![[Son Gouku - The Jitterbug Years]](db-goku4.gif)
Personal Information:
Birthdate: January 6, 1977 (same day Cammy's born!)
Birthplace: Memphis, TN
Sex: Male (as if you couldn't guess!)
Race: Nubian
Immediate Family: Mack (Father), Wes (Mother), Jordan (brother; deceased), Andrew (brother; 15), Aaron James (brother; 11), Anthony (brother; 9)
Occupation: Computer-Aided Drafting (CAD) Specialist
Education Level: Technical College, Graduating with a Associates of Applied Science Degree in Computer Aided Drafting.
Brief History: I was born into a navy family, my parent's first child. Over the years, they had four more, creating a very crowded household. My father's retired now so we have more of a stable address in Oviedo, FL, as opposed to moving every few years when your family is a part of military family. I recently graduated from Oviedo High School (June 9, 1995), and only three days later I started my year and a half stint at ITT Technical Institute in Maitland, FL (June 12, 1995). Attending ITT, I became a student assistant in the laboratory portion of the CAD curriculum (from 3rd quarter to the end of Final/6th quarter). Finally, I graduated from ITT on November 26, 1996, finally free from school for the first time in my life since I started at age four. A few months later I landed a position as a CAD Specialist at an enviromental consulting firm called Breedlove, Dennis, & Associates, where I work today.
Additional Info:
Hobbies:
Writing: I've been writing stories since I was eight, after my friend Robert Stiedly had caught my interest
when I had read one of his short stories (this was around late '85 or early '86, when we had first moved to Key West). I had
written many short stories in my younger years but I didn't really get "serious" about writing until the early '90's when I wrote
a book called "My Great Adventure" (dramatic title, isn't it?). It turned out to 596 pages (written on college ruled paper),
taking me almost two years to write. Believe me, I didn't intend on it being that long, but when you compose a story with over
120 characters, it tends to run long whether you like it or not. The reason "MGA" had so many characters was because it was a
template for a major cartoon/anime crossover; starring characters from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (the animated series, in it's
early days when it was dope), Fatal Fury 2, TaleSpin, Mega Man (Games 1-4), Dragon Warrior (the anime series that appeared in the U.S. for a
short while), Bucky O' Hare, and a few other shows that were popular back in '91 to '93. Of course, I had created my own characters
who were actually the main focus of the story, so I wasn't being totally plageristic. I enjoyed writing "MGA", although at times
it was a bit of a tedious and taxing experience. But after finishing it, I realized that my writing style was a bit too explanitory
at times, not to mention very "clean cut". Not one of my characters ever cursed once!
I knew my writing had to change, but how? That's when I really began to watch anime. The versatility of the stories and
the darkness many had portrayed inspired me to write "Star Trek: The Robotech Connection". I took two shows that I enjoyed
and threw the technologies of both (ST: The Next Generation & the entire Robotech Series) into one story. Combined with many
characters of my own creation and those from Video Girl Ai, Ranma 1/2, Mega Man X, TaleSpin (I guess it's obvious dig that show!),
TMNT, and even Sonic the Hedgehog (for a more humorous effect), it turned out to be the best book I ever wrote. It wasn't as long
long as "MGA" (453 pages, college ruled), but it showed a far more darker side to my writing, not to mention a more mature and dramatic kind
of story. I had several people read it (something I didn't do with "MGA") and every one of them enjoyed the book, even though
the majority of them didn't care for Star Trek or Robotech. Sadly to say, "ST: TRC" was stolen from me during my senior year
of high school, and being that it was the first episode of a series, I was never able to continue the story into a second
installment, which I was planning on doing mainly for the fact that it was so popular with my friends. Maybe one day I'll
rewrite it...
About six months later, while attending ITT, I recieved another story idea. At this point in time I had become a Street
Fighter fanatic, and was trying to come up with some kind of "premise" that would include the SF storyline and characters, but
without disrupting flow of the series--too much. Within this six month period, I had also become a admirer of the Gargoyles series
(which shocked me when I found out it was from Disney and that it sported a whole slew of voices from Star Trek) and the Role
playing game Chrono Trigger. With all this inspiration, it was only a matter of time before I cooked up a new tale, one which
I dubbed "Chrono Trigger Omega" (sort of a combination of titles and a tribute to Street Fighter Alpha and Chrono Trigger).
