Anime’ Jesus
The makers of the Jesus Film are adapting the original classic for the 15 - 30 generation using anime’ style visual interpretation. I just watched the clip on YouTube and filled out the survey set up by the adapters. You’re given a chance to provide input about a film in development - take advantage of it!
It was interesting to me because I don’t watch a lot of anime’ films or TV. The clip I saw was the interaction between Jesus and the demoniac who lived in caves and was possessed by Legion. I thought Jesus looked a little scary - not the comforting guy we’re used to seeing in Jesus films.
What I liked best was the treatment of Jesus sending the demons into a herd of pigs. Something that’s just a sentence in the Bible is about 30 seconds of animation. I realized that’s one of the scenes that, when I read it in the Bible, I don’t imagine very well. The creators did a great job with that scene.
Since they kept the original dialog (not in its entirety), Jesus has a British accent (which I don’t expect with anime’) but the other voices in the clip don’t.
You can listen to a podcast with animator Barry Cook who lead the development of the look and feel of the animation. Toward the end of the podcast he says he recommended anime’ because it allows for both the beauty and the brutality of the Gospel story to be fully shown.
What do you think about an “anime’ Jesus?” There are several animated Jesus films (here, here, here, and here). How do they compare to the clip you saw of anime’ Jesus?
It doesn’t look like they’re using an asian animation house for this. I’m all about bringing Christianity to a new generation, but is making a bad, Americanized Jesus anime rip-off the real way to do this?
I realize that the clip is just a concept, but judging from the character designs and the sequencing, it just doesn’t seem that solid.
If they REALLY want to translate the gospel into anime, then they should go through the right channels, the correct steps and avoid cutting corners just because it will save a few bucks. As with most Christian-bubble attempts at snagging the tailcoats of pop-culture, this version of “Anime Jesus” seems to fall uncomfortably short of even the most basic and simplistic animes. This, I think, is something most secular anime-fans will instantly notice. We don’t need another half-baked tool to teach Christian homeschoolers.
I am assuming that the Christian choir is not where these people are aiming, seeing as though the Jesus film was so useful as an evangelistic tool for so long. I fear though, that anime Jesus won’t be able to continue on the legacy..
June 19th, 2008 at 9:03 pm
After having a bit of time to think this over, I think I may have been a little unfair with my initial comments.
I guess I should say that I really WANT this to happen, but I want it to happen in an excellent fashion, not in a sub-par manner. This attempt, I think, happens to fall into the category of “sub-par…”
The story of the gospel HAS, however, been represented very well on several occasions via Japanese-style anime and manga. First that comes to mind is Superbook; a cartoon akin to Speed Racer which was produced in conjunction with CBN and aired first in 1981. The cartoon is still wildly popular in parts of the world; most notably Russia.
And more impressively is Yoshikazu Yasuhiko’s epic manga biography entitled Jesus. The manga is only available in English via e-book, but Yasuhiko is one of the founding fathers of the modern anime movement. He’s contributed to many huge anime franchises, not the least of which being Mobile Suit Gundam.
So I say again, if Anime Jesus has any chance at all of sticking, it’ll need some actual Asian talent behind it. Americanime just hasn’t developed the chops yet to be taken seriously…
June 20th, 2008 at 8:27 pm
I’m not an expert in anime - but weren’t American filmmakers responsible for that style of animation with the secular animations projects Star Wars: Clone Wars, Samarai Jack, and Batman, the animated Series?
June 23rd, 2008 at 7:44 am
If it’s true (that these animated projects that I listed were made by American filmmakers without going overseas) I’m sure American Christians could find someone capable to present something properly by using artists here or overseas. I know certainly that many great filmmakers of today have been greatly inspired by anime’.
June 23rd, 2008 at 8:54 am
It’s true that the above-mentioned animated series are influenced by Japanese-style animation, but they in themselves can’t be labeled “anime.” It seems to me that if your task it to SPECIFICALLY go out there and create a project called “Anime Jesus”, you should try and actually do “Anime Jesus.” And withot a doubt, that would involve an Asian (more specifically Japanese) animation house. There is just something in how the animation processes of the two countries differ that makes it hard for the Americans to clone the style - and it has been attempted often.
The closest to an actual anime feel I have ever seen an American cartoon ever come is a show called Avatar: The Last Airbender.
People (especially secular people) these days have a very sensitive nose when it comes to detecting half-hearted Christian media attempts. I really would love to have something that not even the secularists can bash for production quality. And while anime is known for its very cheap production costs, there is still a feeling of authenticity that is required, I think.
June 23rd, 2008 at 10:10 am
You’re right about the sensitivity of “secular people” within media right now. I’ve been at a couple of press junkets the last two weeks and encountered some very strong prejudice toward Christian media.
