Marvel teams with Japanese anime studio Madhouse

[The Overlord]

Check it out:

http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D92PBNJ81.htm

 

[Hypestyle]

well dang.. nothing about developing anime'based movies for the USA...

Blade
spider-man
Black Panther
Power Man & Iron Fist
Cloak & Dagger
Avengers
Hulk
Thor

 

[rogue trooper]

Moon Knight is definately anime material.

 

[The Overlord]

well dang.. nothing about developing anime'based movies for the USA...

Blade
spider-man
Black Panther
Power Man & Iron Fist
Cloak & Dagger
Avengers
Hulk
Thor

They will go with the more famous Marvel characters, so I doubt Claok and dagger will make the cut:

More likely they would likely go with Spider-Man (the movies were popular there), Iron Man (because they love robot characters), maybe Wolverine (you can easily add a lot of Japanese mythology with him and they would be familar with him because of the movies.)

One character I doubt they would touch is Captain America though, I doubt the Japanese would like him.

 

[rogue trooper]

...well, Iron Fist is definately up their alley, I'd say.

 

[TheVileOne]

Just FYI, Studio Madhouse did the animation for Hulk vs. Wolverine.

Also, does that article mean they'll give the super heroes new Japanese names, characters, and identities? Like that Spider-man live action mecha/monster show from the 1970's?

 

[KBX]

good for Marvel. So are we gotta have to wait for the DVDs to come out to have the English version?

 

[TheVileOne]

It's interesting, but I hope it turns out better than the Marvel manga comics.

 

[Dread]

Considering the actual animation for "American" cartoons, what few of them there still are, usually is done in Japan, Korea, or Europe, some could see such an alliance as a natural progression.

However, Marvel has long been losing the battle of young readers to manga and anime (DC has too), and have come up with utterly nothing about that. Ultimate comics are tanking and the Marvel Adventures line doesn't sell well (nor it is marketed towards kids or a penny cheaper than "adult" books). Entire schools of thought believe that comics brought this reality on themselves by gearing nearly all of their stories towards the "hardcore fan", sometimes called "the babymen" by those who disapprove. But that is another argument. It is shrewd business to appeal to those spending the most dollars when one has trouble finding new customers.

That said, Marvel has tried this. MARVEL MANGAVERSE. It failed. They even tried relaunching it, and it failed. And that was before anime DVD sales started falling.

Frankly, Marvel and DC do not realize that the people who choose to read manga or watch anime over their own comics or "Western" cartoons don't do so because Batman doesn't have a Lion-themed mecha or because Spider-Man doesn't have speed lines. They just are into another genre. They read manga over Western comics because it offers something Western comics can't (like finite stories). There is no demand for a Batman manga or a Daredevil anime. None. Zero. All they will do is sell this to the same fans they always sell too. It is like....if I watched no movies aside for Westerns, making Terminator into a Western wouldn't exactly get me to watch it. I would realize that it was pandering and deliberately ignore it. Manga readers and anime fans, even if kids, aren't nearly as stupid as Marvel thinks and they won't confuse IRON MAN Z for NARUTO.

Even when, arguably, DC decided to make Teen Titans into an "anime" in everything but name, they didn't outright call it an anime.

As for what franchises will be "anime-tized", it will be the same ones that always sell. Iron Man, Wolverine, Hulk, Spider-Man. Any hope of seeing any other characters getting to the small screen officially died when DOCTOR STRANGE was the poorest selling DTV of the Lions Gate lot. So, really, fantasies of supernatural BLADE thrillers or DAREDEVIL ninja action are just that; fantasies. Marvel and Madhouse will go with what sells, period. That means more claws, webs, uni-beams and gamma rays.

For those of you who are into seeing Marvel as anime, then this is a treat. I'd rather see competent animation projects that aren't pandering, or more desperate attempts to ape DC in the one area where they usually excel over Marvel, which is small screen animation. Methinks BATMAN: GOTHAM KNIGHTS is selling well and Marvel figured to jump on the anime trend. About 8 years too late to really make a mint, but that's what you get when you get guys in their 40's trying to be "hip".

