LA Cinema Youth

Darnit, Nicholas, stop working so hard!

My list was based more on speculation and prediction, while Nicholas addresses his own personal views. I’m a little shocked at his choice for Best Picture, but I haven’t seen his choice yet, so who am I to judge?

Nick’s Picks (and Pics!): Oscar Predictions for 2009

By Nicholas Zabaly
Since Cameron has already shared his list with the blogging world, I thought it only appropriate that I join the fray now that I’ve (at last!) seen all the Best Picture nominees. I will apologize in advance for at times going out on a total limb (which is just part of my non-pragmatic style when it comes to art) and picking movies I know have no chance of winning, but all you readers can suffice to hold in your hearts that my choices are my true choices, based on honest opinion and respect for the quality Hollywood has put forth (or not). So, while my picks will probably not end up all that accurate, you can be assured they are from the heart.
Additionally, a note on interpreting the list: italicized titles are those I’ve seen, while bolded titles are for those I’m predicting (or in many cases, just hoping) to win. I also have only listed categories where I’ve seen some of the nominees. Now, let’s get to it!

Best Actor in a Leading Role:

Richard Jenkins (The Visitor)

Frank Langella (Frost/Nixon)

Sean Penn (Milk)

Brad Pitt (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button)

Mickey Rourke (The Wrestler)
WHY: This is, quite frankly, a darn hard category for me to pick. Three of the four performances I saw were extraordinary, and the fourth at the very least had some aspects of uniqueness, so it is rather difficult to pin down just one. But Mickey Rourke for me steals the show. Not only was this a great role for a great actor, but it was one totally mastered, completely emotionally convincing in its sincere bid for feeling. Moreover, Rourke had to master some very physical scenes and set pieces, and did so with remarkable effort and spirit. While a lot of people are making this out as a case where he will win due to the comeback nature of landing the role, I see this as a case where Rourke’s talent was finally untapped by a terrific screenwriter and director, who were able to encourage him to be all he could and go to the places that no one, much less a person who’s had as much trouble as him, want to go. If Rourke wins, and I think he will, it is totally deserved without any qualifiers or strings of any kind attached. This is, simply, just damn fine acting.
Best Actress in a Leading Role:

Anne Hathaway (Rachel Getting Married)

Angelina Jolie (Changeling)

Melissa Leo (Frozen River)

Meryl Streep (Doubt)

Kate Winslet (The Reader)
WHY: Because it’s finally Kate’s year, that’s why! The only competition here (at least, based on what I’ve seen) would be Meryl Streep, who totally dominated her habit without a Doubt (pun intended, however bad it may be), but Kate Winslet brought an amazing humanity to The Reader that overran normal boundaries of a good performance, instead conveying true life and dimension. She also had a very challenging character to do that with, in that very few actresses working today could make a person as deeply flawed as Hanna Schmitz relatable, let alone likable. But like her you do, in a way that is as fraught and twisted as the love she shares with her young admirer. Winslet is brave, revealing acting that isn’t afraid to play with raw emotion, teasing it out even in non-verbal moments. Having been recognized twice by the Golden Globes, I think it’s high time that the Academy awarded the remarkable Winslet with the prize she so obviously deserves.

Best Actor in a Supporting Role:

Josh Brolin (Milk)

Robert Downey Jr. (Tropic Thunder)

Philip Seymour Hoffman (Doubt)

Heath Ledger (The Dark Knight)

Michael Shannon (Revolutionary Road)

WHY: Perhaps the most obvious choice of all this Oscar season, but not for the obvious reason. Of course, everyone thinks it would be only right for Heath Ledger to be awarded the Oscar for his final complete role (and if there is any justice in the world, it would), but to give Ledger the award for this reason would be to overlook what it easily a career-best performance, and one that no one other than he could have delivered. Ledger delved into his role with immense professionalism, reaching frightening depths that summon in audiences all the fears of this age. This is total immersion acting, even extending to the horrifying videos of his victims that the Joker films (which, of course, were shot by Ledger himself). Josh Brolin and Philip Seymour Hoffman also do top-of-the-line (and arguably also career best) work, and I don’t feel I could in good faith avoid saying that, were they not up against an iconic role, their work would be Oscar worthy. But this, quite simply, is Heath’s year, and at this point I can see nothing standing in his way. This Oscar, which I sincerely hope (more than in any other category) he gets, will be the final flourish on what can only be called an uneven yet glorious career. Bravo, Heath.
Best Actress in a Supporting Role:

Amy Adams (Doubt)

Penélope Cruz (Vicky Cristina Barcelona)

Viola Davis (Doubt)

Taraji P. Henson (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button)

Marisa Tomei (The Wrestler)
WHY: Amy Adams is, in my opinion at least, one of the finest young actresses we have in the film craft today. I first was made aware of her in last year’s Enchanted (which she deserved at least a nomination for), and seeing her again in Doubt, I can confirm that her talents spread across the full spectrum of genres. The key to her persona is a believable innocence, something that very few people can convincingly put forth. But her character in Doubt is not just naïve, but has a rich underlying dimension of having erected an image innocence to protect herself from the unpleasant possibilities the world has to offer. To a certain extent, all the supporting actresses (that I saw) this year had one-note emotion characters, Adams included. But in her performance, there was far greater believability, raw humanity, and sympathetic vulnerability than in the others. Only Marisa Tomei came close to matching her, and even then, Amy Adams is to me the clear victor. Hers is a performance I feel confident in studying, because it holds up to scrutiny. But to look at it in purely analytical terms would be a mistake, for Adams’ remarkable triumph is in creating an emotional bond between herself and the audience. It is better to ‘feel’ her than anything else, and the notion that we can feel, through a channel of sympathetic vulnerability, is quite astounding and certainly Oscar worthy.

Best Cinematography:
Changeling (Tom Stern)

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (Claudio Miranda)

The Dark Knight (Wally Pfister)

The Reader (Roger Deakins, Chris Menges)

Slumdog Millionaire (Anthony Dod Mantle)

WHY: Wally Pfister not only attempted to do something revolutionary this year, but succeeded: he shot some of the most challenging sequences of The Dark Knight, including a very lengthy and complex chase sequence, in IMAX. The challenge of working this out, and then creating camerawork that was not in any way hindered or held back by the difficulties of the technology, is itself astounding. But to then realize the filming of the rest of the movie so well, with such excellent shot choice, use of lighting, and especially effective movement, seals the deal. Roger Deakins and Chris Menges did fine work in The Reader, but it seems almost pedestrian compared to the marathon trial by fire that Wally Pfister not only survived, but mastered with aplomb. While other crowd favorites (like Slumdog Millionaire) might snatch up the prize, in my mind, Pfister’s camera remains one of the most distinct makers of The Dark Knight’s success as a landmark motion picture.

