The Kids...Against the Seventies: Anime Expo '95
Elizabeth HL Horn
the impersonality or sterility of the Expo hotels the last two years;
however, from a logistical standpoint, the truth is that a convention
the size of the Expo has few choices concerning its venue. (GOH
imitation: "Ano...muzukashii desu ne...")
LAX is my home airport, having been in and out of there twenty times
at least; thus, when I saw the "NUDE NUDES" sign adjacent to the
Hilton & Towers, it gave me that sense of reassurance you have as a
child, riding in the back seat--namely because I had been seeing that
same sign from the back seat all through my childhood. LAX is adjacent
to beautiful, scenic Inglewood, former world headquarters of the C/FO
(I once hunted for Fred Patten in the Los Angeles White Pages, only to
get on the phone a "Mr. Patten died ten years ago"), and not too far
from peaceful, idyllic, Gardena, home of Melody Records where, once,
they never stopped spinning that BGM wax. One of these days the Expo
will be held in Santa Barbara; but not now.
Ephedrine and caffeine combined to give one that scraped feeling of
sleep deprivation as I pulled into the Hilton & Towers indoor lot.
Although the rates at first seemed usurious, it was fairly cool with
the Expo validation--only $6 a day. The lot, however, definitely
looked like a set in a lo-budget SF film; when you were on parking
level 2, you expected to hear this metallic voice boom out, "INTRUDERS
ON LEVEL P2!" Bank vault-like ATMs with a cheerful sign announcing a
$2.50 fee levied on transactions; elderly hotel rent-a-cops;
Continental Breakfast delivered to your room for only $7.95...plus 15%
gratuity...plus $2.00 service charge (then what is the tip for?)--this
was my kind of place!
Well, the Expo is moving, anyway--back to that demi-paradise, Anaheim
(Man, I can almost taste that Personal Pan Pizza...) so any smart-ass
remarks I have to make about the LAX H&T are a bit pointless now. But
any problems with the *hotel* don't matter none, because the Expo
featured world-class events. In terms of programming, this may have
been the most standout anime convention since the original Anime Con
'91.
Look...they showed Katsuhiro Otomo's new film, MEMORIES, on Friday
night. The reels were personally brought over by one of its executive
producers, Hiroaki Inoue; although I understand Bruce and Mike from
Foothill A.N.I.M.E. actually made the showing possible when nobody
else knew how to run the 35mm projector. According to Mr. Inoue, we
were the first people outside of the production staff to see the
entire film. Like Macross Plus last year, we got to see it before the
Japanese. Maybe that isn't exactly fair; but I'm not complaining--and
the ability to have premieres like that is an indication of the level
of excellence that Anime Expo is on. When *we* get to see the new
Otomo film first, we're being honored.
Otomo was the producer of MEMORIES; it is a two-and-a-half hour film
consisting of three separate films whose stories are unrelated to each
other. The first two were directed by associates of Otomo; the third
one, by Otomo himself. All three are based on original manga by Otomo
and all three display the "Otomo style"--except that Otomo has
different styles, from supertechno to stunted fantasy. These are all
displayed in MEMORIES; the first film, "Magnetic Rose," is almost
feature-length itself and concerns the investigation of a derelict
space-station (metaphorically, the "Magnetic Rose" of the title),
haunted by the electronic (?) ghost of a beautiful diva. Now that I
think about it, it is a little reminscent of the Villa Straylight in
Gibson's NEUROMANCER, although it is also reminscent of the final
scenes in 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY. But I don't think either comparison
should be taken too far. "Magnetic Rose" is mysterious and compelling,
and rich in metaphorical detail. The second film, "Stink Bomb," is a
modern-day tale of a hapless employee in a Japanese biotech firm
located in a mountain city. He wakes up from a nap to find everyone
else in the office mysteriously dead; contacting the home office by TV
link, he's ordered to bring back to Tokyo the supply of pills from
which he'd downed one capsule earlier, in hopes of alleviating his
cold. Unfortunately, on his way back (by bicycle and later moped), he
finds every living creature near him dropping dead from the mysterious
miasma wafting from his body...he has become the Stink Bomb, and once
the authorities realize the situation, every police and military
resource is called out to stop the plague-carrying nebbish from
reaching Tokyo. "Stink Bomb" had people out of their seats again and
again at the outrageous action and comedy that followed...it was one
of those "just when you think you've seen everyting..." situations.
