Ask John: Why Does the Iron Man Anime Look Like Scrap?

Question:
Do you know or have any clue about what happened to the Ironman anime? First we get to see a cool trailer pilot but then when the anime starts it is a totally different thing! It is not the same chara design and overall visual style. I saw the first two episodes but then I could not handle this crappy version so I’d stop. Did the first staff jump of the wagon or got kicked? I think this show would rocked if it was them producing it. And now with the upcoming Wolverine anime should one expect the same cold shower from Madhouse?

Answer:
Japanese animation seems to do what it’s used to doing very well, but traditionally American comic characters and Japanese animation have never mixed well. Gonzo drew inspiration from the American Witchblade comic for its Japanese Witchblade series. The show was admirably produced and became fairly popular in Japan and internationally, but it has little to do with the original American comics that inspired it. Japanese anime studios including Production I.G, TMS, Studio 4°C, Sunrise, and Bones have produced animation based on American comic characters – primarily animation for the American market. Madhouse created an “anime” pilot for the American Satanika character in 1997 and has also provided the animation for American market productions including the Planet Hulk animated movie. With rare exceptions such as the Witchblade television series and Sunrise’s Japanese openings for the American X-Men cartoon, the Japanese animation based on American comic characters has tried to emulate American art design and appeal to American viewer preferences. Most of the Japanese animation of American comic heroes has been funded and co-produced by American sponsors, resulting in “American” animation that happened to be animated in Japan.

The current Iron Man anime series is one of the very few anime series for the Japanese and Asian market starring an American comic hero. The two minute pilot released last year and the initial key visual featured a 2D animated Iron Man suit, animation directed by Takeshi Koike, character design that seemed to evoke Katsuhito Ishii and Hiroyuki Kitazume, and action that evoked contemporary Go Nagai inspired productions. The 2010 television series, however, does seem totally different from the early “test animation.” The current television series features a 3D CG Iron Man suit, an older Tony Stark, direction by Yuzo Sato, character design by Takahiro Umehara, and noticably less fluid and dynamic animation. Takeshi Koike, who directed the pilot, is only involved in the television series as a mecha designer.

I don’t know the details of the television series production, but I can guess that the series is being produced on a fairly shoestring budget. Presumably Marvel is funding the production, and Marvel may not be providing enough money to allow Madhouse to attain and sustain a quality exhibited by the two minute demonstration teaser. Furthermore, since the production will eventually air in North America, Marvel and Madhouse may be consciously trying to compromise between a style which will succeed in Japan while still be accessible and familiar to American comic book fans that reject the typical stylized look of Japanese animation. While the Iron Man television series probably would be especially appealing to otaku were it designed, animated, and directed by the same staff that created the pilot, my best guess is that Madhouse put its top-tier talent to work on the promotional pilot but assigned a more practical crew to the regular television series. Since that occured with Iron Man, the same is likely to happen with the forthcoming Wolverine anime.

The freshly released teaser trailer for the Wolverine television series reveals that it seemingly won’t be as big a visual departure from its pilot as Iron Man was. But a complete carry-over of staff may be unlikely. The Wolverine pilot was directed by Rintaro, who hasn’t directed a weekly television anime since 1989’s Dragon Quest ~Yuusha Abel Densetsu~. Rintaro hasn’t even worked on a TV anime series since providing the opening animation storyboards for 2006’s Yumetsukai. So the probability of him directing the Wolverine anime TV series seems remote.