Best Editing:
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (Angus Wall, Kirk Baxter)

The Dark Knight (Lee Smith)

Frost/Nixon (Daniel P. Hanley, Mike Hill)

Milk (Eliot Graham)

Slumdog Millionaire (Chris Dickens)

WHY: Editing is perhaps one of the hardest categories to judge, because if a film is edited well, one will likely not notice the editing. More than almost every other aspect of moviemaking, editing is an ‘invisible technique’ to most. But good editing is always evident in effective scene flow, an in my mind, no film does this better this year than The Dark Knight. Lee Smith’s work feels like a natural progression, and nothing ever seems unclear, unnatural, or out of place. The film just flows off the screen, without the audience ever feeling they’ve been left behind by a change in location, or by inter-cutting of the numerous concurrent threads. Ultimately, it just comes down to effectiveness, and Lee Smith takes the prize for that.

Best Art Direction:
Changeling (James J. Murakami, Gary Fettis)

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (Donald Graham Burt, Victor J. Zolfo)

The Dark Knight (Nathan Crowley, Peter Lando)

The Duchess (Michael Carlin, Rebecca Alleway)

Revolutionary Road (Zristi Zea, Debra Schutt)

WHY: A number of imaginative worlds were conjured up in this year’s batch of production design, but for me, The Dark Knight is again triumphant. The reason is simple: everything in the art direction of Nathan Crowley and Peter Lando works, and works well. I never for a moment thought I was looking at anything other than reality, partially because so much of the film is actually shot on real locations, but also due to remarkably convincing attention to detail in the fantastical, such as the cell phone tracking machine, the high-tech Batman Basement, and the assorted dark places where the Joker lurks. A wonderful sense of the urban was conjured up here, and for anyone who’s ever been in an overbuilt old city like Chicago (where a lot of the film was shot), the drama is only made more authentic and frightening.

Best Costume Design:
Australia (Catherine Martin)

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (Jacqueline West)

The Duchess (Michael O’Connor)

Milk (Danny Glicker)

Revolutionary Road (Albert Wolsky)

WHY: All the nominees this year had the task of trying to match the clothes of an era (or in the case of Benjamin Button, curious or otherwise, several eras). And, of the films I saw, all of them did this admirably. My choice of Milk is partially based on my fondness for the film and subject matter, but it is equally due to seeing some of Danny Glicker’s costumes first hand (they were displayed at the Arclight Hollywood). They have a very smart fashion sense and have a great feel of realism, effectively capturing the Castro of 30 years ago in its best and most appealing light. While I suppose this is a category that could go either way, I felt the strongest connection to Milk’s costumes, as they totally fit the characters (and actors) wearing them, not only in the literal sense, but in the subconscious realm of psychological reinforcement. Harvey Milk looked and felt like Harvey Milk, with his smart suits and more casual relaxed wear, while Dan White’s straight-laced conservatism was likewise conveyed by his wardrobe. If the clothes make the man, then Danny Glicker helped make Milk. And in my mind, he did a fine job of it.
Best Makeup:
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (Greg Cannom)

The Dark Knight (John Caglione Jr., Conor O’Sullivan)

Hellboy II: The Golden Army (Mike Elizalde, Thomas Floutz)

WHY: Although plenty of incredible talents were on display this year in the makeup field, the brilliant work on The Dark Knight took things to a new level. Although it’s easy to overlook it now, creating a convincing and horrifying look for the Joker could have, in lesser hands, completely backfired and stripped the character of his visual menace. Instead, John Caglione Jr. and Conor O’Sullivan created a terrifying visage of cracking white makeup, blood-red lips, and threatening scars that has become as much a part of the Joker’s presence as Heath Ledger’s performance. Particularly incredible is the interrogation scene, where the Joker’s makeup (that has remained the same since the start of the earlier chase) is allowed to slowly crack and deteriorate throughout. This ingenious sequence demonstrates unbelievable attention to continuity (since it was not shot straight through in a single session), as well as total command of using makeup as an actor within the moment (for indeed, the makeup coming off and gradually revealing the Joker serves the scene tremendously and aids Ledger’s acting). Besides this makeup tour-de-force, the rest of the cast was also well attended to, including the convincing (and digitally assisted) appearance of Two-Face.

Best Original Score:
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (Alexander Desplat)

Defiance (James Newton Howard)

Milk (Danny Elfman)

Slumdog Millionaire (A.R. Rahman)

WALL-E (Thomas Newman)
WHY: For me, this is a clear choice. While the music in all the other nominees was decent, none of it was memorable. None, except for Thomas Newman’s score for WALL-E. The WALL-E score is a work of orchestral genius, with unique sounds and aural landscapes created for each environment (Earth sounds nothing like the Axiom), each character, and the whole range of emotion. This is simply beautiful scoring, far and away the best of the year (save the score for The Dark Knight, which the Academy stupidly disqualified), and indelibly a part of the WALL-E experience. Months after last seeing the film, I’m still humming the score (and believe me, it’s not an easy score the hum, as it’s rather complicated!). For any composer, that’s the mark of true success.

Best Original Song:
Slumdog Millionaire – “Jai Ho” (A.R. Rahman, Gulzar)

Slumdog Millionaire – “O Saya” (A.R. Rahman, Maya Arulpragasam)

WALL-E – “Down to Earth” (Peter Gabriel, Thomas Newman)
WHY: Again, another clear choice. While the songs in Slumdog were good, there is a certain memorable feeling that lingers in Peter Gabriel’s lyrics and melody that, subsequent to seeing WALL-E, has become a part of my musical life. At emotional moments where my state of mind seems to match that of WALL-E and EVE, I find the song on the tip of my tongue. It continues to astound me that an unassuming song like “Down to Earth” would have that kind of power, but it does. It’s one of the great movie songs of the past few years, along with Melissa Etheridge’s “I Need to Wake Up” from An Inconvenient Truth.

Best Sound:
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (David Parker, Michael Semanick, Ren Klyce, Mark Weingarten)

The Dark Knight (Ed Novick, Lora Hirschberg, Gary Rizzo)

Slumdog Millionaire (Ian Tapp, Richard Pryke, Resul Pookutty)

WALL-E (Tom Myers, Michael Semanick, Ben Burtt)

Wanted (Chris Jenkins, Frank A. Montaño, Petr Forejt)

WHY: This is an incredibly hard choice for me. Between The Dark Knight and WALL-E, we had simply phenomenal sound this year. On the one hand, The Dark Knight takes the sounds of the real world to a whole new level, transporting them to the same realms of aural iconography that the visuals have. One the other hand, WALL-E creates a whole new world of sound, an entire universe of things we haven’t heard before. Ultimately, I had to go with WALL-E, but it’s on a totally subjective level, and I wouldn’t at all be sad to see The Dark Knight take the prize.

