Forum - View topicThe Mike Toole Show: Saito's Impossible Hit
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FaytLein
 Posts: 1260 Location: Williamsburg, VA |
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I too had Top Secret Episode as a kid, however, I think I simply couldn't beat the second dungeon/maze thing and promptly forgot about it. Then I watched The Professional and Queen Bee, which reignited my fascination with Golgo 13. I actually picked up the first Viz Volume and alternated between laughing at the US government sending Togo in alone against Saddam's new supergun built into a dam and being quietly shamed when after the backstory behind the evil scientist comes to light Duke (after sexing up his informant) walks to a cliff edge, fires ONE SHOT into the lake, which hits some mechanism in the lake, makes the gun misfire and blows the whole thing to a million pieces. Also the story of a mafia boss that ran over some prostitute and the detective with a history with the mafioso and the mere RUMOR of Golgo showing up is enough to drive him insane and into the arms of the police.
What was even more fun was at the end of the volume, it contained a lot of pertinent info about Duke, how like he can speak almost 30 languages flawlessly, is a genius in mathematics (who can perform satellite triangulations in his head) knows tons of martial arts and prettymuch anything needed at the time. |
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Iritscen
 Posts: 793 |
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Entertaining article. I liked the side-by-side pictures from the manga and new series; I just hope that cat makes it!
I'm curious, isn't gekiga considered a separate "branch" from manga? Not trying to be a pedant, I'm just wondering if Golgo 13 is generally called a manga or if it's only "gekiga" to the Japanese. Also, can I ask, what is Anime Hell? Did you mean AMV Hell? Only asking because I wanted to Google it, and I'm not really finding anything. |
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kameoosama
Posts: 48 |
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That seems to be most people's experience but I beat that sucker. Did you have the instruction manual with the maps? I got my copy used and the maps were all marked. |
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Megiddo
 Posts: 8360 Location: IL |
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Not sure if all conventions have Hell, but the main ones I have been to (A-kon, ACen, and A-Fest) had it... I think only Ikkicon (which is tiny) didn't have it. |
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Mike Toole
 SubscriberANN Columnist  Posts: 105 Location: THE GOOD OLE U-S-A |
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Good to know, thanks. I recall seeing the Brentwood/BCI issue in the wake of Kill Bill's release, and just assumed from the cheesy packaging that it was from the same stock as the Crash Cinema release, which was very sketchy indeed. Looks like the Sonny Chiba Action Pack is still available from Best Buy, for those curious.
Carl put it well in his correspondence with me, which I had to struggle mightily to avoid over-quoting: "It's no wonder Golgo 13 takes jobs, but he doesn't take sides; he wants to hear a client's justification, but he's never going to tell them they're justified."
I don't have the original books, but I'd always operated under the assumption that the collection was cribbed from an existing Japanese set. About the Viz collection's extensive liner notes, Carl comments: "The basis of the "File 13" liner notes were translations of various articles from the Japanese book "Encyclopedia of Golgo 13"--but this was a book meant for Japanese fans who could be expected to have most or all of the entire series to consult. Since that probably wasn't the case for the average reader of the English version, I would take the "Encyclopedia" entries as a starting point, and expand on them."
I suspect these are the same forces preventing fans from enjoying Giant Gorg!
They are, actually! In the article I cited a quote from Mata Yamamoto. Not only did Mr Yamamoto produce the original Golgo 13 film, he helped underwrite several others, and Urban Vision is a satellite of his own Foothill Vision concern. It's no accident that both the film and OVA of Golgo 13 ended up in his company's hands. As for Strange Dawn, what set that series apart for me was UV's horribly misguided attempt to market it to children (it was released under the "lil' vision" imprint, complete with puffy white clamshells for the VHS version) and the odd circumstances of its dub, which was, IIRC, recorded in Tokyo by a cross-section of English-speaking foreigners.
Some might call it that. I think gekiga is just a convenient label for the maturation of some aspects of manga storytelling in the 60s. Interestingly, the 1986 Lead Publishing paperbacks indentified Gokgo 13 as gekiga, perhaps because "manga" was still a largely unknown term then.
First "anime hell" result from Google has it. It's a video ephemera show run at about a dozen conventions, originating at AWA. I run a version of it at Anime Boston.
You were lucky. I actually painstakingly mapped out the mazes on graph paper. As I lent the game out to classmates, so went the maps as well. The "Impossible Hit" comic also had marked maps for several of the mazes in the back. The back cover of this comic features an ad for the games publisher (Vic Tokai Inc.) and TOP SECRET EPISODE, with the tagline FACE IT! YOU'VE GOT GOLGOMANIA BAD. From the feedback I'm getting on this column, that's still true today. Thanks, gang! |
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TheTheory
 Posts: 1029 Location: Central PA |
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Ah man! A couple of months ago I found a Sonny Chiba collection of 6 movies, including Golgo 13, at a local dollar store for (of course) $1. I had to pick it up, even though I knew nothing of Golgo 13, other than there had been an anime and manga series.
Oddly, considering your question as to whether or not there was a legitimate release of the movie in America... I too had the same question regarding the set. Ultimately, I decided it was legit because it was released by BCI, which is owned by Navarre (or was owned by Navarre whenever it was that this set was released). Doesn't mean it is legit, I guess, but Navarre is a commonly known name in these parts. Incidentally, I also picked up The Sister Street Fighter collection at the same time/price. I have yet to watch any of the movies... but for a buck a set, I figure I've done well. |
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dewlwieldthedarpachief
 Posts: 751 Location: Canada |
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I grabbed the Sister Street Fighter I&II Blu-ray when that was out. Regular Chiba is mind-blowing but supporting Chiba is like a Greek god bearing the weight of your movie.
I'd already seen the original Golgo 13 anime and checked out Queen Bee after I read this. While I enjoy the subject matter, the pacing of these shows is downright painful at times. I also checked out some of the older 70s/80s manga I've seen around and so much of the material is just covering "how it's going to go down" like Mike said...I'd like to read a Golgo 13 story with more attention to the logistics and less of the drama between characters. I liked the action that was in Queen Bee, though. More of that, please. |
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Paul Soth
 Posts: 140 Location: Columbus, Oh |
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In volume five of Viz's release of the manga, the second story, titled "Germany is One" first printed in 1990, revolves around a collection of EU lawmakers who play a tabletop simulation of European politics. During a key moment, the performance of Golgo 13's skill is simulated with the roll of a 100 sided die, known as Zocchihedron.
I attend the Origins Game Fair in Columbus each year, and one of the regular exhibitors is gaming legend Lou Zocchi, who also invented the 100-sided die used in the story. After the publication of volume 5, I asked him if he knew about the die's use in the story, and he told me that it was the first time he heard about it. I later showed him the pages used and even gave him a copy of volume 5. He insisted on paying me for it, however. |
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Frazmataz
 Posts: 103 Location: Sheffield, UK |
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Great article
 That's another manga on my list!
I wonder if 'The Impossible Hit' is included in the Viz releases... |
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doc-watson42
Encyclopedia Editor
 Posts: 1708 |
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Frazmataz
Posts: 103 Location: Sheffield, UK |
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That's a shame 
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