According to AnimeOnDVD Funimation have announced the rights to Afro Samurai. The series is produced by Japanese animation powerhouse GONZO, but will be released in the US before Japan. Hollywood actor Samuel L Jackson will be playing the lead character "Afro". Funimation will release the title at the start of 2007 shortly after the US broadcast.
Funimation acquire Afro Samurai
- Thread starter Mangaminx
- Start date
I don't know what to say about this really, i don't think anime should be infuenced by any other country than Japan, especially not America, but on the other hand it will be interesting to see how this turns out.
I really don't think it should be released outside of Japan first though, i don't know what to think really, i hope it is the first and last anime to be released outside of Japan first, and if an 'anime' get produced by an American company, it cannot be called anime anymore :/
Omg, this just seems the beginning of something different, but something that could be quite bad... Maybe the end of anime as we know it :S
EDIT: Thinking about it more, it will mean there is going to be an english dub straight away..., and maybe the lip-sync will be for English, oh dear :S
Also, it will definately open a lot more people's eyes to 'anime', but then anime may be lost, i really don't know what to expect here, i'm going to see what happens.
I really don't think it should be released outside of Japan first though, i don't know what to think really, i hope it is the first and last anime to be released outside of Japan first, and if an 'anime' get produced by an American company, it cannot be called anime anymore :/
Omg, this just seems the beginning of something different, but something that could be quite bad... Maybe the end of anime as we know it :S
EDIT: Thinking about it more, it will mean there is going to be an english dub straight away..., and maybe the lip-sync will be for English, oh dear :S
Also, it will definately open a lot more people's eyes to 'anime', but then anime may be lost, i really don't know what to expect here, i'm going to see what happens.
I don't really mean it like that i don't think. I mean like actually being released in the US first. It's good that some anime's are influenced by other countires otherwise we wouldn't have things such as BECK, Cowboy Bebop etc, but when things start being produced in places outside Japan, they will be totally changed and not be anime anymore, sorry if ididn't explain myself well enough
WTFDaveMustaine said:
I was thinking the same thing. Anime already draws heavily from other cultures and styles and makes them its own. About the most culturally Japanese anime I've seen is probably the studio Ghibli stuff. Don't confuse the fact that these things originate in other cultures as meaning that they haven't already been incorporated into Japanese culture in their own way as it is. It's not like they don't have a McDonalds or StarBucks in Tokyo, or that US movies aren't hits in the Japanese cinemas as well. Last I heard, Harry Potter was quite popular in Japan. That all becomes part of the culture as well.
Culture within a society isn't a static thing, it's constantly changing with both external and internal influences. External influences just tend to be altered to fit in with the rest of the culture to some extent.
Plus, Samuel L Jackson is awesome in any language, kthxbye.
Just a random thought out of the blue...
If Anime had reached the kind of international peak its reached now early, in the 80s, would we have got an internationally-collaborative program called "Mohawk Samurai" starring Mr T?
Of course the Voice Recording work would have had to have been done in the US.
If Anime had reached the kind of international peak its reached now early, in the 80s, would we have got an internationally-collaborative program called "Mohawk Samurai" starring Mr T?
Of course the Voice Recording work would have had to have been done in the US.
Actually, thinking about it more, i can't see how this is going to be bad a thing lol, omg i should think about things more before i post them lol. Yeah anyway, i think it will be good as long as anime is still the anime it has always been and continues to be produced and everything else, in Japan, things like Afro Samurai are ok if they don't begin to merge with the rest of anime or anything. It will be interesing to see how it turns out, definately, maybe there will be a chance to see it on UK TV sometime soon, there's a lot more chance as it will be labled American to some extent. If i say anymore i'm just going to start repeating myself lol, i still have mixed views with this so i'll post a bit later...probably
Chibi Yosho
School Idol
These are the reasons I will not be watching it. Minus the Samuel L Jackson part because he's pretty cool in some things.WTFDaveMustaine said:
But yeah, loads of anime is heavily influenced by western culture... There's a huge market for it in Japan and elsewhere.
I'm reluctant to write this series off just yet, not all Japanese/US co productions are total failures - as any one who has seen The Big O II can attest - and Samuel L. Jackson is the undisputed king of cinematic cool, his presence alone warrants a watch in my book.
The series is also based on a pre-existing manga, it's not something some hollywood execs dreamt up after watching too much Kill Bill, so any fears of it being too westernised are pretty unfounded. Besides, Samurai Champloo is heavily entrenched in western culture and that turned out to be a pretty damn fine series.
The series is also based on a pre-existing manga, it's not something some hollywood execs dreamt up after watching too much Kill Bill, so any fears of it being too westernised are pretty unfounded. Besides, Samurai Champloo is heavily entrenched in western culture and that turned out to be a pretty damn fine series.I think this could be very cool . I seem to remember it being mentioned that they are also going to produce a live-action movie version, also starring Samuel L Jackson all of which could raise the profile of anime to a (potentially) good end... That's what the optimist in me believes and I like the sound of that so I'll stick to it .
Note, this is hardly the first US/Japan collaboration. IGPX is an example of an anime (which is showing in the US now I believe) that is a Cartoon Network funded show. MTV have also gotten in on the game by stumping up for an anime of Tokyo Tribes based on the manga by Santa Inoue. We will have to wait and see how all of this pans out.
. I seem to remember it being mentioned that they are also going to produce a live-action movie version, also starring Samuel L Jackson all of which could raise the profile of anime to a (potentially) good end... That's what the optimist in me believes and I like the sound of that so I'll stick to it .Note, this is hardly the first US/Japan collaboration. IGPX is an example of an anime (which is showing in the US now I believe) that is a Cartoon Network funded show. MTV have also gotten in on the game by stumping up for an anime of Tokyo Tribes based on the manga by Santa Inoue. We will have to wait and see how all of this pans out.
Strictly speaking it is just about making the greatest Japanese rock band they possibly can but the measure of that would be making a success in the country where rock is arguably biggest, the USA.DaNiMé said:but as far as i'm aware it's about 'making it big in the USA', please tell me if i'm wrong, i'm downloading the whole series atm lol, and i am pretty excited
I don't mind American money funding anime projects, like how ADV co-produced Kino's Journey but things start to go a little funny when the Japanese lose creative control. It's like OEL manga really; the West has yet to capture the spirit of anime, more just copying the technical drawing styles.