Best Sound Editing:
The Dark Knight (Richard King)

Iron Man (Frank E. Eulner, Christopher Boyes)

Slumdog Millionaire (Tom Sayers)

WALL-E (Ben Burtt, Matthew Wood)

Wanted (Wylie Stateman)
WHY: Again, this is a hard choice. However, it’s made easier by the fact that I know the back-story behind Ben Burtt’s creation of the voice of WALL-E and the other robots. This is one of the great triumphs of sound editing, a fitting crown on the career of one of the greatest soundmen of our age. Richard King also deserves an ocean of credit for The Dark Knight; but it’s Ben Burtt’s year, and I sincerely hope he wins for this.
Best Visual Effects:
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (Eric Barba, Steve Preeg, Burt Dalton, Craig Barron)

The Dark Knight (Nick Davis, Chris Corbould, Timothy Webber, Paul J. Franklin)

Iron Man (John Nelson, Ben Snow, Daniel Sudick, Shane Mahan)

WHY: If one will excuse the implication that Visual Effects are necessarily computer-created effects, and will allow the term to also cover Special Effects (those done in-camera, with models, or via non-digital means), then The Dark Knight wins hands down. This is some of the most convincing Special Effects work I’ve seen in a decade, with stunning models (remember the garbage truck being rammed by Batman’s tumbler? That’s a model!) and tons of physical effects work (really blowing up a hospital, which was actually a Brach’s candy factory). There’s even some good computer work too, including creating the appearance of Two-Face, and the shots of Batman flying and being pulled out of the high rise (which the director actually wanted to do, but the Hong Kong authorities would not allow it). If Visual Effects purely means computer work, then Benjamin Button will win, but if the Academy is willing to look back to an age where people really did effects physically, then The Dark Knight is an incredible triumph of the effects work of the past, brilliantly realized for the present.
Best Animated Feature Film:
Bolt (Chris Williams, Byron Howard)

Kung Fu Panda (John Stevenson, Mark Osborne)

WALL-E (Andrew Stanton)
WHY: This was a great year for animation. Technically, any of these nominees is deserving. In terms of a fully realized film, I’m torn between two of them. But at the end of the day, I have to go with WALL-E, because of the three, this is the only film I felt deserved to be nominated for Best Picture. It is my favorite film of the year, animated or otherwise. So, I give it my vote, and hope for the best.

Best Foreign Language Film:
Das Baader Meinhof Komplex (Germany)

Entre les murs (France)

Revanche (Austria)

Okuribito (Japan)

Vals Im Bashir (Israel)
WHY: This was a category where I wish I’d been able to see all the nominated films. As it is, I’m just barely able to squeak in at the last minute with my vote. But based on what I’ve seen, I have to go with Waltz with Bashir, Ari Folman’s masterpiece. This is a film that probably would be too hard to take if it weren’t animated, yet because it is an illustrated movie, the sentiments enter your heart in a completely different way than if it were live action. I personally think it is more affecting because it is animated. Besides this, however, it is a brilliant piece of filmmaking, and easily deserves the Oscar. My bets are on Bashir for the win.
Best Short Film, Animated:
La Maison en petits cubes (Kunio Katô)

Ubornaya istoriya – Iyubovnaya istoriya (Konstantin Bronzit)

Oktapodi (Emud Mokhberi, Thierry Marchand)

Presto (Doug Sweetland)

This Way Up (Alan Smith, Adam Foulkes)

WHY: While This Way Up was highly creative and amusing, and La Maison en petits cubes was the most meaningful, Doug Sweetland’s Presto takes the prize for most entertaining and funny. There’s such a sense of enthusiasm and movement in his work that it really is impossible to resist. As a second choice, I wouldn’t be sad to see Kunio Katô recognized (as his film really is Oscar worthy in every regard), but my vote stays with Sweetland. Best of luck, Doug!
Best Original Screenplay:
Frozen River (Courtney Hunt)

Happy-Go-Lucky (Mike Leigh)

In Bruges (Martin McDonagh)

Milk (Dustin Lance Black)

WALL-E (Andrew Stanton, Pete Docter, Jim Reardon)

WHY: This is the category where I’ve seen the fewest films, so my judgment may be a little off. Nonetheless, I cast my vote once more for WALL-E. To be able to create such memorable and sympathetic characters largely without dialogue, and to master storytelling to such a huge extent via the purely visual, practically sends WALL-E back to the silent age of moviemaking. But in that environment of actions speaking louder than words, WALL-E’s script reaches heights of emotion and plot that seem almost unattainable. Despite its unconventional nature, this is as close to a perfect script as anyone is likely to find this year. With a great concept, wonderful characters, and a deep and moving story that totally transcends time, space, and international boundaries, WALL-E speaks to us all. That is an amazing accomplishment.
Best Adapted Screenplay:
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (Eric Roth, Robin Swicord)

Doubt (John Patrick Shanley)

Frost/Nixon (Peter Morgan)

The Reader (David Hare)

Slumdog Millionaire (Simon Beaufoy)

WHY: Having seen all the nominees, and having thought about all the scripts carefully, the one that emerges most strongly in my mind is, without a Doubt, that of John Patrick Shanley. Adapting his play (which has only four characters) into the rich film environment of the final movie, he hit upon timely questions of trust and faith, not only in religion, but across the entirety of society. The great performances of Doubt were only possible thanks to this great script, which is literally overflowing with top-notch lines and stabbing emotions.

Best Director:
Danny Boyle (Slumdog Millionaire)

Steven Daldry (The Reader)

David Fincher (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button)

Ron Howard (Frost/Nixon)

Gus Van Sant (Milk)
WHY: This is a very hard choice for me. Between Daldry, Howard, and Van Sant, there are three great directors at the top of their craft this year. Ultimately, though, I had to go with my favorite of the films, and that was The Reader. Steven Daldry directed his actors to remarkable heights, gaining revealing intimacy from them in every scene. Besides this, the flow of the film is unmatched, working from a great script and aided by a fine crew. But it is Daldry’s movie, and he executed it perfectly. There isn’t a single thing I would ask him to change, if I had the opportunity. This is great work, and highly deserving of Oscar honor.
Best Picture:
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (Ceán Chaffin, Kathleen Kennedy, Frank Marshal)

Frost/Nixon (Brian Grazer, Ron Howard, Eric Fellner)

Milk (Bruce Cohen, Dan Jinks)

The Reader (Anthony Minghella, Sydney Pollack, Donna Gigliotti, Redmond Morris)

Slumdog Millionaire (Christian Colson)

WHY: Because, just as with Best Director, there just isn’t anything I would change with The Reader. It is the most emotional film, the most gripping, and the most memorable after the credits roll and curtains close. I truly think it is one of the finest films of the decade. Furthermore, it is a fine parting work from Anthony Minghella and Sydney Pollack, who together helped to launch it into being and who both sadly did not live to see its success. I also have to highlight Frost/Nixon and Milk as being great movies that both deserve top honors. If any of these three won, it would be a happy day for me. Nonetheless, my top choice still remains The Reader, and with a little luck, I hope to see it succeed on Oscar night.

