UCLA Film and Television Archive "Utena: The Movie," a
lesbian love story, is an example of the many different types of
themes that Anime films can cover.
By Sandy Yang
Daily Bruin Contributor
The WB’s “Pokémon” and Cartoon
Network’s “Sailor Moon” have made Japanese
animation, or Anime, accessible to young audiences across America,
but that’s only part of the story.
The sampling of anime from the UCLA Film and Television
Archive’s Second Annual Anime Festival, “Anime
A-Go-Go,” proves animation has the potential to appeal to
audiences of all ages. Now, coupled with the latest advances in
computer graphics, Anime can become a dizzy, stylish journey into
themes that stretch from love and sexuality to existentialism and
horror.
“Anime A-Go-Go” shows today’s cutting-edge
anime, according to Film and Television Archive programmer
Cheng-Sim Lim, some of which is premiering for the first time on
the West Coast and in Los Angeles.
The lineup, which is playing over three nights, includes
“Utena: the Movie” (from the popular television series,
“Revolutionary Girl Utena”), “Cowboy
Bebop,” “Jubei-Chan the Ninja Girl,”
“Mobile Suit Gundam,” “Angel Links,”
“Tenamonya Voyagers,” “Vampire Hunter D”
and “Blood: The Last Vampire.” The latter two are
showing Halloween night.
Through this festival, Lim hopes to show that Anime is like any
other genre of cinema.
 Anime A-Go-Go will screen"Mobile Suit Gundam: The 08th MS
Team" on Sat. Nov. 4. at 7:30 pm at UCLA’s James Bridges Theater.
“There’s interesting work and there’s mediocre
work,” Lim said. “With this particular series, (the
titles) are really intriguing and fascinating works to
show.”
Though Anime is just now squeaking out of its cult status in
America and appearing on television networks and art house movie
screens, animation is a mass form of entertainment in many parts of
the world. In Japan, Anime reaches large audiences, achieving the
type of popularity that prime-time sitcoms do in America. In turn,
the stories, not confined to a Saturday morning or after school
line-up, can explore all genres and themes, from the G-rated to the
NC-17-rated.
So it’s not surprising that a highly anticipated animated
movie such as “Utena: The Movie,” is able to tell a
lesbian love story so openly.
“Utena claims to be revolutionary, and I think it
is,” Lim said. “It becomes more than entertainment …
It’s sexually very frank. It makes no apologies and
it’s not ashamed. It doesn’t tame it down or try to
make it politically correct with a lesser version.”
In the story, the title character, Utena, dreams of a prince
sweeping a damsel off her feet ““ only Utena wants to be that
prince. Dressed in a schoolboy’s uniform, Utena duels against
the “student council” who secretly possess the power to
revolutionize the world. Whoever wins the duel will possess a
mysterious girl named Anthy.
 Illustration by JARRETT QUON/Daily Bruin
Also being featured in “Anime A-Go-Go” is the space
western “Cowboy Bebop.” The 26-episode TV series about
a motley crew of bounty hunters gained huge popularity in Japan in
1998.
Each episode differs radically from the other as the series
explores good old-fashioned, butt-kicking adventures, drug-induced
surrealism and darker themes of identity. What makes “Cowboy
Bebop” special, according to Lim, is its mixture of music and
cinematic genres from funk and jazz to western and James Bond
influences, all set in futuristic space travel.
“(The episode) reminds me of a rock opera of the
’70s like “˜The Rocky Horror Picture Show,'”
Lim said. “The music is ballad-y, like a version of Queen …
It’s very evocative, and the angles and compositions visually
are far more interesting than American animation.”
Though the stories may differ, the Anime films share the courage
to be daring and the willingness to be thoughtful.
Lim said that in “Jubei-Chan the Ninja Girl,” the
male character has an existential crisis with the girl he loves.
This action/romance/comedy series allows its male characters to
emote about love and romance while being utterly witty and
charming.
The festival also boasts the West Coast premiere of
“Vampire Hunter D,” which is scheduled to open
theatrically this Christmas. Audiences can look forward to
technology that seamlessly combines hand-drawn animation with
computer graphics, according to Rhona Medina, marketing manager of
production company Urban Vision and former president of the UCLA
Japanese Animation Club.
Medina hopes this gothic tale of a half-human and half-vampire
character who tries to save a girl while escaping his condemners
will reach out to teen audiences when it is released.
“There’s still a stigma when film is animated that
it’s for a specific audience,” Medina said. “This
may be the movie to (get Anime into a lot more theaters) because of
the fact that kids who watch “˜Scream’ and “˜Scary
Movie’ will probably see this.”
Nomu Yamamoto, director of marketing for Bandai, is already
amazed by the American response to Anime in recent years.
“People are just starting to realize that Anime has deeper
stories,” Yamamoto said. “There’s a misconception
that Anime is too violent or sexy, but once people see it, they see
that’s not true.”
Lim agrees, saying that Anime relates very well to young people,
especially in metropolitan areas like Los Angeles and Tokyo.
“Anime is popular because it embodies the hybridity of
transitional zeitgeist young people live in today,” said Lim,
who points to the incredible grassroots effort that has moved Anime
beyond its massive cult following. Examples of such fan devotion
and fanaticism are the thousands of “Sailor Moon” Web
sites dedicated to this anime about a group of teenage girls who
save the universe on a regular basis.
Without initial backing from major studios, Anime has risen from
obscurity to secure series like “Escaflowne” on the Fox
Kids network, “Card Captors” and
“Pokémon” on Kids WB and Cartoon Network’s
“Sailor Moon,” “Tenchi Muyo,” “Gundam
Wing,” “Dragonball Z” and the upcoming
mini-series “Blue Submarine.”
According to Yamamoto, those who have witnessed the evolution of
anime in America are pleased with its progress so far.
“I was so surprised, I didn’t think there was any
hope before,” she said.
ANIME: “Anime A-Go-Go” will screen “Utena: The
Movie” and “Jubei-Chan the Ninja Girl” on Thurs.
Oct. 26, “Vampire Hunter D” on Tues. Oct. 31 and
“Angel Links,” “Tenamonya Voyagers,”
“Cowboy Bebop” and “Mobile Suit Gundam: The 80th
MS Team” on Sat. Nov. 4. All screenings start at 7:30 p.m. at
the James Bridges Theater. General admission is $6 and tickets for
students and seniors are $4. Call 310-206-FILM for more information
or log on at www.cinema.ucla.edu.