Ask John: Is Manime Making a Comeback?

Question:
Do you think there’s a possibility that we might finally get the newer Hokuto no Ken movies/OVAs or the Souten no Ken TV series in a US release? According to Blockbuster.com the PS3/X360 “Hokuto Musou” game is getting a US release on January 5, 2011 under the title “Fist of the North Star: Ken’s Rage.” It looks to me like Fist of the North Star is gaining popularity in America since Discotek put out the first 36 eps and the 1986 movie on DVD and Sentai Filmworks released the Raoh side-story series in 2009. What do you think?

Answer:
The DVD sales and the amount of fan discussion I’ve seen recently give me no reason to assume that the Fist of the North Star series is gaining any momentum domestically. However, if anime and anime fandom do move in reactive trends, as they seem to, a renewed interest in masculine “otoko anime” may be just around the corner. The Fist of the North Star series has never been entirely absent from America’s fan community. Between the 1986 movie, the 1984 TV series from Manga Entertainment, the Shin Hokuto no Ken OVA series, and the original manga from Viz and later Gutsoon, there’s rarely been a time during the past ten years when there’s been no Hokuto no Ken media in active distribution in the US. But since the advent of the DVD era, after the initial shock novelty of the movie faded in America, the franchise has never been especially popular outside of its niche following. Even now, I still don’t see evidence that the franchise is rapidly expanding its viewership. Nor do I see much reason to expect that similar “burning blood” and macho anime is packing its bags in preparation for the trip to America.

Male heroes with strong convictions and steel nerves haven’t exactly been absent from America’s anime scene recently, but they do seem infrequent and somewhat overlooked. Gurren Lagann was briefly quite popular, but the American passion for the franchise has lately seemed to wane. Lelouch Lamperouge of Code Geass and Setsuna F. Seiei of Gundam OO are both quite principled young men that act on their beliefs, but they’re also bishounen. So despite being popular among fans, they’re not characters that immediately recall Kenshiro, Captain Harlock, Momotaro Tsurugi, Takizawa Noboru, Cobra, Kouji Kabuto, Duke Togo, Joe Yabuki, and other masculine anime heroes. The Golgo 13 television series recently premiered on domestic DVD to little notice. Hero Tales, Shigurui, and Moonlight Mile have either been licensed or released domestically yet not made a big splash. This year’s Cobra TV series fared a little better but was still primarily only watched by a small audience. And despite being streamed for American viewers, there’s no sign of an American DVD release. This spring’s Ring ni Kakero 1: Kage Dou Hen got completely ignored by the American otaku community, although, granted, it also went largely overlooked in Japan also. The laughable parody of macho excess depicted in the Sengoku Basara anime series has proven especially popular in Japan, but American viewers have largely not fallen for its distinct charms.

Bishoujo anime continues to be the dominant anime genre brought to the US, with recent examples including Queen’s Blade, Kanokon, Strike Witches, Tayutama, Ghost Sweeper Mikami, Utena, Utakata, Taisho Yakyu Musume, K-On, and Garei Zero. However, one must wonder if and when exhaustion with this endless cycle of pretty girls will motivate American fans to turn to anime about assertive men doing manly things: not men lusting after other men (like Uraboku), men who act out of necessity rather than conviction (like High School of the Dead), or men that look like women (the emerging “otokonoko” trend). My own perception is that anime including Hokuto no Ken, Guin Saga, and Golgo 13 have come to America recently due to singular circumstances and the personal interest of their licensors, not as a response to American consumer demand. I’m certainly not opposed to seeing titles including Shin Mazinger Shougeki Z-hen, Kotetsushin Jeeg, Needless, Tentai Senshi Sunred, and Souten no Ken brought to American DVD. And with the unpredictable volatility of domestic licensing recently, seemingly absolutely anything is possible. I’m not convinced that American viewers are developing or rediscovering a taste for “otoko anime” recently. I think that the recent increased domestic profile of the Hokuto no Ken franchise is merely coincidence. But I’ve been known to be wrong, and the prominence and exposure of bishoujo anime these days could certainly trigger a growing wave of demand for something different.