Gemini Jetpack's closing is certainly a loss for myself and other fans
of anime and manga in the area; It certainly makes it harder to find
new
manga, or to find new anime to purchase. As far as I know, its the only
major retailer of anime in the area, and one of the best retailers of
manga in the area.

CTRL-A has a relationship with Gemini Jetpack that dates back several
years; I'm not sure quite how long, but its existed at least since I
came to University (Sept 2004). Gemini has been very supportive of
CTRL-A; Gemini regularly gave discounts on anime rentals to CTRL-A
members, and a large proportion of the anime we show is rented from
Gemini. As a show of gratitude, we would typically allow Gemini to sell
their merchandise at some of our shows, but I don't recall the last
time
this took place.

As a CTRL-A member, losing Gemini is very unfortunate. Gemini was a
great source of anime, and now we won't be able to easily obtain the
same variety of anime as previously. Additionally, our members won't
really have a place to go if they want to buy anime or manga (aside
from
Chapters). It's sad to see it go.

Regarding the closing letter, I think the Gemini crew makes some very
valid points. Anime piracy is a serious problem for small businesses
like Gemini and for groups like CTRL-A. In the letter, they mention
"bootlegs, downloads, and the bastards at YouTube", and I'd agree that
they are all serious problems. I don't think fansubs are a bad idea;
it's good to watch a few episodes of something to get a feel for it,
but
that's all that fansubs should be used for: to get a feel for a show.
Numerous times I have encountered folks that watched a 'horrible' show
all the way through, but wouldn't dream of purchasing it. If it's so
horrible, why did they watch it the whole way? I'll never know. Worse
is
when someone loves a series, but would never purchase it. I just can't
understand it. I would argue that CTRL-A has had similar problems to
Gemini, without the huge financial loss however. With fansubs and
YouTube, there's not a huge incentive for anime fans to trek all the
way
to the university campus to watch anime, even if it is on the big
screen.

As for some of the other points in the letter, I don't really have much
to say; I just don't know enough about comics or card games to comment
on those points. The marketplace for anime has certainly changed for
the
better, being more accessible than it has ever been, but its far from
perfect and Gemini's closure will certainly make anime a little less
accessible in Waterloo, at least from a purchaser's perspective.

As for CTRL-A, we do have events planned for the summer. As it is now,
there are plans for four shows this term (I can provide you with dates
if you like, but they should be available at our website
http://www.ctrl-a.org somewhere between now and May). There has also
been talk of organizing transportation to Anime North, but only talk;
nothing decisive. Really, I don't have much of an idea what will take
place during the summer, not until the new executive is elected; it's
really their call.

As for manga, the club doesn't really deal much with manga
surprisingly,
though that may change in the near future.

I don't quite know what else to say. I hope that these comments have
been helpful, and if you have any other questions I'd be glad to answer
them. Also, may I inquire as to what my comments will be used for?

-Nicholas Terwoord
W07 CTRL-A President

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