Iron Man Anime: Terrible or a Clash of Cultures?

[Arach Knight]

So I have watched the first three episodes of this series, and so far, I feel like Mad House has not done a very good job with the property. It feels like I am watching a cross between Tekkaman Blade and Karas (both of which are Tatsunoko anime). Tony runs around Japan, battling armored/mecha monsters. The dio subplot is really meh. I mean, perhaps the Japanese are more into this kind of story, but it just doesn't work for me. I think I will plow through the series anyways (I am not one for quitting), but I can't see this series catching on here in the states.

How does everyone else feel about the series (for those who have taken to alternative means, rather than waiting for it to air on G4)? Perhaps this is really a case of a culture clash, but I just can't get into this. I am hoping that the Wolverine anime will be better, but I am expecting similar disappointment.

 

[Tacit Ronin]

Both

 

[K'Prime]

I didn't see iron man yet.but i did watch the wolverine anime which i'm kinda meh on 10 episodes into it.not horrible but I feel a disconnect.like it wolverine but at the same time it doesn't feel like wolverine.just a style of bad-ass anime character that just happens to have Logan's powers.hoping that the x-men anime in april will be better.

 

[TheVileOne]

Keep in mind it wasn't just Madhouse working on the series but Warren Ellis as well .

 

[Thundercrack85]

Clash of cultures. I don't think the character of Tony Stark translates well.

Setting it in Japan doesn't help. But at least the character looks like Tony Stark, which is more than can be said about anime Wolverine.

 

[Arach Knight]

Honestly, I would have liked it better if this were more like Gotham Knights. What was fun about that anime is that it didn't try to reinterpret Batman. It was very much the American Batman, just done with anime art style. This Iron Man anime though, is clealry an effort to broaden the appeal of western super heroes (which effectively have minimal presence/relevance in Japan).

@ TheVileOne

I read that Mad House has full reign on this project. Do they have American input on the project? If so, then I suppose I can applaud Mr. Ellis for giving a valiant effort with trying to create something more appealing to the Japanese. Even still, that doesn't detract from the fact that something has quite literally been lost in translation. Perhaps it is the Iron Man character, who is heavily rooted in American capitalist culture. Maybe he doesn't work well as an eco-defender trying to provide Japan with a new, clean energy source.

 

[Justkidding]

Keep in mind it wasn't just Madhouse working on the series but Warren Ellis as well .

He just wrote the series outline. Once he turned it in he never spoke with Madhouse about any scripts or changes to the series. So all he pretty much did was suggest ideas. Madhouse is in control.

 

[DarkSovereignty]

i have to say based on what i've watched of it it seems like an awesome story. i'd love to see something like this in the movies (tony expanding his company to other countries that it and the series getting an international scope just in general)

 

[Arach Knight]

He just wrote the series outline. Once he turned it in he never spoke with Madhouse about any scripts or changes to the series. So all he pretty much did was suggest ideas. Madhouse is in control.

That is what I thought. I would have expected this to be more like Gotham Knight if actual Western comic writers handled the plotting/script.

 

[TheVileOne]

Ellis was basically brought in as the writer. So he came up with the stories for the series.

I think Iron Man was the perfect character to use for an anime. The problem is that the plot was sort of a weak and boring plot and they didn't bring in any cool Iron Man villains to revitalize in anime form. I mean even Armored Adventures revamped some classic villains in animation and sort of made them cool.

Wolverine anime doesn't make this mistake. But the Wolverine anime also is an adaptation of the best and most classic Wolverine story ever.

 

[Matt Mortem]

It looks cool and all, but I wasn't sucked in. Story could be stronger, but it's not terrible by any means

 

[Grayson]

I'd say it's terrible. I tried watching it, fell asleep on an ep, and never returned lol.

 

[Arach Knight]

Wow. You must have had a really bad experience with it. I feel like this anime should have had more to it. At this point, I feel like I am watching a really bad rendition of The Guyver, just with Iron Man thrown in, and a far weaker plot. Because of his powered armor nature, I figured that Iron Man would have most easily translated culturally and stylistically into an anime. Unfortunately, this project just seems to fall flat.

There are superior anime with similar themes and concepts, and honestly, many American cartoons in the super hero genre, are vastly superior to this (Justice League Unlimited, Wolverine and the X-Men, Spectacular Spider-Man). In the end, I can't imagine this project having appeal for the Japanese or Americans. It tries too hard to please both audiences and ultimately fails to please either audience.

