Hello everyone (Waves). Have been browsing here for a few years now on and off and reading about the preservation projects. I thought it was finally time to join and be part of the discussion!
I’m 40 years old, which of course means I was born the same year The Empire Strikes Back was released. My older brother was obsessed with the films and saw each of them on their original theatrical release however I discovered them on VHS from recordings my brother made for me from TV broadcasts one Christmas in the early to mid 80’s.
He got me obsessive about them as well as showing me a lot of other sci-fi/fantasy stuff (and horror as I got older) and instilled a love of practical special effects in me that I’m still passionate about today.
I’ll always love the original movies because of their immense imagination and world building as well as the iconic heroes and villains. All those background details and interesting character cameos, everything felt so cohesive, a real “Lived in” universe.
My stance on other SW stuff:
I’m not a big fan of the so-called “Special Editions”. Seeing the films at the cinema for the first time was a great experience but even though I was only 17 at the time I was very critical of most of the additions except some of the digital enhancement to the backgrounds/ships. God that Jabba scene in ANH and the musical number in ROTJ make me cringe…and how is the replacement song at the end of Jedi better than the iconic “Yub Nub” celebration song?
I never really warmed to the prequels (Perhaps I’ll give em another chance at some point. It’s been years since I saw any of em) enjoyed TFA and TLJ but unfortunately TROS spoiled the trilogy for me with its disregard for what came before and not even trying to tie many of the loose ends up in any meaningful way despite being the final “skywalker saga” film. The Mandalorian on the other hand is a dream come true for me. I always wanted to see more of bounty hunters and see the scummier side of the Star Wars universe and I really dig the action/adventure samurai western vibe the show has. Awesome, it really feels like old-school Star Wars to me.
A little more about me outside of Star Wars. I’ve mentioned my love for films in general, well I love foreign cinema particularly Japanese cinema (Some of you might have guessed from my username). I’m also big into comics particularly manga and I write a blog about old school Anime and Manga called Animehead’s Retroworld.
I also love robots and combining two passions: robots and anime I co-host a podcast called Retro Mecha Podcast in which my buddy Ian and I talk about Mecha Anime from the 1960’s to the turn of the century.
TLDR: I love old school Star Wars, movies in general, comics, Japanese culture and I like big bots (and I cannot lie).