It seems pointless. SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN probably has the biggest buzz a show could have after Season 1, being far more critically acclaimed than a DC show has been since JLU. WOLVERINE & THE X-MEN is building up buzz. A new TEEN IRON MAN show is on the block. A Hulk show is in development. And the Lions Gate DTV's will air a billion times on CARTOON NETWORK (the latest one, "Avenger Babies", or NEXT AVENGERS, is due out next week). Why oversaturate the market? Especially with anime, which, while I enjoy it, has reached a peak in mass market popularity and can either hold steady or decline?

Besides, what makes anime ANIME is more than the speed lines, the samurai slashes, or the j-pop music. It is the depth to the characters, taking the medium and subjects to their fullest. But mass corporations don't get it, so they just envision Spider-Man as Sentai for all the kiddies to squeal over.

 

[The Overlord]

Considering the actual animation for "American" cartoons, what few of them there still are, usually is done in Japan, Korea, or Europe, some could see such an alliance as a natural progression.

However, Marvel has long been losing the battle of young readers to manga and anime (DC has too), and have come up with utterly nothing about that. Ultimate comics are tanking and the Marvel Adventures line doesn't sell well (nor it is marketed towards kids or a penny cheaper than "adult" books). Entire schools of thought believe that comics brought this reality on themselves by gearing nearly all of their stories towards the "hardcore fan", sometimes called "the babymen" by those who disapprove. But that is another argument. It is shrewd business to appeal to those spending the most dollars when one has trouble finding new customers.

That said, Marvel has tried this. MARVEL MANGAVERSE. It failed. They even tried relaunching it, and it failed. And that was before anime DVD sales started falling.

Frankly, Marvel and DC do not realize that the people who choose to read manga or watch anime over their own comics or "Western" cartoons don't do so because Batman doesn't have a Lion-themed mecha or because Spider-Man doesn't have speed lines. They just are into another genre. They read manga over Western comics because it offers something Western comics can't (like finite stories). There is no demand for a Batman manga or a Daredevil anime. None. Zero. All they will do is sell this to the same fans they always sell too. It is like....if I watched no movies aside for Westerns, making Terminator into a Western wouldn't exactly get me to watch it. I would realize that it was pandering and deliberately ignore it. Manga readers and anime fans, even if kids, aren't nearly as stupid as Marvel thinks and they won't confuse IRON MAN Z for NARUTO.

Even when, arguably, DC decided to make Teen Titans into an "anime" in everything but name, they didn't outright call it an anime.

As for what franchises will be "anime-tized", it will be the same ones that always sell. Iron Man, Wolverine, Hulk, Spider-Man. Any hope of seeing any other characters getting to the small screen officially died when DOCTOR STRANGE was the poorest selling DTV of the Lions Gate lot. So, really, fantasies of supernatural BLADE thrillers or DAREDEVIL ninja action are just that; fantasies. Marvel and Madhouse will go with what sells, period. That means more claws, webs, uni-beams and gamma rays.

For those of you who are into seeing Marvel as anime, then this is a treat. I'd rather see competent animation projects that aren't pandering, or more desperate attempts to ape DC in the one area where they usually excel over Marvel, which is small screen animation. Methinks BATMAN: GOTHAM KNIGHTS is selling well and Marvel figured to jump on the anime trend. About 8 years too late to really make a mint, but that's what you get when you get guys in their 40's trying to be "hip".

It seems pointless. SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN probably has the biggest buzz a show could have after Season 1, being far more critically acclaimed than a DC show has been since JLU. WOLVERINE & THE X-MEN is building up buzz. A new TEEN IRON MAN show is on the block. A Hulk show is in development. And the Lions Gate DTV's will air a billion times on CARTOON NETWORK (the latest one, "Avenger Babies", or NEXT AVENGERS, is due out next week). Why oversaturate the market? Especially with anime, which, while I enjoy it, has reached a peak in mass market popularity and can either hold steady or decline?

