Jameson Brewer.

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Cure DragonEagle 255
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Jameson Brewer.

Post: # 269Post Cure DragonEagle 255 »

Many anime fans outside this forum may think he's worse than the devil but I love him. Other Jason did you get to meet him? I would love to hear more about him. He worked on Battle Of The Planets and then went on to do Voltron. The guy is royalty to me.
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Hinotori
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Re: Jameson Brewer.

Post: # 273Post Hinotori »

Yeah, Jameson Brewer's pretty significant for me, too. I was actually younger than BotP's target audience when it came out, but when Voltron came around, it hit me right in the demographic. It wasn't until The Other Jason pointed out to me that Brewer worked on both series that the lightbulb went off as to why I was such a big Voltron fan!

If you haven't done so already, I highly suggest watching Beast King GoLion (the original Japanese anime for the Lion Force). Just like Gatchaman, it certainly answers a lot of questions and fills in a lot of blanks from the American adaptation! (If you were a Vehicle fan, then you'll want to watch Dairugger XV, which I haven't watched. I was much more a Lion Force fan than a Vehicles fan).
Katblu42
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Re: Jameson Brewer.

Post: # 275Post Katblu42 »

Is it possible to get hold of the whole Beast King Golion series somewhere? I've only seen the first 10 episodes on Youtube.
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The Other Jason
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Re: Jameson Brewer.

Post: # 276Post The Other Jason »

Hi Cure DragonEagle,
Cure DragonEagle 255 wrote: Wed Jun 16, 2021 7:36 pm Many anime fans outside this forum may think he's worse than the devil but I love him. Other Jason did you get to meet him? I would love to hear more about him. He worked on Battle Of The Planets and then went on to do Voltron. The guy is royalty to me.
Sorry it's taken me a bit to answer, I've been trying to collect what I wanted to say. I got to know Mr. Brewer in his final years and met him a few times. I wish I had thought to contact him sooner though, since I was only able to speak with him at length about three or four times before he had a very bad stroke.

I wanted to interview him for a book project (what later became G-Force: Animated). He hadn't produced anything for a while and didn't have a public company address to contact, so he wasn't out there to be found professionally. It took a lot of detective work to finally find his phone number. Thankfully he was very receptive when I called. What I thought was going to be a quick chat, just to introduce myself and try to set up a later time to talk, turned into a conversation over two hours. I couldn't believe all he told me after I had just cold called him. That's the sort of person he was with me - friendly, cheerful, straightforward and open.

When I called back for a proper, prepared discussion, it was even longer and more interesting. I learned so much about the production of Battle (and a little about Voltron) during our talks. It was through Mr. Brewer that I began to see just how much work really went in to the production of the Battle episodes. Far from being slapped together, or just hacking up Gatchaman (which was the usual knee-jerk response I'd hear about the series), he laid out how he and his production crew really did an intricate, skilled job with what they got - and the time in which they had to do it.

The funny thing with him being a story writer though - he seemed to remember the technical aspects about the production of Battle better than many of the creative ones. He recalled how and when they recorded the voice actors, for instance, but not specifically why he chose some of the names of the lead characters.

The first time I met Mr. Brewer in person was when some friends and I invited him to the 1999 Comic-Con in San Diego, California as our special guest. It was after his first stroke, so he came down with his caregiver (the less said about that guy, the better). A few of us met him at the hotel we booked for him, and we had a nice time finally seeing one another face-to-face. He went out to dinner with more of us that night. The next day, he came to the Comic-Con, where he discussed his time on Battle, answered questions and met with fans.

Mr. Fred Ladd, the creator of G-Force was also at the convention that day and I arranged for the two of them to meet at our lunch gathering. It was the only time they ever spoke with one another, and Mr. Ladd praised the work Mr. Brewer did on Battle. That was really fun to see and experience.

All of us went in together and purchased an animation cel of 7-Zark-7 for him. We presented it to him just before he was ready to head home, and he was really touched by it. He was so kind to all of us, we really wanted to do something to show our gratitude. Not just for his time, but for his role in bringing us the series. I was told by members of his family after he passed, that he loved to talk about those couple days with "the fans at Comic-Con" any chance he got.

I spoke with him sporadically over the next few years. Another stroke took more of his ability to get around and speak, but he fought back from that one as best he could. If you've seen the on-camera interview with him on Rhino's Battle of the Planets - The Ultimate DVD Boxed Set, that was about as good as he got after that second stroke. That was the last time I saw him as well. He had just moved to Oxnard, California into a smaller place. He passed away mere days before the DVD set was released.