For those drawn inward by "Magnetic Rose," "Stink Bomb" spirals out
again in a manic gyre--how shall I say it? A real crowd pleaser. The
final, and shortest of the films, is "Cannon Fodder," directed, as I
said, by Otomo himself. "Cannon Fodder" is a dark fairy tale, with an
artistic style something like the game GADGET, with stunted, grotesque
figures, dark color schemes, and pseudo-Victorian machinery hissing
steam. It seems very un-Otomo until you recall his prior interest in
fairy tales, such as his adaptation of "Hansel and Gretel"--and
brother, this is grim. "Cannon Fodder" takes place in an imaginary
city whose entire culture revolves around cannon; every home, shop,
church, and school has an artillery piece mounted on it befitting its
size. They clean the cannons, load the cannons, aim the cannons, and
fire the cannons...although we never see at whom or who the enemy is.
The protagonist is a little boy who daydreams of being a great cannon
general and firing the grand cannon in the center of town..."Cannon
Fodder" proves to be the most enigmatic of the three films; Otomo
likes mysteries.
MEMORIES was, in of itself, worth the entire Expo. It is the best
anime film since PATLABOR 2, and it is always wonderful to see anime
moving ahead as an art form; seeing what Otomo can do with animation,
you wish that Disney would just take their Pocohantas Burger King
collectible glasses and go home; let the creative people show and
prove. But the fact we all got to see anime get bumped to another
level at the Expo speaks volumes for the status of the Expo. You
expect to see guests and meet friends and buy stuff; you don't
necessarily expect to get that spark again, the rush of memory that
once made you terribly excited to be an anime fan. But you did on
Friday night.
If you missed it, MEMORIES will be in U.S. theaters before too long,
released through Manga Entertainment (Neil Nadelman is translating it
as I type). Manga has stated a policy that they want to release the
best anime has to offer, and with MEMORIES, GHOST IN THE SHELL, and
PATLABOR 2 all slated to hit U.S. theaters (at this time, the art
houses) soon, all from Manga, it isn't an idle boast. GHOST IN THE
SHELL is an interesting case from a number of angles; its artistic
resemblance to PATLABOR 2 rather than the original manga; the fact
that the film is planned to be recorded only in English (it will be
shown in Japan with subtitles); and, most important for the future of
the industry, the joint-financing between the West and East that made
it possible. Money is the limiting factor so often; it has prevented
Gainax from making another film for eight years--but what would be
considered very little money by Hollywood standards--two million
dollars--is big money indeed when it comes to anime. By infusing
Western capital into anime productions, Manga Entertainment may have
discovered the Philosopher's Stone--for less than a tenth of the cost
of an average Hollywood major-studio release, they can have the rights
to an anime film whose presence is big enough to take on anything
Hollywood has to offer.
I say "take on," not "compete" or "win,"
because I'm not sure if anime films can...at least, not right now. But
if they have to stay in the art theaters for now, it is no fault of
the anime themselves. Films like THE WINGS OF HONNEAMISE, PATLABOR 2,
and MEMORIES (and, hopefully, GHOST IN THE SHELL) are giants. In a
theater, they stride off the screen and into your mind, inexorable.
Anime shows what it is capable of in such films: it shows its power as
a medium, it demands and takes recognition as an art form. If you're
an anime fan, such films make you feel magnified when you see them;
sure, the latest OAV you got is cool...but when you see a MEMORIES,
you're like an ordinary kid who's suddenly got psychic powers...BOOM!
Suddenly, there's much more to the universe than you thought! I like
pretty much all anime, but fundamentally, it's not a fad, it's not a
trend...it can't be reduced to genres or ready-made-videos...it's the
work of creative people, and as such it is always unpredictable,
longing to explode and inspire.
So I ain't about to care about the room service, whose price
hyperinflation made me afraid that desperate guests would vote the
Nazis into power. Before MEMORIES was the Game Show, and I am afraid
that Ryan is being too kind when he excuses my intro on technical
screw-ups; I think I was well on my way to screwing up before I
realized the mike wasn't on. But the Game Show itself, with Gaver-san
having a mic in his hand and a mouthful of Miller, and Rich "Radman"
Anderson gettin' busy on those two TEAC-1200s, was, as Dani-chan would
say, HELL OF COOL. As a matter of fact, the Game Show managed to bring
back the spirit of Chris Keller's classic presentations at Anime Con
'91 and Anime Expo '92. "Schmeebs and Nortons!" I'm not sure how well
I would have done myself, but I *did* know at least two of the "..."
questions.
