10A KULTURE
THE UNIVERSITY MARY KANSAN
WEDNESDAY, MAY 2, 2007
BY ALISON CUMBOW
Marla Keown/KANSAN
rant Moran has seen the culture of Japanese anime merge between countries on a first-hand level.
Japanese are changing cultural aspects to entice a wider international audience," Moran said.
Moran and Ken Duer were two of the four speakers at the anime event in the Robert J. Dole Institute of Politics on April 25. The speakers discussed the
cultural aspects behind Japanese anime in relation to the American market.
"Thirty years ago, the Japanese animation business would never have attempted to produce a product specifically to be appreciated in the United States," Moran said. "There was no intersection between the two countries."
Now, the thought of the two businesses working together is a reality.
Moran, who has been a writer, story editor, producer and executive in television animation for many years, said an example of changing cultural aspects was by not changing
the name of "Viewtiful Joe" when it came from Japan to the United States. Television anime is a lucrative business and frequently spreads from country to country. Many feel that what once was culturally enriched Japanese television anime has become a Westernized version of its previous self.
"Anime is a cultural window into modern Japanese life, ideals, emotions, beliefs and even history. But because anime is highly cultural and not American, American companies butcher a great deal of that," Alex Byers, a University of Kansas graduate and avid fan, said.
Marla Keown/KANSAN
There are essentially two ways to bring Japanese anime to the American audience. One is through DVDs, which the intense fans buy. The second is through television. If an American broadcasting company decides to buy a series from Japan it then has its team, such as Moran, rewrite the dialogue.
Ken Duer, President of Phuuz Entertainment, and Grant Moran, anime producer discuss anime and its cultural acceptance in America on April 25 in the Dole Institute of Politics. After discussing Japanese anime, Duer and Moran presented "Kiba", an anime pilot that follows 2ed, who gets transported to a completely different world of nature instead of machines, in an overly crowded technological world.
"My job is to create words in the Japanese anime characters' mouths that they are saying in their native language to English. My words have to fit into the way their mouths are already moving." Moran said.
"American TV anime is highly edited for the consumer and the consumer's weary parent. The voice style is also changed, which alters the muance of who the character really is, as well
Many fans are unhappy with this process and claim that much more than just the words are changed.
as the dialogue, to cater more to the American thought process and ways of speaking," Byers said.
The most common demographic for television anime is boys 6 to 12 years old. In the United States, this group of children is very different than those in Japan.
"Young Japanese boys are more interested in sports and comedy series, whereas in the U.S., the boys want to see action and conflict," Ken Duer, the second main speaker at last week's event, said.
"Japanese anime has brought more than just story telling to American pop culture. It has brought culture, down to the food the characters eat in the show, to how they are dressed and even to the theme music,
known as J-Pop," Duer said.
story line, and I find it relaxing and a good break from normal life," Matt Schott, Olathe sophomore and member of the KU Anime Club, said.
Many people, including KU students have found the phenomenon added to their list of interests.
Schott also said that Americans have Westernized Japanese anime so that many people could get the chance to enjoy the art form.
Moran seconds this idea and explained that anime isn't about hearing exact translations across the boards. It's about keeping the message the same.
"I think that anime is something that just about anyone could be interested in," Drew Howland, Topeka freshman and member of the KU Anime Club, said.
"Anime is a cultural window into modern Japanese life, ideals, emotions, beliefs and even history."
"I like anime because it is enjoyable.
Often, an anime show will have a great
ALEX BYERS KU graduate and anime fan
shows," he said.
"I try to create the American equivalent to the experience that the Japanese have had after watching an anime series. I write the dialogue as directly a translation that I can, and my goal is for the American audience to experience exactly what the Japanese have: a love for the
Whatever the reason for the American spin on anime, Japanese television anime eliminates any limits of cultural awareness. It gives everyone more than enough reason to wake up early on Saturday mornings for a little cartoon surfing.
Edited by James Pinick
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