Besides, what makes anime ANIME is more than the speed lines, the samurai slashes, or the j-pop music. It is the depth to the characters, taking the medium and subjects to their fullest. But mass corporations don't get it, so they just envision Spider-Man as Sentai for all the kiddies to squeal over.

I don't think you are the target audience though or American otakus for that matter. I think this marvel trying to get into the Japanese market and thus Asia in general, I don't think they care if American otakus like it or not.The anime isn't aimed at you, which is why they are covering their butts by releasing cartoons in America and doing this.

The difference here is marvel is actual working with a Japanese company, unlike the Managaverse were it was just marvel applying anime cliches to their properties. I also heard madhouse was given a far amount of creative freedom from marvel, so Marvel may just give them the concepts and let them go hog wild, like they did the 70s Japanese Spider-man show.

As for manga beating out the attention of the kids, it doesn't matter anymore. the comic books themselves that irrelevant, its the character concepts where the real money is, applying to movies and video games. Dark Knight is the second biggest movie in history, that's what really matters, not whether the comics are selling, DC makes on making the comics to keep the copyrights, but that's not where there real money comes from. The character concepts are more important then the comics or their continuity.

 

[Raiden]

I have seen Batman: Gotham Knights and I think they did a great job with it. Hopefully Marvel will do it likewise with their iconic characters, and make it more serious and adult-themed because Japanimation excels with that.

 

[TheVileOne]

This is different than Gotham Knights.

Marvel is using Madhouse to establish an animation market in Japan/Asia. If anything its the other way around.

Gotham Knights was a huge disappointment IMHO.

This will actually garner episodic TV shows, though in what form I'm not sure.

I imagine HULK vs. was Madhouse's audition piece for Marvel.

As far as animation cartoon outsourcing. This is NOT a new practice. It goes back to the 70's and 80's.

 

[DBZ2cool]

Marvel is teaming with Madhouse, the respected Japanese animation studio responsible for Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust and Ninja Scroll, to reenvision its comic book characters, their origins, and new characters for anime series. Iron Man and Wolverine have been tapped, but others characters were not specified. In a report by the NY Times, Marvel’s International President, Simon Philips, says the venture will create a “parallel universe” to the current canon.

He’s not exaggerating. In a press release from Marvel, Madhouse’s president, Jungo Maruta, confirms the scope, ambition and creative vision behind this partnership…

“We are incredibly excited to have this full collaboration with Marvel to create a completely new world that has never been done before in the Marvel Universe. This will be the first time there will be a full Japanese anime style for Marvel, and the Madhouse creative team is fully engaged to bring this to a worldwide audience.”

As of now, there are four planned series scheduled to air in 2010 on ANIMAX, Japan’s 24-hour anime network. Any plans to bring the series to the U.S. were not released, but it would seem inevitable, no? Everyone involved has boldly expressed that this will not be Westernized anime (or manga), it will be embedded and shaped by Japanese culture. As expected, these series will eventually spawn merchandise and tie-ins et al. I don’t follow anime too closely, but this is phenomenal forward-thinking on Marvel’s part, nearly comparable to open-sourcing their properties and reaping the benefits. And just pondering how Madhouse would take on Captain America or Silver Surfer is pretty damn cool.

http://www.slashfilm.com/

This explains things clearly.

 

[TheVileOne]

OK does parallel universe mean though it will be the same characters?

Or will it be different characters with different Japanese identities who share the same mantles as the American characters?

IE

Guyer manga/anime and American Guyver live action movies. In the Japanese versions it's always Sho Fukumachi(?). In the US movies it's Sean Barker.

Robotech in US, Macross in Japan. In Robotech, the main character's name is Hikaru Ichijo, a full Japanese. In the US, he's Rick Hunter, American/Asian bi-racial mix.