Saturday featured the second of the Expo's major "imported
highlights"--Noboyuki Ohnishi. This is the thirty-seven year-old sumi-e
(brushed ink painting) artist who created the opening and ending
credits for, what's that film's name, oh yeah, THE WINGS OF
HONNEAMISE. I didn't know what he'd be like, since he has a
considerable reputation in Japan's fine art community--a snob, maybe,
sniffing past fans in their "Priss + Vision = Sandpaper Tongues"
T-shirts and "Ryo-oh-ki Died For Your Sins" buttons. Not at all. As a
matter of fact, Ohnishi was very outgoing, having questions translated
for him but attempting to answer in English, and he seemed to
genuinely like the change in atmosphere from the wine-and-cheese
receptions he's used to. "Modern Art" is always an uncertain affair,
but everyone I met agreed that Ohnishi is really a master at capturing
objects in terms of their surrounding "air, light, and shadow," as he
put it. He brought a fine display of his work, including an original
piece fom HONNEAMISE that brought $2200.00 at the charity auction--an
Expo record. Mr. Ohnishi was a guest of Manga Entertainment, which,
together with MEMORIES, had Manga cast quite a shadow, but, again, the
fact that Ohnishi was appearing at the Expo bespeaks the cosmopolitan
character that this convention has now acquired. If you're lucky
enough to live in, say, the Bay Area (I can read clearly on the mallet
swinging towards me the legend "CARL, WE DO *NOT* ALL LIVE IN THE BAY
AREA, OKAY?"), you want to see at an anime convention the kind of
things that you *can't* buy at Nikaku and you *can't* rent at Japan
Video. You might say that the Expo served to demonstrate the *artistic
challenge* that anime ideally presents...either in the instance of
MEMORIES or the avant-garde contributions to the medium of a Noboyuki
Ohnishi. As such, the Expo becomes more than a commercial event, but
also an exhibition, and an unveiling. Perhaps I'm belaboring the point,
but it's precisely such "programming" that lifts the Expo out of the
realm of ordinary conventions and has made it a (global!) focal point for
one of the most exciting genres in the world. For more on Mr. Ohnishi,
be sure to read that magazine with all the Takahashi stuff in it.
Eddie Vedder sings on Mike Watt's new album, "The kids of today should
defend themselves against the Seventies...It's not reality...It's just
someone else's sentimentality...It won't work for you..." That's more
or less the concept behind Seishun Shitemasu's own little unveiling,
VOLTRON FORCE: THE LOST EPISODE, which screened at their par-tay on
Saturday night. Seishun, those find upstanding youths from San Diego,
have had my favorite convention parties for the last four years (and
they're likely to remain so until someone dances at mine). The most
accomplished parody-dubbers out there, they are the true heirs of
Pinesalad Productions, and you never know quite what you're going to
get from them. This time, we got the Seventies. Having already
disposed of the Sixties in U.C. 0069: THE JION YEARS (formerly known
as WAR IN THE POCKET) and the Nineties in ANIME BITES (based on the
obscure but supercool TO-Y), Seishun went against the decade that gave
us Pet Rocks and the Swine Flu Vaccination Campaign by re-dubbing an
episode of that Sandy Frank, Sandy Frank turkey G-FORCE (formerly
known as BATTLE OF THE PLANETS, formerly known as SCIENCE NINJA TEAM
GATCHAMAN). Now, this TV show was originally made in the 70s, but the
amazing thing is just how 70s it looks, with its bell-bottom sporting
heroes attempting to rescue a band that could pass for Deep Purple
(the three Katsuhiro Otomo stories named after Deep Purple songs are
HIGHWAY STAR, FIREBALL, and BOOGIE WOOGIE WALTZ). Somebody had to be
the first to use to use the line "I'm going to get medieval on your
ass" in a parody dub, and those people were, of course, Seishun
Shitemasu. In VOLTRON FORCE, they also pioneer the use of Borscht Belt
humor in anime ("Oy! The catering! From the whitefish I still have
terrible heartburn") and for balance, a Dr. Strangelove accent ("Vhen
a man und a voman love each other very much, they make a giant "V!").
