Anime and America: How We Nabbed a Slice of the Pie

As we all certainly know, anime is a Japanese game. As inventors of the genre, the Japanese have unrivaled control and dominance in the industry. In recent years, however, the world has witnessed more and more attempts by foreign investors to take a little slice of the industry for themselves. Series like Afro Samurai, Samurai Champloo, and even good ol’ Megas XLR are prime examples of just how the Americans managed to find success in the world of anime.

Afro Samurai had humble beginnings as a doujinshi written by American-obsessed mangaka, Takashi Okazaki. Despite the rather novel and fresh nature of Okazaki’s manga, it managed to fly under the radar of Japanese studios for seven whole years. Eventually, in 2007, representatives within Gonzo made the decision to produce an anime of the series. Through some twisted winds of glorious fate, American actor Samuel L. Jackson obtained a copy of an Afro Samurai trailer and immediately joined the project as a producer. The English production company, Funimation Entertainment, promptly purchased the rights to Gonzo’s anime and announced it would be released to American audiences through SpikeTV.

Afro Samurai‘s American debut was anything but a flop. The unique art direction, voice of Samuel L. Jackson, hip-hop influence, and gory, fast-paced action managed to earn substantial popularity amongst American viewers. It’s appearance on SpikeTV brought the series to audiences entirely unfamiliar with anime as a whole.

After the success of the television series, Gonzo and Funimation decided to release the film: Afro Samurai: Resurrection. The film was well-received by English audiences and even resulted in the first ever Emmy awarded to a Japanese anime.

While Afro Samurai was indeed Japanese-made, it was the producing, marketing, and release which made it so revolutionary. The series, originally influenced by American culture, was targeted to a uniquely American audience with the help of American-based Funimation and Samuel L. Jackson, all with a measurable degree of success.

Samurai Champloo has a similar story to Afro Samurai. The series’ creator, Shinichiro Watanabe, had been influenced by American culture for some time. After Watanabe’s space-western, Cowboy Bebop, he began his second major project: Samurai Champloo. This series seeks to bring together the worlds of Edo-era Japan and hip-hop, urban culture. This unique fusion of influences and themes was licensed by Geneon to be broadcasted in North America.

Samurai Champloo aired on Adult Swim in 2005, and remained one of the more popular series in their anime block. Sources like Anime News Network and the Internet Movie Database consistently gave the series excellent reviews. No doubt the novel, fresh feel of Samurai Champloo, combined with its stellar, hip-hop influenced soundtrack and beautiful art were the factors for this success.

A whole year later, Samurai Champloo aired in Japan. It quickly spread, and to date, Samurai Champloo has also aired in the United Kingdom, Latin America, Australia, New Zealand, Poland, Mexico, Portugal, Spain and Germany.

Again, Samurai Champloo was another Japanese-made series with a serious case of American attitude. It’s unique blend of influences found a home amongst American investors and audiences long before it ever returned to its native people.

The last series in my showcase, Megas XLR, is a bit unique in all aspects. The series itself was originally conceived and created by Americans George Krstic and Jody Schaeffer. The series caught the attention of Cartoon Network and was aired on their Toonami block in 2004.

Krstic and Schaeffer were open fans of anime, and used anime-style art and themes throughout the creation of Megas XLR. However, they also made use of American culture and humor, which truly made a unique show as a whole. This can be illustrated by the main character, Coop’s mech: Megas. Sure, Megas is a fully mechanized, humanoid-type fighting robot, but it also has a hot rod for a head, is covered in flame decals, and sports woman-silhouette mudflaps.

Megas XLR was quite popular during its run on Cartoon Network. The series itself received very positive reviews from the Internet public, as illustrated by the Internet Movie Database. It lasted two whole seasons, and a third was slated. Sadly, the series ended when Cartoon Network had to cut out their Toonami block.

Now, Megas XLR could not technically be considered an anime due to the fact that it was an American creation, but it had the right ingredients and influences. It’s easily the biggest, most successful and solely American attempt at reaching into the anime market. Megas XLR also proved that it was entirely possible for artists and writers outside of Japan to recreate the anime experience, and do it well. It certainly deserves its credit, and I encourage anyone unfamiliar with the series to give it a try.

Just look at them mudflaps, mmmmm.

So it seems that the anime world may be getting a bit less monopolized by Japan. History has shown that works licensed, produced, or even created by foreign companies can still be met with the success and fan-followings rivalling even the most authentic of Japanese works. The stories of Afro Samurai, Samurai Champloo, and Megas XLR prove that others, especially Americans, can beat the Japanese game and nab a slice of anime’s 2 billion dollar pie.