Ask John: Could an American Ghost in the Shell Movie Make Anime More Mainstream?

Question:
Dreamworks recently got the rights to the manga/anime Ghost in the Shell. I may sound optimistic, but if a mainstream movie based on the manga comes out in the U.S. and does well, do you think it will make the manga/anime market in the U.S. more mainstream? I think it will. If this movie is really popular, then people may check out the anime and manga, and maybe discover that this stuff is pretty cool.

Answer:
First, we need to be very tentative with our expectations that this film will ever actually get made. Let’s keep in mind that the reported Evangelion live action movie seems like vaporware. James Cameron’s Battle Angel doesn’t look likely to happen in our lifetimes. Although not directly anime related, I think it’s still relevant to recall that the planned big budget Halo movie got shelved. Yes, we’re getting Speed Racer – which appears to have zero Japanese influence, and Dragon Ball – which may turn out to be equally devoid of Japanese culture. (I’m still holding onto a little bit of hope for the American live action Blood: The Last Vampire feature.)

Should a DreamWorks live action Ghost in the Shell movie actually make it to theaters, we can reference the impact that The Matrix had on American consciousness. The Matrix, with its heavy dose of Chinese kung-fu, ushered in a new wave of mainstream American interest in kung-fu movies and Chinese culture including Chinese action film stars such as Jackie Chan, Jet Li, Samo Hung, Michelle Yeoh, and Chow Yun Fat landing major roles in American films, and Chinese directors including Ringo Lam, Tony Ching Siu-tung, and Ronnie Yu helming American films. However, has this explosion of interest in Chinese cinema spurred by The Matrix really swept up American society and revolutionized American culture? No. It hasn’t.

It’s difficult for me to envision any American live action film based on manga and anime becoming significantly more successful and influential than The Matrix was. Even if a theoretical live action Ghost in the Shell film achieved blockbuster American success equal to The Matrix, I think we’d see an increase in interest in manga and anime similar to the surge of interest in Chinese entertainment that followed The Matrix – a relatively significant and important wave, but not a cultural revolution.