Although the characters from CT and the SF series do have a definite influence in this series, thier involvement won't be quite
as direct as I have done in crossover stories in the past. Well, at least not in the first episode ("Nightrunner"), several of
the Gargoyle characters do however, as well as characters from other series (DarkStalkers & Sailor Moon). It focuses on Maximillian
Ramnarine (a character that remotely resembles me. Don't laugh too hard...), and two characters from Gargoyles: Lennox Macbeth
and Demona (my favorite characters from the series). I don't intend on "CTO" to focus too heavily on these characters in every
episode, but the first eight definetly will.
As of right now, the first three chapters of "Chrono Trigger Omega, Episode 1: Nightrunner" have been converted to I'll be putting it up here for your reading pleasure
or disgust. Either way, I welcome professional criticism as well as praises, so feel free to comment on them, or anything I post up here.
Anime: When I think about it, I guess I've been a fan of anime all my life. From "Kimba, The White Lion", "Speed Racer",
"Voltron", "Tranzor Z", the earlier episodes of "TransFormers", "Maple Town" (hey, I was a kid then), "Robotech", all the way up to "Sailor Moon" and "Dragon Ball Z",
I've always been watching Japanese Animation. Of course, I didn't know it was called "anime" until my friend, Robert
(yes, the same guy I mentioned before), had lended me his copy of "Robotech: Art One". It only took me week to "burn" through
it, finally learning how Robotech ended and what "anime" was all about. (When our family moved from Jacksonville to Key West
in 1985, I was only able to watch episodes 7 - 35 of "The Macross Saga" and the first five ep's of "Southern Cross" before we
left. I had a bad feeling I wasn't going to be able to watch it in Key West, and I was right. Out of the one syndicated station
that we did get on our cable service, it didn't air Robotech, which was very dissapointing. But I was able to keep up with
the show by collecting Comico's adaptation of the series, the Jack McKinney novels, and by Robotech: Art One, of course.)
Robotech was a slap in the face to me; before watching it I was always thought that the good guys always won and no one
died in cartoons (weened off of too much Gi-Joe). But when I witnessed the deaths of Ben Dixon and Roy Fokker, it change my
whole viewpoint towards animation. Whoever was behind this "Robotech", had brought the mortality factor into play, not to
mention politics and the true effects war plays on the human spirit. This series, my first real "anime", was before it's time
for the American audience, never recieving the attention it deserved. But for me, it will always be my favorite anime.
It wasn't until years later, in late '93, when I had watched my first subtitled and fully uncensored anime, "Video Girl Ai".
Lended to me from an aquaintince in high school, "VGA" was yet another "Ai"-opener for me. A romantic story that dould make
you laugh out loud one moment, astound you the next, and then bring a tear (or several more) to your eye, was just too
overwhelming an experience for me. This from a guy who really doesn't care for the romance genre at all. I know, I was
surprised too, but then it all goes back to how a story is written, and Video Girl Ai is a masterpiece as far as I'm
concerned. I haven't had the chance to scope out the manga much though, but I know it is far more extensive than the six
episode animated series that was produced by Tatsunuko. I hasn't been officialy released in the states, but if you know some
one who has it, I recommend that you check it out.
Since "Ai-Chan", I've come across dozens of anime video titles and television series, none of which has impacted me as much
as "Robotech" or "Video Girl Ai", but some that were about as good. "Ninja Scroll", "Ranma 1/2", "Sailor Moon", "Ronin
Warriors", "El Hazard", "Record of the Lodoss War", "You're Under Arrest", "Bubble Gum Crisis", "Crying Freeman", "Dragon Warrior",
"Street Fighter" (the movie and video series), and of course "Dragon Ball Z", just to name a...lot. To me, anime is the
"funk" and I wiil always find it as a captivating artform as well as a compelling medium.
Street Fighter: I was fifteen when I first played "Street Fighter", at an arcade called Celebration Station while traveling home
to Norfolk, VA from Raleigh, NC. Actually it was "Street Fighter 2", but nonetheless I found it to be an intresting game. I
wasn't really hooked on the series until we moved from Norfolk a year later to Oviedo, FL. Visiting Fashion Square Mall in
nearby Orlando in late '93 (near the Christmas Season) I had the chance to try out "Super Street Fighter 2", both the
stand-alone version and the eight-player multi-link version (I wish Capcom would do that again for either "SF3" or a special version
of the upcoming "Street Fighter Alpha 3"). From then, I've been loyal to the SF series, following the story-lines of all the
characters while becoming a fast fan of the DarkStalkers and Marvel Series in the process.