Thanks for reading all my comments, and sorry I didn’t get to the short live action films or any of the documentaries. Next time! Until then, here’s to Oscar!

Another article by Nicholas. This is a good one:

Land of the Setting Sun: Is The End Of Anime As We Know It Imminent?

Part I: Anime In America

By Nicholas Zabaly
Japanese animation, colloquially known as anime throughout the world, even twenty years after entering the international cultural milieu continues to remain a contentious subject. Mention the term in a group of American animation aficionados, and you may encounter scorn, even derision. Draw a comparison in conversation to a popular series among America’s youth, and you may be hailed a fellow otaku (here meaning anime fan, but in Japan referring to a fan of anything). The problem with anime is this profound divide: by forward-looking critics and cultural historians, it has been hailed as an imaginative medium that has directly impacted American live-action films, and to a lesser extent commercial animation. On the other hand, the animation establishment has more or less ignored or decried Japanese productions, either for artistic or business-related reasons. American union-member animators, perhaps justifiably, are angered at the popularity of an industry that essentially rose out of outsourcing in the 1970s. They also correctly level accusations that Japanese productions do not represent the artists with adequate pay or, until very recently, any union protection. And critics, who highlight the Golden Age of Disney as the pinnacle of the medium, see anime as an extension of the Clutch Cargo limited animation disaster of forty years ago. Other than increased stylization, there seems to be nothing, to these critics, that makes anime any different. Even in cases like Hayao Miyazaki’s Ghibli films, critics like Michael Barrier (in a posting on his website on January 20, 2006) have argued that, while the effects animation is frequently brilliant, the character animation and personality expressed in the works are not seriously considered. The end result of this is that, while anime is frequently hailed as a breakthrough medium, it is essentially ignored by the Hollywood superstructure. Even the few chosen prestige examples (Miyazaki’s films) are subjected to harsh criticism, such as that by the admittedly harsh Paul Tatara of CNN, who in his November 15, 1999 review called the landmark Princess Mononoke “… just a cartoon… and a surprisingly pompous one, at that.” This then leaves only smaller distributors, without the means for mass advertising campaigns or theatrical runs, to provide 95% of the Japanese animation available in the United States.
It is this system which is currently strained to the brink of collapse.

The Companies
Presently, distribution of anime in America is handled by a group of seven companies. The major players, ADV, Bandai, FUNimation, and Viz, are responsible for licensing the majority of content, while the smaller Manga Entertainment, Media Blasters, and Urban Vision either sit on older but still popular licenses, or occasionally acquire new content. Besides these, there are also a number of micro-licensors, who primarily exist as business entities devoted to other aspects of the anime business (such as retail) but who distribute individual series as a supplement. These include AN Entertainment and The Right Stuf / Nozomi Entertainment. Finally, there are powerful Japan-based rights-control groups who, while not actually distributors, aid the licensing process by providing capital or deals on large-scale multi-series agreements. These would include Kadokawa (the Japanese publishing giant), Sentai Filmworks, and Sojitz. All of these players set the bar for how much anime is distributed in America, what price it sells for, what distribution means are utilized, and how much of an impact American capital and fan-influence has on Japan-based productions. This system of small and specialized distributors originated in the infancy of American interest in anime. Streamline Pictures, founded by Carl Macek and Jerry Beck, was the first of these companies that focused exclusively on providing Japanese animated content (including what falls within the now-broad definition of ‘anime’), and with its success releasing films such as Akira, was quickly followed by others.
In this early period, anime was billed as exotic and strange, foreign cartoons uninhibited by Disney standards of decency. As a result, blood and boobs were the stock in trade in the early days. This of course caught the attention of open-minded animation fans and youngsters, while at the same time effectively ghettoizing the anime market and cutting it off from mainstream film company attention. Whether the path chosen in the early days was right or wrong for the medium, its lasting effects centered control of anime in America in the hands of small companies operating on the fringes of the home video market. Perhaps because of this, US involvement remained primarily in the distribution-only sector, whereas if a major studio had been involved from the get-go, the Japanese production side may have had to deal with more tampering and pressure to conform to American expectations. The small-time nature of distribution operations in America also encouraged an atmosphere of massive releases and (relatively) cheap licenses, and by the mid 1990s, enough anime was coming out so as to be noticed. The current ‘big seven’ all emerged (or had their parent company roots firmly planted) during this period. Through a combination of cashing in on ‘Americanized’ dubbed and edited anime shown on network television, and on continuing the ‘exotic foreign cartoon’ model of the past, the companies grew their businesses, culminating in the late 1990s releases of a small handful of classic series. These television anime, including The Vision of Escaflowne, Cowboy Bebop, and most famously Neon Genesis Evangelion, catapulted awareness to a new level, and formed the base of the current generation of most active and enthusiastic fans. Meanwhile, American investment in production-side activities reached a new level several years earlier, with the 1995 release of Production I.G and Mamoru Oshii’s Ghost in the Shell, which was partially financed by Manga Entertainment. As the new millennium crested, the large studios had started to take notice.

The Majors & Miyazaki
Miramax was the first to dive in, releasing Hayao Miyazaki’s Princess Mononoke to American theaters. The Ghibli classic, which still endures today as one of the finest anime ever produced, barely grossed $2.4 million in the United States and Canada, disappointing the parent Disney Company and setting back the cause of studio-released theatrical anime. Nonetheless, this release set into motion the long-term distribution deal between Ghibli and Disney, which has endured to this day. By granting what amounted to ‘Disneyfication’ of the English language dubs of Miyazaki’s films, the great master was given immeasurable status that immediately had the effect of setting him apart from the larger medium. It also created an atmosphere of ‘auteur’ clout around Miyazaki, cutting him off from the activities and accomplishments of his staff. In much criticism of his work, Miyazaki is treated as a god-like figure who does all the labor on his films himself, a notion helped by reports of how much time he personally invests in checking the key animation and drawing corrections. Lost in the glowing myth is the fact that Ghibli’s staff, while primarily comprised of full-time animators employed by the company, includes many who split their time between Ghibli and other studios.

