Mr. Parker, time for your closeup!
Posted on 12/09/2004 10:24:12 PM PST by Simmy2.5
By YURI KAGEYAMA, AP Business Writer
TOKYO - Animation in America once meant Mickey Mouse, Snow White and Winnie the Pooh. These days, it's just as likely to mean Japanese fighting cyborgs, doe-eyed schoolgirls and sinister monsters — thanks in large part to people like John Ledford.
The 36-year-old American is one of the top foreign distributors of Japanese "manga" comics and animation, known as "anime," building his fortune on a genre that is rapidly changing from a niche market to a mass phenomenon.
Ledford, who's so busy his dubbing studio in Houston runs 24 hours a day, says the key to the success of Japanese manga and anime in the United States is their widely varied, cutting-edge subject matter.
"We're kind of like the anti-Disney," Ledford, a bespectacled, fast-talking man with a friendly smile, said during a recent visit to Tokyo. "Disney is very family type. We are appealing to the video-game, PlayStation, Generation X, Generation Y kind of crowd in America."
Although American animation releases, such as "Toy Story," "Shrek" and "The Incredibles," continue to wow audiences, they are largely aimed at children. Japanese anime and manga spans a wide range of topics, including science fiction, horror-thrillers and soap-operatic melodrama. At American video-rental shops, whole shelves are taken up by titles like "Ninja Resurrection," "Neon Genesis Evangelion" and "Bubblegum Crisis Tokyo 2040."
One animation, "Ghost in the Shell" takes place in a futuristic world, where memories become individual identities that jump like spirits from one mechanical body to another, a dark science fiction that raises questions about death and the metaphysical threat from technology.
Another, "Apocalpyse Meow," chronicles the adventures of three brave rabbits fighting as American soldiers in the Vietnam War. The rabbits tromp through jungles dressed in camouflage and wielding machine guns, taking part in nightmarish battles amid smoking explosions and hovering helicopters.
Kathie Borders, who runs Wizzywig Collectibles, a store devoted to manga and anime in Ann Arbor, Mich., which carries Ledford's videos and books, says the popularity of Pokemon and YuGiOh! — perhaps the best-known characters — has propelled a boom in anime that's not only for the usually male, 20-something video-game-loving crowd. It's now drawing fans of all ages, and increasingly, women.
"They're fascinated by the difference in the culture," Borders said in a telephone interview, giving as an example stories starring Japanese schoolgirls. "They like reading something that's not the normal, run-of-the-mill story that they might have been used to."
The heroines may wear uniforms and go to schools that have strict rules compared to American schools, but universal themes, such as falling in love and growing up, transcend cultural boundaries, she said.
Ledford, who speaks a little Japanese, started out by bringing video games from Japan to the United States after dropping out of college. He later expanded into manga and anime.
His first anime deal was in 1992 for the cartoon version of his best-selling video-game "Devil Hunter Yoko," about a teenager who defeats goblins — an investment returned in full in just three months. More recently, Ledford's A.D. Vision Inc. has been taking part in funding for Japanese animation. His film unit now records $150 million in annual sales.
Ledford also has 1,000 manga books under license and publishes Newtype USA, the English-language version of a top manga and animation monthly magazine. His Anime Network moved from video-on-demand to a national cable network in July.
Manga and anime may not be for everyone with their heavy dosage of corny romanticism, blood-splattering violence and pubescent sense of erotica. But both are clearly no longer just for Japanese geeks as their counterparts in the United States, Europe and other parts of Asia simply can't get enough.
Shoji Udagawa, vice president at Kadokawa Pictures Inc., a major Japanese film studio, said Ledford understands anime and can help create works that will appeal to Americans as well as to Japanese. Americans tend to like anime with a darker ambiance such as those with robots, he said.
"He fits in well with Japanese but he has something that Japanese don't have," Udagawa said.
Bandai Co. Ltd., a major Japanese toymaker, and electronics and entertainment giant Sony Corp (NYSE:SNE - news) (news - web sites). also distribute anime in the United States, such as "Gundam," "Astro Boy" and "Cowboy Bebop." But the established companies tend to look for sure winners, Ledford says, while he offers a broader lineup.
Pokemon alone earned about $29 billion around the world since 1997, and the U.S. anime business, including licensed character goods and box-office revenue, is estimated at $4 billion a year, according to the Japanese government.
Works like "Spirited Away" by Hayao Miyazaki, which won an Oscar and the Golden Bear award at the Berlin International Film Festival, are helping raise anime's reputation.
Kelly Lamb, a 14-year-old Ann Arbor high school student, has never been to Japan but is an avid anime fan and sometimes makes her own anime-inspired costumes.
"It's so funny and so hysterical," she said of "Excel Saga," one of her favorites. "If you're really feeling down, it's so funny it cheers you up."
This calls for a "Mwuahahahahaha! Fools! I'll destroy them all!"
;-)
But we rule it mostly benevolently...
I mean, what would happen if one day, every geek decided to stay home from work?
You should post some anime shots for reference... I think a lot of people probably still think "Speed Racer".
I like New Future, too. I think that's the one? The one she sings at the audition.
Speed Racer is so old, it's not even a valid comparison.
I'd post some shots from modern anime if I weren't at work. It's so far from Speed Racer... to me, Speed Racer barely looks like anime.
Yeah, that's New Future.
Can't remember the name of the first opener, that perky chipper one. The second opener, with the really interesting Engrish, was "Rock and Roll Princess". Also catchy, but I have to sing the English the way they do...
Ledford hasn't done badly for a college dropout! ;o)
My kids are also so into anime. They started with Pokemon, which really is far more than the TV show; the Pokemon fantasy world of the Game Boy games is complex and involves math and logic skills, implores kindness and consideration, and is so multifaceted that if your seven year old does not have one of those games, you should run to buy one for him.
Anime is THE big thing for smart kids, usually males, to enjoy these days, and as long as it's G-rated, it celebrates intelligence, is creative, and is not as formulaic in plot as the boring American fare like Scooby Doo.
Well, the cable modems and DSL lines would be tied up to a fare-thee-well...
The PHBs would be left to try to accomplish something... Considering that the money people would (mostly) also be there, it'll chug along on momentum for a while.
To truly prove your point, us geeks would need to all take a simultaneous fortnight's leave, I think. Besides, I could use a fortnight off... ;-)
My kids want to as well, and will be able to once they master Hebrew first. ;)
I do, in fact, have to catch them all.
Interesting information.
I thought Pixar split with Disney earlier this year.
I love Pixar. Hope they keep on the track they've set for themselves.
Have been looking forward to "Cars."
Spirited Away is lovely. I cannot wait to see Miyazaki's latest, "Howl's Moving Castle", which is based on a novel by Dianna Wynn Jones, an English fantasist.
How old are your kids? Are they ready to move on from Pokemon? I "induct" my younger siblings into anime as they enter their teens. Usually start them with something fun, but meaningful and telling, like "Rurouni Kenshin".
Mr. Parker, time for your closeup!
I think Vash the Stampede is cute.
Wolfwood's cuter...
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