The
Gen Con gaming convention was an unusual place for a panel discussion
on the state of the anime industry. There were familiar names on the
panel in the unfamiliar location - Matt Greenfield and David Williams
of ADV Films - along with brand manager Adam Sheehan of Funimation.
They said that the U.S. industry is profitable, otherwise we wouldn't
be seeing new releases and product acquisitions. One of the first
questions to the panel was on the fate of the competing high-definition
DVD formats, and there was little enthusiasm shown toward either
format. Greenfield (left) said that high-def wouldn't have much
immediate impact on Japanese animation because most of the original
video was mastered in the 720-pixel format used by current DVD's, and
any higher resolution versions would require the remastering of the
originals - all but meaning the should would have to be reproduced from
scratch. Remastering for high-def from film, something not done
with anime for several years, would be easier, Greenfield said.
Williams (center) expected that high-def DVD's would be the
21st-century versions of the 12-inch laser discs, something that
collectors might like but not a mass-market product like standard DVD's
have become.
Funimation,
once known by fans as the Dragon Ball company, has gotten more
adventuresome in recent years with projects such as the forthcoming
Afro Samurai series, starring the voice of Samuel L. "Snakes on a
Plane" Jackson. Afro Samurai (which, despite the inference of its
title, is a series that originated in Japan) is the latest Japanese
animated series to be partially funded by companies outside Japan, a
trend that includes Burn Up W and Lady Death from ADV, The Mysterious
Cities of Gold and Totally Spies from French companies, and the 1960's
Marine Boy series with U.S. money. Sheehan said the best way that
American companies can handle these co-productions is to provide the
funding for the Japanese animators and then leave them alone. That lets
the Japanese studios create the series with the stories and characters
that intrigue English-speaking fans, the panelists said. It's clear
that those stories are appealing to a younger and more female audience,
the group said, but the competitive pressures of the home video
business mean that DVD's get less shelf life than in previous years.
While a bookseller will keep a manga on the shelf for months, a video
retailer may pull a slow-moving title after a couple of weeks to make
room for new product, they said.
The
Gen Con gaming convention was an unusual place for a panel discussion
on the state of the anime industry. There were familiar names on the
panel in the unfamiliar location - Matt Greenfield and David Williams
of ADV Films - along with brand manager Adam Sheehan of Funimation.
They said that the U.S. industry is profitable, otherwise we wouldn't
be seeing new releases and product acquisitions. One of the first
questions to the panel was on the fate of the competing high-definition
DVD formats, and there was little enthusiasm shown toward either
format. Greenfield (left) said that high-def wouldn't have much
immediate impact on Japanese animation because most of the original
video was mastered in the 720-pixel format used by current DVD's, and
any higher resolution versions would require the remastering of the
originals - all but meaning the should would have to be reproduced from
scratch. Remastering for high-def from film, something not done
with anime for several years, would be easier, Greenfield said.
Williams (center) expected that high-def DVD's would be the
21st-century versions of the 12-inch laser discs, something that
collectors might like but not a mass-market product like standard DVD's
have become.
Funimation,
once known by fans as the Dragon Ball company, has gotten more
adventuresome in recent years with projects such as the forthcoming
Afro Samurai series, starring the voice of Samuel L. "Snakes on a
Plane" Jackson. Afro Samurai (which, despite the inference of its
title, is a series that originated in Japan) is the latest Japanese
animated series to be partially funded by companies outside Japan, a
trend that includes Burn Up W and Lady Death from ADV, The Mysterious
Cities of Gold and Totally Spies from French companies, and the 1960's
Marine Boy series with U.S. money. Sheehan said the best way that
American companies can handle these co-productions is to provide the
funding for the Japanese animators and then leave them alone. That lets
the Japanese studios create the series with the stories and characters
that intrigue English-speaking fans, the panelists said. It's clear
that those stories are appealing to a younger and more female audience,
the group said, but the competitive pressures of the home video
business mean that DVD's get less shelf life than in previous years.
While a bookseller will keep a manga on the shelf for months, a video
retailer may pull a slow-moving title after a couple of weeks to make
room for new product, they said.
