Mad
House animation studio head Masao Maruyama spent a couple of weeks in
the U.S. starting in May, traveling to Animazement
in North Carolina before heading to Texas and Project: A-Kon. "It's my first time in
Dallas," said Maruyama." I've been to L.A. and Mew York a lot of times
but compared to those cities, in Dallas everything is so big - every
person is so big. I think that the have big hearts, too." He's
optimistic about the state of the anime business in the U.S. - "A lot
of it comes over and it sells well," he said about Mad House's series
such as Tenjho Tenge, Gunslinger Girl, Gokusen and Gungrave. "When I
make our animation, I do not take any consideration into regard of
whether it's for the United States or Japan. All I care about is that
I'm making the animation in my studio, but I'm glad that the fans react
in the same way. I believe that animation can connect the world
together." Part of that joining is that what's been known as Japanese
animation has reached a worldwide audience, is being financed around
the world (U.S. companies are prominently named in the production
credits of many major series) and that those series are based on
stories from around the world (Maruyama noted Trigun and Gungrave are
among Mad House series with what could be considered U.S. settings).
Another
part of the joining of the world through anime is the production of the
series outside of Japan. Much of the animation work in anime series has
been subcontracted to studios in China, Taiwan, Thailand and India, and
that has taught animators in other countries how to produce more
effective animation. While that means more shows for fans to watch, it
could have another impact, Maruyama said. "I'm worried that there are
too many animated shows in Japan, so the quality of the animation is
low," he said. About Korean animation, Maruyama repeated the concerns
he expressed in 2004 that "I'm afraid that one day that Korean
animation will pass Japanese animation," noting that the Korean
government is backing that nation's animation industry. Twice over the
weekend, Maruyama mentioned "top secret" Mad House projects that could be
released next year. One would be a Mafia story set in the U.S., and
another would be a time travel story. Maruyama hinted that the time
travel story likely would released in the U.S. before Japan. Maruyama
also mentioned that Satoshi Kon, director of Paranoia Agent and Tokyo
Godfathers, was working on another project that might be released next
year. It'll be titled Paprika, Maruyama said, and it will feature a
female detective who can investigate cases by entering peoples' dreams.
That will extend a theme that Kon previously explored in Millennium
Actress, which told its story in flashbacks that couldn't be
distinguished from dreams.
Mad
House animation studio head Masao Maruyama spent a couple of weeks in
the U.S. starting in May, traveling to Animazement
in North Carolina before heading to Texas and Project: A-Kon. "It's my first time in
Dallas," said Maruyama." I've been to L.A. and Mew York a lot of times
but compared to those cities, in Dallas everything is so big - every
person is so big. I think that the have big hearts, too." He's
optimistic about the state of the anime business in the U.S. - "A lot
of it comes over and it sells well," he said about Mad House's series
such as Tenjho Tenge, Gunslinger Girl, Gokusen and Gungrave. "When I
make our animation, I do not take any consideration into regard of
whether it's for the United States or Japan. All I care about is that
I'm making the animation in my studio, but I'm glad that the fans react
in the same way. I believe that animation can connect the world
together." Part of that joining is that what's been known as Japanese
animation has reached a worldwide audience, is being financed around
the world (U.S. companies are prominently named in the production
credits of many major series) and that those series are based on
stories from around the world (Maruyama noted Trigun and Gungrave are
among Mad House series with what could be considered U.S. settings).
Another
part of the joining of the world through anime is the production of the
series outside of Japan. Much of the animation work in anime series has
been subcontracted to studios in China, Taiwan, Thailand and India, and
that has taught animators in other countries how to produce more
effective animation. While that means more shows for fans to watch, it
could have another impact, Maruyama said. "I'm worried that there are
too many animated shows in Japan, so the quality of the animation is
low," he said. About Korean animation, Maruyama repeated the concerns
he expressed in 2004 that "I'm afraid that one day that Korean
animation will pass Japanese animation," noting that the Korean
government is backing that nation's animation industry. Twice over the
weekend, Maruyama mentioned "top secret" Mad House projects that could be
released next year. One would be a Mafia story set in the U.S., and
another would be a time travel story. Maruyama hinted that the time
travel story likely would released in the U.S. before Japan. Maruyama
also mentioned that Satoshi Kon, director of Paranoia Agent and Tokyo
Godfathers, was working on another project that might be released next
year. It'll be titled Paprika, Maruyama said, and it will feature a
female detective who can investigate cases by entering peoples' dreams.
That will extend a theme that Kon previously explored in Millennium
Actress, which told its story in flashbacks that couldn't be
distinguished from dreams.