First and foremost among these other studios is Madhouse, a company that was adopted early on by the anime fan subculture in the United States and revered in many ways as the ‘anti-Ghibli.’ By focusing on mature, hard-edged stories and frequently violent action animation, American Madhouse fans often saw little to nothing in common with the work being done at Ghibli under Miyazaki’s watch (this assumption on the part of the fans, as one may suspect, was based on Madhouse’s non-action works being overlooked or going unlicensed). Yet, major figures like Masashi Ando and Kitaro Kosaka more or less bounced back and forth between the companies, doing animation direction at Ghibli while designing characters (Ando) or directing their own material (Kosaka) at Madhouse. And among the ranks of the individual animators, even more crossover is apparent. Yet, because of the polarization of the different studios based on subject matter choice (a policy encouraged by US distributors) and the lionization of Miyazaki by American industry leaders like John Lasseter, an almost inseparable divide was created between the ‘prestige’ anime of Ghibli and the ‘subculture’ anime of Madhouse and other studios. Even (and perhaps especially) today, many self-proclaimed anime fans publicly state disgust with Miyazaki and Ghibli (although often in the anonymity of the internet), while traditional anti-anime critics and general American audiences recognize Miyazaki’s work (even if grudgingly) as era-defining for animation.

Of course, the most intractable old-guard figures in American animation do not take even Miyazaki seriously, and regard non-Ghibli productions with contempt. It is these figures who primarily form the upper levels of the system of peers in animation. Anime is shut out from awards events, studio screenings, promotional campaigns, and especially co-productions. Despite a wholehearted willingness to treat Asian subsidiary companies as creatively inferior cheap labor, virtually no one in American animation wants to give Japanese companies a creative voice. As a result of this, a large number of American animators, who themselves do not dislike anime, have no awareness of it and seem not to understand their Japanese compatriots conceptions of squash-and-stretch, purity of line, or sense of motion. The idea of international competition or collaboration simply does not exist, and American animators do not regard anime as taking place in the same artistic sphere as their own activities. The only crossover who has partially succeeded in bridging this divide is, perhaps unsurprisingly, Miyazaki. Because his traditional work ethic contains echoes of the old Disney, open minded proponents of traditional hand-drawn animation have held him up as proof that time-honored non-computer animation still has a place in the world. At the same time, a great number of these adoring critics conveniently forget his collaborators. An example is the 1995 film Whisper of the Heart. Since it is a Ghibli film, credit for it is often attributed to Miyazaki rather than its actual director Yoshifumi Kondo, Miyazaki’s friend and chosen successor, who sadly passed away before the baton was passed to him. Ghibli as a whole is conflated with Miyazaki despite the fact that the company has several directors, Isao Takahata among them. Looking beyond this, a disturbingly high number of supportive critics either purge Miyazaki of his Japanese origins or glory in his ‘exoticness’ while not attempting to understand it. This was particularly evident following the release of the Oscar-winning Spirited Away, where traditional figures of Japanese folklore (animal and elemental gods most prevalent) were often negatively referred to as ‘monsters too frightening for children,’ or were chalked up to being inventions of ‘those wacky Japanese’ while divorcing them of their symbolic context. One cannot help but wonder what the Japanese might think upon seeing the forms of North American folklore realized in a film. This is ultimately the heart of the problem: a chronic difficulty for fundamental cultural identity symbols to cross international lines. But because Miyazaki possesses the strength of truly rare genius, enough does cross over for people on the opposite side of the cultural divide to at least detect the universal sheen of quality, even if they don’t understand what it means. Thus, a two-tier system exists, where Ghibli (and Miyazaki in particular) are almost ‘forgiven’ for being anime (or are excused of the label all together), while everything else falls to the bottom.

And for a while, anime was content at the bottom. The money coming in from American licensing was a nice bonus for Japanese producers, and helped to create an increase in general animation quality and budgets from the early 2000s on. Whether a series sold particularly well or not mattered less than the amount of the original licensing fee, so the studios were not usually invested in the long-term appeal of their projects overseas. However, this gradually changed with the rise of anime conventions, a broadening of the anime fanbase, and the increased role of American distributor funds in putting together original productions in Japan. At one point in the mid 2000s, ADV co-founder Matt Greenfield justifiably boasted that ADV money was finding its way into about half of the original content produced in Japan for the Japanese market. This massive influx of capital had the effect of pumping up the Japanese production end on financial steroids, giving them the ability to martial resources previously all but impossible to attain. Korean subsidiary studios took on increasingly high volumes of work as the Japanese industry, fully into an animation boom despite the national economic bust, was unable to fill positions fast enough. Despite the fact that anime in the United States was still not being embraced by the general populace, and certainly was not receiving American industry support or respect, the Japanese end was flush with cash and happy. The stage was set for success.

This was the moment that the anime industry in Japan, and the anime distribution business worldwide, hit an intractable wall with the force of a high-speed train. That wall was the internet.

The End Of Business As We Know It

No one in Japan, America, or anywhere else was prepared for the effect the internet would have on the anime fanbase or on the distribution of content. Along with creating an immediate entitlement mindset among the otaku of the world (i.e., “I deserve this content, and I deserve it now”), the internet gave them a means to fulfill their lusts instantly. Because the distribution companies that held all the cards did not foresee this, and because Japanese financing and management companies that controlled the rights to the content were wary of leaping into a distribution stream they did not fully understand, the first wave of anime made available online was illegal. Taped off the original television airings in Japan, and then subtitled by fans, these ‘fansubs’ had an instant and dramatic effect. Before long, the question at university anime clubs and at animation conventions wasn’t “what new series are out in America now?”, but “where can I download free fansubs?” The industry, slow to react, did not realize the severity of the threat until a series of crushing blows had already been dealt. One of the major companies of the old guard, Central Park Media, went into extended hibernation in 2007 after the folding of the Musicland group (operators of the Sam Goody and Suncoast stores), in which they had a high financial stake. While Musicland went bankrupt for a complex series of reasons which did not directly relate to anime, the loss was generally regarded as the first blow dealt to a large distributor by fansubs and piracy, as well as a rebellion against the high prices of anime DVDs (so priced because of the limited number of copies sold, and due to requests from the Japanese producers, who sell DVDs in a market where prices average twice as much). But the real devastation came on December 3, 2007, when Geneon Entertainment, the huge (Japan-backed) distributor, fell under its own weight.
With a tremendous slowdown in US sales, the Japan side of Geneon, owned by advertising giant Dentsu, decided to pull the plug. Entire series were discontinued midway, and the jobs of all US-based employees were eliminated instantly. In the wake of Geneon’s fall, the remaining distribution companies had to deal with a sudden lack of confidence, an angry fanbase, and a shocked and reeling business model rendered worthless by its very attempts to deliver high-quality releases. The fans, it had become clear, didn’t want fancy packaging or special features. They wanted their anime, and they wanted it yesterday. Every moment that passed of an unlicensed show sitting in negotiations or a licensed series awaiting release was a moment that another fan went to YouTube or any of the BitTorrent streaming websites that had sucked up anime like sponges. In the immediate wake, all the major distributors assured their fans and customers that they were stable and on a good footing. But behind the scenes, the seeds of panic were sown.

