Anime at the Academy

[Mark Nornes]

[November 14, 2001 in Los ATngeles] 	　
　
This is old news, but new to me. I came across this, and thought I would 
pass it on. Any chance someone went to this event?

Markus





The Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and the Academy Foundation has held 
the 7th Annual Marc Davis Lecture on Animation on the topic of Japanese 
Animation. Every year, the Marc Davis Lecture focuses on the medium and 
the industry of animation. However this year was the first time in which 
the subject matter was on the theme of Japanese Animation. The title of 
the panel was "Drawing from Japan: Anime and its Influences." As 
proponents of the Anime industry, Producer Mitsuhisa Ishikawa of the 
feature film Ghost In The Shell and Blood: The Last Vampire, and 
Director Kunihiko Ikuhara from Revolutionary Girl Utena: The Movie were 
invited as guest panel lecturers to hold a discussion session on stage. 

The panel was divided into five discussion sessions. After showing 
three-minute clips of feature films on Japanese Animation, the 
discussion sessions were held as the panelists answered the questions of 
the moderator. The sequences of film presentations and discussions: 

1. INROADS:
ASTRO BOY 1963
AKIRA 1988
Panelist: Moderator Jerry Beck and Fred Patten

2.THE KUROSAWA OF ANIMATION:
MY NEIGHBOR TOTORO 1988
PORCO ROSSO 1992
PRINCESS MONONOKE 1997
Panelist: Eric Goldberg

3.KICKING THE KIDSTUFF:
WICKED CITY 1987
PERFECT BLUE 1977
GHOST IN THE SHELL 1995
Panelist: Mark Dippe

4.UNIQUELY JAPANESE:
POMPOKO 1994
GRAVE OF THE FIREFLIES 1988
PRINCESS MONONOKE 1997
Panelist: Lisa Atkinson

5.THE NEXT GENERATION:
BLOOD: THE LAST VAMPIRE 2000
THE ADOLESCENCE UTENA 1999
Panelist: Mitsuhisa Ishikawa and Kunihiko Ikuhara

Each of the panelists discussed about their relationship of the featured 
film and their current stance on Japanese Animation. 

The panelist for Astro Boy and Akira was Fred Patten. He is a renowned 
Japanese Animation historian who discussed on the origins of stylistic 
features of Anime

Director Eric Goldberg of Pocahontas was the next lecturer after the 
presentations of My Neighbor Totoro, Porco Rosso, and Princess Mononoke. 
He is a loyal supporter of Hayao Miyazaki Animation and praised Miyazaki 
achievements. 

After Wicked City, Perfect Blue, and Ghost in The Shell, Director Mark 
Dippe of Spawn went on stage as the next panelist. He has also worked 
with Industrial Light and Magic as a visual supervisor on such films as 
Jurassic Park, Terminator 2: Judgment Day, and The Abyss. He went into 
discussion on the influences of Anime into the visual and special 
effects of Hollywood films.

Lisa Atkinson lectured on her role in the production and assistance on 
the films Ponpoko, Grave of the Fireflies, and Princess Mononoke. 

Following Blood: The Last Vampire and THE ADOLESCENCE UTENA, Producer 
Mitsuhisa Ishikawa and Director Kunihiko Ikuhara held a discussion 
session with the audience as the nouvelle-generation in the future of 
anime. 

Most of the audiences were members of the Academy and regular visitors. 
Although some die-hard Japanese Animation fans attended, the majority 
were people who saw anime for the first time. From this author's 
perspective, everyone seemed to be amazed by the specialty that the 
Japanese Animation offered. Especially for the audiences who only knew 
the animation medium through American and "Disney-esque" styles, they 
were astonished by the over-age expressions such as gory action 
sequences, sexual innuendos and the naked female body. On the other 
hand, the comical sequences of Totoro and Ponpoko filled the stage with 
laughter, while they held their breath in awe at the beautiful sequences 
shown on Blood: The Last Vampire and THE ADOLESCENCE UTENA. 

Here, the author would like to introduce two interesting questions that 
were asked by the audience to Producer Mitsuhisa Ishikawa and Director 
Kunihiko Ikuhara. "To what extent do violent scenes in anime have an 
effect upon children?" and "Grave of the Fireflies do not convey the 
actual truth. In the United States, Pearl Harbor had given us the 
glimpse of the truth of history. Why doesn't Japanese creators do not 
use the anime medium to try to tell historical truth?" Both questions 
are notable and invoke a sigh of laughter, but such issues are 
frequently asked to Japanese Animation creators. One can say that these 
are normal impressions and questions asked by average Americans who have 
seen Japanese Animations. It has been said that Japanese Animation is 
popular in the United States (the author lives in the United States and 
can feel the extent of such expressions). Conversely, one can also 
perceive that many people have such thought as said above. Sadly, it 
will take more time for the majority of Americans to truly appreciate 
the true meanings of Japanese Animation. By noting the above seems only 
to give the impression of getting harsh reaction, but the author would 
like to stress that the majority gave a heart-felled welcome among 
impressive discussions immersed with jokes and laughter. The lecture 
closed with the great impression that preponderance of the spectators 
have understood the basics and influential expressions of Japanese 
Animation. 

In conclusion, the author would like to quote the answer by Director 
Kunihiko Ikuhara of the said question stated in the last paragraph.

"Truth has never been interpreted nor conveyed through film. Whether 
they be documentaries or newsreels, it is only one sequence under the 
perspectives of the person through the eyes of the camera lens. Truth 
can never be put into a frame of a camera and edited. Therefore, no 
motion picture can convey the truth in its exact form." 
-	Kunihiko Ikuhara. 
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