Essaye Encore.

It existed, during the 90s - early 00s, an anime show that told a story about a city, about unlikely friendships, and more than anything else, a story about an unrelenting dream. As it fell into obscurity, a couple of friends try at the best of their abilities to bring it back. Not as it was, but as they remember it.

Art and words by Felipe Magaña.
Musical arrangements by Joan Laudric (Tenkah).

I was visiting my friend Joan when hours into the night we started reminiscing about the old games and anime shows we used to watch as kids. That night saw us talking about the musical scores behind masterworks of the likes of Kon, Anno, Oshii, and Otomo’s. Can’t recall exactly what led to it, but we ended up focusing (or hyper-focusing) on one of those shows you used to love as a kid but never heard about anymore; on the memory of this orange-covered LP my friend had as a teenager. It was from that same show, from this anime about exploring a city with a mismatched group of characters, and more than anything else, about following a crazy dream, and the costs of it all.

“We ended up hyper-focusing on the memory of this orange LP cover. It was from an anime about exploring a city with a mismatched group of characters, and more than anything else, about following a crazy dream, and the costs of it all.”

This is how the project we have come to call “Essaye Encore” was started. We will do our best to reproduce the memory of that show we dreamt of once, Joan taking care of the musical arrangements, while me, Felipe, will put these characters and circumstances to paper. Hope you enjoy this crazy adventure!