ADV hit the wall next, in July 2008. For reasons that are still not entirely clear or public knowledge, the company’s Japan-based financing partner, Sojitz, had a sudden crisis of confidence in ADV’s ability to deliver profits. They were, perhaps, not unjustified. ADV had, since the licensing of landmark series Neon Genesis Evangelion, been cash-rich and at the top of their game, picking up a plethora of series and branching into magazine publication with NewType USA (itself licensed from the publishing giant Kadokawa Shoten). But ADV started to feel the fansub pinch, and an overall decline in anime sales due to the fading of its ‘fad’ status among casual pre-teen fans started to cut into profits. NewType USA was the first to go, discontinued and then replaced by a new publication, PiQ, which was entirely produced by ADV to save the cost of licensing content from Kadokawa. PiQ failed after just four issues. ADV then started to cut into other side businesses, discontinuing the Anime Network cable channel, the Anime ADVocates club outreach program, and ADV’s production and planning division ADV Pro. It was not long after this that the Sojitz partnership, which had already started to fissure, cracked publicly in spectacular fashion. Overnight, ADV lost the licensing of no less than thirty series, the vast majority of all their licenses since 2006. Critically crippled, major doubts regarding the short-term, let alone long-term, survival of the company surfaced. Fans who were still outraged over the discontinuance of series they had been following from Geneon, abandoned ADV in droves. ADV limped along for the rest of the year, forming a new partnership with Sentai Filmworks in October, and finally began releasing new titles in January of 2009. The once-mighty king of the anime world had been displaced from the throne. In the shower of shed blood and resentment over ADV’s implosion, a new monarch was set to be crowned.

That monarch was FUNimation. Controlled by corporate partner Navarre, the company had gained a solid bulwark of cash resources by being the exclusive distributor of all things Dragonball Z for close to a decade. Long hated for their practices of editing and aggressive ‘Americanization’ dubbing, FUNimation turned the corner in fan opinion with the licensing of the super popular BONES series Fullmetal Alchemist. Leaving the series intact and giving it a highly-praised dub, FUNimation began an ascension that took them to the top of the heap in July 2008, when they deftly stepped into the void left by ADV while at the same time picking up the series Sojitz had pulled from Matt Greenfield’s company. Some heralded FUNimation (called FUNI by fans) as a savior. Others accused them of stabbing ADV in the back. Whichever side a person was on, the one thing that was abundantly clear was that FUNimation was the dominant force that now controlled the industry.

Unlike the other distributors, FUNimation won itself favorable relations with the Japanese side by sending cease-and-desist letters to fansubers, as well as taking on major BitTorrent sites. In some cases, they did this with series they had not yet or did not intend to license, on behalf of their Japanese partners. Also unlike other distributors, FUNimation had long worked with non-Union voice acting talents for the dubs, and had tapped almost exclusively local actors in the Fort Worth, Texas area, keeping costs lower. Following their lead, and especially after the collapse of Geneon (which used Union actors in nearly all of their dubs), distributor after distributor went non-Union, sending dubbing production to Canada and resulting in some of the top talents, such as fan-favorite Crispin Freeman, being put nearly out of work. By doing things cheap, and by playing fast and loose with the original Japanese language scripts in their dubs, FUNimation has captured a huge segment of total sales. But even they have found themselves subject to the influences of the larger economy.
On February 5, 2009, FUNimation’s parent company Navarre announced their Third Quarter results. Across the company’s many separate departments, FUNimation included, an operating loss of $32 million was incurred. In order to counter this, Navarre and FUNimation have slashed jobs in an effort to ‘restructure.’ No less than fifty Navarre employees, twenty of them from FUNimation, were laid off on January 6. And, several of the Sojitz-controlled series that FUNimation picked up from ADV (which had just a single DVD volume to go before being completed) were left unfinished for months on end. Instead, FUNimation has focused on releasing box set compilations, forcing fans who had started the series while they were still controlled by ADV to wait through two release delays, and in some cases to repurchase DVDs they already owned in order to finish. The reason for the delays has never been stated, but to many commentators, it is clear that FUNimation was understaffed before this round of cuts, and the job eliminations have only caused further release difficulties and delays, contrary to the publicly stated position of the company. Where exactly FUNimation will go from here, even with all the power in the anime distribution world, remains anyone’s guess.

“Go(ing) Back To The Way It Was”

And what of the rest of the distribution industry? Viz and Bandai are fortunate in that they are the US branches of powerful Japanese conglomerates, but this alone does not protect them from changing fortunes. Bandai, for example, has recently announced indefinite delays for several popular series, including their limited edition release of the final volume of best-selling series Lucky Star. Meanwhile, other small distributors have gone silent on new releases, or are releasing subtitle-only DVDs without dubs. And in the television world, Cartoon Network, once the go-to source for anime on cable, has virtually removed anime from prime time slots. On the Japanese end, the losses in America have become especially dire. On January 28, at Digital Hollywood’s University of Digital Content in Tokyo, Keisuke Iwata, the executive in charge of TV Tokyo’s animation division and AT-X anime channel, gave a lecture that sent shockwaves through the Japanese and American anime worlds. Concluding that the North American and European anime markets are in critical condition, Iwata said that “as it stands, we may have to go back to the way it was in the past – back to selling Japanese animation only to the Japanese marketplace.”
What does this mean for the future? What role, if any, will anime play in America? If these questions are to be answered, and answered with positive responses, then the anime world in America is in sorely in need of a revolution of business tactics, self-image, and perhaps most important, fan behavior. The distribution methods and the companies which provide distribution services must be dramatically altered. A greater recognition of internet distribution is important, but rekindling an interest in hard copy DVD and Blu-Ray releases must take priority. This can only come from making anime less expensive, and appealing to a broader audience. To that end, the major Hollywood studios must be encouraged to take up serious distribution. Already, Sony has risen to the challenge, and Warner Brothers has financed and co-produced several compilation films based on their live action film properties, but more must be done. Furthermore, the surviving small and specialized distributors must make their product more relevant, pulling it out of its marginalized status and holding it up proudly in the marketplace and at awards time. “Anime is here to stay!” must be the cry, and an abundance of the most convincing examples must be shown to the larger American animation world. No matter what prejudices are encountered, and encountered they will be, Japanese producers and their American distribution partners must push ahead, and do so not by attempting to bend to American clichés and tropes and thereby neuter the originality of their vision and content, but by educating the public and the critical intelligencia that, like the works of the Japanese film autuers of the 1950s and 1960s, anime is a unique art that need not abide by the traditional rules that govern Western conceptions of animation.

