Ok you Super Saiyan, Naruto anime kidz. It’s time for an education on some real Japanimation. That’s right I said it. That’s what we called “Aww-knee-mae” in 1992. We had, Robotech, Battle of the Planets, Akira, Transformers the Movie, Ninja Scroll, Golgo 13 and Fist of the freakin’ Northstar. These were Pre-Pokemon invasion productions that paved the way to becoming a man. Not to get off on a rant here, (I know too late) but I’ve had this brewing for at least a decade. There I was, a young lad, newly exposed to properties with testosterone, meat and teeth. And what does American culture absorb? Sailor Moon, DBZ and Digimons… Imagine my horror and disbelief when this is what the Western market embraced…
When Kenshiro killed a man, they didn’t know it because pressure point attacks turned them into walking, talking, ticking blood bombs of pure awesome. So when I found out that Koei, creators of the Dynasty Warriors series, is producing Fist of the Northstar, it felt like a match made in heaven. This looks to be what a boy’s dreams are made of. I expect bodies to be flying in a glorious martial arts post-apocalypse. Kotaku predicts an international release which, if done justice, makes up for all the atrocities that became popularized in the Western market. It’s not like I expected Wicked City to be in every American home, but there was a definite anime paradigm shift that went from badass, to limp and lame.
It’s no secret that the print industry is hurting in a bad way. What people don’t often realize is that this includes the comic book industry. It’s hard enough having always been a niche market. Compound that with the current economy and the dire straits print advertising is, you have a formula for disaster. It took the Spider-Man movie to save Marvel from bankruptcy.
And this was pre-economic crisis.
But they’re adapting and even have digital comics subscriptions available. In the East comics aren’t a guilty pleasure or strictly nerd culture like they are in the US. Manga is on every street corner and read on subways like we do the Wall Street Journal. In Japan, the PSP store is beginning to offer digital comics. This is the perfect medium to reach some new readership. And I implore the US comic industry to follow suit. What a perfect model to distribute the comic book medium while lowering piracy than offering digital downloads on the PSP or PS3. Hell, open the model to the iPhones and 360’s.
In my opinion, comics in the past 10 years are better now than they’ve ever been. Digital coloring, sophisticated writing and high-standard artwork is more prevalent than ever. The point is to keep them going. And besides, if it weren’t for these monthly published works of art, what would movie studios try their best to ruin? I guess we still have a couple dozen 80’s properties to pillage. But C’mon Marvel and DC. Let’s start hitting some Playstation stores!
