately continues the trend of poorly-written articles, but the enthusiasm certainly shines through.

Be sure to check out Gamefan‘s August 1996 review of the same game for other contemporary coverage.

Animeco Issue #10 (Spring 1998)
Jumping ahead to spring 1998, Animeco‘s tenth issue contains a brief reference to and review of Viz’s Dragon Ball manga English translation, which had just kicked off that March.

We have tons of additional content coming to the “Press Archive“, though the response during our recent live streams kicked these a little higher up on the pile. Stay tuned for more live stream announcements, acquisitions and additions to the section, and more! Be sure to connect with us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Tumblr.