Ask John: Is Japan’s Anime Industry Opening Up To Hollywood?

Question:
With the help of Skywalker Sound on the Ghost In The Shell: Innocence movie, and the music compositions of Steve Jablonsky for Steamboy, and for the forthcoming Blood+ by Hans Zimmer and Mark Mancina in the past year, also sometimes I hear English voices usually for computer voices during the Japanese soundtrack. I feel that the Japanese creators are somehow starting to open for Hollywood. Do you think so?

Answer:
Actually, Western composers contributing music for anime is not a new trend at all. British rocker Keith Emerson composed the soundtrack for the 1983 film Harmageddon. Much of the music for the 1986 Project A-ko movie was composed by American musicians. Composer Marco D’Ambrosio and the Skywalker Sound Labs composed the soundtracks for the 1993 and 2000 Jojo’s Bizarre Adventures OAV series. Christopher Franke was asked to compose the soundtrack for the 1996 movie Tenchi Muyo in Love. Furthermore, there are numerous other examples of Japanese animators working with the American film industry. The 1982 animated film The Last Unicorn was completely animated in Japan. The 1999 Madhouse produced Alexander Senki OAV series employed Peter Chung as primary character designer. Production IG’s animated an unforgettable segment for Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill volume 1. And Madhouse is now developing a Highlander anime movie.

I don’t think that Japan has ever been opposed to working with Hollywood or the international film community. Rather, Hollywood has rarely been interested in working with Japanese animation studios. Even now that anime has become trendy in America, Hollywood has secured rights to produce American live action adaptations of anime titles including Astro Boy, Speed Racer, Akira, Dragonball, Lupin the Third, Battle Angel Alita, Kite, and Monster, but no Hollywood studios seem to have any interest in sponsoring new anime productions of any of these franchises. Hollywood is a barometer of mainstream American culture, and neither are particularly interested in Japanese animation.

I suspect that Japanese animators would be eager to produce animation with major American studio backing, for mainstream international release. I think it’s the hope of every artist to have his or her work seen and enjoyed by as many viewers as possible. I don’t believe that Japan’s anime industry has ever been opposed to the influence or involvement of major American film studios. I suspect that Japan’s anime industry is very willing to “open up” to Hollywood, but it’s Hollywood that’s not eager to delve into Japanese animation. Unfortunately, considering how little revenue anime films in American theatrical release actually earn, I can’t blame Hollywood studios for being uninterested in sponsoring anime productions.