Hollywood and Anime
By: globalbpo1 | Posted: 01st May 2008
It seems that Anime (Japanese Animation) is continuing to snow ball in America. But is it really a good thing? Just a few years ago American audiences paid little or no attention to the genre. I remember walking into a video store ten years ago and finding only a couple of shelves dedicated to Japanese Animation. Anime was merely an underground culture then. Titles were limited, dubbing was horrible—save for a select few--, and release dates for new episodes or movies were too wide apart.
My best guess of when Anime sparked a cultural revolution in America was during the introduction of hit shows such as Pokemon, and Dragon Ball Z early in 2000. Cartoon Network might have shown a couple of anime films before, but those were usually aired late at night for a more mature, and very limited, audience. Anime, in time, gained recognition from children and teens across America and in a few years eventually entered the mainstream. It was a breath of fresh air. Anime provided a new art style that was colorful and catchy. People also started to recognize that it wasn't strictly for kids. With its unique storylines and broad subjects—everything from high school romances to tackling philosophical questions--, Anime served to remold audience's notions of cartoons being just for kids.
With the recent rise in popularity, it's no surprise that Hollywood has entered the scene wanting a piece of the action. A number of films are lined up focused on adaptations for popular anime movies and television shows. The latest one is Speed Racer, just released in theaters, trailed by Astroboy—a popular series made by anime legend Ozamu Tezuka--, Ghost in the Shell—the original cyber-punk inspiration behind The Matrix--, Akira—one of the largest grossing anime films to date, and hit television shows like Dragon Ball Z, and Battle Angel.
While Hollywood production values would leave little doubt regarding the quality of visual presentation of these film adaptations, Steven Spielberg is said to have a hand in Ghost in the Shell, the problem of translatability might arise. Anime is known for its contrast with Western story telling. It adopts a cultural consciousness that differs from its Western counterpart. Thus, more often in the case of anime that is aimed for mature audiences such as Ghost in the Shell, and Akira, the story's presentation may seem fragmented, chaotic, or weird at first. On the surface, it may seem like an action movie with loads of special effects, but in actuality it is dialogue driven and puts into light deep philosophical musings such as ethics, and the problem of human existence. Nevertheless, it is this kind of storytelling that, I believe, makes Anime films refreshingly unique. It is hardly reminiscent of linear plot lines, with occasional twists and happy endings that Hollywood audiences are more familiar with, though it doesn't mean that they like it.
I only hope for the best that when these film adaptations are released they would stay true to the original and maybe even add more to the already outstanding films, not watered down versions fit for easy "digestion," or simply marketing platforms for a certain actor or actress as some Hollywood films are infamous for.
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Tags: breath of fresh air, visual presentation, best guess, cultural revolution, snow ball, cartoon network, dragon ball z, dragon ball, japanese animation