 

[Dread]

I don't think you are the target audience though or American otakus for that matter. I think this marvel trying to get into the Japanese market and thus Asia in general, I don't think they care if American otakus like it or not.The anime isn't aimed at you, which is why they are covering their butts by releasing cartoons in America and doing this.

The thing is, imports of American cartoons air in Japan. They have since the 90's (the X-Men show was very popular out there and even got original Japanese intros, which I might add had far better animation). The shows that are airing on CW 4kids or 4kids or CARTOON NETWORK air overseas, and in Japan. It appears a little redundant.

Will a little Japanese kid who likes the imported (and likely Japanese dubbed) SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN suddenly like another version more just because it has aliens and giant robots?

The difference here is marvel is actual working with a Japanese company, unlike the Managaverse were it was just marvel applying anime cliches to their properties. I also heard madhouse was given a far amount of creative freedom from marvel, so Marvel may just give them the concepts and let them go hog wild, like they did the 70s Japanese Spider-man show.

The 70's Japanese Spider-Man show was kind of a waste. It was completely interchangeable with any other sentai show, from Power Rangers to Masked Rider. Hopefully it won't be a return to that.

I mean, granted, it likely is free overseas money for merch for Marvel, but I always like quality products.

One has to wonder; if you take a franchise, but twist every aspect of it, is it still the same? If you make Spider-Man an alien-empowered hero who summons giant robots and has absolutely zero personal issues, is it still Spider-Man?

As for manga beating out the attention of the kids, it doesn't matter anymore. the comic books themselves that irrelevant, its the character concepts where the real money is, applying to movies and video games. Dark Knight is the second biggest movie in history, that's what really matters, not whether the comics are selling, DC makes on making the comics to keep the copyrights, but that's not where there real money comes from. The character concepts are more important then the comics or their continuity.

The comics always matter for ore for the mass market stories. Anime itself are the animated translations of comics in Japan. I might add that Japanese animation usually takes the manga source material a lot more seriously than many American cartoons take the comics.

(DARK KNIGHT had to beat out HOW many Marvel movies to be #2 in history? Kind of funny how Marvel scores multiple home runs and base hits with films, but when DC finally hits a grand slam after one strikeout after another, it gets all the attention. It reminds me of Yankee games where A-Rod hits a homer but the team still lost the game).

Marketing is a required evil, it just seems kind of greedy. Does the world really need Wolverine with a samurai sword anime-slashing zombies?

Prediction: The animation quality will be glorious. The story quality will be hit or miss.

OK does parallel universe mean though it will be the same characters?

Or will it be different characters with different Japanese identities who share the same mantles as the American characters?

IE

Guyer manga/anime and American Guyver live action movies. In the Japanese versions it's always Sho Fukumachi(?). In the US movies it's Sean Barker.

Robotech in US, Macross in Japan. In Robotech, the main character's name is Hikaru Ichijo, a full Japanese. In the US, he's Rick Hunter, American/Asian bi-racial mix.

I'm fairly certain that, at the very least, the Anime versions of Marvel heroes will at least have Japanese names.

Right now this is looking like a sheer commercial venture, which is fine I suppose. At least until Marvel cancels an excellent but poor selling comic title and uses "poverty" as an excuse.

FYI, anyone who seriously believes that Madhouse would bother with Captain America or Silver Surfer is delusional. The characters who will be tapped will be the same ones who are always tapped. Wolverine. Spider-Man. Iron Man. Hulk. X-Men. Maybe Thor as a longshot. Regardless of however many other characters may work for the genre (anyone who has seen VAMPIRE HUNTER D likely thirsts for anime BLADE or MOON KNIGHT), the "big names" are the ones that Madhouse will be interested in. If you are the type who loves getting the same faces over and over, fantastic. Just don't set expectations too high screaming for a POWER MAN & IRON FIST series. There is no way in heaven or hell that or any other non A or B list series is happening.