But there was more to the party than cheap ethnic laughs: social
protest was also evident in a blasting broadcast of their "Cop Killer"
video; using the infamous Body Count song with footage from the
Terminator movies (exactly the point Ice-T made about why it was wrong
for him to merely *sing* about cop killing when Schwarzennegger can
graphically blow away dozens of them on screen and he's considered an
upstanding citizen). We formed a sort of crawling mosh pit to that
one; trying to celebrate our eroding First Amendment rights. Fifty
people fit into the room, thanks largely to Seishun's ingenious
arrangement of the hotel furniture--they are past masters at
exploiting every possible square inch of room space and have talked
about writing a little article on it. I hope they do. By the way,
do to equipment disruptions associated with the recent marriage of one
of their members, it is difficult to get a copy of one of their
parodies at this time--but they may have a new distributor soon.
I'm also happy to say that a special guest showing, thanks to Ryan, of
Corn Pone Flicks's latest documentary, BAD AMERICAN DUBBING 3, brought
incontinence-producing laughter from the crowd, which is cool, because
CPF never gets west of the Pecos. Seishun is talking about going to
A-Kon next year, which would be cool--they could have a summit
conference with Corn Pone, with leftover Cold War/Macross Movie
flag-holders on the table and everything.
The thing I remember most about Sunday is being shown that
doo-doo-doo-doo, doo-doo-doo-doo, submitted-for-your-approval promo of
the live-action/animated American version of Sailor Moon that never
got made. It was through the eyepiece of a camcorder that was directed
at the screen when Allen Hastings showed it off, like a film at a war
crimes tribunal--there's no actual copy of the tape offically
available, nor will there probably ever be (it's like those GAGA
Communications promos for "City Of Steel," a.k.a. BUBBLEGUM CRISIS,
etc.) So seeing it that way was like one of those old penny-arcade
type machines where you turned a crank to see footage of the 1906
earthquake. That "dude from Idaho" was responsible for capturing this
historic document, and he certainly deserves due praise. Then Scott
Frazier, who is possibly the most highly evolved otaku ever born on
U.S. soil, sat down and talked with us, right there on the hotel
floor, about what's going on in the industry. He's about as cool a guy
as they come; hey, he's actually as good role model!
I don't have anything to report on the dealers' room front; I didn't
buy anything, although I did stand with Radman in front of the Doki
Media Arts and Anime Wink tables and say "Huh-huh-huh-huh. Huh-huh.
Huh-huh-huh-huh. Huh-huh-huh-huh. Doujinshi are cool. Huh-huh-huh-huh
(etc.)" I talked here about what I can remember, but the river, shall
we say, that flowed between all these standout events was made up of all the
people I kept running into every three feet...man, almost *everyone*
was there, and I slipped them some skin, gave them five low, did the
Batman on them, and clasped them to my chest in warm, masculine
camaraderie (taking careful notes on who would do this sober). I have
to thank Ryan Gavigan and his Heartland Posse for reasons which were
pass-out obvious. If you feel I've forgotten anyone or anything, I
probably have, and please feel free to follow up. This is getting to
be a long post, anyway.
--Carl "I will deny you, baby" Horn
Theodore Griesenbrock
Elizabeth HL Horn <zi...@netcom.com> wrote:
[Clipped for brevity...]
>of excellence that Anime Expo is on. When *we* get to see the new
>Otomo film first, we're being honored.
Right ON!
[clipclip]
>MEMORIES was, in of itself, worth the entire Expo. It is the best
>anime film since PATLABOR 2, and it is always wonderful to see anime
Some said it was even better...
[clip clip.]
>If you missed it, MEMORIES will be in U.S. theaters before too long,
>released through Manga Entertainment (Neil Nadelman is translating it
>as I type). Manga has stated a policy that they want to release the
>best anime has to offer, and with MEMORIES, GHOST IN THE SHELL, and
>PATLABOR 2
How many people would want to bet that Manga Entertainment
had acquired the rights to Gundam (the entire package)? I would
say after what they did to grab all the rights to all of these excellent
title, that Gundam is pretty much the next logical step.
