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In the shadow of Disneyland, John Sirabella of Media Blasters made
an announcement on Saturday of Anime Expo that could have been considered
a shot across the bow of the Walt Disney entertainment empire - if a contract
had come through. Media Blasters had hoped to reach an agreement with the
Osamu Tezuka company in Japan to release the Jungle Emperor movie in the
U.S. However, as of November, four months after Anime Expo was held, Sirabella
said Media Blasters had no contract for the film. Anime fans recall that
Jungle Emperor, a creation of manga pioneer Tezuka, was once known as Kimba
the White Lion when the original anime series aired in America in the 1960's.
Most Americans had forgotten about Kimba until the 1990's, when Disney
produced The Lion King, a movie that bore similarities to Tezuka's creation. |
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Tezuka's company thought the producers of The Lion King should have
acknowledged the existence of the 1960's films, but that never happened.
"Japanese businessmen rarely get upset," said Sirabella, "but they feel
disappointed that Disney did not give them any recognition." The thought
of the Disney version, which so much like the Tezuka story of a royal lion
cub, upset the company founded by the late Tezuka that they decided to
make their own updated movie after The Lion King was released. "They really
created the film for one reason, to show people that they are just as good,"
Sirabella said. |
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Sirabella had hoped to release Jungle Emperor in the U.S. in the summer
of 1999 or during the Christmas season, with a harder marketing push than
any of Media Blasters' other anime releases. That would have taken the
company away from its pattern of adult and science fiction releases and
into Disney's world of children's animation, a place where Media Blasters
had not made any inroads.
Instead, Media Blasters came up with another major title in November,
Magic Knight Rayearth. "We have acquired all 49 episodes and will be releasing
both seasons," Sirabella wrote. "Given the quality and high profile of
this title, we expect Magic Knight Rayearth to be the flagship TV series
for Animeworks." |
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In fact, Sirabella notes that the company's adult titles have been
their best sellers - and usually are the easiest for Media Blasters to
get into stores. "The adult market within Japanese animation is one
of the strongest in consistency. The non-adult market is inconsistent -
it's all over the board," said Sirabella. Just the title of Media Blasters'
Kama Sutra II helped get the tape into stores, he said. "The stores wanted
more adult stuff, so we released more." Next up on the Kitty label is Chimera,
the story of a she-male. |
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Media Blasters also has non-adult titles coming. One, called Kite,
is the story of a female assassin that Sirabella compares to Ghost in the
Shell. A humorous sentai anime called Shinesman, Ninja Mano and Elf Princess
Ren also are on the way. Sirabella also plans to piggyback onto the expected
autumn video release of the American big-budget Godzilla movie by re-releasing
a group of "rubber monster" Japanese films. Stores like to have an alternative
to a major video release, Sirabella said. |
