Hello, I am Basspig (real name is Mark) and I didn't pick the monicker, but a friend who met me in 1989 and saw/heard my wall of woofers coined that name. It stuck to me. Go figure.. Anyway, I've been into anime since 1985. Had some pen pals who introduced me to raw, untranslated anime. Was blown away by the stuff from Japan. I love the music especially. Big fan of Studio Ghibli, but also like work by Makoto Shinkai, and Keiichi Hara's latest work. Was also a Rumiko Takahashi fan in the 80s--loved "Fire Tripper". These days, I am really into realistic, slice of life anime.
About me, I'm semi-retired. Have had a wide ranging set of careers from optical physics (lasers) to broadcast electronics in the early 80s, to graphic design in the 90s, then video production, with a special focus on recording symphony concerts. For 13 years, I was running myself ragged all over the northeast US, servicing and building AM/FM broadcast facilities. Recently, I found I could make a living repairing vintage audio gear in my shop at home, which is what I've been doing for the past two years. Sure beats a 4 hour round trip commute!
I enjoy watching the latest anime in my custom built home theater. For so many years, I was watching 5th generation VHS copies from overseas traders on a 19" TV, and now, finally, we've made it to Blu-ray disc, projected onto a 12' AT screen with 17,000 watts of surround sound. And I am starting to appreciate how anime films are putting more effort into realistic sound. I first noticed with "The Sky Crawlers", but other films like "Arietty" have very realistic ambient sounds of weather in them.
Although I have many favorites, one film I can watch over and over again is "Colorful". For some reason, the high quality visuals, the real settings of actual places around Futako-Tamagawa (Japan's first upscale community, now home to corporate CEOs and celebrities), coupled with the relaxed pace of a human interest story with strong emotional content, appeals to me. I keep noticing new stuff on each viewing. My anime collection is quite diverse, in that I have old Bubble Gum Crisis OVAs on tape, as well as D&D anime and fantasy genres, but the real true to life stuff appeals to me most at this stage of my life.
All that is to be know about me can be found by simply Googling my screen name. I have a desire to relocate to Japan, and have had such for a long time. At least a long visit is on my 'bucket list'. I hear that vacuum tube audio is really big over there, and that's my specialty, so I could probably make a living if I did move to Japan. Why there isn't more vacuum tube audio depicted in anime is beyond me. Japan is the world's leading market for it now, so I am told.
Anyway, nice to meet y'all here and thanks to Shadowsnake777 for inviting me!
-Mark |