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Anime
Enthusiasts Gather at the 9th Annual Anime Expo (page 2)
Go to Anime Expo 2000 Photo Gallery
New to Anime? Click
here for an interview with anime fan Kevin Lillard
If
you still had energy after attending all of the events and exhibitions
you could participate in the game room finals and try your talents
with the popular dancing simulation hit Dance Dance Revolution machine.
Or
you could stop by the animators exhibition area and have a personalized
sketch made of you by an anime artist. AC Team members Wendy Chan
and Suzanne Kai were sketched by artist Kidkoum "Saka" Visarutvanit,
age 21, who last year moved from Thailand to California to team
up with fellow artists Long Vo and Charles Park. All three met through
anime newsgroups on the Internet and are now artists for the hit
sci-fi comic book series "Echo"
produced by Dreamwave Productions.
These young talented artists have great careers ahead.
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Standing
L to R: Charles Park, Long Vo, and Kidkoum Visarutvanit
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The Hollywood Reporter
reports that Fox 2000 recently paid mid-six figures for the feature
film rights to "Echo."
[Click here to see a cover of the "Echo"
Comic.] Thai Helmer Kaos has adapted the material and will direct
the project for producer Chris Lee from Columbia Pictures-based Chris
Lee Productions.
Japanese
anime seems to come from many different origins and media. Pokemon
began as a children's animation show in Japan. It caught on in popularity
in the U.S. when the animation was released on TV in the mornings.
Then came Pokemon, the card games, then video games, then everywhere,
from movies to collectibles and into the consciousness of mainstream
America - including those little toy figures offered in Burger King
kid's meals.
Some
of the anime characters don't have their own TV cartoon shows, CD's,
videos or manga (Japanese comics). They exist only in video games.
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Fan
with his own "anime" style!
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Anime is big on
the Internet with new websites popping up. Companies from Japan and
the U.S. were at the conference doing focus group studies.
One
attendee created his own personalized anime look not based on any
anime character at all.
AC
Team asks anime fan Kevin Lillard, creator of anime fan site http://www.fansview.com
to describe anime to people new to the art form:
AC Team: Can you describe Anime?
What exactly is Anime?
Ken:
I'd say that "Anime" is animation created and produced by Japanese
animation studios, mostly for Japanese audiences and from a Japanese
perspective. The plots have a melodramatic, humane quality that
make them fascinating to people of most cultures.
AC
Team: Why is it so popular in the U.S. and worldwide?
Ken:
It's a mixture of the exotic and the familiar. Anime artists are
influenced by American artists and movies, and that shows in the
plots. However, the Japanese world view also is part of the genre,
so the shows are "different." It's much like the appeal of the Beatles,
who repackaged the familiar (American blues) in an unfamiliar, exotic
way for their time.
AC
Team: For people new to Anime, what do they look for besides attending
the annual AX convention to learn more about anime? Websites? TV
shows? Video games? Magazines?
Ken:
Read three magazines: Animerica, Protoculture Addicts and Manga
Max.
AC
Team: What's the deal about Anime porn - is that part of the subculture
of Anime, or is that a major part of the Anime audience?
Ken:
No one in the Anime industry will ever admit how much money they
make from porn.
AC
Team: For true core anime enthusiasts - what are the current trends,
or passions for anime enthusiasts?
Ken:
Hard core fans want every show ever made to be released, subtitled,
on DVD's. The rest of the world is looking for the next Pokemon.
And video games are rising as an influence on Anime.
AC Team: Thanks!
-- Contributors to this
report: Suzanne Kai, Dennis A. Amith, Wendy Chan
go
back to page 1 of 2
Anime
Expo 2000 Photo Gallery
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