In the Production I.G. presentation at Anime Boston, U.S. studio representative
Maki Terashima had some intriguing observations for fans of manga artist
Masamune Shirow. I.G., which produced the Ghost in the Shell film based loosely
on Shirow 1990's manga, is hard at work on the Stand Alone Complex TV series
and a second Ghost in the Shell movie. The interesting point made by Terashima
was that Shirow was creating scenarios for the TV series episodes and had
written some scripts. That would mark the first time in a decade that Shirow
would have taken an active role in an animated version of one of his complex
manga works. The first Ghost in the Shell film was as much a product of Mamoru
Oshii as Shirow, and previous anime efforts such as M66 and Appleseed were
disappointing when compared to the rich manga world that Shirow created.
A few years ago at Fanime Con, I.G. said they wanted to make the studio name
into a brand name for anime fans by producing and releasing their shows in
English. "That was our ultimate goal," Terashima said. "We wanted to distribute
our own property." But that task proved so large for I.G.'s small U.S. staff
that they chose to concentrate on licensing their titles to U.S. companies,
with a "non-exclusive partnership" with Bandai and Digital Manga. That produced
the home video releases in English of Love Hina and FLCL. Next for I.G. will
be releases of two new titles through Manga Entertainment, including Dead
Leaves, a show with punk character designs that don't look like standard
anime characters.
As for the final volume of FLCL, that's up to Digital Manga to complete,
Terashima said. I.G. holds onto its U.S. office because demand from the North
American market is a big factor in deciding what shows are made. Ghost in
the Shell is a prime example, where "The U.S. popularity was more than 10
times the popularity in Japan - it didn't do well in Japan." Then there's
I.G.'s links with Studio Ghibli; the Hayao Miyazaki studio is an investor
in the Ghost in the Shell projects, and the two companies are equal partners
in a pending venture named "Kiki" (after "Kiki's Delivery Service") which
intends to export anime music to North America.
In the Production I.G. presentation at Anime Boston, U.S. studio representative
Maki Terashima had some intriguing observations for fans of manga artist
Masamune Shirow. I.G., which produced the Ghost in the Shell film based loosely
on Shirow 1990's manga, is hard at work on the Stand Alone Complex TV series
and a second Ghost in the Shell movie. The interesting point made by Terashima
was that Shirow was creating scenarios for the TV series episodes and had
written some scripts. That would mark the first time in a decade that Shirow
would have taken an active role in an animated version of one of his complex
manga works. The first Ghost in the Shell film was as much a product of Mamoru
Oshii as Shirow, and previous anime efforts such as M66 and Appleseed were
disappointing when compared to the rich manga world that Shirow created.
A few years ago at Fanime Con, I.G. said they wanted to make the studio name
into a brand name for anime fans by producing and releasing their shows in
English. "That was our ultimate goal," Terashima said. "We wanted to distribute
our own property." But that task proved so large for I.G.'s small U.S. staff
that they chose to concentrate on licensing their titles to U.S. companies,
with a "non-exclusive partnership" with Bandai and Digital Manga. That produced
the home video releases in English of Love Hina and FLCL. Next for I.G. will
be releases of two new titles through Manga Entertainment, including Dead
Leaves, a show with punk character designs that don't look like standard
anime characters.
As for the final volume of FLCL, that's up to Digital Manga to complete,
Terashima said. I.G. holds onto its U.S. office because demand from the North
American market is a big factor in deciding what shows are made. Ghost in
the Shell is a prime example, where "The U.S. popularity was more than 10
times the popularity in Japan - it didn't do well in Japan." Then there's
I.G.'s links with Studio Ghibli; the Hayao Miyazaki studio is an investor
in the Ghost in the Shell projects, and the two companies are equal partners
in a pending venture named "Kiki" (after "Kiki's Delivery Service") which
intends to export anime music to North America.
