Protoculture Addicts
Encyclopedia
Protoculture Addicts was a Canadian-based
North America
n anime
and manga
magazine published by Protoculture Inc.
, an Anime News Network
company. The term "Protoculture Addicts" was also used by the Haydonites
(an alien race that appeared in the Robotech: The Shadow Chronicles
animated film) to refer to all the races that have been in contact with Protoculture.
Protoculture Addicts is the first large mainstream anime and manga magazine in North America. Its name derives from the popularity of the Robotech
anime series, and its namesake, Protoculture
. It started as a Robotech fanzine
, became officially licensed as such, and then expanded to cover anime in general. Many of the series that it reviews and presents details thereof, including spoilers
, are months in advance of legal release in the West.
Although it is a North American publication, it also covers many things about the state of anime and manga in France
and the French-speaking world. Manga and anime are readily available in Europe, and the magazine was started in Montreal
, Quebec
, a francophone
region of Canada
with a mixture of French and English speakers.
.
In May 2006, the first full color issue (#88) of Protoculture Addicts was released with the addition of a manga insert and several changes based on the readers feedback. Issue #89 was published later in end November and returned to its bimonthly schedule.
magazine in March 2009, the last anime news magazine published on a monthly basis in North America.
The magazine still technically exists, though only as a neglected subsidiary of Anime News Network, and for all intents and purposes it has been directly absorbed by ANN. According to their forum, Anime News Network officially discontinued efforts to release Protoculture Addicts as a regularly released magazine with issue #97, but hoped to continue the name as a bi-annual trade paperback, not focusing on news (a function which had been supplanted by the internet) but on special features and reviews. However, the project has not been given a high priority, and only two staffers were assigned to gradually produce the special trade-paperback issue, which was still going to be numbered "Protoculture Addicts #98" to continue the legacy of the original magazine. As of early 2011, a new issue of Protoculture Addicts has not been released in nearly 3 years.
This leaves Otaku USA
as the only regularly published anime news magazine in North America, which is published on a bi-monthly schedule.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
n anime
Anime
is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....
and manga
Manga
Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...
magazine published by Protoculture Inc.
Protoculture Inc.
Protoculture Inc, the publisher, used to be called IANVS Publications. It began as a group that made the fanzine Protoculture Addicts . The fanzine later went commercial and became a magazine, and the fan group became IANVS...
, an Anime News Network
Anime News Network
Anime News Network is an anime industry news website that reports on the status of anime, manga, Japanese popular music and other otaku-related culture within North America, Australia and Japan. Additionally, it sometimes features similar happenings throughout the Anglosphere and elsewhere in the...
company. The term "Protoculture Addicts" was also used by the Haydonites
Haydonites
The Haydonites are a fictional, highly advanced cybernetic race that appears in Robotech and made their first appearance in the comic Robotech: Prelude to the Shadow Chronicles. They are also seen the subsequent movie, Robotech: The Shadow Chronicles...
(an alien race that appeared in the Robotech: The Shadow Chronicles
Robotech: The Shadow Chronicles
Robotech: The Shadow Chronicles is the 2006 animated sequel to the 1985 Robotech television series. It was released on DVD on February 6, 2007.- Plot :...
animated film) to refer to all the races that have been in contact with Protoculture.
Protoculture Addicts is the first large mainstream anime and manga magazine in North America. Its name derives from the popularity of the Robotech
Robotech
Robotech is an 85-episode science fiction anime adaptation produced by Harmony Gold USA in association with Tatsunoko Production Co., Ltd. and first released in the United States in 1985...
anime series, and its namesake, Protoculture
Protoculture (anime)
is a term introduced in the 1982 Japanese animated television series Super Dimension Fortress Macross and adapted to the Americanized Robotech.-Macross definition:...
. It started as a Robotech fanzine
Fanzine
A fanzine is a nonprofessional and nonofficial publication produced by fans of a particular cultural phenomenon for the pleasure of others who share their interest...
, became officially licensed as such, and then expanded to cover anime in general. Many of the series that it reviews and presents details thereof, including spoilers
Spoiler (media)
Spoiler is slang for any element of any summary or description of any piece of fiction that reveals any plot element which will give away the outcome of a dramatic episode within the work of fiction, or the conclusion of the entire work. It can also be used to refer to any piece of information...
, are months in advance of legal release in the West.
Origin
The first test release, Issue #0, was published by Claude J. Pelletier in the fall of 1987. Issue #1 officially launched the fanzine in the spring of 1988. It later became a standard commercial magazine.Although it is a North American publication, it also covers many things about the state of anime and manga in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
and the French-speaking world. Manga and anime are readily available in Europe, and the magazine was started in Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
, Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
, a francophone
Francophone
The adjective francophone means French-speaking, typically as primary language, whether referring to individuals, groups, or places. Often, the word is used as a noun to describe a natively French-speaking person....
region of Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
with a mixture of French and English speakers.
Acquisition by Anime News Network
In 2005, with Issue #82, Protoculture Addicts became Anime News Network's Protoculture Addicts, a sister publication to popular anime news and information website Anime News NetworkAnime News Network
Anime News Network is an anime industry news website that reports on the status of anime, manga, Japanese popular music and other otaku-related culture within North America, Australia and Japan. Additionally, it sometimes features similar happenings throughout the Anglosphere and elsewhere in the...
.
In May 2006, the first full color issue (#88) of Protoculture Addicts was released with the addition of a manga insert and several changes based on the readers feedback. Issue #89 was published later in end November and returned to its bimonthly schedule.
End of regular production
The last regularly released issue of Protoculture Addicts was #97, the July/August 2008 edition. This was a symptom of the general collapse of the North American anime market which occurred throughout 2008 following the closure of Geneon USA in September 2007. However, it was also the result of increased competition with anime news websites, such as Anime News Network itself. Only a few months before, NewType USA shut down in February 2008. This was followed not long afterwards by the closure of Anime InsiderAnime Insider
Anime Insider was a monthly magazine published by Wizard Entertainment, consisting of news and entertainment pieces relating to the Japanese anime and manga subculture....
magazine in March 2009, the last anime news magazine published on a monthly basis in North America.
The magazine still technically exists, though only as a neglected subsidiary of Anime News Network, and for all intents and purposes it has been directly absorbed by ANN. According to their forum, Anime News Network officially discontinued efforts to release Protoculture Addicts as a regularly released magazine with issue #97, but hoped to continue the name as a bi-annual trade paperback, not focusing on news (a function which had been supplanted by the internet) but on special features and reviews. However, the project has not been given a high priority, and only two staffers were assigned to gradually produce the special trade-paperback issue, which was still going to be numbered "Protoculture Addicts #98" to continue the legacy of the original magazine. As of early 2011, a new issue of Protoculture Addicts has not been released in nearly 3 years.
This leaves Otaku USA
Otaku USA
Otaku USA is a bimonthly magazine, published by Sovereign Media, which covers various elements of the "otaku" lifestyle from an American perspective...
as the only regularly published anime news magazine in North America, which is published on a bi-monthly schedule.