Ask John: Is Anime Ever Based on American Stories?

Question:
I was wondering, have you ever heard of anime or manga producers creating works based on ideas from people in other countries? For example, lots of comic books are drawn by people who didn’t create the original idea themselves, so I was wondering if anything like this has ever happened with anime or manga?

Answer:
It’s not uncommon for anime to be based on fiction originating from countries other than Japan. There are far too many examples for me to actually name them all, so I’ll just provide a few examples. The famous World Masterpiece Theater series of anime TV shows that began in 1975 is possibly the best known string of anime based on non-Japanese source material. World Masterpiece Theater series including Dog of Flanders, Anne of Green Gables, Adventures of Tom Sawyer, and Peter Pan were all based on Western children’s literature. Older anime titles that proceeded the World Masterpiece Theater, including Puss in Boots, Heidi of the Alps, and Treasure Island, were likewise based on classic international children’s stories.

There are also numerous other anime based on internationally famous stories that do not fall into the World Masterpiece Theater canon, including the 1980 Vampire Emperor of Darkness: Dracula TV movie, 1983 Alice in Wonderland TV series, and 1986 Wizard of Oz anime TV series.

World famous works of science fiction have been the foundation for anime more than once. E.E. Doc Smith’s Lensman was the basis for an anime motion picture and TV series. And Robert A. Heinlein’s Starship Troopers was adapted into a 3 episode OAV series in 1988.

In 2000 Studio 4C used British author Diana Calls’ 1983 novel “The Clever Princess” as the basis for its anime feature film Princess Arete. Similarly, Hayao Miyazaki’s upcoming film Howl’s Moving Castle is an adaptation of a novel by British author Diana Wynne Jones.

In terms of anime and manga not based on literature but still created by foreigners, there are examples including the Glenn Danzig/Madhouse co-production of the Satanika pilot anime, the Production I.G. created animation in Kill Bill Volume 1, Linkin Park’s Breaking the Habit music video, and TOKYOPOP’s Princess Ai “manga” co-created by Courtney Love. Recently Gonzo Studios licensed the rights to produce their own, original Japanese version of the American comic book Witchblade. And Spiderman has been the star of an original Japanese manga and live action television series.

It’s certainly not impossible for an American to develop a Japanese published anime or manga, or have a Japanese created anime or manga adapted from an American creator’s ideas, but evidence suggests that such an event requires either international recognition or an awful lot of money and influence, or both. I certainly don’t want to discourage any American from trying to create a concept that will be turned into a Japanese produced manga or animation, but any prospective American artists should be aware of the precedents for such projects, and understand that the odds of an American artist’s work becoming the source for a Japanese manga or anime are slim. Not impossible, but not likely either.