But all these efforts will be in vain if the fans themselves do not undergo a change as well. Because the primary audience for anime in America is America’s youth, and this generation of youth seems, more than any previous group, ruled by the momentary passions of the immediate ‘fix,’ anime which is released in the traditional way will wither and fall by the very nature of the time it takes to reach its market. While it is important that release times be decreased, the fans too must be taught (or re-taught, as the case may be) that instant gratification (and the free or low-cost pass that comes with it) is destroying the medium they love. Furthermore, the dangerous idea that “I want it, so I should have it” has removed a key concept from many fans’ minds: that of a value exchange. If they value the content, then they must give up something of value to get it. If you want it, you must pay for it. This is, quite simply, the way the world works. But because of the entitlement impulse that is so strong in this generation, and due to the total disconnection between American fans and Japanese creators, there is no perception that watching for free is directly destroying the industry which produces the content in the first place. Even if anime goes entirely online, streaming episodes for a few dollars each cannot possibly make back the same kind of money that home video once accounted for. And, even if American fans have little sympathy with American distributors, which have routinely been called ‘dinosaurs’ and ‘outdated relics,’ perhaps they will have more compassion for the Japanese production studios, which now are finding their budgets slashed and their paying audience ever shrinking. If anime is no longer produced with America in mind, not only will American anime fans lose the content, but the content itself will no longer reflect the desires, interests, or sensibilities of this demographic. If being universal is no longer a valued trait, then who can blame Japan for becoming isolated and closed once more?
Of course, even if all these questions can be satisfactorily answered, anime still faces many challenges. The Japanese industry is in a state of dissipation, as old talent fades and new talents are not up to the challenge of filling their places. Time and time again, the heads of the anime companies, as well as the senior directors, have bemoaned that the generation that turned the industry into a powerhouse of art are on the verge of fading away, and that the new generation does not seem ready to fill their shoes. But that is a concern for the long term. In the immediate moment of now, major studios, having gambled everything on increasing sales and on a viable international market, are on the verge of collapse. And, as the domestic demand for anime decreases in Japan, producers must increasingly turn to the most hard-line and fundamentalist otaku, a group plagued by narrow interests, racist nationalism, and extreme vitriolic hatred towards anyone who betrays their astronomical expectations. Astride the edge of a rapidly changing future like a great paper colossus, anime as a whole must forge new pathways to relevancy and reform, or risk igniting like a tinderbox as the rays of the setting sun set it ablaze. Japan has, as a nation and society, long seen meaning in the ephemeral cherry blossom, or sakura, as a sign of fleeting beauty. It would be tragic indeed if anime, like the burning sakura petal, expires so soon at the end of short spring, while still at the height of its exquisite loveliness.

Next Time, in Part II: Anime in Japan – Industry On The Edge

Cameron again. Honestly, I’m iffy on anime, appreciating the cinematic quality and creative freedom and lamenting the sometimes lackluster animation (though I find it irritating how some criticize it for not measuring up to Disney standards of “squash & stretch”). However, Nicholas’s essay was quite informative, and leaves me open to anything new he has for the society. After all, there are few filmmakers I admire so much as Miyazaki. For the love of Pete, I loved My Neighbor Totoro years before Spirited Away was even made. For the double-love of Pete, I’ve seen all his episodes of Lupin III!

Henry Selick is a twisted, demented little child with a heart of gold. The Nightmare Before Christmas and James and the Giant Peach were filled with a blend of Brothers Quay-esque grimyness and a sense of glee-filled wonder. It’s interesting that the co-creator of one of the most treasured family movies in the Disney canon has here been granted a notoriously creepy Neil Gaiman novel to adapt and what must be greater creative freedom under Focus Features and a newly founded studio, Laika. Focus has never exactly been well known for their family-friendly romps, but they’ve produced one of the finest family movies in some time. By this I mean it is a film for the whole family, not simply a diversion for ADD-stricken children in search of pop-culture references and scatalogical humor. This is an intelligent, technically accomplished, visually inventive, and accessibly creepy movie that shows just what fantasy and animation should do at their best.

Coraline Jones is afflicted with a humdrum new life at an apartment in the country. Her parents, consumed by their work on a gardening book, have no time for their daughter. Thus, Coraline entertains herself with such activities as finding wells with dousing rods and listing the number of windows and doors. She encounters the closest thing to a friend in Whybie, (short for Whybourne) a somewhat obnoxious eccentric with a pet cat who becomes very important to the story later. She also encounters her neighbors: Mr. Bobinsky, the acrobat who trains mice, and Spink and Forcible, a former acrobatic team who now dabble in pacidermy. Coraline isn’t especially amused by all this, and it’s all she can do to keep herself from being driven insane.

But a mysterious door in the wall piques her curiosity. In the day, it’s all bricked up, but at night she’s drawn back to the door by scurrying mice to find a whole new world open to her. Inside, everything from her real life is contained, only better. Her other-father and other-mother devote all of their time to her, playing songs about her, making gardens in the shape of her head, and cooking the most delicious meals only for her. Whybie’s here too, only his yap’s forced shut, while his cat talks.  It’s interesting that the two of them have buttons for eyes, but in every other way Coraline prefers this world.

But something starts to go wrong. She’s offered a pair of buttons to sew to her eyes and a promise that she can live in this world forever. This doesn’t set well with Coraline, who immediately attempts to return to her original world. Nothing doing. Soon, Coraline is fighting not only for her soul, but for that of her parents and of the children who have suffered the same fate that she may soon if she’s not careful.

