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Star Wars anime?

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I always wondered why in 1985, when everyone was using Japanese animation studios because they were good and cheap, George went with the weak Canadian studio Nelvana?

Now I watch this interview and find out that Tokyo Movie Shinsha (arguably the best TV animation studio at that time) actually did some sort of pilot to try and get a Star Wars cartoon series going.

It really bothers me that A) George blew this opportunity and B) I'll never get to see this footage and it will just rot away in some guy's attic.

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 (Edited)

Nelvana did the Boba Fett cartoon for the Holiday Special, so they had already had done a pilot of sorts. IIRC, even Nelvana was shipping the drawings out to Japan to be inked, painted and filmed in the 80's.

Any studio that could make Rock and Rule is pretty cool in my book.

Maybe someone could ask Mr. Zicree if he can find that VHS tape, and post some screenshots?

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evan1975 said:


I always wondered why in 1985, when everyone was using Japanese animation studios because they were good and cheap, George went with the weak Canadian studio Nelvana?


Them's fightin' words.

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That would be Nelvana who were once upon a Timelord developing this :

 

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Looks a bit like Egon from the animated Ghostbusters.

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DuracellEnergizer said:

 

evan1975 said:


I always wondered why in 1985, when everyone was using Japanese animation studios because they were good and cheap, George went with the weak Canadian studio Nelvana?


Them's fightin' words.

 

Indeed.

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The question marks business still rubs a generation of Doctor Who fans up, what was JNT smoking when he came up with that?

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Tobar said:

DuracellEnergizer said:

 

evan1975 said:


I always wondered why in 1985, when everyone was using Japanese animation studios because they were good and cheap, George went with the weak Canadian studio Nelvana?


Them's fightin' words.

 

Indeed.

Agreed. I love the style of the Holiday Special, as psychedelic as it can be at times.

I also positively totally dislike anime.

Keep Circulating the Tapes.

END OF LINE

(It hasn’t happened yet)

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Nelvana was good at fuzzy animal stuff.  Care Bears, etc.  They did a good job on the Ewoks series and I suspect that's why that series got renewed.

Droids and the Holiday Special always looked a bit wonky.

In 1985, nobody animated robots and spaceships better than the Japanese.  George missed an opportunity and I stand by that opinion.

 

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The fuzzy animal stuff paid the bills. (As did the Beetlejuice cartoon.) You can't fault them for that. MGM suits dumping Rock and Rule was beyond their control.

And Tryphanax, anime covers so many decades, genres, and styles, I can't believe there isn't at least one Japanese cartoon you've liked?

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I'm in the same boat as Tryph, I've never been able to get into any anime either. It may cover a wide range of decades, genres, and styles, but it all seems to share in the same obnoxious features. There are many my friends have told me about that I expected to like, and a few I've really tried hard to like, but ultimately I just find them obnoxious to a degree that I can't look beyond or forgive.

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I grew up back when it was simply Japanese cartoons on the old UHF dial. They have influenced Western pop culture more than people realize. If you've seen The Lion King, you know Disney only steals from the best. ;)

It's been speculated over the years Lucas was influenced by Space Battleship Yamato, which was airing around the time George visited Japan. The English dub, (retitled Star Blazers) hit American airwaves in 1978, no doubt as a result of Star Wars' success.

Star Wars characters often turn up in anime as an inside joke. I definitely saw Vader in the dance club scenes of the Lensman movie.

There's also this bit of amazing animation from 1983...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AeDBIwRe2AE

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I just watched that animation you linked to. I just don't get it. You say amazing, I can't seem to see anything special about it. I couldn't relate to it and there was nothing moving or even slightly interesting to me about it.

I think a handful of us are just destined not to get it.

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Little school girl on the run from Godzilla plants a carrot which grows into giant space phallus which takes her on a journey through space where she grows rabbit ears and boobs and rides the blade of a sword to distant times and worlds where she fights Vader and the Alien throws a Transformer around.

This sets off a terraforming device which inexplicably allows Yoda to meet a living pentagram with a single eye, Marvel and DC superheroes turn up and Thunderbird 5 explodes, Space Battleship Yamato crashes, while Klingon battlecruisers escape from Imperial Stardestroyers.

What's not to get?

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 (Edited)

SilverWook said:

And Tryphanax, anime covers so many decades, genres, and styles, I can't believe there isn't at least one Japanese cartoon you've liked?

It's not that I haven't seen ones I enjoyed (Cowboy Bebop comes to mind), it just doesn't have a big appeal to me.