 

[The Overlord]

The thing is, imports of American cartoons air in Japan. They have since the 90's (the X-Men show was very popular out there and even got original Japanese intros, which I might add had far better animation). The shows that are airing on CW 4kids or 4kids or CARTOON NETWORK air overseas, and in Japan. It appears a little redundant.

Will a little Japanese kid who likes the imported (and likely Japanese dubbed) SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN suddenly like another version more just because it has aliens and giant robots?

But popular were those shows in Japan? Heck how people in Japan even watch cartoon Network? besides its certainly not a sure thing that Spec spidey would be dubbed in Japan or be on a channel people actually watch. I bet way more people watch Animax then cartoon network in Japan.


Besides the Japanese do stuff like this all the time. they made their own versions of witchblade, powerpuff girls, anne of green gables. This is hardly a new thing.

The 70's Japanese Spider-Man show was kind of a waste. It was completely interchangeable with any other sentai show, from Power Rangers to Masked Rider. Hopefully it won't be a return to that.

I mean, granted, it likely is free overseas money for merch for Marvel, but I always like quality products.

Come on, that show was funny, spider-man with a giant robot is so silly its fun.

One has to wonder; if you take a franchise, but twist every aspect of it, is it still the same? If you make Spider-Man an alien-empowered hero who summons giant robots and has absolutely zero personal issues, is it still Spider-Man?

Interesting question, but then again different markets sometimes reacquire different approaches.

Is the anime Witchblade less valid then the American comic one?

The comics always matter for ore for the mass market stories. Anime itself are the animated translations of comics in Japan. I might add that Japanese animation usually takes the manga source material a lot more seriously than many American cartoons take the comics.

The comic market is dying because of its design, super heroes are interesting concepts, but saddle them with decades of continuity and they lose their luster, but it also gives them a timeless quality that can used to market them in different forms through out the decades. The concepts are more important then the comics.

That's because we don't care about cartoons in America, unless they are doing comedy aimed at frat boys. Kids in Amerca don't really watch cartoons much anymore, hannah monatah will often crush whatever cartoon it goes against, there are a few exceptions to the rule, but that usually the case now.

At this point live action movies based on comics are our verison of anime, they often take the source material seriously and take it to a wider audience.

(DARK KNIGHT had to beat out HOW many Marvel movies to be #2 in history? Kind of funny how Marvel scores multiple home runs and base hits with films, but when DC finally hits a grand slam after one strikeout after another, it gets all the attention. It reminds me of Yankee games where A-Rod hits a homer but the team still lost the game).

Not my point, my point is these movies clear hundreds of millions dollars, making far more moneyt then

Marketing is a required evil, it just seems kind of greedy. Does the world really need Wolverine with a samurai sword anime-slashing zombies?

Prediction: The animation quality will be glorious. The story quality will be hit or miss.

Hit or miss isn't bad you can always enjoy the hits, its better then being god awful.

Its not a matter of need, its a matter of want, marvel wants more money, so if madhouse says turning wolverine into a samurai will give them more money, they will do it. Consider comic book heroes are often about interpretations, considering they are written by different people who have different views on the characters, so this is just another interpretation. Again different markets require different approaches.

FYI, anyone who seriously believes that Madhouse would bother with Captain America or Silver Surfer is delusional. The characters who will be tapped will be the same ones who are always tapped. Wolverine. Spider-Man. Iron Man. Hulk. X-Men. Maybe Thor as a longshot. Regardless of however many other characters may work for the genre (anyone who has seen VAMPIRE HUNTER D likely thirsts for anime BLADE or MOON KNIGHT), the "big names" are the ones that Madhouse will be interested in. If you are the type who loves getting the same faces over and over, fantastic. Just don't set expectations too high screaming for a POWER MAN & IRON FIST series. There is no way in heaven or hell that or any other non A or B list series is happening.

