Anime Post: The Director Who Leapt Through Hollywood

Hollywood may be ground zero for American entertainment, but on Saturday, at least one cinema was playing host to foreign films instead. The Korean Cultural Center and the Japan Foundation teamed up to present two recent animated works: Bum-Jin Joe's Aachi and Ssipak and Mamoru Hosoda's The Girl Who Leapt Through Time (Toki wo Kakeru Shoujo). Both movies have already been reviewed elsewhere, but the Los Angeles screening also featured a discussion panel with the film directors themselves. Not only were Joe and Hosoda present, but also Jae Moh, president of Sunwoo Entertainment USA, and Mizuko Ito, researcher on youth culture and technology, to provide their own insights on the world of Asian animation and its audience. TV and film producer Ken Duer moderated the panel.

The panel opened with a softball question for the directors: Describe your moviemaking influences. Although both directors were exposed to cartoons in their youth, they both stressed the importance of live-action film in cementing their style. Joe pointed to Spielberg as being a teenage influence, with Aachi and Ssipak often paying homage to great American blockbusters, while Hosoda got into Stanley Kubrick and Woody Allen but gradually came around to the philosophy that popular genre movies can have just as much value as "artistic" ones.

Then Ito and Moh got into the conversation with the obvious kick-starter: Why is anime popular? Moh cited all the familiar reasons: it's different, it's sophisticated, it works in ways that Western animation just doesn't. Moh also cited the melodramatic qualities of the visuals. Ito went on to expand on this by noting that the such works often tackle issues that kids are sheltered from in US animation. But while the world of anime is "different," Ito also pointed out the familiarities that make it appealing to kids and teens everywhere. Fantasy worlds and warriors, robots and spaceships, school comedies and romances—these are accessible even to non-Japanese. To Ito, that was specifically why Japanese animation (and its sister medium, comics) has emerged as a worldwide phenomenon, as opposed to live-action and other entertainment mediums from that country.

The discussion turned back to Joe and Hosoda about what inspired them to make their movies. For Joe, it was a desire to go beyond the "cartoons are for kids" mentality and present a wholly new approach. Because of Korea's short animation history, he felt less constrained by tradition and could do exactly what he wanted, trying new things. To him, the main challenge was the story, and the film ultimately took ten years to produce (he had been expecting more like two).

Hosoda, on the other hand, was working from something with a very strong tradition: The Girl Who Leapt Through Time is actually a "modern classic" novel that has already been through several adpatations. (If you don't like moving pictures, there's a manga series in Shonen Ace. If you don't like cartoon drawings in general, there's always the live-action movie full of old-school waves. If you're opposed to any form of visual entertainment, just read the novel already.) Because of this, Hosoda's challenge was to make it work as an animation, which he did by making significant changes from the novel, even altering characters' names. Because the novel is over 40 years old, and because animation is such a different medium, Hosoda felt that such changes were an inherent part of the adaptation process.

When asked about the message of his film, Hosoda thought it over for a moment, but was quick to hit on a simple point: "Value your time." Even though he felt that there were other messages in the film, his main point was that this time-traveling heroine had to learn the value of each moment in her life. In fact, he made her character more lively and outgoing than in the original novel, so that she would act on her impulses—and this was the message he wanted to send to Japan's youth, that they ought to be brave and act on their intentions, instead of thinking things over too much.

Moh came back to the conversation with a question about film production. He felt that communication was the most important thing in the world of production, especially with language and cultural barriers sometimes separating co-workers. Then Ito came in again with a question about how anime was affecting youth today (a.k.a., tell us about what you've been researching). She described the core fanbase as advanced, tech-savvy and "mobilized" when it came to engaging in the medium. Because these fans are quick to share and discuss, they are an active element in building up hype and promoting the enjoyment of anime. More than that, they are also cultural ambassadors—just look at any Japanese studies or language class today and see how many students are there for the pop culture instead of business or traditional culture.

As the discussion wound down, Hosoda and Joe were both quiet about their future plans, although Joe mentioned a live-action project that he was going to be on. As for advice to aspiring animators, Hosoda said that communication was the most important thing to learn. (Quite a deparature from everyone else who tells you to draw, draw, draw all the time.) But in Hosoda's experience, working with an animation staff of 300, one quickly has to learn communication skills. "A movie that is made by many can be enjoyed by many."

Finally, each panelist had some parting words on the future of animation, not just in East Asia but around the world. Moh felt that every region of the world (well, the developed ones, I'm assuming) each brought their own strengths and styles to the medium, and that by drawing on these influences a worldwide culture of animation could emerge. Joe was more jocular, saying, "I don't know, I'm not a fortune-teller"—but that he wanted to keep creating until global warming killed us all. Hosoda, meanwhile, cautioned us about getting too hopped up on globalization, that too many cooks might spoil the broth. He pointed out Nick Park (creator of Wallace and Gromit) as an example of a visionary animator whose style would be watered down if he ever let other influences in. So even as styles mix and merge, it's always good to have a strong director leading the way. Lastly, Ito commented on fan interaction and how worldwide distribution was changing the industry at a rapid rate. Creators and fans would have to work together on how to make the best use of this emerging "mega-niche" (an interesting contradiction in terms) in Japanese visual arts.