A prominent figure in Japanese animation warns that major Hollywood franchises risk diluting the art form by shifting towards this medium.
The Impact of Hollywood on Japanese Animation
What do The Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, and Spider-Man have in common? Beyond being some of the most lucrative franchises in cinema, they have all recently been adapted through the lens of Japanese animation. Last year, The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim was produced by the animation branch of Warner Bros. in collaboration with Weta Workshop and New Line Cinema. Since 2021, Star Wars has also embraced Japanese animation with its anthology series, Star Wars Visions. Meanwhile, Sony partnered with Wit Studio, known for Attack on Titan and Vinland Saga, to create two Spider-Man films centered around the character Miles Morales.
This trend has gained significant momentum in Hollywood. However, the studio CoMix Wave Films’ international advisor Mie Onishi and its president and co-founder Noritaka Kawaguchi express serious concerns about its implications. They argue that this surge of artistic proposals is not only unhealthy but also fundamentally distorts the genre.
“Japanese Animation is Not a Genre”
In an interview with the media outlet Animecorner, Onishi and Kawaguchi, who were behind acclaimed animated films such as Your Name and Suzume, voiced their apprehensions. Onishi noted, “Lately, when I speak to Hollywood producers, they ask, ‘Can’t you do this as an anime?’ What lies behind this question is the assumption that ‘it’s cheaper if it’s anime.’ This mindset frustrates me deeply. It’s not wise to animate everything. Anime is a method, not a genre.”
This underscores the fact that Japanese animation has its distinct codes, rules, and techniques that don’t necessarily align with Western franchises. Furthermore, a compelling storyline does not guarantee success; as evidenced by The War of the Rohirrim, which drew from a medieval European setting yet adopted an Eastern visual style, resulting in a disconcerting outcome and a narrative pacing quite different from traditional Japanese animations.
Factors such as inflation, rising actor salaries, and soaring production budgets have likely influenced major studios to lean towards Japanese animation. With fewer expenses related to hiring actors, international travel, and extravagant filming locations, studios find the allure of animation even harder to resist.
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