TOKYO: Japan's powerhouse anime business risks being overtaken by rising Chinese competition because a tilt towards commercialism has stifled creativity, industry heavyweight Masao Maruyama has warned. Maruyama, a protege of manga great Osamu Tezuka, said he fears Japan is losing its edge. 'In Ja
TOKYO: Japan's powerhouse anime business risks being overtaken by rising Chinese competition because a tilt towards commercialism has stifled creativity, industry heavyweight Masao Maruyama has warned."In Japan, people are no longer trained in animation," he told AFP in an interview.
He fears Japan is so hell-bent on cranking out money-spinning genres, such as those starring"kawaii" cute female characters, that its anime"doesn't necessarily outshine" America's Disney or France's arthouse productions in terms of creativity. Voice actor Minori Suzuki, voice actor Yoko Hikasa, Pluto author Naoki Urasawa and director Makoto Tezuka at a Netflix event for the upcoming series.
Like Tezuka,"I flip-flop all the time, saying something totally different from what I said a day before", Maruyama said with a chuckle. He is content to play second fiddle to directors, and is known for handling everything from pitching projects and raising funds to hand-picking animators.His deep involvement in productions earned him a reputation as a shadow shogun, but eventually he began stepping into the limelight.
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