HELLO ANIME (2-DVD)
 
  List price: $19.99
     
  • Number of DVDs: 2  
• Language: English, Japanese with subtitles
• Format: NTSC
• Length: 120 minutes
• Code: all regions (codefree)
• Rating: not rated
 
 
 
out of print
  
       
  Hello Anime! is a new content DVD by filmmakers Manuel Stagars and Georg Fick that chronicles the anime boom in America. In 19 exclusive interviews, the maverick pioneers who defined the movement talk about their personal success stories and reveal the inside scoop on anime. Weekly Anime Review commented on the DVD: "If you think you might ever want to work in the anime industry, this is absolutely required viewing."  
     
  The filmmakers followed the anime movement for one year. In trips to Tokyo, San Francisco, Hollywood and various conventions, they garnered exclusive interviews with anime pioneers, artists, animators, designers and entrepreneurs, altogether over 2 hours of personal inside knowledge about Japan's most successful cultural export. Once an underground revolution, anime is now revitalizing Hollywood, in the process redefining the very nature of American culture, movies and games. The DVD boasts a second disc of interviews with the triumphant titans of the industry - VIZ Media, Bandai America, Tokyopop, ADV Films, Geneon - filmed at Anime Expo 2005. View clips from the interviews here.  
     
  Not a long time ago, finding Japanese animation in the United States was quite a challenge. "I was going in back alleys paying 80 bucks to get underground copies of tapes", says Scott Haile, a game designer at Sony and longtime anime fan. Well, the times have changed. Hello Anime! delivers a firsthand look at the dawn of anime in America, the rise of the otakus, the anime internet community, anime in Kill Bill and The Matrix and the Japanization of America.  
     
  Hello Anime! is not a documentary in the traditional sense with a story line and opinion built in, but more of a new form of content DVD that lets you get deep inside the topic at your own pace. With an interactive menu, you can navigate through the interviews, jump from one question to another or browse topics.  
     
  The online anime magazine Animefringe has released an interview with filmmakers Georg Fick and Manuel Stagars about the making of Hello Anime! Read it here.