[EVA] EVA in S'pore.

[Dayspring]

> For example, In Singapore alone, there are countless anime and manga
shops
> (about 100-200). That's a lot for a country with a population of 3
million.
> Further more almost evry manga there is in Japan today, you can find in
> Singapore in either the original, translated Chinese or English (rarer).

Well, in S'pore, actually anime is not that popular. Compared to say, Hong
Kong or Taiwan, anime is not really that readily found. Face it, we do not
have a anime industry here in S'pore. All we have on TV is those really old
series, FYI, we are watching Dragonball now, so wonder how long it will be
until we get to see Super Saiyan. Anyway, only if you're a really die-hard
anime fan will you go in search for anime in those small little shops. To
be honest, there is really only a handful of anime fans here.

But if we talk about manga, practically everybody has read manga. It is
readily available and abundant. We do have a huge manga industry. But, 3
years ago, most of the manga we read were imitations, published by a local
publisher. Then came the crackdown on fakes, so now we have mangas that are
properly licensed, thus much more expensive.

But what's amazing is that even though people hardly know about EVA, there
are plenty of EVA merchandize to be found everywhere! Bookshops stock up on
EVA books, plenty of EVA toys were brought in, EVA model kits can be found
in department stores, the EVA manga was published locally, plenty of EVA
posters, cards can be found in Gift shops. Lots of EVA jigsaw puzzles,
stickers, etc. You can find the EVA Saturn game at game shops. Really, a
whole lot of EVA-related merchandise can be found here! Did I say the UCC
coffee cans?

Fantastic, isn't it? Everywhere you turn you can see EVA. Show a friend a
picture and most probably he recognizes the EVA characters, then he'll say:
"Oh, I see before, but don't know what it is." 

You can stare at the EVA merchandise, but don't even think about buying all
of them. They're expensive. I wanted to get all 3 EVA toys, but I only
bought EVA-01.And the original soundtracks are going for S$47 each, except
for the Death Cd which is cheaper. Luckily my friend bought the filmbooks,
if only he bought that 100% Newtype book... ...

And there's this gooky EVA mirror thing, I think its just a plastic frame
with a EVA hologram sticker on it, its by SEGA and its definitely not worth
buying.

Most of the things you mention available in Japan can be found here, only
they are too expensive and I do not know Japanese...

            Dayspring
dayspring at mindless.com

"When I heard my father's words,
  I found that for the first time
  I was glad to be praised.
  And I also found that...
  that I pilot Eva just to hear
  my father say those words."
                       ------Ikari Shinji, Neon Genesis Evangelion#12