Keep Circulating the Tapes.

END OF LINE

(It hasn’t happened yet)

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Sturgeon's Law applies to anime as well.  You have to care enough to dig through the stuff you don't like yourself, find a friend who can recommend stuff based on your tastes, or you can just stay away.  Most choose the last option--they don't care enough to just dive in before they've seen anything they like, and their friends don't make good recommendations for them.

Me, I get some sick enjoyment out of some truly awful crap, so I go with option 1.  I thought the clip Silverwook linked was hilarious, but it's basically just about 10 million inside anime jokes strung together, so it's not necessarily going to make any sense outside a certain circle.  I mean, Love and Death is a brilliant film, but I'm not going to recommend it to someone who's not already familiar with Russian literature.

Project Threepio (Star Wars OOT subtitles)

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That little clip was made by the people who would form Studio Gainax.  Who also made Neon Genesis Evangelion.  Often referred to as the Yamato of the 90's.

Although the creator was a fan of Yamato i don't get the comparison.  Though last years remake of Yamato definitely feels like evangelion-esque, not something i care for.  And i like Both EVA And Yamato.

I like the old series which has never had a stateside release other than starblazers and apparently those subpar cut dvd's are now out of print as well.

While in japan the first season of the original series got a deluxe Blu ray set and the films are set to be released restored in HD on blu.

Which i am wary of because Bandai simply upscaled the galaxy express 999 films and used DVNR for the blu ray rather than going back and scanning the films, i hope they don't do the same with Yamato.  Even though i will be buying them without any english language subtitles, i will anyway since there is no chance whatsoever for an US release.

“Always loved Vader’s wordless self sacrifice. Another shitty, clueless, revision like Greedo and young Anakin’s ghost. What a fucking shame.” -Simon Pegg.

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A lot of classic stuff isn't even out on DVD sadly. Where the heck are Lensman and Robot Carnival?

The most recent anime film I enjoyed was Paprika. It's probably as mind bending as Inception in it's own way. (And I'm betting Hollywood will make a live action version and screw it up.) I only discovered it because someone used footage from it to make a music video.

The clip I linked to also referenced just about everything in Science Fiction and Fantasy up to that year. There's probably even more in the crowd shots I can't make out at Youtube resolution.

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Star Blazers exist on 16mm film prints and someone could scan that conceivably in HD for a blu ray release, Voyager Entertainment is likely not going to do so especially since they closed their doors in 2012 and are now under the care of the Japanese owners. Tim Eldred being no longer involved even in the capacity as web administrator.

We will not see a uncut Space Battleship Yamato original series in the USA, subtitled or newly English dubbed, or even the cut down versions.  We won't see the two cuts of the rebirth film, the live action film or the remake 2199.

Few industries in the USA have suffered as much a Anime has in the great recession.

Always a niche in the culture of the west despite vocal fans. How much has fansubs and illegal downloads hurt the industry, hard to say.

 

As for Lensman i don't think any EE Smith fans myself included have ever been able to ascertain if the animated tv series/movie was authorized by the smith estate or if the rights are owned by anyone in japan anymore.

The US Cut put together by Streamline pictures and pan and scanned while the japan version was widescreen.  Not sure if it was animated 4:3 and matted as a lot of animated films used to do.

 

A live action film had been proposed by Ron Howard but never went anywhere.  Considering how poorly received John Carter was maybe this is good, not sure.

“Always loved Vader’s wordless self sacrifice. Another shitty, clueless, revision like Greedo and young Anakin’s ghost. What a fucking shame.” -Simon Pegg.

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skyjedi2005 said:

Which i am wary of because Bandai simply upscaled the galaxy express 999 films and used DVNR for the blu ray rather than going back and scanning the films,

That was Toei, not Bandai.  And they were actually HD scans (maybe old ones though) and not upscales, but yes they were filtered pretty bad so it was hard to tell.

Bandai doesn't have a perfect track record (The Big O was an upscale even though the 1st series was done on film), but their JP Blu-rays of old anime are generally excellent.

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SilverWook said:


The most recent anime film I enjoyed was Paprika. It's probably as mind bending as Inception in it's own way. (And I'm betting Hollywood will make a live action version and screw it up.) I only discovered it because someone used footage from it to make a music video.

This. Movie's a mindfuck and definitely worth your time even if you're not a fan of anime.

A Goon in a Gaggle of 'em

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I agree, I just couldn't bring myself to use that exact phrase to describe it. ;)

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