This
site previously has encountered Dr. Susan Napier of the University of
Texas, but not so far north as Des Moines. At a Saturday AnimeIowa
panel, Napier found an audience that was interested in her observation
on the nature of anime fans. Napier said that her years of study of
fandom have convinced her that there are no typical anime fans, that
these people are as varied as the shows that attract them to Japanese
animation. "We have Republican evangelicals, we have goths, we have
people who are into fairies and dungeons and dragons and into hard
science," said Napier. "It's incredible." She feels anime fans have to be
incredible, with an imaginative and adventuresome streak, to appreciate
stories that go beyond the norms of American storytelling - and the
Western clichés of Japanese culture. Something such as Tokyo
Godfathers, the movie about a group of street people who raise a baby
on their own, doesn't match the ideas that most Americans have of
Japan, but the film has the sort of offbeat nature that anime fans
appreciate, Napier said. She especially appreciates Serial Experiments
Lain, the unique series that not even all anime fans like. "It's a
really interesting series, very complex and challenging," said Napier.
"The person who made it really did his homework."
Monica
Rial, an actor often encountered by this site, had an interesting
observation of why some anime dub scripts don't exactly match the
Japanese original; often, the original humor doesn't translate and
another option is needed. She noted the ADV Films version of the Super
Milk-Chan Show, directed by Steven Foster, where Foster made one
version of the show, created another version based on his rewrite, and
the consensus was that his version was funnier. Those adaptations can
get the approval of the Japanese creates, such as the time at Anime
Central where Rial met Shinichi Watanabe, director of the Excel Saga
series, and Watanabe said Rial's version of the Hyatt character was
perfect. Artists such as Watanabe are a major factor in deciding the
dub actors' characterizations because they use the animation art as a
basis for the sounds of their voices. "Now that the art in animation has
gotten so precise - with digital animation, even the smallest change in
expression is huge - you rely a lot on your director, who relies on the
original creator to imprint the information to you."
Greg
Ayres, the actor whose hair color has changed since the last time this
site encountered him at AnimeFEST, agreed that character designs lead
to character voices. "As a stage actor you have only the text to move
with," said Ayres. "When you step into a booth and work on on the
animation, you have the image to deal with. You look at a little pointy
haired boy and know he's not going to sound like a bank robber." Ayres
had an acting epiphany when he was auditioning for the ADV Films dub of
Hello Kitty, where he wanted Badz Maru, but read a bit too well when he
was tested for the part of a little ugly fish. "The minute that I saw
the fish, this weird sound came out of my voice that was a cross
between Droopy Dog and Carol Channing. Both Rial and Ayres emphasized
that there's not a huge amount of cash in anime dubbing, but it's an
unique profession that carries a satisfaction beyond other forms of
acting.
Then
there's the 21st-century version of the fanzine, the webcomic.
AnimeIowa invited artists Mike Schwark (left) and Ron Kaulfersch to
chat about their successful Van Von Hunter online series. The pair's
vampire stories have proven so popular that they've impressed TokyoPop,
which chose them as the winners of a comics contest and agreed to
publish a Van Von Hunter story. Not bad for something that these guys
treated as a joke. "We've watched anime together and ridiculed the
clichés," Schwark said. "We came up with all of these jokes, we
wrote them down, and when it came time to write a web comic, we decided
to take all of these jokes that didn't fit anywhere and put them
into this story abut a hunter. The story is just a loose way to link
all of the jokes together." Mike and Ron even hinted of the chance
there might be an animated version of Van Von Hunter one day.
This
site previously has encountered Dr. Susan Napier of the University of
Texas, but not so far north as Des Moines. At a Saturday AnimeIowa
panel, Napier found an audience that was interested in her observation
on the nature of anime fans. Napier said that her years of study of
fandom have convinced her that there are no typical anime fans, that
these people are as varied as the shows that attract them to Japanese
animation. "We have Republican evangelicals, we have goths, we have
people who are into fairies and dungeons and dragons and into hard
science," said Napier. "It's incredible." She feels anime fans have to be
incredible, with an imaginative and adventuresome streak, to appreciate
stories that go beyond the norms of American storytelling - and the
Western clichés of Japanese culture. Something such as Tokyo
Godfathers, the movie about a group of street people who raise a baby
on their own, doesn't match the ideas that most Americans have of
Japan, but the film has the sort of offbeat nature that anime fans
appreciate, Napier said. She especially appreciates Serial Experiments
Lain, the unique series that not even all anime fans like. "It's a
really interesting series, very complex and challenging," said Napier.
"The person who made it really did his homework."
Monica
Rial, an actor often encountered by this site, had an interesting
observation of why some anime dub scripts don't exactly match the
Japanese original; often, the original humor doesn't translate and
another option is needed. She noted the ADV Films version of the Super
Milk-Chan Show, directed by Steven Foster, where Foster made one
version of the show, created another version based on his rewrite, and
the consensus was that his version was funnier. Those adaptations can
get the approval of the Japanese creates, such as the time at Anime
Central where Rial met Shinichi Watanabe, director of the Excel Saga
series, and Watanabe said Rial's version of the Hyatt character was
perfect. Artists such as Watanabe are a major factor in deciding the
dub actors' characterizations because they use the animation art as a
basis for the sounds of their voices. "Now that the art in animation has
gotten so precise - with digital animation, even the smallest change in
expression is huge - you rely a lot on your director, who relies on the
original creator to imprint the information to you."
Greg
Ayres, the actor whose hair color has changed since the last time this
site encountered him at AnimeFEST, agreed that character designs lead
to character voices. "As a stage actor you have only the text to move
with," said Ayres. "When you step into a booth and work on on the
animation, you have the image to deal with. You look at a little pointy
haired boy and know he's not going to sound like a bank robber." Ayres
had an acting epiphany when he was auditioning for the ADV Films dub of
Hello Kitty, where he wanted Badz Maru, but read a bit too well when he
was tested for the part of a little ugly fish. "The minute that I saw
the fish, this weird sound came out of my voice that was a cross
between Droopy Dog and Carol Channing. Both Rial and Ayres emphasized
that there's not a huge amount of cash in anime dubbing, but it's an
unique profession that carries a satisfaction beyond other forms of
acting.
Then
there's the 21st-century version of the fanzine, the webcomic.
AnimeIowa invited artists Mike Schwark (left) and Ron Kaulfersch to
chat about their successful Van Von Hunter online series. The pair's
vampire stories have proven so popular that they've impressed TokyoPop,
which chose them as the winners of a comics contest and agreed to
publish a Van Von Hunter story. Not bad for something that these guys
treated as a joke. "We've watched anime together and ridiculed the
clichés," Schwark said. "We came up with all of these jokes, we
wrote them down, and when it came time to write a web comic, we decided
to take all of these jokes that didn't fit anywhere and put them
into this story abut a hunter. The story is just a loose way to link
all of the jokes together." Mike and Ron even hinted of the chance
there might be an animated version of Van Von Hunter one day.
