Ask John: Will the Prince of Tennis Musicals Come to America?

Question:
I’m a huge fan of The Prince of Tennis, especially the live-action musicals. Do you know where I could get the DVDs of the musicals and do you think it would be possible for there to be English versions of the musicals?

Answer:
Similar to the Broadway stage adaptation of Disney’s animated film The Lion King, numerous popular anime franchises have been adapted into stage musicals. Just a few examples of anime franchises to get live action musical adaptations are Air Gear, Bleach, Galaxy Angel, HUNTERxHUNTER, Ribbon no Kishi, Utena, Sailor Moon, Sakura Taisen, Hakujaden, Hello Kitty, and Rose of Versailles. The multiple Sailor Moon stage musicals have proven so successful that their followers have even given them the name “seramyu,” an abbreviation of the Japanese pronunciation of “Sailor Musical.” The American cult following for “seramyu” is quite devoted, but also quite small. Despite the fact that there are many anime based musicals, none have ever been officially released in America, probably because the audience for them in America is so small that the cost of licensing and distributing them in America will be more than they’ll recover in sales revenue.

The “seramyu” have a cult following in America because they’re Sailor Moon related. Other anime musicals have limited interest among Americans as curiosities. But the primary appeal of anime among American viewers is that it’s animated. I don’t see any evidence that there’s a significant demand for American video releases of Japanese stage musicals based on anime or manga.

The official Japanese Prince of Tennis Musical homepage reveals that a number of the stage plays are available on Japanese DVD. These discs are Japanese language only and are probably encoded for compatibility only with Japanese NTSC Region 2 format DVD players, but if neither of these factors is an impediment, there are domestic retailers, like AnimeNation, that can import Japanese DVDs by special order, as well as numerous proxy purchasing services that will buy Japanese merchandise for you, for a small commission fee.