There’s a post on the CBA Blog that asks “why can’t Christian filmmaking be excellent?” I don’t think it’s limited to filmmaking - it’s throughout Christian media.
I think it’s important we find the best in the field and work with them if our intent is to improve our craft.
June 23rd, 2008 at 10:25 am
I agree with you both as well that we should have the best people available and work with excellence. I’d rather see a Christian movie that is 10 minutes long and excellent rather than a 90 minute one done with poor quality.
It also boils down to what the filmmaker has available to them as far as resources, too. Just because a filmmaker lacks resources doesn’t mean he or she can’t find creative ways to make things work. We just must do our best and use the best tools available within our budgets. Even with no budget we can still produce an excellent product. We do our best then God does the rest.
I would submit to everyone also that the Christian film community is improving by leaps and bounds. The stigma of Christian movie =lousy film is really only a stereotype today that needs to be proven wrong.
Christian filmmakers are improving technically and truly learning the language of film. To make a good film is about speaking in film language. If I wanted to become a missionary and reach the Chinese people, I would not get very far if I spoke Spanish to them. Filmmaking, I have found is a language that we need to learn…a nd when we master the language we can get our points across beautifully and impact our audience in a beautiful way.
June 23rd, 2008 at 12:21 pm
I’ve been watching Walt Disney movies since Kindergarten and I like the American style as it is. Consequently, I’ve also been watching anime since I was in Grade 2 (15 years by now), so the idea of creating an ‘Anime Jesus’ is interesting to a Christian viewer like myself. I previously made an analysis before (for myself) as to why anime was bad and not recommended by conservative Christians for Christians. The use of magic was criticized (as not from God), and oftentimes, the subtle “bad (from the Christian perspective)” would be blended with good virtues known to everyone. Ex. It is good to “never give up no matter how tough a situation is”, but that is being blended with nonexistence of God as Christians know God (which is bad), and the emphasis of heroes doing everything on their own or doing things by their own strength. It is only natural that anime would be labelled by some conservative Christian sectors as “bad”, just like the way some would label “Harry Potter” as “bad” due to the sorcery behind it.
Therefore, if anime is labelled “bad” because of the philosophy behind some creations, then making an Anime Jesus would prove that when the philosophy is God-founded, then anime doesn’t become “bad” in general.
If there was an anime version of Jesus, it would be easier to talk about Jesus to my non-Christian friends who love anime. I was hoping to see something new and inspiring in this, only to be disappointed. Anime is not limited to “Japanese animation” and shouldn’t be literally translated as such. Sadly, the test animation doesn’t have an anime feel at all. It felt like traditional American animation. If this production was to be labelled as “anime”, it has to become anime.
How does it become anime? Most anime comes from the manga version. Why not just make an anime version of the Manga Messiah that was already published? That is common practice in Japan - transforming manga into anime.
See: http://www.mangabible.com/ and http://vialogue.wordpress.com/2008/05/06/manga-messiah-japanese-anime-jesus/
Also, perhaps watching anime for the age group 15-30 years old would be a good start. Read between the lines and see the concept behind what makes anime anime.
Basics:
Characters
1. Expression: The eyes, especially, needs to be drawn like anime is drawn. Anime eyes are usually bigger. The feelings of our characters doesn’t come out well. The drawing and the voice acting should complement each other. (See Sailor Moon saga from Sailor Moon, R, S, SuperS, and Eternal)
2. Motion: There appears to be too much motion and less emotion, and the details on the motions were not emphasized.
3. Background: Needs to vary lighting and explore on perspective. (See Rurouni Kenshin / Samurai X, Dragon Ball saga from Dragon Ball, DBZ, and DBGT, Naruto)
4. Other effects: Mixing 2D and CG would help (See Initial D, Vandread, Gundam Seed).
5. Theme song: You’ll need an opening and an ending theme song. Anime has excellent music and excellent songs, often performed by bands or famous singers.
6. Character design: Don’t be afraid to explore hairstyles that are not seen in real life. Also, be sure that the color of the hair matches the personality of the character involved. There is a meaning behind each hair color. Pink, for example, means that the character is friendly; Red is usually for hot-tempered characters.
7. Suggested Run time per episdoe: 19-21 minutes; Episodes: 13 episodes or 26 episodes per season.
July 5th, 2008 at 8:55 am
Rhelliane -
You are obviously a student of Anime - I hope you’ve given these thoughts to the folks at the Anime Jesus site. You really know your genre. Good for you!
What do you think are some other things to be done with Anime within the context of faith-based stories?
July 5th, 2008 at 1:08 pm