 

[Timstuff]

I think sooner or later, American IP holders are going to realize that slapping a coat of anime on something does not automatically turn it into gold. Today, anime literally just means a cartoon that was animated by Japanese people, and even that definition is starting to die as original Korean animations start to rise in popularity and get lumped in as "anime." In Japan, they do not even have separate terms for Japanese and non-Japanese animation, because they call all animation anime.

Also, what's even more important to remember is that while Japan has an abundance of well trained animators who will work for cheap, their don't exactly have the best writers. If you hand over an IP to an anime studio and let them handle everything from the animation down to the writing, you're going to get very hit-and-miss results because a studio that has good animators may also have horrendous writers.

 

[Arach Knight]

Japan has fantastic illustrators. They have pretty terrible animators. They use so many key frames and sliding frames in place of actual animation. And don't get me started on the mouth flaps. These people refuse to animate a properly moving mouth, even when it is for their own language. There are plenty of exceptions, but generally, Japanese cartoons are well illustrated but poorly animated.

With that said, I agree with your assessment. Anime is no longer the pop culture phenomenon that it once was during the late 90s and early 2000s. Sure Naruto still has a strong following, but that is about it. Anime has been absorbed into the mainstream.

Also, American animation studios have really stepped it up lately. Cartoons like Wolverine and the X-Men and Spectacular Spider-Man have really brought a lot of attention back to American animation.

 

[Alchemyst]

Japan has fantastic illustrators. They have pretty terrible animators. They use so many key frames and sliding frames in place of actual animation. And don't get me started on the mouth flaps. These people refuse to animate a properly moving mouth, even when it is for their own language. There are plenty of exceptions, but generally, Japanese cartoons are well illustrated but poorly animated.

With that said, I agree with your assessment. Anime is no longer the pop culture phenomenon that it once was during the late 90s and early 2000s. Sure Naruto still has a strong following, but that is about it. Anime has been absorbed into the mainstream.

Also, American animation studios have really stepped it up lately. Cartoons like Wolverine and the X-Men and Spectacular Spider-Man have really brought a lot of attention back to American animation.

As far as their mouth animations, I think that is done on purpose so that when it's aired in other countries, they can match the dialogue as close as they can to their mouth movements. It wouldn't be anywhere near the level of old school kung fu films where they say a mouthful and their mouths don't correspond.

 

[TheVileOne]

I doubt Spectacular Spider-man or Wolverine and The X-men were actually animated in America. "American animation" when speaking of these shows is a pretty loaded term. I think few if any shows are even animated in the US anymore.

 

[Arach Knight]

As far as their mouth animations, I think that is done on purpose so that when it's aired in other countries, they can match the dialogue as close as they can to their mouth movements. It wouldn't be anywhere near the level of old school kung fu films where they say a mouthful and their mouths don't correspond.

No, it really is that bad, no matter what language is being used. They don't animate actual mouth movements as if a person were forming the shapes that correspond with certain sounds. Instead, the mouths merely open then close, much like Pac-Man. Though, I must say that you do present an interesting argument. Perhaps they really are trying to create a general animation that allows the mouth movements to sync better with any dubbing. I had never considered that aspect.

I doubt Spectacular Spider-man or Wolverine and The X-men were actually animated in America. "American animation" when speaking of these shows is a pretty loaded term. I think few if any shows are even animated in the US anymore.

Nope, Spectacular is an American show. It was animated by Culver Entertainment, which is located in Culver City out here in L.A. County. The second production team, Adelaide Productions, is just the new name for Columbia Tri-Star Children's Entertainment, which is a division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, which is also here in America. Wolverine and the X-Men is a mixed effort. It was produced by Kickstart Productions, which is an American animation studio, as well as Toonz Entertainment, which is based in Singapore. I do understand your main point though. Some cartoons, such as Hulk Vs., are outsourced (Hulk Vs. was produced by Madhouse, the same Japanese studio behind the Iron Man and Wolverine animations).

 

[Timstuff]

I think people overestimate how much it costs to have stuff animated in America. Ever since the movie industry switched to CGI, the available 2D animation workforce in the US has widened a fair bit.

 

[hellfiremaster]

They are just paying us back for that Godzilla movie with Matthew Broderick...

HFM