I never saw "Street Fighter Alpha" coming. It was a slap...(no, Robotech was a slap) I mean, punch in the face. (This is
getting painful...) It answered a lot of questions for me and caused me to ask myself a million more. The gameplay had improved
by tenfold, with the inclusion of chains and supers (which were in SSF2T, but were drastically improved), and the animation...
I could go on for days about that alone. If it wasn't for the artists that crafted "Alpha World" (the style of artwork that
was developed for the characters in SFA, SFA2, Puzzle Fighter, and what's had quite an influence in the Marvel Series), I
wouldn't be the enlightened Capcom Illustrations enthusiast I am today. One of the reasons I felt compelled to host a SF
(and DarkStalkers) Gallery at my site. With every game, the Street Fighter saga developes, and I look forward to every
release. On a side note, like a million other people, I started playing SF with Chun-Li, but soon enough I found myself addicted
to playing Ryusynoke ("Ryu" or "The Dragon", as I call him) Long. I guess you can call me old fashioned, but when I'm "one
with 'the Dragon'", I get the job done.
Opinions of Series and Personal Influences:
Akira Toriyama: I first witnessed Toriyama's handiwork not in "Dragon Ball", but in an anime series that Saban brought to the U.S. called
"Dragon Warrior" (Fall 1991). I was already a fan of the Dragon Warrior games on the NES and was thrilled that there was a show based on
it running on American television. I was the animated adaptation of Dragon Warrior 3, and it followed the small, but unsung
crew of Abel (the hero; who looked a hell of a lot like Gouku), Moko (Abel's stout childhood friend), Janok (an absent minded
magician who had a fettish for liquor), and the indomitable Daisy (a bounty hunter/swordswoman in the quest for the money. My
kind of lady!). The four were on the trail of Baramosse, a "demon" of a fellow bent on taking over the world, and to do it he
had kidnapped Abel's sweetheart, Tealla. She, of course, was the key to releasing the "Great Dragon", a mythological creature
of which would be Baramosse's means of conquering the planet. Well, this series may have ran it's course in Japan, but in the U.S. it reached it's thirteenth weekly episode and then spiraled
down into the void of reruns until it vanished from the airwaves. To me, this was another anime injustice that I would have
to live with.
It wasn't until fall of '93, when I found out that there existed a Dragon Ball Z. I was at an arcade (as if you couldn't
guess) when I spotted two asian kids wearing t-shirts sporting a guy who happened to look like "Abel" dressed in a
jogging/martial arts gi and sitting indian style. I had asked the two boys if that was from Dragon Warrior, and they we're
quick to correct me in that he was from a show called "Dragon Ball". Because they were on their way out, I didn't bother to
pry for any more info on this "Dragon Ball". If I wanted to find out, I would have to do so on my own.
A couple of weeks later, I had spotted an avalanche of advertisements for "Dragon Ball Z" merchandise; toys, posters, manga,
and video games. I had realized that there was something going on in Japan that we Americans were missing, and I, for one, was
pissed.
About a month later, I had walked into a local video game store (Video GameTrader, in Casselberry, FL), where I found one of
thier employees playing an import NES game of the DBZ Role Playing Game. He was surprised that I recognized what it was, and
I discovered that he had a wealth of info on the series that I had been dying to know about. I had no idea that there was a
previous (animated) series called "Dragon Ball" where the main character, "Son Gouku", was a child. When Dragon Ball finally
made it's debut in the U.S. in fall of 1995, I already had an idea of who the characters were, where the story would go, and
how it ended. (In addition, I was anticipating the release of another Toriyama influenced game; a little RPG called "Chrono
Trigger"...) Yet, once again, the "Dragon Warrior" scenario fell upon this show as well, following the fourteen episode, no
more were translated into English and the show fell into "rerun-hell", canned before the start of the 1996 season.
But from the ashes, the "pheonix" rose. Funimation (the company the produced the U.S. Dragon Ball), with Bandai & Saban's
financial backing (I don't have much love for the latter company, being notorious for importing shows and dumping them soon afterwards.
Case in point: Dragon Warrior), released Dragon Ball Z. I was blown away when I opened the TV Guide, looking and hoping that
Dragon Ball was ressurected with new episodes, I find that Dragon Ball Z has already hit the airwaves! I literally cursed
for the fact that I only missed the first episode by an hour and some change (it airs at 7:30 Sunday mornings over here).