To be fair Iron man didn't get a push till recently.

True enough, plus they wouldn't like Captain America, he would likely become some gaijin stereotype, that's a character that just wouldn't sell over there.

Iron Man is a shoe in, considering he is similar to the type of characters otakus like. Ditto with spider-man considering how well his movies do over there. wolverine is another shoe in, marvel knows which of its characters are the most marketable.

 

[DarkSovereignty]

i would actually like it they tried a character who hasn't had any movie exposure and actually release it in theaters. I'm an advocate that animation isn't a genre, and that an animated film can be just as serious and dramatic as any other movie, some of my favorite directors being Hayou Miyazaki and brad bird.

 

[Dread]

But popular were those shows in Japan? Heck how people in Japan even watch cartoon Network? besides its certainly not a sure thing that Spec spidey would be dubbed in Japan or be on a channel people actually watch. I bet way more people watch Animax then cartoon network in Japan.

Like I said, much as America imports Japanese cartoons (and has in some form since the 70's), Japan imports some American cartoons. I don't know how popular they were over there, aside for the 90's X-Men which I know was fairly popular (as was TMNT in the 80's).

Besides the Japanese do stuff like this all the time. they made their own versions of witchblade, powerpuff girls, anne of green gables. This is hardly a new thing.

True. There was even a 3 episode OAV of TMNT back in the late 80's early 90's. It had...guess...the Turtles using gemstones to transform into giant sentai warriors. It was stock.

Come on, that show was funny, spider-man with a giant robot is so silly its fun.

I can appreciate "so campy it is fun". After all, I made an entire topic in the SPIDEY-WORLD section declaring that the 70's Nicholas Hammond series wasn't that bad (if not taken seriously). What I have seen of the 70's Japanese Spider-Man, though, makes him virtually unrecognizable as anything beyond a stock sentai character. The Spidey costume itself looked great, but that was about it. It seemed cliche even by Japanese standards. Just chasing the trend of what was "in" at the time.

Interesting question, but then again different markets sometimes reacquire different approaches.

Is the anime Witchblade less valid then the American comic one?

I don't know. I hear it is somewhat more faithful to the original comic mythology than the 70's Spider-Man Sentai, but that is just a second hand account. Granted, trends in Japan have changed somewhat since the 70's and while mecha is still a staple, it isn't quite as "huge" as it was even a decade ago.

The comic market is dying because of its design, super heroes are interesting concepts, but saddle them with decades of continuity and they lose their luster, but it also gives them a timeless quality that can used to market them in different forms through out the decades. The concepts are more important then the comics.

There can be a hearty debate about whether comics are "dying" that is had every few years. Comic sales are down this year, but that is only because we are comparing them to the CIVIL WAR highs that broke most ten year records in sales. The 90's were a sales peak but there still are thousands of comics on the shelves every month.

With movies strip mining the comics for ideas, one could argue the comics have never been more important. Granted, almost nothing past 1997-1998 is usually transfered into big screen lore, which should cause some concern for the Big Two.

An argument that has stronger ground is the American comics overrealiance on the superhero genre, while Manga has a wide range of genres. Granted, as a comic fan who almost never reads any American comic that isn't a superhero yarn in some regard, I am likely part of the problem.

That's because we don't care about cartoons in America, unless they are doing comedy aimed at frat boys. Kids in Amerca don't really watch cartoons much anymore, hannah monatah will often crush whatever cartoon it goes against, there are a few exceptions to the rule, but that usually the case now.

At this point live action movies based on comics are our verison of anime, they often take the source material seriously and take it to a wider audience.

That is true; animation is not as appreciated in America as it is in Japan. While the Japanese have merchandising deals tied with cartoons and always have just like the U.S., they are understand that older audiences also crave that sort of thing and offer products for the teen and adult crowd (even Hentai porn for the "adult" crowd). Much as superheros dominate the U.S. comic scene because that is where most modern comics first gained mainstream popularity, Disney and Warner Bros. were the forefathers of major animation and that legacy, or perception of it, still dominates animation today.

