end of anime as we know it?

[mark schilling]

I've been commissioned to write a think piece on the future of Japanese
animation by Screen International and my first thought is -- what future?

Last year, at the Tokyo Film Festival, Anno Hideaki of Evangelion fame told
me that he liked the "unpredicatability" of live-action filmmaking and
wouldn't be making any more animation. Meanwhile, colleague Oshii Mamoru,
who came to international prominence with Ghost In a Shell, has abandoned
the anime ranks for Avalon.

More worrying, at least to fans of traditional animation, is the buzz
surrounding projects like Square's Final Fantasy and Gaga and Namco's Axis,
which are the digital cousins to Toy Story and Shrek. The budget of both
outdistance anything even Studio Ghibli can match, while the main creators
on the Japanese side are game designers and the like, not traditional
animators. In fact, looking at the latest RPG, such as Final Fantasy 10,
it's hard to tell the difference, in the level of realism at least, from CG
films.

The point? The money and talent seem to be flowing away from traditional
animation, toward CG in all its various forms. Even though Studio Ghibli is
making greater use of digital painting and imaging, it is beginning to look
like a craft shop turning out beautifully hand-painted fans -- while
factories are going up all around it to produce digital air-conditioners.

Of course, there will long be a market for Pokemon and its ilk -- animation
for the relatively undemanding under-twelves. The question is whether anime
for a wider demographic can long survive in its present form.

If you were a hot young talent coming into the industry today, would you
rather commit yourself to an ardous, low-paying apprenticeship at an
animation studio -- or join a game maker or CG effects house that is
producing films with Hollywood or StudioCanal? Comments please.

Mark Schilling