I'm completly estatic about Dragon Ball Z being on TV, introducing more youngsters (and adults) to the wonders of anime, but I
can't help but feel jaded that we didn't recieve the other hundreds of ep's in the original "Ball" series. I'm taping every
episode (as I have already done for Dragon Ball and Sailor Moon), because knowing Saban's track record, this show may be headed
out the door as well. At least, that's what I used to think. As it's popularity continues to rise, there is a good chance
we'll be seing more of SonGouku and the DBZ "Wreckin' Crew", maybe it'll become as popular here as it is in Japan and the rest
of the Far East. Here's hoping...
Sailor Moon: What can I say? Serena grew on me...
In early '94, I borrowed a video
of a subtitled anime called "Touch" (the first movie in that particular series, I know of only two), another dramatic story, although far more domestic
than Video Girl Ai. When it had ended, I wasn't expected anything else. As the credits had ended, though, I was surprised to
find another show beginning. This show was Sailor Moon, in Japanese and subtitled, of course. It was the sixth episode (I think)
in the Japanese series, where all the kids in Tokyo fall prey to a fortune teller, secretly working for Jedite and The Negaverse.
At the time, the cartoon didn't intrest me in too much, but I did watch the whole thing just see how the rest of the episode
played out. I had also heard beforehand that this show was a popular in Japan as Dragon Ball was at the time, curiosity lured me
to see what all the rage was about. Instead, I ended up not liking it much at all, judging a book from it's cover.
Not until fall of 1995, did I see another episode of Sailor Moon, this time in English. Fox had aired an special episode
("The Return of Sailor Moon") at the beginning of the season just to promote the show for their long time business partners
Saban & Bandai (Power Rangers; a show I despise. I wished that got cancelled instead of Dragon Warrior). Of course, I didn't
realize this, thinking that it was going to be a regular show on Saturday mornings. This one I watched with more of an open mind,
and this time Sailor Moon found more favor with me. When I checked for it the next week, I obviously didn't find it on and wondered
what happened. Taking out my trusty TV Guide, I searched for it and discovered that it normally aired weekdays on one of the
syndicated channels in our area. Being that I don't like to wake up at the crack of dawn to watch anything, I set my VCR timer
to record it.
And so the addiction began. I may have missed a week of episodes, but I caught up with the series with Godspeed. Sailor
Moon had transformed my opinion of being a pointless anime with silly characters & premises to a humorous and, at times,
dramatic series that was just plain fun to watch. The stories were out of this world, the voice acting went from average to
superb, and the characters became far more appealing then from when the series started.
In my possesion, I have every American episode recorded, yet I would very much like to see it returned to American television. It
was taken off the air for too reasons; the first was that it wasn't getting enough consumer support (if you ever watch one of
your favorite programs on TV and notice that there are more public service and local station advertisements than actual
commercials, then that show's in deep trouble). The other reason - certain parents were becoming aware that "SM" displayed
minute acts of violence, as well as raised certain controversial issues overprotective mothers and fathers didn't want their
precious little kids seeing.
Too bad for them, cus' the "Moon" is back! I couldn't be happier then to know that Serena and the crew are kickin' ass once again on American Television. For those who don't know, SM is now running on the USA Cable Television Network (Monday - Thursday, 8:30 AM EST), and you could quite possibly find it back on syndication depending on where you live (unless you live in the Orlando/Central Florida, where you have to have cable to see it). Please support it in any way you can, for if this show does well it will only pave way for more anime series to debut on U.S. airwaves. Check out the "Save Our Sailors" Campaign (S.O.S.) for more details on where you can find Sailor Moon locally and how you can best support the continuation of this series.
Remaining Opinions:My opinions on Disney's Gargoyles and Chrono Trigger can be found on this page.
![[Just Can't Get Enough Of Me! Son Gouku from DBGT.]](db-goku7.gif)
A legend in his own time, he has made "Dragon Ball" a household name all over the world, even here in the
States, where I hear kids talk about the "Ball" all the time. There was even an article in a recent TV Guide about it's rise
in popularity in America. Who couldn't like a show with as much action and humor as Dragon Ball or Dragon Ball Z?
For now, that's all "he" wrote. I'll be adding more to my personal section, speaking next about American Animation & Video Games. But for now this is it. If any of you have any insights of your own, share some of
the similar experiences I've had, or even spot any "typo's" anywhere at SFU, please feel free to E-Mail me at
[email protected]. and tell me about them. I welcome your responses.
![[I couldn't let you go without one more! I'm not too concieted...am I?]](db-goku6.gif)