Even today, when a rare DTV is rated PG-13 or even UNRATED, it usually is not due to anything "mature" besides gorey violence.

That said, there still are animation projects being made by America (or at least produced there and contracted to be animated overseas before airing here). Just they are getting fewer and fewer as it becomes cheaper to just dub and import. I must say as a fan who got into anime when it first started getting a major U.S. hold in the early-mid 90's, I am appalled that instead of being galvanized and inspired by anime to produce "better" animation projects, U.S. companies simply buy rights and dub.

Maybe that is why the 80's, the last real decade of balls to the wall U.S. animation creativity (or even Hollywood creativity), is so constantly rehashed and rebooted.

Not my point, my point is these movies clear hundreds of millions dollars, making far more moneyt then

True.

Hit or miss isn't bad you can always enjoy the hits, its better then being god awful.

We have no clue as to the story quality. And we won't until more production info is achieved. Modern anime trends usually are less about animal robots and more about over the top angst. And taking 15 episodes to cross a bridge (gotta love NARUTO, taking the decompression torch from DBZ and running with it).

Its not a matter of need, its a matter of want, marvel wants more money, so if madhouse says turning wolverine into a samurai will give them more money, they will do it. Consider comic book heroes are often about interpretations, considering they are written by different people who have different views on the characters, so this is just another interpretation. Again different markets require different approaches.

Yeah, money is the bottom line, unfortunately. Quality sometimes is an afterthought.

To be fair Iron man didn't get a push till recently.

True enough, plus they wouldn't like Captain America, he would likely become some gaijin stereotype, that's a character that just wouldn't sell over there.

Iron Man is a shoe in, considering he is similar to the type of characters otakus like. Ditto with spider-man considering how well his movies do over there. wolverine is another shoe in, marvel knows which of its characters are the most marketable.

Iron Man fits in perfectly, a guy with emotional problems and a suit of armor fighting simularly empowered bad guys.

Again, Spider-Man, Wolverine, Iron Man, all the big names are naturals to be translated. When the anime versions come back here, though, you have to fear oversaturation.

i would actually like it they tried a character who hasn't had any movie exposure and actually release it in theaters. I'm an advocate that animation isn't a genre, and that an animated film can be just as serious and dramatic as any other movie, some of my favorite directors being Hayou Miyazaki and brad bird.

It would be good of Madhouse saw potential in lessor franchises. A HEROES FOR HIRE series could operate very much like, say, an OUTLAW STAR or TRIGUN in some ways. BLADE almost screams for a VAMPIRE HUNTER D esque treatment. Step outside the ninjas and shiney robots and there is an entire genre in anime that represents dark sci-fi horror, like DEMON CITY SHINJUKU, CYBER CITY ODEO, and supernatural horror type tales like DEVILMAN and even NINJA SCROLL to some degree. GUYVER of course is the easiest example I could think of a dark superhero-ish show in anime.

In anime, superheroes like 8-MAN or GATCHAMAN or HURRICANE POLYMAR or CASSHAN are often seen nostalgically from the 70's and beyond some 90's reboot attempts, usually are left aside for other anime genres.

But, that won't happen. Madhouse will run with what will make the most money. I just hope that in the "transfer" to another country, they don't just fall into anime cliches.

 

[rogue trooper]

It would be good of Madhouse saw potential in lessor franchises. A HEROES FOR HIRE series could operate very much like, say, an OUTLAW STAR or TRIGUN in some ways. BLADE almost screams for a VAMPIRE HUNTER D esque treatment. Step outside the ninjas and shiney robots and there is an entire genre in anime that represents dark sci-fi horror, like DEMON CITY SHINJUKU, CYBER CITY ODEO, and supernatural horror type tales like DEVILMAN and even NINJA SCROLL to some degree. GUYVER of course is the easiest example I could think of a dark superhero-ish show in anime.

