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[ Graphical: Channel4 Homepage ]
The enormous volume of Japanese animated feature film production is a revelation to most in the UK. The most visible examples of 'manga' or 'anime' have been cult films such as Otomo's Akira and Mamoru Osshi's The Ghost in the Shell, but these are just the tip of the iceberg. What fans appreciate is the complex, adult-oriented story lines, strong cinematic values and the extraordinarily inventive visual worlds these films create. Premiered on Japan night is Blood: The Last Vampire which shows the hand of Mamoru, who scripted the sinister psychological and political thriller Jin-roh. There are also new short animations made by cutting edge Japanese filmmakers, who were introduced to UK audiences by the highly successful Onedotzero festival for new media and hybrid genres.
Manga Re-Mix
Although there is a strong fan base and several clubs for British "otoku", and a lot of tape-swapping between fans, far more tapes and DVDs are available in the US than here: making it easier for those active in the "manga re-mix" movement to access material. Last year C4's online forum accompanying the Animation Zone was swamped with British anime fans requesting more Japanese animation.
UK audiences now have an opportunity to catch up with features from Ghibli Studios, Japan's most successful animation producers. Their films regularly outgross those of Disney on home turf, prompting the "Mouse House" to buy international rights to their films. Courtesy of Japan 2002 and London's Barbican cinema, a complete Ghibli retrospective, including Princess Mononoke and classics such as Porco Rosso and Laputa is now on in London.
Mumbleboy
Ironically, considering the runaway success of featured Hot Shot Kinya Hanada's animation website over the last couple of years, his parents wouldn't let him watch TV as a child: 'maybe that's why I really wanted to make cartoons'.
Born in Japan, Hanada moved at 13 with his family to California. He initially studied painting at Rhode Island art college (RISD), dubbing himself Mumbleboy after constant complaints that his mumbling made him unintelligible on college radio shows. His website began with just 'one image of a doll, and a little diary I kept ..., I was just psyched about doing stuff online. It seemed like a cool thing to do'. His animation only dates back a few years: from collages in Photoshop, he began to experiment with Flash when friends told him how easy and fun it was to use. He downloaded the demo and has been 'hooked ever since'.
Mumbleboy sees Flash as the most popular animation tool for the web, but thinks it will be challenged by other programs as wider bandwidths allow for heavier animation. 'I like making animation for the internet, but watching on a big movie screen is my favourite'.
Although some of his animations seem to reference video games, he admits to not being much of a player: ' I'm pretty bad at it.' On his animations he says: 'Usually there's no single idea behind a whole animation, it's a bunch of different things put together. I just have an image or something in mind and I try to draw it in Flash. A different scene is a different idea, but I try to connect it.'
| Manga Remix | |
| First Commandment. | Mix and Match |
| Second Commandment. | Choose carefully |
| Third Commandment. | Be the ultimate fan |
| Fourth Commandment. | Avoid the law |
| Fifth Commandment. | Nothing is sacred |
Best of British | Sci-fi | Japan | Blaxploitation
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