>GHOST IN THE
>SHELL is an interesting case from a number of angles; its artistic
>resemblance to PATLABOR 2 rather than the original manga; the fact
>that the film is planned to be recorded only in English (it will be
>shown in Japan with subtitles);
Naaaaannnniiii???? English ONLY? @_@ Man, ME is _THAT_ serious...
[clip clip]
>considered very little money by Hollywood standards--two million
>dollars--is big money indeed when it comes to anime. By infusing
Imagine... Anime with a budget of $20 millions...
[big CLIP...]
>probably have, and please feel free to follow up. This is getting to
>be a long post, anyway.
Sure, it's a long post... but it's a VERY informative post. The
BEST post on RAA for quite some time...
Comeon EVERYONE! This is how RAA should be like! Full of posts
like this, and not with thread like "HOw many Nuku Nuku does it take to
screw in a light bulb..." kind of threads. [Ducking Sbuma's flames... :)]
Thank you Carl, for this post.
-T.J.
"Drop that fansub, and buy the REAL THING!"
Elizabeth HL Horn
SPJA Award for "Best Dubbed Release" and no one was on hand to accept
it. A bit ironic considering one of its original producers, the
opening and ending credits artist, the three executive producers of
its English version, the English version's ADR director, the English
version's translator, and representatives from its Western licensing
company were all present at the Expo. If they had held the awards
ceremony next door, where the "NUDE NUDES" sign is, I'm sure at least
one of those people would have stood up.
--Carl "I know this place off Sunset, it's a trip" Horn
Keith Rhee
[regarding Ghost in the Shell]
>the fact that the film is planned to be recorded only in English
>(it will be shown in Japan with subtitles);
And here I was waiting for a *subbed* release. This had better be
a good dubbing job, man...
--
Keith Rhee
A boss says "Go." -- A leader says "Let's go."
qua...@netcom.com
Mike Tatsugawa
Strangely enough, the execs were so used to use starting the
masquerade and thus the awards ceremonies late that they were still in
the bar when the awards came up. All of the Bandai, Pioneer, Pony
Canyon, Manga Entertainment, etc. folks managed to catch the 2nd part
of the costume contest.
Mike
--
Mike Tatsugawa, AKA shogun: The busiest anime fan in the world!
President, SPJA: 2425 B Channing, Suite 684, Brk, CA 94704
Publicity Coordinator, Anime Expo '96
Nobody in Particular
: LAX is my home airport, having been in and out of there twenty times
: at least; thus, when I saw the "NUDE NUDES" sign adjacent to the
: Hilton & Towers, it gave me that sense of reassurance you have as a
: child, riding in the back seat--namely because I had been seeing that
: same sign from the back seat all through my childhood. LAX is adjacent
[snip]
What was really scary, as somebody I know pointed out, was that when you
stood at a certain angle, you ended up seeing "Carl's Jr. NUDE"...
^_^;;
I'm sorry I followed up your excellent post with pointless noise, but I
couldn't resist. Gomen nasai.
: --Carl "I will deny you, baby" Horn
:
Stainless Steel Rat
>> the fact that the film is planned to be recorded only in English
>> (it will be shown in Japan with subtitles);
Keith> And here I was waiting for a *subbed* release.
It will be subbed. In Japanese. :)
Keith> This had better be a good dubbing job, man...
Three words: Cannes Film Festival.
--
Rat <rat...@ccs.neu.edu> \ If Happy Fun Ball begins to smoke, get
PGP Public Key: Ask for one today! \ away immediately. Seek shelter and cover
http://www.ccs.neu.edu/home/ratinox/ \ head.
Steven E. Barnes
And I thought this was going to be a critique of the music videos
at the con... (Actually, the music was '80s, but still... Duran
Duran? "Be Good Johnny"?).
-steve, who is going to do a Hokuto no Ken techno-mix video...
"We still fight, fight in the 90's"
Biggles Dictates a Letter
[snip]
>-steve, who is going to do a Hokuto no Ken techno-mix video...
Nani??? I think this will be pretty funny...(no offense, Steve!)
Hmmm...creative uses for Ken's trademark Bajillion Fist Attack Yell...
"James Brown..." "HoooohhhhYATAA!" "...is dead."
^_^
Ja ne!
- Felix
--
Felix "Dare ka ga itta,'Koi wo sureba
fw...@ux4.cso.uiuc.edu samishiku naru' to..."