In anime, superheroes like 8-MAN or GATCHAMAN or HURRICANE POLYMAR or CASSHAN are often seen nostalgically from the 70's and beyond some 90's reboot attempts, usually are left aside for other anime genres.

Gekko Kamen(Moonlight Mask) is very much in line with Moon Knight, also.

But, that won't happen. Madhouse will run with what will make the most money. I just hope that in the "transfer" to another country, they don't just fall into anime cliches.

I quite frankly have to dissagree here. I think it is possible for them to take a crack at lesser or relatively lesser known properties.

 

[Dread]

I quite frankly have to dissagree here. I think it is possible for them to take a crack at lesser or relatively lesser known properties.

Didn't know about Gekko Kamen (Moonlight Mask). Naturally Japanese anime history are full of 70's superhero types that I likely don't know about (like Yatterman). There also was that season in Sailor Moon where Tuxedo Mask had a personality issue and instead was "Moonlight Knight", but that brings up painful memories.

I never said it wasn't possible for Madhouse to animate shows about lessor known franchises. I just doubted it was likely. The first two down the pipeline are Iron Man and Wolverine; the A-List of Hollywood right now, with Spider-Man likely not far behind. Out of all B-Listers, Blade probably has the best chance. And even that is a stretch.

I mean if an Iron Man anime is solid I'll give it a chance. I'm just about setting realistic expectations. Potential and reality are two different things.

 

[rogue trooper]

Didn't know about Gekko Kamen (Moonlight Mask).

He goes all the way back to the 50's. He was introduced as a popular live action Japanese tv show(an answer to America's Superman tv show with George Reeves). Then in the 70's came back as an equally popular manga animated series. You can find episodes on YouTube in either Japanese or Spanish(in this language he is known as Capitan Centella or Captain Comet and was also very popular in Latin America).

The episodes really hold well for their time, kinda' like the 70's Gatchaman cartoons, almost. You should check them out. If a decent Batman cartoon had been done in that time, Gekko Kamen was a way to do it. It had scary villains and also a dangerous, stark atmosphere. Definately better than anything American animation had at that time on tv.

you can check out a Spanish-dubbed episode here(I don't think the series was ever dubbed in English):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lX0HwulzPM

 

[Dread]

He goes all the way back to the 50's. He was introduced as a popular live action Japanese tv show(an answer to America's Superman tv show with George Reeves). Then in the 70's came back as an equally popular manga animated series. You can find episodes on YouTube in either Japanese or Spanish(in this language he is known as Capitan Centella or Captain Comet and was also very popular in Latin America).

The episodes really hold well for their time, kinda' like the 70's Gatchaman cartoons, almost. You should check them out. If a decent Batman cartoon had been done in that time, Gekko Kamen was a way to do it. It had scary villains and also a dangerous, stark atmosphere. Definately better than anything American animation had at that time on tv.

you can check out a Spanish-dubbed episode here(I don't think the series was ever dubbed in English):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lX0HwulzPM

That's cool. I didn't know EVERY Japanese superhero. I just sort of figured that in Japan, after the 70's they sort of hit a lull and while there were some reboot attempts of some of them in the 90's, superheroes aren't nearly as big in Japan as they still are in America (barring live action "sentai" shows, which usually involve a bit of mecha too). Manga has more genres that have reached a public consciousness.

 

[Franklin Richards]

I think the Impossible Man is just screaming for an anime'.

 

[rogue trooper]

He kinda' already had the anime treatment with the latest FF cartoon.

 

[Dread]

Yeah, I thought Impossible Man was done fine in that show.

I just liked the FANTASTIC FOUR: WORLD'S GREATEST HEROES show in general. It won't be in anyone's Top 5 list of animated cartoons, but while it did have some flaws and problems, the writers at least discovered their strength mid-season and played to it, rather than try to be something they couldn't (which was JLU). I can respect that.