How Anime Turned Me On With Science Fiction Romance by Heather Massey

Remember the saying, “The more things change, the more they stay the same?” Well, that in a nutshell describes my lifelong love affair with science fiction romance. Here’s why:
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Growing up, I watched a ton of anime. Real old Skool anime such as SPEED RACER, BATTLE OF THE PLANETS, FORCE FIVE, CAPTAIN HARLOCK, and STAR BLAZERS. The seventies and eighties were actually a kick ass time for Japanese imports, both anime and live action. Those Japanese, they think up some weird stuff dynamite content.
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Keep in mind this was way before VCRs and way, way before DVDs, and way, way, way before the Internet. It’s important to mention because I couldn’t record any of the shows. Well, except on audio tapes. Which I did, in fact, do. And listened to them after said recording, probably more times than I should admit.
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*Ahem*.
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Anyway, at the risk of sounding like, “In my day, we had to watch anime on fugly television sets, sometimes with more snow in the picture than the North Pole,” what kept me riveted to these shows—apart from the amazing visuals—was the romance and skiffy elements many of them had.
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Now, no one called any of these anime shows “science fiction romance,” but in retrospect, that label was perfectly applicable. There were heroes and heroines, and they often fell in love against a cosmic backdrop of adventure. The fact that the stories also featured cool gadgets, giant robot monsters, and mind boggling spaceships (hello, ROBOTECH!) was just icing on the cake.
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Remember when I said my love of anime sprouted in the Dark Ages of entertainment technology? What that meant was that eventually, the stations hip enough to air the shows eventually stopped doing so. It left a vast vacuum in its wake, because where would I ever get my fix?
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Luckily, there was this invention—maybe you’ve heard of it—called “a book.” When I ran out of anime to watch (thinking I would never see any of it again), I turned to my local library and bookstores. Will wonders never cease, I thought, for here is a veritable cornucopia of science fiction adventures, some of which were replete with a romance and even a sex scene or two (the good ones, anyway, ha ha!).
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So I read. And read some more. In the process, I learned my taste gravitated towards SF stories that incorporated a relationship element. The ones that drew me boldly intertwined scientific concepts and an exploration of the “Other” as it related to romantic attachments. For this preference in stories, I have anime to thank. Who knew shows with giant robot monsters and bee-like space aliens could have such romantic romances?
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Fortunately, I can now once again enjoy all of my favorite childhood anime shows in a variety of mediums. But for a time, they were gone from my life. Books helped fill the void, but it’s only the combination of science fiction romance shows, films, graphic novels, and books that completely satisfies my hunger.
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A hunger so voracious, in fact, that I turned to blogging about science fiction romance. Have you ever had that feeling—of wanting something out of reach so badly that you just start wanting it even more? For me, blogging became a way of connecting with like-minded readers and authors who got the subgenre in all of its forms.
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Therefore, if you’ve ever dreamed of traveling the sea of stars (sporting awesome mecha, of course) to find your one true love, all the while defending the universe against Evil Empires, then I cordially invite you to come aboard The Galaxy Express. Lucky for us, it’s bigger—and hotter—than ever.
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The Galaxy Express