Panel Recap: Hollywood’s New Anime Gold Rush

Titled Hollywood’s New Anime Gold Rush, Asia Society Southern California’s panel provided an in-depth look at some of the benefits and challenges anime faces not only from the increasing westernization of the art form, but from the past year as well. With expert speakers like John Ledford, the founder of Sentai Filmworks, Maki Terashima-Furuta, the president of Production I.G. USA, and Jason DeMarco, the Senior Vice President/Creative Director at Adult Swim/Cartoon Network On-Air, it was a rousing hour of conversation and debate.

Moderator Roland Kelts, a journalist based in Tokyo, listed some surprising statistics. Japan is the only non-English nation to be featured on the list of the top 25 most grossing properties in the world, and 11 of those properties are anime series. The two top moneymakers are Pokemon and Hello Kitty, and they have helped propel anime to an industry that is projected to rake in over 33 billion dollars over the next five years.

Kelts got things started with a simple question: what is so special about anime? According to John Ledford, it’s that it fills a gap nobody else is filling in the States. He called it the “anti-Disney” in that it appeals to everyone, not merely kids and families. There truly are titles ranging from bleak horror to fantasy musicals, making anime one of the broadest mediums there is.

When it comes to recommendations for newbies, Maki says Ghost in the Shell and Grave of the Fireflies are some of her top picks, although surprisingly, she actually doesn’t enjoy watching anime very much. Jason DeMarco agreed, adding that Your Name is also a great intro for Western fans who don’t have much experience with anime yet. DeMarco has also noted that he has ten series in production for Adult Swim with the idea of most of them premiering on Toonami, all set to premiere through 2025.

One of the biggest controversies in the anime community these days is whether it can be called anime if it’s made and produced in the US. The panelists were all fairly agreeable on this point, saying that even if overseas animators copy the style of anime, it can’t truly be considered an anime if it doesn’t come from the soul of a Japanese artist. True animation fans will always know whether a series is produced by Hollywood or a real anime, said Ledford. Maki agreed that US production should be billed as being “anime inspired” rather than just “anime.”

When it comes to how 2020 has affected the industry, there are the usual expected losses. Sentai’s theatrical division took a big hit, as did the production of animated shows from Production I.G. and HBO Max. However, streaming services are growing like crazy, and the Demon Slayer movie is currently breaking box office records in Japan and Taiwan. The panelists estimated it should debut here in the US early next year.

In the future five years down the line, the group sees more production capacity opening up. Japanese companies are currently swamped with work, and it looks like animators from other regions might have to help out. Maki would also love to see more recognition of those doing the actual animation work, rather than just big name directors and producers. And even though American companies think all the money lies in action series and not in slice of life shows, everyone agreed that it would be good to see more diversity in shows, genres, and characters.

2020 may have been a difficult year for everyone, but if this panel is anything to go by, the future of the art form will remain bright for years to come!