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."
Maybe I missed it, but I haven't heard anyone mention Lensman yet. Think it came out in the early 80's. Great anime.
NoirThis is intermixed with Kurosawa films, MST3K, Zatoichi, and America's great animated series Starship Troopers: Roughnecks.
Lain
Wind Named Amnesia
Coyboy Bebop
Now and Then, Here and There
The Twelve Kingdoms:
RahXephon
Rurouni Kenshin
Neo Tokyo
The Big O
Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone
Armored Trooper Votoms
Dominion Tank Police
Slayers
Neon Genesis Evangelion
Argentosoma
Fist of the North Star
Berserk
Betterman
Yeah, I have to back you up with "Princess Mononoke." That was a terrific film.
One of my communications professors was giving us a lesson the "expectancy-violation theory" and he used that film as an example. Apparently he had rented it for his kids to watch, thinking it was a simple kiddie cartoon. Well, needless to say, his expectations were very violated by what the movie was actually like! LOL. I had a good laugh over that one. I imagine his kids will never want to visit a zoo again!
Man, who didn't? The original dubbed voices were actually excellent matches to their Japanese counterparts, but it's obvious lots of dialogue was changed so it wouldn't reflect just how violent that show could get!
Then Funimation takes over, gets those lame new voice actors, and it's like nails on a chalkboard...not to mention the changes made to the music made me want to wretch!
I saw that on Sci-Fi channel years ago. It had kind of a bizarre ending, but it was very good.
"Ghost in the Shell" a great but highly weird movie.
I'm glad it's beginning to catch on. I love anime myself.
I wouldn't mind having a red elk in my paddock.
Anime ping!
Dubbing is evil.
I have taught you well, grasshopper...
Geesh, anime's been big in America for as long as I've been paying attention (I think I was ten when I first heard of it). Sure, it's exploded now with the internet making it oh-so-easy to watch the latest releases from Japan. Too bad this season is so lacking. Nothing to replace Fullmetal Alchemist. Only Bleach is worth watching...
Well... they did. I hate that dub so much. Kenshin is too masculine, Kaoru's a whiny little you-know-what, Sano sounds like a muscle-brained moron, and Yahiko can't even pronounce his own name.
Also there's the fact that Cartoon Network managed to edit out half the blood... I watch in Japanese. I make my friends/victims learn to read subtitles.
It's awesome being in graduate school, everyone likes anime. I've borrowed Neon Genesis Evangelion off one friend, "Trigun" and "Full Moon wo Sagashete" off another, and loaned my precious "Fullmetal Alchemist" fansubs to two more people thus far... oh, yeah, and I just loaned my stack of "Lost Universe" dvds to a friend to watch over Christmas.
Hell, this would have been news in 1989. I remember the popularity of many Japanese animated series. Macross, Starblazers, Danguard Ace, Starvengers, Galaxy Rangers, Robotech...and many more.
Just so you know, geek still isn't cool
D'OH!
www.hlj.com
go to the scifi section, click Macross,
enjoy
Um, this headline would have been out of date ten years ago.
That is what I was thinking.
Geek is cool. We rule the world. You just don't know it.
Right on. and 'geek' is way more normal than it use to be. Nintendo put a little geek in everyone...
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