Even though he had some tough times later in life, he never seemed to let things get him down. He was always his cheerful self and he never, ever stopped writing. I guess it was a hard habit to give up. The last time I spoke with him, he was still pitching story ideas to anyone who would listen.

The cast and staff of Battle also had wonderful memories of working with Mr. Brewer. About the worst thing I remember anyone saying about him, or the way he worked, was that they had to have a staff member run from the production site to his home to deliver scripts and pick up his latest script revisions. He lived a fair drive away from the production site, so it wasn't too convenient. He wrote so much, and so often, he didn't have time to come in to the production site every day.

I can't say enough good about him, since he seemed to be a really nice person. He never had to take the time to talk with me, nor do anything else he did for his admirers. But he did, and that's what I'll always remember about him.

Here are a few small photos, sorry for the quality.

jambre2.jpg
A group of us with Mr. Brewer at the 1999 Comic-Con in San Diego, CA

jambre3.jpg
Mr. Brewer and Mr. Ladd

jambre1.jpg
Mr. Brewer with the animation cel we bought for him
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The Other Jason
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Re: Jameson Brewer.

Post: # 277Post The Other Jason »

Hi Katblu,
Katblu42 wrote: Fri Jun 18, 2021 8:47 pm Is it possible to get hold of the whole Beast King Golion series somewhere? I've only seen the first 10 episodes on Youtube.
It appears to still be streaming on CrunchyRoll.

I know it's a pay service, but it's a lot less than trying to scare up the DVDs of the entire series. Youch! Vol. 2 is still on Amazon in the US, but Vol. 1 and 3 appear to be unavailable. I looked on eBay and they're there, of course, but for fairly high prices.
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Bobkat
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Re: Jameson Brewer.

Post: # 280Post Bobkat »

Thank you for sharing those photos The Other Jason :)

The one with Mr. Brewer and Mr. Ladd is pretty historic, imho (at least to our fandom!)
Cure DragonEagle 255
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Re: Jameson Brewer.

Post: # 282Post Cure DragonEagle 255 »

I love him. He is an unsung hero of animation. He did what he had to do in a time where anime wasnt even a thing worldwide. I love that both he and the cast knew there was something special to Battle and worked hard to make it a reality. RIP Jameson Brewer.

Now I would love to learn about the Standards and Practices person for Battle.
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Hinotori
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Re: Jameson Brewer.

Post: # 285Post Hinotori »

Awesome recollection, The Other Jason. I'm so glad you and so many in the fandom had the opportunity to meet with him and that he had such a wonderful time doing so.

I agree with BobKat - that image of Mr. Brewer and Mr. Ladd together is one for the (fandon and animation) history books! Their entire meeting was one for the history books!

The Other Jason wrote: Fri Jun 18, 2021 11:34 pm
It appears to still be streaming on CrunchyRoll.

I know it's a pay service, but it's a lot less than trying to scare up the DVDs of the entire series. Youch! Vol. 2 is still on Amazon in the US, but Vol. 1 and 3 appear to be unavailable. I looked on eBay and they're there, of course, but for fairly high prices.
Actually, Crunchyroll is still free.The premium service is for ad-free, HD, and other benefits. So, GoLion is free to view on the link above. If there are any issues, there's always the 14-day free trial.
Katblu42
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Re: Jameson Brewer.

Post: # 287Post Katblu42 »

The Other Jason wrote: Fri Jun 18, 2021 11:34 pm Hi Katblu,
Katblu42 wrote: Fri Jun 18, 2021 8:47 pm Is it possible to get hold of the whole Beast King Golion series somewhere? I've only seen the first 10 episodes on Youtube.
It appears to still be streaming on CrunchyRoll.

I know it's a pay service, but it's a lot less than trying to scare up the DVDs of the entire series. Youch! Vol. 2 is still on Amazon in the US, but Vol. 1 and 3 appear to be unavailable. I looked on eBay and they're there, of course, but for fairly high prices.
Thanks Jason, but I can't watch these from Australia. :(
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The Other Jason
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Re: Jameson Brewer.

Post: # 288Post The Other Jason »

Hi Katblu,
Thanks Jason, but I can't watch these from Australia. :(
Hmm, sorry to hear that. I did a search for CrunchyRoll in Australia, and even a specific search to see if Golion was available via streaming services there. Each seemed to indicate it would be possible. Sorry again to hear that isn't the case. It's kind of frustrating when things are out there, but not for specific regions.

The only other resource I found connected with a search for streaming in Australia, was this service. It seems to be legitimate, at least I hope so. But it also appears to be sourcing from CrunchyRoll. So I don't know if it will work either.
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