Letters to the Editor
-
Anime and the state
As an out-of-the-closet anime fan, I have scratched my head about Korea for years. As far as I know, Korea does the gruntwork on most traditional (i.e., not-Pixar-ish) animation projects now - including American anime-lookalike productions like "Avatar: the Last Airbender" and "Boondocks".
What is curious is that Korea, again, as far as I know, has yet to produce a widely recognized anime product that is a Korean production. Korea has Roughtrade Studio, but I am not aware of a Korean equivalent to Sunrise Studio, Studio Ghibli or Gainax or a Korean Hayao Miyazaki or Satoshi Kon. Korea has the talent. They have a rich history and culture to mine for source material, as they have already done with appeal throughout Asia in the form of live action "dramas" (sort of like soap operas in the US - but with a broader audience and appeal. Anime should, by rights, belong to Korea by now. Why doesn't it?
-Ulysses