Besides the inevitable literary  link to Alice in Wonderland, this reminded me quite of bit of Hayao Miyazaki’s masterpiece, Spirited Away. Both films star somewhat bratty little girls forced into new locations with distant parents who encounter fantasy worlds and are forced to grow up in order to conquer their new surroundings. Between the two, I find Spirited Away to be the more layered and poignant work. However, Coraline certainly has Spirited Away licked as far as the scare factor is concerned. While it never becomes too scary for children to handle, this film offers enough creeps to surpass most of the so-called horror films typically found in American theaters. It’s this sense of creeps that brings Coraline closer to the horrifying roots of the fairytales of the Brothers Grimm and Hans Christian Anderson than Disney’s more direct adaptations. It’s as if Pinocchio was constantly taken up by the Coachman.

However, what’s most impressive about Henry Selick’s work is how it dares to incorporate the old with the new. I’m no fan of the 3D craze that’s taking over Hollywood, but that Selick could make a hot “new” technology compatible with a form of animation that isn’t CGI should send a message to Hollywood executives that older forms of animation will never be out-dated. Watching the trailers for upcoming movies like 9 and Up causes one to ponder the possibility that animation may be in the process of revival. True, we also were forced to endure Dreamworks’ Monsters vs. Aliens (which has an interesting concept and unconvincing execution, judging from the trailer) and Fox’s latest Ice Age sequel, but if Disney succeeds in marketing Ghibli’s latest films (which may be possible with their reshuffled management) and Princess and the Frog truly brings in the money, we may see animation enter a new phase. Coraline is artistry in the same way that last year’s WALL-E was, but with a seperate vision all its own. Animators would do well to follow the example of movies like these.

Special mention is deserved by the film’s composer. His name is new to me, but Bruno Colais provides a score unlike anything out there. It sells the atmosphere perfectly, incorporating instruments not typically used in film outside of a few European art shorts. In an age when many films neglect their scores, it’s refreshing to see something new.

In many ways, Coraline is an example of what the typical family film should be: compelling in its characters, unique in its perspective, and filled with a desire to entertain and fill its audience with awe. This new studio, Laika, presents a new voice in animation which I shall eagerly observe. The studio’s next release may not be for a while, but in the meantime we have this piece of magic to chew on. Weird people everywhere are obligated to experience this little piece of movie magic.

I haven’t seen or heard much of this film, other than a brief trailer (and, as we all know, America doesn’t know how to market animation, save the Pixar guys). Nicholas quite likes this movie, and invites anyone interested to a screening on Thursday. I can’t make it, but anyone interested should drop by.

Eye on Anime: Sword of the Stranger Screening on Thursday, Feb. 5th
By Nicholas Zabaly

One of the categories of animation that I’m particularly eager to cover in my writing is Japanese animation (or anime), since more than in most other national animation industries, there is present in the best works of Japan a vitality and willingness to push the envelope and take risks that would in other places be stifled, ignored, or simply too costly to pursue. To that end, I intend to occasionally write entries in this column, called Eye on Anime, to highlight certain outstanding examples of the medium that are available in the English language market. And for my first entry, I’m honored to not only showcase an outstanding feature film, but one that you can catch in theaters this coming week.

Sword of the Stranger is one of those great anime films that leaves you convinced at the end that animation was the only way to do it. A rousing action film with stunning animation, it’s also one of those films that you could excuse for being light on the plot. As it is, well-realized characters dominate the core of the movie, and though the story of a Japanese boy being pursued by soldiers of the Ming Dynasty and the ronin (masterless samurai) who protects him is at its essence just a device to propel the swordfights, the screenwriter and director have skillfully woven some interesting commentary on the relationship between Japan and the foreigner, and even between East and West. Remarkably, the East doesn’t come out looking so good, and the movie ends with the interesting conclusion (for a samurai film) that perhaps serving as a stoic warrior counts for less than being an empathetic human being. The heartfelt character relationship between the pursued boy Kotarou and his ronin protector Nanashi (literally, No Name) brings remarkable life to the story. By the end, these aren’t just characters, but real people who you can’t help but care a lot about. The film also features one of the cutest (and most deadly) dogs to appear in an anime in a long time, so canine lovers have a reason to celebrate as well.

The film is the directorial debut of Masahiro Ando, a famed animator with a long and successful career doing mostly action animation. Fans of the legendary anime Neon Genesis Evangelion will no doubt remember one of his key moments from the End of Evangelion film: he drew the lance spearing Unit 02 (and even more impressively, he drew all his shots in just two weeks). On the other end of the spectrum, fans of Cowboy Bebop: The Movie have likely also enjoyed his work: he did the key animation for the entire last third of the Spike vs. Vincent fight. Besides this, he’s also drawn for Jin Roh: The Wolf Brigade, Metropolis, and quite a few other movies and TV shows. However, since coming to Studio BONES, the production company of Sword of the Stranger and top-tier action series studio, he’s been on top of his game. BONES agreed to make his first film, and over a seven-year period (two years of which were spent just on animation), Sword of the Stranger came to life. It is a highlight talent reel for BONES’ best animators, including superstar Yutaka Nakamura (recognized in Japan on the same level as James Baxter or Eric Goldberg), who did the climactic end fight entirely on his own. BONES has, since its conception about ten years ago, continued to improve its talent base by developing in-house animators and raiding the best from elsewhere, and a noticeable progression in their abilities is obvious to any anime watcher. But to see their accomplishments on Sword of the Stranger puts this studio into another category. Quite simply, this is the best sword fighting animation ever put on film. It completely outdoes anything else produced thus far, and on a sheer quality level, the action scenes match the best of contemporary Disney, and beyond.

Due to a special co-release between distributor Bandai Entertainment and events promoter NCM Fathom, the film will be shown theatrically for one day only on February 5th at 7:30 p.m. The film is 2 hours and 5 minutes in length, including a special documentary following the feature, which includes voice actor interviews and a profile of the BONES studio facilities. Although the film isn’t rated, it’s rather violent, so I would say it’s the equivalent of an ‘R’ rated film (although the official site lists a suggestion of ‘PG-13′). This is the wide-release theatrical premiere of the English dubbed version; I haven’t yet seen this version but I’ve been told it’s good. The film is playing at several theaters throughout the Los Angeles area, and in hundreds of theaters nationwide. A list of theaters, as well as an online means of buying tickets, can be found on the official NCM Fathom Sword of the Stranger website:

http://www.fathomevents.com/details.aspx?eventid=765&utm_source=ANNandMania&utm_medium=banner&utm_campaign=SOTS

I will personally be seeing the film at the AMC Century City 15, so if anyone would like to join me, please feel free to stop by and say hello (I’ll be wearing a Cowboy Bebop T-shirt, so I should be easy to spot!). For convenience, the location and contact information for the AMC Century City 15 is listed below.

AMC Century City 15
10250 SANTA MONICA BLVD., 2000
LOS ANGELES, CA 90067
310-277-2262

I hope to see some of you there!