"Purrr......." - _Twilight_, BGC 4 Soundtrack
Dan Harkless
>I'm also happy to say that a special guest showing, thanks to Ryan, of
>Corn Pone Flicks's latest documentary, BAD AMERICAN DUBBING 3, brought
>incontinence-producing laughter from the crowd, which is cool, because
>CPF never gets west of the Pecos.
Is there any way for people who missed that to get a copy? Bad
American dubbing is certainly a phenomenon that deserves having fun poked at
it by competent hands and I'd like to see this flick...
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Dan Harkless | "The sore in my soul |
| d...@cafws1.eng.uci.edu | The mark in my heart -> Front 242, |
| dhar...@clyde.ics.uci.edu | Her acid reign..." Tragedy >For You< |
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Keith Rhee
>It will be subbed. In Japanese. :)
Let me clarify -- I wanted Japanese dialog with English subs. ^^;
>Three words: Cannes Film Festival.
The promo they showed had the characters sounding as if they were
getting rectal exams while reading off a script. If this reflects
the quality of the actual thing... ^^;
--
Keith Rhee
A boss says "Go." -- A leader says "Let's go."
Elizabeth HL Horn
Keith Rhee <qua...@netcom.com> wrote:
>Stainless Steel Rat <rat...@ccs.neu.edu> writes:
>
>>It will be subbed. In Japanese. :)
>
> Let me clarify -- I wanted Japanese dialog with English subs. ^^;
>
>>Three words: Cannes Film Festival.
>
> The promo they showed had the characters sounding as if they were
> getting rectal exams while reading off a script. If this reflects
> the quality of the actual thing... ^^;
>
>--
>
GitS has not been sound-recorded yet; that trailer was a quickie.
--Carl "Hey man, nice shot" Horn
Jim Burdo
: zi...@netcom.com (Elizabeth HL Horn) writes:
: [regarding Ghost in the Shell]
: >the fact that the film is planned to be recorded only in English
: >(it will be shown in Japan with subtitles);
: And here I was waiting for a *subbed* release. This had better be
: a good dubbing job, man...
If it's made in English, is it a dub?
: --
: Keith Rhee
: A boss says "Go." -- A leader says "Let's go."
--
Jim Burdo ** It takes a consensus of billions
jbu...@phoenix.kent.edu ** to hold us back.
******************************************************************************
"There are no doctors for society, and those who would write prescriptions
must be stamped out like bedbugs." -- Schizophrenic, "The Yawning Heights"
Keith Rhee
>If it's made in English, is it a dub?
It is. Only that in this case, the dub job is the original, not
something they did over an original Japanese dialog.
--
Keith Rhee
A boss says "Go." -- A leader says "Let's go."
Aaron Newton
: : [regarding Ghost in the Shell]
: : >the fact that the film is planned to be recorded only in English
: : >(it will be shown in Japan with subtitles);
: : And here I was waiting for a *subbed* release. This had better be
: : a good dubbing job, man...
: If it's made in English, is it a dub?
Yes. All cartoons are dubbed, period. Haven't we been through this a million
times before? :-)
--
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<>
< NLPR Ranma 1/2*Ah! My Goddess*Macross >
< Aaron Newton *Gunnm*Cutey Honey*Hades Project >
< amne...@starbase.spd.louisville.edu Zeorymer*Dragonball*Lodoss Wars* >
< >
< "I just LOOOVVE looking for life-forms" -Data, ST:Generations 1:1>
<>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Charles Hagmaier
have been wretched Japanese soundtracks, too..
try and find somebody who enjoyed the original
voices on Iczer-3, ferinstance.
Mitch Hagmaier
Quest Labs
Not having a previous group of capable voice
actors to emmulate doesn't strike me as a
benefit to a prospective dub...
Glenn Saunders
: Yes. All cartoons are dubbed, period. Haven't we been through this a million
: times before? :-)
In that context, all films are usually dubbed (via Automatic Dialogue
Replacement). The point is that the lip synching is originally set up to
match the language of the original script. Based on the lack of sync in
some of the japanese dialogue anime I have seen it appears as if dialogue
is added later rather than being done to conform to the dialogue tracks
which (in the US at least) are usually prerecorded. I don't know for
sure, but the point being that dubbing in a different language isn't
always easy because you have SOME responsibility to match lip movements
and some languages are more or less wordy than others leading to the
"endlessrunonsentence" phenomenon.