Anime/Manga
Anime and Manga in New Zealand is fairly new in terms of history/fandom. Compared to most countries, we’re quite “behind-the-times,” not only in the fandom, but the types of items that can be purchased here. 
Over the years there have been many who have done their part in bringing the genre into the mainstream, and hopefully, this website will help contribute to the cause of making it more and more popular in this country.
You’ll find resources to help you discover more about anime and manga, the Japanese culture in general, as well as resources for fans here in New Zealand – where to find the good stuff, so to speak! You will also find that the site is personalised towards my own interests, in a way that allows fans (and potential fans) to see how they too, could explore and evolve within the anime/manga spheres of interest.
What got me into it?
Well I’d watched anime long before 1989, Kimba the White Lion and Voltron being a few, but I didn’t recognise it as anime. 1989 saw me at an all girls British boarding school (with nuns!) and meeting a Thai girl who drew these amazing cartoony things, and gifted me all these comics in a similar drawing style. I would later learn that my friend was heavily influenced by Naoko Takeuchi’s ‘Sailor Moon’ and some of the manga she gave me (it was in Thai) were hugely popular in Japan and abroad.
One of the senior girls saw my interest in this “asian thing” and took me to the a screening of Akira at the cinemas. I was blown away. Stunned and completely hooked. She was nice enough to get me a video store membership, and I quickly watched all the anime (or “manga entertainment” as it was called back then, ugh!) they had available.
Nausicaa of the Valley of Wind was a huge favourite; and when my parents went to Japan, they came back with even more goodies for me XD
Unfortunately when I arrived here in New Zealand in December 1994, I came to an anime/manga wasteland. I went into a video store and asked if they had any anime, and their response was “Is that a type of sheep?”
I kid you not ~_~
I later learned that there was a Manga Entertainment branch here in New Zealand, run by a lady called Elizabeth down in Dunedin. Unfortunately their releases weren’t often, and their titles were pretty old school. I still have some of the original magazines and a club badge from back then XD
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Manga Entertainment paraphenalia! Old School!
Thankfully she sold out to Gamewizz (they rebranded it to Madman Entertainment in line with the Australian group) but Elizabeth now does Siren Entertainment.
In 1997 I discovered Gotham Comics, and it was then that my collecting really began. Tony, may he rest in peace, was kind enough to start ordering in all the manga and merchandise I wanted. He introduced me to American comics too, but thats another story *grins* but I don’t think I can ever express my gratitude to him enough, and I won’t ever get the chance either
There were other stores popping up too at that time, Ground Zero in Mid-City (a shopping arcade along Queen Street) and another on High Street called Pop Culture. I remember walking into Ground Zero and being blown away by just how much manga they had @_@
It was all in Japanese, but that didn’t bother me at all; I just feel really annoyed that I was unable to buy the huge, hardbound Nausicaa Water Colours Illustration artbook. But at NZ$250, it was a bit too high for my student budget.
By the time I started working full time, joined and eventually started to run the Auckland Anime Club, my addiction to anime & manga had been sealed. As part of the club we took part in various events, manga reading days (where everyone converged to my house with all the manga, artbooks and doujinshi they had in tow to spend the day reading and chatting) to anime/manga group shopping trips to places like Gotham Comics and Heroes4Sale. We would eventually become the largest club in NZ, with a membership of well over 100, with screenings in a massive lecture theatre at the University of Auckland, and running the anime events at the Armageddon conventions.
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Various events and movies held by the Auckland Anime Club.
I don’t want to even think about how much my collection is worth. Photos just don’t do justice to it since there is so much there. Hidden away from plain view. I could take a photos of everything I had, but that would require hundreds upon hundreds of photos, and I am not that dedicated XD
I am always happy to share my interest though, so if you’re ever in Auckland and want to pay a visit, please get in touch.
3 Responses to “Anime/Manga”
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I was just wondering, when you were running the Auckland Anime Club how did you handle public screenings? I am involved in starting up an Anime Club at Otago University and no one has considered the copyright laws around public screenings
When we ran the club in Christchurch we got in touch with Madman about screening their anime, it was a case of the meetings had to have no more than 30 people, & you couldn’t charge for entry.
Hey is there still an Anime Club in Auckland? I just moved back here from Wellington and I cant find one in the city